Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-analytic-topology-and-axiomatic-set-theory-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2008/a/4/b/solution
Past exam of the analytic topology and axiomatic set theory course of the University of Oxford 2008 A 4 b Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
For every ultrafilter on , its image is an ultrafilter on the compact space , so it has a limit. That limit is unique because is Hausdorff: distinct limits would have disjoint neighborhoods both belonging to the same proper filter. Therefore is well-defined. Since is dense, every lies in . Part (a), with , supplies an ultrafilter mapping to , proving surjectivity.
Suppose disjoint subsets have disjoint image closures. If , choose not in ; the ultrafilter criterion gives . Part (a) givesThe two closures are disjoint by assumption, so the limits differ. Thus is injective.
Conversely, suppose is injective and disjoint had a common point in their image closures. Part (a) would supply ultrafilters containing respectively, both with image limit . They must be distinct, since a proper filter cannot contain the disjoint sets and simultaneously. This contradicts injectivity. Hence
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