Exercise Problems

13 Basis for a Topology

1. Let X be a topological space; let A be a subset of X. Suppose that for each x A there
is an open set U containing x such that U A. Show that A is open.
sol) For each a A let U
a
be an open set with a U
a
A. Then A =

aA
U
a
, so A is open.

3. Show that the collection T

c
of all subsets U of X, where X U either is countable or X,
is a topology on the set X.
sol) (i) XX = is countable and X = X, so X, T
c
. (ii) Let U

T
c
for J. Then
X

J
U

=

J
(X U

) =
_
X if X U

= X J
countable otherwise
Thus

J
U

T
c
. (iii) Let U
i
T
c
for 1 i n. Then
X

i
U
i
=

i
(X U
i
) =
_
X if X U
i
= X for some i
countable otherwise
This shows

i
U
i
T
c
.
4. Let T

be a family of topologies on X.
(a) Is

U

a topology on X?
sol) No. T
1
T
2
is not a topology since a, b b, c = b / T
1
T
2
(See (c) below).
(b) Show that there is a unique smallest topology on X containing all T

, and a unique
largest topology contained in all T

These are based on student solutions.

1
sol) The unique largest topology contained in all T

is

T

. Noting

T

is a subbasis for a
topology on X, let T
s
be the topology generated by

T

. If U T
s
then U can be written
as
U =

_
U
,1

U
,n

_
where U
,1
, . . . , U
,n

.
Thus U T for any topology T that contains

T

, i.e. T
s
T. Suppose T

s
is a smallest
topology containing all T

. In general we cant say either T

s
T

s
or T

s
T
s
. However,
since T

s
contains

T

, so T
s
T

s
. Then T

s
T
s
since T

s
is a smallest topology that
contains all T

. This complete the proof. The unique largest topology contained in all T

is T
l
=

T

. The proof of uniqueness is similar to the above.

(c) If X = a, b, c, let T
1
= , X, a, a, b and T
2
= , X, a, b, c. Find the
smallest topology containing T
1
and T
2
, and the largest topology contained in T
1
and T
2
.
sol) By (b), T
s
= , X, a, b, a, b, b, c and T
l
= , X, a.
5. Show that if / is a basis for a topology on X, then the topology generated by A equals
the intersection of all topologies on X that contain /.
sol) Let T

be a family of all topologies on X that contains the basis / and T

A
be the
topology generated by the basis /. Note

T

is a topology on X and

T

T
A
since
/ T
A
. On the other hand, any U T
A
is a union of elements in /, so U T

for all
and thus T
A


T

. This completes the proof.

16 The Subspace Topology
1. Show that if Y is a subspace of X, and A is a subset of Y , then the topology A inherits
as a subspace of Y is the same as the topology it inherits as a subspace of X.
sol) Let T be the topology of X and T
Y
denote the subspace topology of Y . We also denote
by T
A/Y
(resp. T
A/X
) the subspace topology of A as a subspace of Y (resp. X). Then
W T
A/Y
W = V A for some V T
Y
W = (U Y ) A for some U T
W = U A for some U T W T
A/X
.
4. A map f : X Y is said to be an open map if for every open set U of X, the set f(U) is
open in Y . Show that
1
: X Y X is an open map.
sol) Let W be an open set in X Y . Then W =

(U

) where U

and V

are open in X
and Y respectively. So,

1
(W) =
1
(

(U

) ) =

1
(U

)) =

U

This shows
1
is an open map.
2
17 Closed Sets and Limit Points
6. Let A, B and C denote subsets of a space X. Prove the followins:
(a) If A B, then A B.
sol) Recall that A is the intersection of all closed sets that contain A. Since B is closed and it
contains A, we have A B.
(b) A B = A B.
sol) A B AB since AB is closed set containing AB. On the other hand, A B is a
closed set that contains both A and B, so A B A B.
(c)

A

; give an example where equality fails.

sol)

A

is a closed set that contains all A

, so it contains all A

, i.e.,

A

(Note
that

A

is, in general, not closed !) Let A

n
=
1
n
for n N. Then 0

A
n
but
0 /

A
n
.
8. Let A, B and A

denote subsets of a space X. Determine whether the following equations

hold; if an equality fails, determine whether one of the inclusions or holds.
(a) A B A B.
sol) AB is a closed set that contains AB, so A B AB. Let A = (0, 1) and B = (1, 2).
Then A B = , while A B = 1.
(b)

A

sol) Similarly as above,

A

is a closed set that contains

A

. So,

A

.
(c) AB (AB).
sol) Let x (A B) = A (X B) A (X B). Then for any neighborhood U of x,
U A ,= (since x A) and U (X B) ,= (since x U (X B)). Thus
x A (X B) = AB.
Let A = [0, 1] and B = (0, 1). Then AB = 0, 1, while AB = .
9. Let A X and B Y . Show that AB = AB in X Y .
sol) AB AB since the latter is a closed set (see prob 3) that contains AB. Conversely,
let (x, y) AB. Then for any basis element U V containing (x, y) we have
(U V ) (AB) = (U A) (V B) ,= .
Thus x AB.
13. Show that X is Hausdor i the diagonal = (x, x)[x X is closed in X X.
3
sol) Suppose X is Hausdor and let (x, y) X X . Since x ,= y, there are disjoint
neighborhoods U and V of x and y respectively. Then (x, y) U V X X . This
implies X X is open, or is closed. Conversely, if X X is open then for any
x ,= y there is a basis element U V such that (x, y) U V XX. This implies
U and V are disjoint neighborhoods of x and y respectively.
19. If A X, we dene the boundary of A by the equation BdA = A X A.
(a) Show that IntA and BdA are disjoint, and A = IntA BdA.
sol) Suppose there is x IntA BdA. Then IntA is a neighborhood of x and x X A, so
IntA (X A) ,= which is impossible since IntA A. On the other hand, note that A
contains both IntA and BdA. Let x AIntA. Suppose there is a neighborhood U of x
such that U A. Then x U IntA, which contradicts to the assumption on x. Any
neighborhood of x thus intersects XA and hence x BdA. This shows A = IntABdA.

(b) Show that BdA = A is both open and closed.

sol) If BdA = then IntA A A = IntA where the last equality follows from (a). Con-
versely, if A is both open and closed, then IntA = A = A, so again by (a) BdA = .

(c) Show that U is open BdU = U U.

sol) U is open U = IntU BdU = U U where the last equivalence follows by (a).

(d) If U is open, is it true that U = Int(U)? Justify your answer.

sol) Not true; let U = (1, 0) (0, 1). Then Int(U) = (1, 1).
20. Find the boundary and the interior of each of the following subsets of R
2
:
(d) D = (x, y)[x is rational.
sol) IntD = (since D contains no open sets in R
2
) and hence BdD = D = R
2
.
18 Continuous Functions
2. Suppose that f : X Y is continuous. If x is a limit point of the subset A of X, is it
necessarily true that f(x) is a limit point of f(A)?
sol) Not true; constant functions.
3. Let X and X

denote a single set in two topologies T and T

, respectively. let i : X

X
be the identity function.
4
(a) Show that i is continuous T

is ner than T .
sol) i is continuous i
1
(U) = U T

for all U T T T

.
6. Find a function f : R R is continuous ar precisely one point.
sol) Dene a function f : R R by
f(x) =
_
x if x is rational,
x if x is irrational
Then, f is continuous at 0 since f(/2, /2) (, ) for any > 0. On the other hand,
if x ,= 0 then the interval (f(x) [f(x)[/2, f(x) +[f(x)[/2) does not contain f(x, x+)
for any > 0. This shows f is not continuous at x ,= 0.
20 and 22
3. Let X be a metric space with metric d. Show that d : X X R is continuous.
sol) Triangle inequality shows if (x, y) B
d
(x
0
, /2) B
d
(y
0
, /2) then
[d(x, y) d(x
0
, y
0
)[ < .
This shows d is continuous at any (x
0
, y
0
) X X.
2. (a) Let p : X Y be a continuous map. Show that if there is a continuous map f : X Y
such that p f equals to the identity map of Y , then p is a quotient map.
sol) Let id
Y
be the identity map of Y . Then U = id
1
Y
(U) = f
1
(p
1
(U)). Thus p
1
(U) is
open in X = U is open Y . This implies p is a quotient map since p is continuous and
surjective subjectivity of p follows from p f = id
Y
.
4. (a) Dene an equivalence relation on the plane X = R
2
as follows,:
(x
0
, y
0
) (x
1
, y
1
) if x
0
+y
2
0
= x
1
+y
2
1
.
Let X

be the corresponding quotient space. It is homeomorphic to a familiar space. What

is it?
sol) Let p : X X

be the quotient map induced from the equivalence relation and dene a
function g : X R by g(x, y) = x+y
2
. Then g is constant on the preimage p
1
([(x
0
, y
0
)])
for each point [(x
0
, y
0
)] in X

. Thus there is a continuous function f : X

R with
g = f p. Since g is onto and g(x
0
, y
0
) = g(x
1
, y
1
) (x
0
, y
0
) (x
1
, y
1
), f is onto and
one-to-one. In order to prove f is a homeomorphism, we will show that f is an open map
(i.e. its inverse function is continuous). Let G : X X dened by G(x, y) = (g(x, y), y).
Then G is a homeomorphism with the inverse function G
1
(x, y) = (x y
2
, y). Since
5
g =
1
G, where : X X X is the projection map onto the rst factor, and both
1
and G are open map, so is g. On the other hand, subjectivity of p and g = f p give
g(p
1
(U)) = f(p(p
1
(U))) = f(U).
Consequently, U is open = p
1
(U) is open = g(p
1
(U)) = f(U) is open.
23 Connected Spaces
2. Let A
n
be a sequence of connected subspaces of X, such that A
n
A
n+1
,= for all n.
Show that A
n
is connected.
sol) We will use induction together with the following claim:
Claim : Let A and B be connected subsets of X with AB ,= . Then AB is connected.
proof : Suppose A B is a disjoint union of open sets C and D of A B. If C ,= ,
since C is both open and closed in A B, C A and C B are respectively nonempty
both open and closed in A and in B (check using subspace topology!). Thus C A = A
and C B = B, or equivalently, A C and B C. This implies D = , so there is no
separation of A B, namely A B is connected.
The claim shows A
1
A
2
is connected. Suppose B
k
=
ik
A
i
is connected. Then B
k
A
k+1
is also connected by the claim. The induction principle thus completes the proof.
6. Let A X. Show that if C is a connected subspace of X that intersects both A and
X A, then C intersects Bd A.
sol) First, recall BdA = A (X A) and A = Int A. BdA. Suppose C BdA = . Then
C A = C A and C (C A) = C (X A) = C (X A).
C A is thus both open and closed in C. Since C is connected, either C A = or
C A = C where the latter is equivalent to C (X A) = . This contradicts to the
assumption C intersects both A and X A.
11. Let p : X Y be a quotient map. Show that if each p
1
(y) is connected, and if Y is
connected, then X is connected.
sol) Let A be both open and closed in X. Then for each y Y , p
1
(y) A is both open and
closed in p
1
(y). Since p
1
(y) is connected, p
1
(y) A or p
1
(y) (X A).
This implies p(A) p(X A) = , so we have
p
1
_
p(A)
_
p
1
_
p(X A)
_
= .
6
This shows A = p
1
_
p(A)
_
and X A = p
1
_
p(X A)
_
since
X = p
1
(Y ) = p
1
_
p(A) p(X A)
_
= p
1
_
p(A)
_
p
1
_
p(X A)
_
A p
1
_
p(A)
_
and X A p
1
_
p(X A)
_
Consequently, p(A) is both open and closed in Y since p is a quotient map. By Connect-
edness of Y we have either A = or A = X.
12. Let Y X; let X and Y be connected. Show that if A and B form a separation of XY ,
then Y A and Y B are connected.
sol) Suppose Y A is not connected. Then there is a separation of Y A, i.e. Y A is a
disjoint union of nonempty open sets C and D of Y A. Since Y is connected, applying
Lemma 23.2, we can assume Y C. This, together with the fact Y . A = C . D, gives
D A. On the other hand, Lemma 23.1 shows
C D = and C D = (0.1)
Similarly, together with the fact D A, again by Lemma 23.1 we have
B D B A = and B D B A = . (0.2)
Now, note that X is a disjoint union of (B . C) and D:
X = Y . (X Y ) = Y . A. B = C . D . B = (B . C) . D. (0.3)
By (0.1) and (0.2), (B C) D = (B C) D = , so C B = C B by (0.3). Thus
C B is closed in X. Repeating the same argument gives D = D is also closed in X. This
contradicts to the fact X is connected.
Similar solution without using Lemma 23.1 and Lemma 23.2 :
Since A and B are nonempty open sets in X Y , there exist nonempty open sets U
A
and
U
B
of X such that A = U
A
(XY ) and B = U
B
(XY ), so XY can be written as
X Y = A. B = [U
A
(X Y )] . [U
B
(X Y )]
Suppose Y A is not connected. Then Y A has a separation, so (similarly as above)
there exist nonempty open sets U
C
and U
D
of X such that Y A can be written as :
Y A = [U
C
(Y A)] . [U
D
(Y A)]
where both U
C
(Y A) and U
D
(Y A) are not empty. It then follows that
Y = Y (Y A) = (U
C
Y ) . (U
D
Y ).
Since Y is connected, we can assume U
C
Y = Y , i.e. Y U
C
, and U
D
Y = . In this
case, A U
D
,= and
A = (U
C
A) . (U
D
A).
7
This, together with the facts Y U
C
, A U
A
and B U
B
, implies
X = Y . A. B (U
B
U
C
) A (U
B
U
C
) (U
D
A)
(U
B
U
C
) (U
A
U
D
) X
Note that (i) , = A U
D
U
A
U
D
and (ii) (U
B
U
C
) (U
A
U
D
) = since
(U
A
U
D
) U
B
U
A
U
B
= and (U
A
U
D
) U
C
U
D
U
C
= .
We have contradiction to the fact X is connected.
24 Connected Subspaces of the Real Line
1. (a) Show that no two of the spaces (0, 1), (0, 1], and [0, 1] are homeomorphic.
sol) Suppose there exists a homeomorphism f : (0, 1] (0, 1). Then the restriction map
g = f
|(0,1)
: (0, 1) (0, 1) f(1)
is also a homeomorphism. (0,1) is connected, but its image g(0, 1) = (0, 1) f(1) is not
connected. Contradiction!
(c) Show that R
n
and R are not homeomorphic if n > 1.
sol) Suppose there exists a homeomorphism f : R
n
R. Then the restriction map
f
|
R
n
\{f
1
(0)}
: R
n
f
1
(0) R 0
is also a homeomorphism. R
n
f
1
(0) is path connected, while its image R 0 is not.
Contradiction!
2. Let f : S
1
R be a continuous map. Show there exists a point x of S
1
such that
f(x) = f(x).
sol) Suppose not. Consider a continuous function
g : S
1
R dened by g(x) = f(x) f(x).
The image g(S
1
) is connected since S
1
is connected and g is continuous. Since g(x) ,= 0
for all x S
1
, we have either g(x) > 0 for all x S
1
or g(x) < 0 for all x S
1
. This is
impossible since g(x) = g(x).
3. Let f : X X be continuous. Show that if X = [0, 1], then f(x) = x for some x X.
What happens if X equals to [0, 1) or (0, 1]?
8
sol) Dene g : X X by g(x) = f(x) x. Then g is continuous and
g(0) = f(0) 0 0 and g(1) = f(1) 1 0.
Since g([0, 1]) is connected, g(x) = 0 for some x [0, 1], i.e., f has a xed point. If
X = [0, 1) (resp. X = (0, 1]) then the function
f(x) =
1
2
x +
1
2
(resp. f(x) =
1
2
x)
has no xed point.
8. (b) If A X and A is path connected, is A necessarily path connected?
sol) No. (cf. p157 Example 6) Let S = ( x, sin(
1
x
) ) [ 1 < x 1. Since S is the image of
(0, 1] under the continuous map g : (0, 1] S dened by g(x) = ( x, sin(
1
x
) ), S is path
connected. In particular, S is connected, so is its closure S in R
2
. Recall
S = V S where V = 0 [1, 1] R
2
.
Suppose there is a path f : [a, c] S with f(a) V and f(c) S. Since V is closed in S,
its preimage f
1
(V ) is closed in [a, c] ; f
1
(V ) is bounded and closed in R. The preimage
f
1
(V ) thus has a maximum b and b < c since f(c) S. Write h(t) = (x(t), y(t)) for the
composition map
h : [0, 1] [b, c] S
where the rst map is t
_
(1 t)b +tc
_
/2 and the second map is the restriction of f to
[b, c]. WLOG, we may assume h(0) = (0, 0). Since x(t) > 0 for t > 0, for each n > 0 we
can choose u satisfying
0 < u < x(
1
n
) and sin(
1
u
) = (1)
n
.
Applying the Intermediate Value Theorem to the function t x(t), we can then nd t
n
with 0 < t
n
<
1
n
such that x(t
n
) = u. We have contradiction since h is continuous and
t
n
0, but h(t
n
) dose not converge to (0, 0).
(d) If A

is a collection of path-connected subspaces of X and if A

,= , is A

necessarily path connected?

sol) Yes. Let x, y A

. Then x A

1
and y A

2
for some A

1
and A

2
. Fix a point
z A

1
A

2
and choose paths from x to z in A

1
and from z to y in A

2
respectively.
One can then paste two paths to make a path from x to y in A

1
A

2
A

(see The
Pasting Lemma p108).
9. Show that if A is a countable subset of R
2
, then R
2
A is path connected.
sol) Let L
p
denote a line passing through a point p in R
2
. Note that (i) there are uncountably
many such lines L
p
and (ii) there are at most countably many lines L
p
with L
p
A ,= .
So, for any distinct points x, y in R
2
A, we can choose lines L
x
and L
y
such that their
intersection L
x
L
y
is one point. We can then join x and y by line segments in R
2
A
using L
x
and L
y
.
9
10. Show that if U is an open connected subspace of R
2
, then U is path connected.
sol) Fix x
0
U and dene P = x U [ x can be joined to x
0
by a path in U . It suces to
show P is open in U (or in R
2
since U is open) and closed in U. Let x P. We can then
choose an open ball B(x, ) U for small > 0. Since any point in B(x, ) can be joined
to x by a line in B(x, ) U, by pasting two paths, any point in B(x, ) can be joined to
x
0
by a path in U. This implies P is open.
In order to prove P is closed in U, one can show U P is open as done in class. Lets
do dierently. First recall that the closure of P in U is P U, namely the closure of P
w.r.t the subspace topology of U is P U. Let x P U. Since U is open in R
2
and
x U, we can choose an open ball B(x, ) U for small > 0. Since x P, there exists
y B(x, ) P. We can then join x to x
0
by pasting a path in U from x
0
to y with a
line segment in B(x, ) U from y to x. Thus, x P. Since x is arbitrary, P = P U is
closed in U.
11. If A is a connected subspace of X, does it follows from that Int A and BdA are connected?
Does the converse hold?
sol) (i) X = R and A = (0, 1) : BdA = 0, 1.
(ii) X = R
2
and A = B
_
(0, 0), 1
_
B
_
(2, 0), 1
_
: Int A = B((0, 0), 1) . B((2, 0), 1).
(iii) X = R
2
and A = B((0, 0), 1) X where X = ((x, 0)[1 < x < 2 :
Int A = B((0, 0), 1) and Bd = S
1
Y
where S
1
is the unit circle and Y = ((x, 0)[1 x 2
25 Components and Local Connectedness
8. Let p : X Y be a quotient map. Show that if X is locally connected, then Y is locally
connected.
sol) Let U be a neighborhood of y Y . We need to show there is a neighborhood C of y with
C U. Let C be a component of U containing y. It remains to show C is open. For
each x p
1
(C) p
1
(U), since X is locally connected and p
1
(U) is open, there is a
connected neighborhood V
x
p
1
(U) of x. It then follows that
,= p(V
x
p
1
(C)) p(V
x
) p(p
1
(C)) p(V
x
) C.
This shows p(V
x
) C because C is a component of U and p(V
x
) is connected subset of
U any point in p(V
x
) is equivalent to any point in p(V
x
) C (and hence any point
in C) under the equivalence relation on U dening (connected) components as in p159
Denition. Consequently,
V
x
p
1
(p(V
x
)) p
1
(C).
Therefore, p
1
(C) is open, so is C since p is a quotient map.
10
9. Let G be a topological group; let C be the component of G containing the identity element
e. Show that C is normal subgroup of G.
sol) For each x G, xCx
1
= R
x
1 L
x
(C) is connected where L
x
and R
x
are homeomorphisms
dened by L
x
(g) = xg and by R
x
1(g) = gx
1
. On the other hand, since e = xex
1

xCx
1
and C is a component containing e, xCx
1
C. A similar argument shows that
for any a, b C, ab
1
C C which implies ab
1
C.
26 Compact Spaces
5. Let A and B be disjoint compact subspaces of the Hausdor space X. Show that there
exists disjoint open sets U and V containing A and B, respectively.
sol) Since A is compact and A B = , for each b B there are disjoint neighborhoods U
b
and V
b
of A and b respectively. By Compactness of B there are nitely many V
b
1
, , V
bn
whose union contains B. We set
U
A
= U
b
1
U
bn
and V
B
= V
b
1
V
bn
.
Then A U
A
, B V
B
and U
A
U
B
= since x V
B
x V
b
i
for some b
i
x / U
b
i

x / U
A
.
6. Show that if f : X Y is continuous, where X is compact and Y is Hausdor, then f is
a closed map.
sol) Let A be a closed set in X. Then A is compact and hence f(A) is compact. Since Y is
Hausdor, f(A) is closed.
7. Show that if Y is compact, then the projection
1
: X Y X is a closed map.
sol) We will show that X
1
(A) is open if A is closed in X Y . Let x X
1
(A). Noting
(x, y) / A for any y Y and X Y A is open, for each y Y choose neighborhoods
U
x,y
of x and V
y
of y satisfying
(x, y) U
x,y
V
y
X Y A.
Since V
y
[ y Y is an open covering of Y and Y is compact, there is a nite subcover
V
y
i
[ i = 1, , n. Now, set
U = U
x,y
1
U
x,yn
.
U is then a neighborhood of x such that U Y X Y A. This shows U
1
(A) =
and hence X
1
(A) is open.
11
8. Let f : X Y ; let Y be compact Hausdor. Then f is continuous if and only if the graph
of f
G
f
= (x, f(x) [ x X
is closed in X Y .
sol) Suppose f is continuous. Let (x, y) X Y G
f
and choose neighborhoods V
y
of y and
V
f(x)
of f(x) with V
y
V
f(x)
= . Then U = f
1
_
V
f(x)
_
is a neighborhood of x such that
U V X Y G
f
.
This shows X Y G
f
is open. Now, suppose G
f
is closed. Fix x
0
X and let V be a
neighborhood of f(x
0
). Then G
f

_
X (Y V )
_
is closed and hence by Problem 7
U = X
1
_
G
f

_
X (Y V )
_ _
is open and x
0
U since (x
0
, f(x
0
)) / X (Y V ). Let x U. Then (x, f(x)) /
X (Y V ) and hence f(x) V . Thus f(U) V . This shows f is continuous at x
0
.
Since x
0
is arbitrary, f is continuous.
12. Let p : X Y be a closed continuous surjective map such that p
1
(y) is compact for
each y Y . Show that if Y is compact, then X is compact.
sol) Let U

be an open covering of X. Then for each y Y since p

1
(y) is compact it can
be covered by a nite subcollection U

i
[ i = 1, , n
y
of the covering U

. Set
U
y
= U

1
U
ny
and W
y
= Y p(X U
y
).
Then, we have
(i) W
y
is open since p is closed,
(ii) y W
y
since p
1
y U
y
implies y / p(X U
y
),
(iii) p
1
(W
y
) = p
1
_
Y p(X U
y
)
_
= X p
1
_
p(X U
y
)
_
X (X U
y
) = U
y
.
(i) and (ii) show that W
y
[ y Y is an open covering of Y . Since Y is compact, we can
choose a nite subcover W
y
i
[ i = 1, , n. Then by (iii)
X = p
1
(Y ) = p
1
_
n
_
i=1
W
y
i
_
=
n
_
i=1
p
1
(W
y
i
)
n
_
i=1
U
y
i
.
Since each U
y
i
is a nite union of open sets in U

, this implies that the open covering

U

has a nite subcover.

13. Let G be a topological group.
(a) Let A and B be subspaces of G. If A is closed and B is compact, show A B is closed.
12
sol) We will use the fact every topological group is regular (see p146 #7 (c)). Let c / A B.
Then cB
1
A = and hence by regularity of G for each b B there exist disjoint
neighborhoods U
b
and V
b
of cb
1
and A respectively. Note that cB
1
= L
c
(B) is
compact where L
c
is the left translation by c and : G G dened by (g) = g
1
. One
can thus nd nitely many U
b
1
, , U
bn
whose union contains cB
1
. We set
U = U
b
1
U
bn
and V = V
b
1
V
bn
.
Then cB
1
U, A V and U V = (cf. # 5 above). So, W = UB is a neighborhood
of c such that W AB UB V B = . This shows GAB is open.
(b) Let H be a subgroup of G; let p : G G/H be the quotient map. If H is compact,
show that p is a closed map.
sol) Recall that p
1
(p(C)) = CH. If C is closed, then p
1
(G/H p(C)) = G CH is open
by (a). Thus G/H p(C) is open, i.e. p(C) is closed.
(c) Let H be a compact subgroup of G. Show that if G/H is compact, then G is compact.
sol) The proof directly follows from #12 and (b) since p
1
(gH) = gH is compact for any
gH G/H.
27 Compact Subspaces of the Real Line
5. Let X be a compact Hausdor space; let A
n
be a countable collection of closed sets of
X. Show that if each A
n
has empty interior in X, then the union A
n
has empty interior
in X.
sol) We will show that U A
n
,= for any open set U (this implies Int(A
n
) = ). We
rst show that given A
1
and nonempty open set U there exists a nonempty open set V
1
satisfying
V
1
U and V
1
A
1
= .
Since IntA
1
= , there exists y U A
1
. Noting A
1
is compact, choose a neighborhood of
W
1
of y and an open set W
2
containing A
1
with W
1
W
2
= (by Lemma 26.4). Similarly,
since X (W
1
U) is closed and hence compact, choose a neighborhood W

1
of y and an
open set W

2
containing X (W
1
U) with W

1
W

2
= (again by Lemma 26.4). Let
V
1
= W

1
. The nonempty open set V
1
then satises V
1
W
1
U U and V
1
A
1
= .
Now, applying the same arguments inductively, given A
n
and V
n1
one can nd a nonempty
open set V
n
satisfying V
n
V
n1
and V
n
A
n
= . Consider the nested sequences
V
1
V
2

of nonempty closed sets of X. Since X is compact, there exists x V
n
(by Thm 26.9)
such that x / A
n
for each n since V
n
A
n
= for each n. Thus, x U A
n
.
13
31 The Separation Axioms
2. Show that if X is normal, every pair of disjoint closed sets have neighborhoods whose
closures are disjoint.
sol) Let A, B are disjoint closed sets. Then X B is open and A X B and hence there
exists an open set U
A
with A U
A
and U
A
XB (see Lemma 31.1 (b)). In particular,
B (XU
A
) since U
A
B = . Again by Lemma 31.1 (b) applied to B (XU
A
) gives
U
B
open in X with B U
B
and U
B
(XU
A
). The latter is equivalent to U
B
U
A
= .
Thus U
A
and U
B
is the desired neighborhoods of A and B respectively.
5. Let f, g : X Y be continuous; assume that Y is Hausdor. Show that x[f(x) = g(x)
is closed in X.
sol) Consider the graph G
g
= (x, y) X Y [ y = g(x) of g. Since g is continuous and Y is
Hausdor, the graph G
g
is closed in X Y (cf. p171 ex 8). Dene a function
F : X X Y by F(x) = (x, f(x)).
Then, F is continuous and hence F
1
(G
g
) = x[f(x) = g(x) is closed in X.
6. Let p : X Y be a closed continuous surjective map. Show that if X is normal, then so
is Y .
sol) Lets rst prove the given Hint :
Claim : If U is an open set containing p
1
(y), then there is a neighborhood W of y such
that p
1
(W) U.
Proof : Let W = Y p(XU). Then W is open in Y since p is a closed map and y W;
suppose y P(X U). Then there exists x (X U) such that p(x) = y. This implies
x p
1
(y) U. Contradiction! On the other hand, we have
p
1
(W) = p
1
(Y p(X U)) = X p
1
p(X U) X (X U) = U.
This completes the proof of the claim.
Let A and B be disjoint closed sets in Y . Then p
1
(A) and p
1
(B) are disjoint closed
sets in X. Using normality of X, choose disjoint neighborhoods U
A
and U
B
of p
1
(A) and
p
1
(B) respectively. The claim then shows that for each a A (resp. b B) there is a
neighborhood W
a
of a (resp. W
b
of b) with p
1
(W
a
) U
A
(resp. p
1
(W
b
) U
B
). The
open sets
W
A
=

aA
W
a
and W
B
=

bB
W
b
are desired neighborhoods of A and B respectively;
p
1
(W
A
W
B
) = p
1
(W
A
) p
1
(W
B
) U
A
U
B
= .
This together with subjectivity of p shows W
A
W
B
= .
14
32 Normal Spaces
1. Show that a closed subspace of a normal space is normal.
sol) Let X be normal and A be a closed subset of X. Let A
1
and A
2
be disjoint closed subsets
of A. Since A is closed in X, A
1
and A
2
are also closed in X. Normality of X then shows
there are disjoint neighborhoods U
1
and U
2
of A
1
and A
2
respectively in X. Thus the
open sets U
1
A and U
2
A in A are disjoint neighborhoods of A
1
and A
2
in A.
33 The Urysohn Lemma
1. Examine the proof of the Urysohn lemma, and show that for given r,
f
1
(r) =

p>r
U
p


q<r
U
q
where p, q rational.
sol) We will use the following facts :
(1) x U
r
f(x) r or equivalently f(x) > r x / U
r
,
(2) x / U
r
f(x) r or equivalently f(x) < r x U
r
.
Suppose x f
1
(r), i.e. f(x) = r. Then f(x) < p for any rational p > r, so x

p>r
U
p
by (2). Similarly, for any rational q < r, f(x) > q, so x / U
q
U
q
by (1). This implies
x /

q<r
U
q
. Therefore,
f
1
(r)

p>r
U
p


q<r
U
q
.
Conversely, suppose x

p>r
U
p


q<r
U
q
. (2) then implies f(x) q for any rational q < r,
so f(x) r. Since for any rational p > r, x U
p
U
p
, by (1) f(x) p. This shows
f(x) r. Therefore, f(x) = r, i.e. x f
1
(r).
2. (a) Show that a connected normal space having more that one point is uncountable.
sol) Let X be a connected normal space and x and y are distinct points of X. Then by Uryshon
Lemma, there is a continuous function f : X [0, 1] with f(x) = 0 and f(y) = 1. Since
the image f(X) is connected, f(X) = [0, 1]; suppose not. Then f(X) is a disjoint union
of nonempty open sets f(X) [0, r) and f(X) (r, 1] for some r / f(X) where 0 < r < 1.
Consequently, the preimage f
1
(s) ,= for any irrational s [0, 1]. Thus X is uncountable.

3. Give a direct proof of the Urysohn lemma for a metric space (X, d).
15
sol) Let A and B are disjoint closed sets of X and let
f(x) =
d(x, A)
d(x, A) +d(x, B)
.
Recall that (i) d(x, A) = inf d(x, a) [ a A, (ii) it is a continuous function on X into
R and (iii) for closed A, d(x, A) = 0 i x A (see p175-177). It thus follows that f is a
continuous function on X (since A B = ) such that f(x) = 0 i x A, f(x) = 1 i
x B and 0 f(x) 1 for all x X.
4. Recall A is a G

set in X if A is the intersection of a countable collection of open set of

X. Show that : Let X be normal. Then there exists a continuous function f : X [0, 1]
such that f(x) = 0 for x A, and f(x) > 0 for x / A, if and only if A is a closed G

set
in X.
sol) (by Jonathan) Suppose there exists a continuous function f : X [0, 1] such that f(x) = 0
for x A, and f(x) > 0 for x / A. Then A is closed since A = f
1
(0) and A is a G

set
since
A =

n
f
1
_
[0,
1
n
)
_
.
Conversely, suppose A is a closed G

set. Then A = U
n
for some open sets U
n
. Since
X is normal, for closed A and open U
1
A, there is an open set V
1
with A V
1
and
V
1
U
1
(see Lemma 31.1). Inductively, for each n N one can dene an open set V 1
n+1
satisfying
A V 1
n+1
and V 1
n+1

_
U
1
U
2
U
n+1
_
V1
n
.
Then we have A V1
n
and V 1
n+1
V1
n
for all n N and

V1
n
= A;
A

V 1
n+1

(U
1
U
n+1
) V1
n

(U
1
U
n+1
)

U
n
= A.
Now, similarly as in the proof of Urysohn lemma, writing rational numbers in the set
(0, 1)
1
n
[n N as a sequence p
1
, p
2
, and using the open sets V1
n
and induction on
nite subsets of p
1
, p
2
, , for any rational p (0, 1) one can dene an open set U
p
A
satisfying U
q
U
p
if q < p and U
p
= V1
n
if p =
1
n
. The function f(x) = inf p [ x U
p

is then continuous and f(x) = 0 for x A. Moreover, f(x) > 0 for x / A; in this case,
x / V1
n
for some n, so f(x)
1
n
(see p210 (2)).
(Another) Let A = U
n
. Then by Urysohn lemma, for each n there is a continuous
function f
n
: X [0, 1] with f
n
0 on A and f
n
1 on X U
n
. Dene a function
F : X [0, 1] by F(x) =

f
n
(x)
2
n
.
Since 0 f
n
(x) 1 for all n, F is a well-dened function with F 0 on A. Let x / A.
Then x X U
n
for some n (since A = U
n
) and hence F(x)
fn(x)
2
n
=
1
2
n
> 0. Thus it
remains to show F is continuous. Let F
n
=

n
i=1
f
i
(x)
2
i
. Note that F
n
is continuous for all
n and
0 F(x) F
n
(x)

i=n+1
1
2
i
=
1
2
n+2
(0.4)
16
for any x X. This shows F
n
uniformly converges to F, so F is also continuous. It proof
is : x x X and > 0. By (0.4) there is N > 0 (
1
2
N+1
< ) such that
F
n
(x) (F(x)

2
, F(x) +

2
)
for all n > N. Continuity of F
n
then shows there is a neighborhood U
n
of x with F
n
(U
n
)
(F(x)

2
, F(x) +

2
) where n > N. It then follows that F(U
n
) (F(x) , F(x) + ).
This shows F is continuous.
5. Prove: Let X be normal space. There is a continuous function f : X [0, 1] such that
f(x) = 0 for x A, and f(x) = 1 for x B, and 0 < f(x) < 1 otherwise, if and only if A
and B are disjoint G

sets in X.
sol) (by Mohamed and Jonathan) Let A and B are disjoint closed G

sets. By the above

Problem 4 there are continuous function f
A
(resp. f
B
) into [0, 1] such that f
A
(x) = 0 for
x A (resp. f
B
(x) = 0 for x B) and f
A
(x) > 0 for x / A (resp. f
B
(x) > 0 for x / B).
The desired function is then
f(x) =
f
A
(x)
f
A
(x) +f
B
(x)
The proof of the converse is the same as that in Problem 4.
35 The Tietze Extension Theorem
4. (a) Show that if Z is Hausdor and Y is a retract of Z, then Y is closed in Z.
sol) Let r : Z Y be the retraction. Then r(z) = z i z Y . Problem 5 in p199 thus implies
Y = z[j r(z) = id
Z
(z) is closed where j : Y Z is the inclusion map.
(b) Let A be a two-point set in R
2
. Show that A is not a retract of R
2
.
sol) There is no retraction r : R
2
A; otherwise, r(R
2
) is connected, A is not connected and
r(R
2
) = A.
(c) Can you conjecture whether or not S
1
is a retract of R
2
?
sol) S
1
is a not retract of R
2
since
1
(R
2
) = 0 while
1
(S
1
) = Z where
1
is the fundamental
group.
7. (a) Show the logarithmic spiral
C = (0, 0) (e
t
cos t, e
t
sint [ t R
is a retract of R
2
. Can you nd a specic retraction r : R
2
C ?
17
sol) Let C

= C (0, 0) and (R
2
)

= R
2
(0, 0) and dene continuous functions
f : R C

by f(t) = (e
t
cos t, e
t
sint),
G : (R
2
)

R by G(x, y) =
1
2
ln(x
2
+y
2
).
Then f is bijective and the restriction of G to C

is the inverse function of f. The

composition f G : (R
2
)

is thus a retraction. Note that for any seq (x

n
, y
n
)
in (R
2
)

converging to (0,0) the sequence f G(x

n
, y
n
) also converges to (0,0). So, the
extension r : R
2
C of f G dened by r(0, 0) = (0, 0) is continuous (cf. Theorem 21.3)
and thus r is a retraction, i.e. C is a retract of R
2
.
(b) Show that the knotted x-axis of Figure 35.2 is a retract of R
3
.
sol) Noting K is homeomorphic to R, x a homeomorphism f : K R. Then, since K is
closed in R
3
, by Tietze extension theorem, there is a continuous extension F : R
3
R of
f. Then the composition f
1
F : R
3
K is a retraction.
36 Imbeddings of Manifolds
2. Let X be a compact Hausdor space. Suppose that for each x X, there is a neighborhood
U of x and a positive integer k such that U can be imbedded in R
k
. Show that X can be
imbedded in R
N
for some positive integer N.
sol) Since X is compact, there is a nite open covering U
i
[ i = 1, , m of X such that for
each i there is an imbedding
i
: U
i
R
k
i
for some k
i
> 0. Note that X is normal since
X is compact Hausdor. So, there is a partition of unity
i
subordinated to U
i
that
gives rise to an imbedding :
: X R R
. .
m times
R
k
1
R
km
dened by (x) =
_

1
(x), ,
m
(x),
1
(x)
1
(x), ,
m
(x)
m
(x)
_
where for x in
X supp(
i
) we dene
i
(x)
i
(x) = 0 so that it is a continuous function on X.
5. Let X be the union of the set R0 and the two-point set p, q. Topologize X by taking
as basis the collection of all open intervals in R that do not contain 0, along with all sets
of the form (a, 0) p (0, a) and all sets of the form (a, 0) q (0, a), for a > 0.
(b) Show that each of the space X p and X q is homeomorphic to R.
sol) Noting the collection of all open intervals in R that do not contain 0, along with all sets
of the form (a, a) = (a, 0) 0 (0, a) for a > 0 is a basis for the standard topology
on R, we dene f : Xq R by f(x) = x for x R0 and f(p) = 0. This function
f is bijective and both f and its inverse f
1
send basis elements to basis elements. Thus
f is a homeomorphism.
18
43 Complete Metric Spaces
2. Let (X, d
X
) and (Y, d
Y
) be metric spaces; let Y be complete. Let A X. Show that
if f : A Y is uniformly continuous, then f can be uniquely extended to a continuous
function g : A Y , and g is uniformly continuous.
sol) Let a A. Then there is a sequence a
n
in A converging to a (see Lemma 21.2). Since
f is uniformly continuous, f(a
n
) is a Cauchy sequence in Y ; given > 0 there exists
> 0 (depending only on ) such that if d
X
(a
n
, a
m
) < then d
Y
(f(a
n
), f(a
m
)) < . Since
a
n
a, in particular a
n
is a Cauchy sequence in X, one can choose N > 0 satisfying :
if n, m > N then d
X
(a
n
, a
m
) < . Using Y is complete, set g(a) = limf(a
n
). Then
(i) g : A Y is a well-dened function; suppose we have two sequences a
n
and b
n

both converging to a A. Let c

n
be a sequence dened by c
2n1
= a
n
and c
2n
= b
n
.
Then a similar argument as above and the inequality
d
X
(a
n
, b
m
) d
X
(a
n
, a) + d
X
(a, b
m
) n, m N
imply that f(c
n
) is a Cauchy sequence in a complete metric space Y , so by unique-
ness of the limit we have limf(a
n
) = limf(c
2n1
) = limf(c
2n
) = limf(b
n
).
(ii) g is an extension of f; for a A let a
n
= a for all n. Then g(a) = limf(a
n
) = f(a).
(iii) g is uniformly continuous; given > 0 choose > 0 corresponding to the uniform
continuity of f and let a, b A with d
X
(a, b) < /2. One can then nd sequences
a
n
and b
n
respectively converging to a and b such that there is N > 0 satisfying :
if n, m > N then d
X
(a
n
, b
m
) < , d
Y
(g(a), f(a
m
)) < and d
Y
(f(b
m
), g(b)) < .
Consequently,
d
Y
(g(a), g(b)) < d
Y
(g(a), f(a
m
)) + d
Y
(f(a
n
), f(b
m
)) + d
Y
(f(b
m
), g(b)) < 3.
(iv) g is the unique continuous extension of f to A; suppose h is another continuous
extension of f to A. Then for any a A and any sequence a
n
converging to a,
h(a) = limh(a
n
) = limf(a
n
) = g(a) (cf. Theorem 21.3).
4. Show that the metric space (X, d) is complete if and only if for every nested sequence
A
1
A
2
of nonempty closed sets of X with diamA
n
0, the intersection of the
sets A
n
is nonempty.
sol) The necessary condition for completeness of (X, d) is given by Lemma 48.3. Lets prove
sucient condition. Let x
n
be a Cauchy sequence in (X, d). There exists N
1
> 0 such
that if n, m > N
1
then d(x
n
, x
m
) < 1. Choose n
1
> N
1
and let A
1
= B(x
n
1
, 1). Similarly,
there exists N
2
> N
1
such that if n, m > N
2
then d(x
n
, x
m
) <
1
2
. Choose n
2
> N
2
and
let A
2
= A
1
B(x
n
2
,
1
2
). Note that A
2
A
1
and if n > N
2
then x
n
A
2
since N
2
> N
1
.
Repeating the same argument with induction then shows for all k N there exists N
k
and
closed set A
k
such that (i) A
k
A
k1
and diamA
k
0 and (ii) x
n
A
k
if n > N
k
. Now,
the assumption and (i) imply that there is a point x in the intersection of the sets A
k
.
Then for any k > 0, if n > N
k
then d(x, x
n
) <
2
k
since both x, x
n
A
k
by (ii). This shows
x
n
x.
19
5. Show that if f is a contraction of a complete metric space (X, d), then there is a unique
point x X such that f(x) = x.
sol) Fix x
0
X and dene a sequence x
n
recursively: x
1
= f(x
0
) and x
n+1
= f(x
n
). Then
for some 0 < < 1
d(f(x
n+1
), f(x
n
)) < d(x
n+1
, x
n
) < d(f(x
n
), f(x
n1
)) < <
n+1
d(f(x
0
), x
0
).
Together with triangular inequality, this shows x
n
is a Cauchy sequence. Thus x
n
x
for some x X. Since every contraction is continuous, we have f(x) = limf(x
n
) =
limx
n1
= x.
48 Baire Spaces
2. The Baire Category theorem implies that R cannot be written as a countable union of
closed subsets having empty interiors. Show this fails if the set are not required to be
closed.
sol) Write the set Q of the rational numbers as a sequence Q = q
1
, q
2
, and set A
n
=
(RQ)q
n
. Then A
n
= R where each A
n
has empty interior since RA
n
= Qq
n

is dense in R.
5. Show that if Y is G

set in X, and if X is compact Hausdor or complete metric, then Y

is a Baire space in the subspace topology.
sol) Let Y = W
n
where W
n
is open in X and B
n
be a closed set in Y with empty interior in
Y . Given U
0
open in X with U
0
Y ,= , we need to show that U
0
Y B
n
,= . Note
that B
n
= B
n
Y , where B
n
is the closure of B
n
in X, since B
n
is closed in Y . Also note
that there is a point y
0
U
0
Y B
1
Y = (U
0
B
1
) Y since B
1
has empty interior in
Y . Using normality of X, since y
0
U
0
(X B
1
) W
1
, one can nd U
1
open in X with
y
0
U
1
(so U
1
Y ,= ) and U
1
U
0
(X B
1
) W
1
.
In addition, in the metric space, by replacing U
1
by a small ball at y
0
if necessary, one can
also assume diamU
1
< 1. Repeating the same argument inductively yields a sequence of
open sets U
n
in X satisfying :
U
n
Y ,= , U
n
U
n1
(X B
n
) W
n
, diamU
n
<
1
n
(for metric space)
Then there exists a point x U
n
(by Theorem 26.9 and Lemma 48.3) such that (i)
x U
0
Y since x U
n
U
n1
W
n
U
0
W
n
for all n and (ii) x / B
n
= (B
n
Y )
since x X B
n
for all n. (i) and (ii) show that U
0
Y B
n
,= as desired.
6. Show that the irrationals are a Baire space.
20
sol) Let Q = q
1
, q
2
, and W
n
= R q
n
. Then R Q = W
n
and hence the irrationals
R Q is a Baire space by Problem 5.
7. Prove the following: If D is a countable dense subset of R, there is no function f : R R
that is continuous precisely at the points of D.
Proof.
(a) Show that if f : R R, the set C of points at which f is continuous is a G

set in R.
sol) Let U
n
be the union of all open sets U of R such that diamf(U) <
1
n
. If x C then for
each n > 0 there exists
n
> 0 such that
f(x
n
, x +
n
) (f(x)
1
3n
, f(x) +
1
3n
).
Thus x U
n
. Conversely, let x U
n
. Then given > 0 and for
1
n
< since
x U
n
there exists an open set U containing x with diamf(U) <
1
n
< . So, f(U)
(f(x) , f(x) +). This shows x C.
(b) Show that D is not a G

set in R.
sol) Suppose D = W
n
where W
n
is open in R. Since D is dense, each W
n
is dense; suppose
W
n
is not dense. Then Int(R W
n
) ,= , so (a, b) Int(R W
n
) R W
n
for some
a < b. Thus D (a, b) W
n
(a, b) = which contradicts to the assumption D is dense.
For each d D, set V
d
= R d. Then V
d
is also open and dense, so Baire Category
Theorem shows
n,dD
(W
n
V
d
) is dense. But,
n,dD
(W
n
V
d
) = D
dD
V
d
= .
Other Homework
HW Let G be a topological group, H be a subgroup of G and p : G G/H be the quotient
map. Show that p
1
p(U) = UH for any subset U of G.
sol) Noting gH = uH g uH we have
g p
1
p(U) p(g) p(U) gH = uH for some u U
g uH for some u U g

uU
uH = UH.
HW Let G be a topological group and H be a subgroup of G. Show that if H and G/H are
connected, so is G.
sol) Let U be both open and closed in G. Since H is a connected subgroup and for any g G
the left translation L
g
: G G is a homeomorphism,
uH = L
u
(H) U u U and vH = L
v
(H) GU GU. (0.5)
21
On the other hand, since the quotient map p : G G/H is an open map, p(U) and p(GU)
both open in G/H. Suppose there exists gH p(U) p(G U). Then gH = uH = vH
for some u U and v G U. This is impossible by (0.5). Thus p(U) p(G U) = .
This together with the fact p(U) p(G U) = p(G) = G/H implies p(U) are both open
and closed in G/H. Now, by the assumption G/H is connected, we have either p(U) =
or p(U) = G/H. Consequently, either U = or U = G.
HW Let (H, d) be a metric space; H is the set of all sequences a
n
in R satisfying

a
2
n
<
and the metric d on H is dened by
d(a
n
, b
n
) =

(a
n
b
n
)
2
.
Show that S = A H[ d(A, 0) = 1 is bounded and closed, but not compact where 0 is
the zero sequence (0, 0, ).
sol) S is bounded since S B
d
(0, 2) and S is closed since S = f
1
(1) where f is a continuous
map dened by A d(A, 0). Let A
i
be a sequence a
j
with a
j
=
ij
, i.e a
j
= 0 if j ,= i and
a
i
= 1. The sequence A
i

iN
in S has no convergent subsequence since d(A
i
, A
j
) =
ij
.
Thus S is not compact (cf. Theorem 28.2).
HW Show that (H, d) is a complete metric space.
sol) Let [[ [[ be the norm on H satisfying [[AB[[ = d(A, B) and let A
i
denote the i-th term
of the sequence A H. Let A
n
[n N be a Cauchy sequence in H. For each i
[A
i
n
A
i
m
[
2
[[A
n
A
m
[[
2
shows the sequence A
i
n
[n N is a Cauchy sequence in R, so A
i
n
A
i
for some A
i
R.
Let A = A
i
[i N. Given > 0 choose N > 0 such that
[[A
n
A
m
[[
2
=

i
[A
i
n
A
i
m
[
2
<
for all n, m > N. Taking limit n then gives [[A A
m
[[
2
. This implies (i)
AA
m
H and hence A = (AA
m
) +A
m
H and (ii) A
m
A in H.
HW Find an example of a metric space that is not second countable.
sol) Let X be an uncountable set and dene a metric d by d(x, y) = 1 if x ,= y and d(x, y) = 0
if x = y. Then the metric topology is discrete, so X is not second countable.
22