Past exam of the topology course of the University of Oxford / 2023 / 2 / a / ii / Solution

Use the equivalence relation induced by a function:Equality in $Y$ supplies reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity, so this is an equivalence relation. Define $\bar{f}:X/\sim \to Y$ by $\bar{f}([x])=f(x)$. It is well-defined; it is injective by the definition of $\sim$ and surjective because $f$ is surjective.

For an open set $W\subseteq Y$,is open by continuity of $f$. The quotient topology therefore makes ${\bar{f}}^{-1}(W)$ open, proving that $\bar{f}$ is continuous.

The continuous image of a compact space theorem applied to $p$ makes $X/\sim$ compact. If $C$ is closed in $X/\sim$, it is compact, and $\bar{f}(C)$ is compact in the Hausdorff space $Y$, hence closed. Thus $\bar{f}$ is a closed map. Its inverse function is continuous, since its preimage of $C$ is precisely $\bar{f}(C)$. We have proved that $\bar{f}$ is a homeomorphism, including the compact-to-Hausdorff continuous bijection theorem used in the argument.