In mathematics, specifically general topology, compactness is a property that seeks to generalize the notion of a closed and bounded subset of Euclidean space by making precise the idea of a space having no "holes" or "missing endpoints", i.e. that the space not exclude any "limiting values" of points. For example, the "unclosed" interval (0,1) would not be compact because it excludes the "limiting values" of 0 and 1, whereas the closed interval [0,1] would be compact. Similarly, the space of rational numbers is not compact because it has infinitely many "holes" corresponding to the irrational numbers, and the space of real numbers is not compact either because it excludes the limiting values and . However, the extended real number line would be compact, since it contains both infinities. There are many ways to make this heuristic notion precise. These ways usually agree in Euclidean space, but may be inequivalent in other topological spaces.
In mathematics, a topological space is called separable if it contains a countable, dense subset; that is, there exists a sequence of elements of the space such that every nonempty open subset of the space contains at least one element of the sequence.
This is a glossary of some terms used in the branch of mathematics known as topology. Although there is no absolute distinction between different areas of topology, the focus here is on general topology. The following definitions are also fundamental to algebraic topology, differential topology and geometric topology.
The Baire category theorem (BCT) is an important result in general topology and functional analysis. The theorem has two forms, each of which gives sufficient conditions for a topological space to be a Baire space.
In topology, a discrete space is a particularly simple example of a topological space or similar structure, one in which the points form a discontinuous sequence, meaning they are isolated from each other in a certain sense. The discrete topology is the finest topology that can be given on a set. Every subset is open in the discrete topology so that in particular, every singleton subset is an open set in the discrete topology.
In mathematics, general topology is the branch of topology that deals with the basic set-theoretic definitions and constructions used in topology. It is the foundation of most other branches of topology, including differential topology, geometric topology, and algebraic topology. Another name for general topology is point-set topology.
In the mathematical field of topology, a Gδ set is a subset of a topological space that is a countable intersection of open sets. The notation originated in German with G for Gebiet meaning open set in this case and δ for Durchschnitt . Historically Gδ sets were also called inner limiting sets, but that terminology is not in use anymore. Gδ sets, and their dual, F𝜎 sets, are the second level of the Borel hierarchy.
In mathematics, a Lindelöf space is a topological space in which every open cover has a countable subcover. The Lindelöf property is a weakening of the more commonly used notion of compactness, which requires the existence of a finite subcover.
In mathematics, an axiom of countability is a property of certain mathematical objects that asserts the existence of a countable set with certain properties. Without such an axiom, such a set might not provably exist.
In the mathematical discipline of general topology, a Polish space is a separable completely metrizable topological space; that is, a space homeomorphic to a complete metric space that has a countable dense subset. Polish spaces are so named because they were first extensively studied by Polish topologists and logicians—Sierpiński, Kuratowski, Tarski and others. However, Polish spaces are mostly studied today because they are the primary setting for descriptive set theory, including the study of Borel equivalence relations. Polish spaces are also a convenient setting for more advanced measure theory, in particular in probability theory.
In mathematics, a Radon measure, named after Johann Radon, is a measure on the σ-algebra of Borel sets of a Hausdorff topological space X that is finite on all compact sets, outer regular on all Borel sets, and inner regular on open sets. These conditions guarantee that the measure is "compatible" with the topology of the space, and most measures used in mathematical analysis and in number theory are indeed Radon measures.
In topology, a second-countable space, also called a completely separable space, is a topological space whose topology has a countable base. More explicitly, a topological space is second-countable if there exists some countable collection of open subsets of such that any open subset of can be written as a union of elements of some subfamily of . A second-countable space is said to satisfy the second axiom of countability. Like other countability axioms, the property of being second-countable restricts the number of open sets that a space can have.
In topology, a branch of mathematics, a first-countable space is a topological space satisfying the "first axiom of countability". Specifically, a space is said to be first-countable if each point has a countable neighbourhood basis. That is, for each point in there exists a sequence of neighbourhoods of such that for any neighbourhood of there exists an integer with contained in Since every neighborhood of any point contains an open neighborhood of that point the neighbourhood basis can be chosen without loss of generality to consist of open neighborhoods.
In topology and related areas of mathematics, a topological property or topological invariant is a property of a topological space that is invariant under homeomorphisms. Alternatively, a topological property is a proper class of topological spaces which is closed under homeomorphisms. That is, a property of spaces is a topological property if whenever a space X possesses that property every space homeomorphic to X possesses that property. Informally, a topological property is a property of the space that can be expressed using open sets.
In order theory, a partially ordered set X is said to satisfy the countable chain condition, or to be ccc, if every strong antichain in X is countable.
In mathematics, set-theoretic topology is a subject that combines set theory and general topology. It focuses on topological questions that are independent of Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory (ZFC).
In general topology, a subset of a topological space is perfect if it is closed and has no isolated points. Equivalently: the set is perfect if , where denotes the set of all limit points of , also known as the derived set of .
In topology and related areas of mathematics, a subset A of a topological space X is said to be dense in X if every point of X either belongs to A or else is arbitrarily "close" to a member of A — for instance, the rational numbers are a dense subset of the real numbers because every real number either is a rational number or has a rational number arbitrarily close to it. Formally, is dense in if the smallest closed subset of containing is itself.
In topology, the split interval, or double arrow space, is a topological space that results from splitting each point in a closed interval into two adjacent points and giving the resulting ordered set the order topology. It satisfies various interesting properties and serves as a useful counterexample in general topology.
