Continuous image of a compact space Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Let be topological spaces, let be compact, and let be a continuous map. Then its image is compact with the subspace topology inherited from . More generally, a continuous map sends every compact subset to a compact subset , by applying the same statement to its restriction to . Neither nor needs to be Hausdorff.[ref]
For example, the polynomial function sends the compact closed interval onto . The open intervals and give an open cover of the image. Their inverse images in the domain areBoth are open sets in the subspace topology of , even though neither is an open set in the ambient real line. They cover the domain, so the corresponding two target open sets cover the image.
Matching colors identify the target open sets and their inverse images. Filled endpoints are included and hollow endpoints excluded. This particular open cover illustrates the mechanism; compactness requires a finite subcover for every open cover.
For the general proof, write an arbitrary open cover of as with each an open set in . By continuity, the inverse images form an open cover of . Its compactness provides indices such thatThis gives the required finite subcover of . The argument uses inverse images because continuous maps need not send open sets to open sets. For the empty set, the empty selection suffices.
The image of a compact Hausdorff space under a continuous map need not itself be Hausdorff. Take with the discrete topology and with the Sierpiński space topology . The identity map is a continuous bijection, since the inverse image of every target open set is an open set in . Its image is compact, but the two points of have no disjoint open neighborhoods. If the target is Hausdorff, its subspace topology does make Hausdorff, and the compact subset of a Hausdorff space theorem also makes closed in .
The practical payoff is existence: the extreme value theorem uses the compact image of a nonempty compact space under a real-valued continuous function to obtain an attained minimum and maximum. When is also a bijection onto a Hausdorff target, the compact-to-Hausdorff continuous bijection theorem supplies continuity of its inverse without a separate formula.
Continuous image of a connected space Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
If is a continuous map and is a connected space, then its image , with the subspace topology from , is a connected subset of . The whole codomain need not be connected; the assertion concerns the values actually attained. No injectivity is required.[ref]
For example, the continuous function maps the connected closed interval onto the connected closed interval , even though opposite inputs have the same output. The same continuous function maps the disconnected union onto . Thus a connected image does not imply a connected source: a continuous map can merge different connected components.
For a continuous function representing a continuous reading, and force some input with . Its image is a connected subset of the real line, hence a real interval containing both endpoint readings. For the synthetic model , the missing-value test is explicit: . A step reading equal to for and for skips , but fails continuity at .
Proof outline: a separation of a topological space of into nonempty open subsets pulls back under to nonempty open subsets of . Their intersection is empty and their union is , contradicting connectedness. This also shows why a continuous map sends each connected component of its source into a single connected component of its target.
Discrete subgroup 2026-10-14
A subgroup of a topological group is discrete when the identity has a neighbourhood containing no other element of . Translation then isolates every group element. In a Hausdorff topological group, such a subgroup is closed: any accumulation at a point would make differences of distinct nearby group elements approach the identity. Consequently its intersection with a compact set is finite. For isometries of hyperbolic space, this converts compactness of the set of isometries moving one point a bounded distance into a properly discontinuous group action.
For example, isolates the identity element of the additive discrete subgroup . Its induced subspace topology is the discrete topology, while the surrounding real numbers retain their usual topology; see closed subgroup for why this subgroup is closed but not open.
Discrete subset 2026-10-14
A subset of a topological space is discrete when its subspace topology is a discrete topology: every point has an ambient neighbourhood meeting the subset only in that point. A discrete subset need not be closed; for example in the real line accumulates at zero. The group structure makes a discrete subgroup of a Hausdorff topological group closed, an additional property used in discontinuity arguments.
Enumerate all intervals with rational endpoints, using the countability of the rational numbers and listing pairs of enumeration indices by increasing sum. If every point of is an isolated point, some such interval contains and no other point of . Assign to the least index of such an interval. Distinct points cannot have the same index, so this gives an injective function into and proves that is a countable set. The argument uses isolation in the subspace topology, not closedness: the discrete subset illustrates that an accumulation point outside is allowed.
Embedding 2026-10-13
An embedding identifies one mathematical structure with a structure-preserving copy inside another. In topology it is a homeomorphism onto its image with the subspace topology; an algebraic embedding is an injective homomorphism. A smooth embedding additionally has injective differential everywhere, so its image is an embedded submanifold.
Every subset of a cofinite space is compact 2026-10-14
Every subset of a cofinite topological space is a compact subset. To see the finite reduction directly, take an open cover of a nonempty by open sets of and choose one member containing a point of . Since has finite complement, the set is finite. Choose a covering member for each of those remaining points. Those members together with are a finite subcover. The empty set is already compact.
Equivalently, the subspace topology on is itself cofinite: for finite , the trace of is . The argument applies again inside . A concrete open cover of needs only the two members and when these labels are distinct: each fills the other's single gap.
On , the subset of even integers is compact but not closed, because it is infinite and proper. A compact subset of a Hausdorff space is guaranteed to be closed, whereas compactness without the Hausdorff space assumption does not suffice. Changing the topology changes compactness: the same infinite set with its discrete topology has the singleton open cover, which has no finite subcover. The finite-exception argument is special to finite complements; in the cocountable topology, compact subsets of a cocountable space must instead be finite.
Interior (topology) Created 2026-09-29 Updated 2026-10-14
The interior of a subset of a topological space is the union of all open sets contained in , equivalently the largest open subset of . A point lies in exactly when it has an open neighbourhood contained in . In a metric space, this says that some open ball , with , is contained in . The interior therefore identifies the points with room to move locally while staying in . [ref]
For the half-open interval in the real line, . Every point strictly between the endpoints has a sufficiently small open ball inside , but every open ball about zero also contains negative points. Although , it is not in the interior; it is a boundary point instead. Together, the interior and closure bracket the original subset: .
The ambient topological space matters: for with its subspace topology, , whereas . The diagram accompanying boundary of a set illustrates the relative open ball at zero. A subset is open exactly when , and taking the interior twice has the same effect as taking it once. The complement identity links interior directly to closure.
Logarithmic spiral as an embedded real line 2026-10-14
The map is a homeomorphism from the real line to its image with the subspace topology: its continuous inverse is . Different parameters have different radii, so winding does not destroy injectivity. The origin is an accumulation point of the spiral but is not a point of this space.
Open set Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
An open set is a member of the topology on a topological space. In a metric space, a subset is an open set precisely when every has an open ball contained in for some . For , one can take . At , this gives and . The radius depends on the point; no uniform radius is required. [ref]
Openness depends on the ambient topological space. In with its subspace topology, is an open set in , although it is not an open set in the real line. Similarly, the whole closed interval is both an open set and a closed set in itself. These relative open sets are what the continuity test uses for maps involving a subset with its subspace topology.
Arbitrary intersections of open sets need not be open sets: , a singleton that is not an open set in the usual real line. Any point is excluded once . This is why the topology axiom specifies finite intersections.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2001 ib Paper 2 4B Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
A connected space admits no separation into two disjoint nonempty open subsets whose union is the space. A path-connected space has, for every pair of points, a continuous path from joining them. If a path-connected space had a separation , choose its endpoints in different pieces. Their inverse images under the path would separate the connected interval , a contradiction. Thus path connectedness implies connectedness.
For the specified subspace, first consider . Every point of a tooth can move vertically to its base in , then horizontally to the origin; points already on use only the horizontal segment. Concatenating these paths shows that is path-connected and hence connected.
Every point of is a limit of . Consequently is dense in in the subspace topology. To prove connected, suppose were a separation. Restricting to the connected puts all of in one piece, say . But the other nonempty relatively open piece must meet dense , a contradiction. Therefore . This uses density, not an unproved path from the added vertical segment to the teeth.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 ib Paper 4 4G a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The sets and are relatively open in the subspace topology on . They are disjoint and their union is . If both were nonempty, they would be a separation of , contradicting its connectedness. Therefore at least one is empty, and lies entirely in or entirely in . The assertion also holds for empty .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 iii Paper 17 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
A finite CW complex can be defined without assuming separation properties in advance. Start with a finite discrete set . Inductively form from by identifying each boundary point with its image under a continuous attaching map . Only finitely many disks are attached in total, and for some finite . The interiors of the disks are its cells. Its weak topology of a CW complex is the final topology of the characteristic maps: a subset is closed exactly when its inverse image in every characteristic disk is closed. In this finite construction it is the topology obtained by the successive quotients. Closure-finiteness is automatic because there are only finitely many cells.
Here is a direct proof of both requested topological properties, without presupposing that arbitrary attaching maps give a triangulable space. Suppose the compact previous stage embeds by , and attach one -cell, . Extend the boundary coordinate map radially byIt is continuous at zero because the image of the sphere is bounded. Map the two pieces into byAt these agree with the attaching identification. They therefore induce a continuous map on the quotient. Its restriction to the old stage is injective. An interior point has positive last coordinate , and the preceding coordinate block recovers by division by . Hence it cannot coincide with an old point or another interior point. The induced map is injective.
The quotient is compact, being the image of a compact disjoint union. A continuous injection into Euclidean space is Hausdorff, by inverse images of disjoint separating neighborhoods; it is also a homeomorphism onto its image because closed subsets of the compact source have compact, hence closed, images in the Hausdorff target. Finite discrete embeds in , and induction over the finite list of cells proves is Hausdorff and its weak topology is exactly an induced Euclidean subspace topology. This is Euclidean embedding by finite cell attachment; no optimal ambient dimension is needed.
For Real projective space, filter by . The complement of in is an affine -cell. A characteristic disk is a hemisphere of , whose boundary is attached by the antipodal quotient . Thus there is one cell in every dimension .
The incidence number is the sum of the two sheet contributions. Fixing the orientation of one sheet gives degree one; the other differs by the antipodal map on , whose degree is . Consequently the cellular homology of real projective space hasTaking kernels modulo images gives, for ,Over , multiplication by two is invertible, soOver , every differential vanishes, giving for , and zero otherwise. For the space is a point and only degree-zero homology is present, with the chosen coefficient group.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 iii Paper 20 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use the order on locale maps in which means for every open . A Hausdorff locale has a closed diagonal in its localic square. A totally unordered locale, or locale, has discretely ordered hom-sets: every comparable pair of maps with any common domain is equal.
In the localic square of , letThis is the largest open disjoint from the diagonal: inverse image along the diagonal sends the rectangle to . Hence is the complement of its closure. If , thenfor every summand of . Thus factors through the closure of the diagonal. For a Hausdorff locale that closure is the diagonal itself, so . This proof of Hausdorff implies does not require classical logic.
Here is an explicit classical counterexample to the converse implication from spatial Hausdorffness. Give the topology generated by the usual opens and by . Every open has the form , where are usual open sets and we may arrange . The topology is finer than the usual one, so the space is Hausdorff. Put , the complete Boolean algebra of ordinary regular open elements, and write . Restriction from this space to its rational and irrational subspaces, followed by Booleanization, gives frame homomorphismsTo justify these formulas, each subspace has its ordinary subspace topology and is dense in the ordinary real line. Regular-open algebras of a space and a dense subspace are isomorphic: restrict a regular open and take its interior-closure, with inverse obtained by taking interior-closure in the ambient space. Restriction is a frame homomorphism, and double negation is a frame homomorphism into its fixed-element frame. These observations also show independence of the chosen representation of . Since , we have , but and . Thus this Hausdorff space fails as a locale.
For the remaining arguments about connected locales, use the classical-logic option: positive opens of a locale are exactly the nonzero opens. There is a necessary positivity qualification. The empty locale has no positive opens, so the printed condition on those opens holds vacuously, although no point exists. The point assertions therefore require to be positive. This qualification is automatic if “totally connected” includes nonemptiness; otherwise it must be added explicitly.
Let be positive and satisfy the condition on its positive opens of a locale. Put . It contains , excludes , and is upward closed. If had , their union would be a positive open of a locale with a decomposition into two disjoint nonzero opens, contradicting its being a connected locale. Thus . If , not all can be zero; classical logic supplies a nonzero summand. Hence is a completely prime filter, and its characteristic frame homomorphism defines a point .
The point is dense. Indeed implies by the definition of . In nucleus language the image of has nucleus ; its value at is , so the image is a dense sublocale.
Conversely suppose an open locale has a dense point . Density means only if , and classically this implies for every positive open of a locale. If a positive open split as with and both summands nonzero, then , contradicting preservation of their meet. Thus every positive open of a locale is a connected locale, proving the converse under the declared logical convention.
Let be the terminal map. For a positive totally connected locale , the point above satisfiesbecause the right side is when and both sides are otherwise. Hence . If and is a totally unordered locale, composition gives , so . Thereforewhich is the required constant factorization. For the empty source the factorization need not exist: the unique map does not factor through . Thus the positivity qualification matters for this assertion too.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 iii Paper 4 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
An inverse system of topological spaces over a directed set consists of spaces and continuous maps for , with and . Its inverse limit is a space with compatible continuous projections such that every compatible family of continuous maps factors uniquely through a continuous map . To construct it, takewith the subspace topology inherited from the product topology. The map has values in and is continuous by the definition of the product topology; its coordinates force uniqueness. If is another inverse limit, the two universal properties give continuous maps and whose composites have all the same projections as the identity. Uniqueness makes these composites the identity. The inverse limit exists and is unique up to a unique projection-preserving homeomorphism. An arbitrary inverse limit may be empty; nonemptiness requires additional hypotheses.
Use the usual Hausdorff convention for a topological group. An inverse limit of finite discrete groups is a closed subgroup of their product: each compatibility condition is closed because the finite factors are Hausdorff spaces. The Tychonoff theorem gives compactness, and distinct tuples are separated by a clopen coordinate cylinder, so the limit is totally disconnected. Coordinatewise multiplication and inversion are continuous, giving a profinite group.
Conversely, let be a compact Hausdorff space and a totally disconnected topological group. We use the standard topological fact that a compact Hausdorff space that is totally disconnected has a basis of clopen sets. Given an identity neighbourhood, choose a clopen identity neighbourhood inside it. Compactness of and continuity of multiplication give a symmetric identity neighbourhood with : cover by finitely many neighbourhoods on which multiplication by a sufficiently small identity neighbourhood stays inside , then intersect those identity neighbourhoods. Symmetry gives for . Consequently is a subgroup containing , hence an open subgroup, and since . Its open cosets cover the compact group, so there are finitely many. The normal core is a finite intersection of open subgroups, hence an open normal subgroup contained in . Thus the open normal subgroups form an identity-neighbourhood basis and have trivial intersection.
The canonical group homomorphism is continuous and injective. For a compatible tuple of quotient elements, its inverse-image cosets in are closed and have the finite intersection property: a finite family is refined by the quotient for the intersection of its normal subgroups. Compactness gives an element in all those cosets, proving surjectivity. A continuous bijection from a compact space to a Hausdorff space is a homeomorphism. The compact totally disconnected and inverse-limit definitions of a profinite group agree.
Index the finite nonempty sets by open normal subgroups, with the transition from to when given by image under . Images of Sylow subgroups under surjections of finite groups are Sylow subgroups. These transitions are surjective: if is a Sylow subgroup, choose a Sylow subgroup in its full inverse image in . It maps onto , and its order has the full -part of , so it is a Sylow subgroup of too. The transitions respect composition, giving an inverse system of finite sets.
Its inverse limit is nonempty. Indeed, finitely many compatibility conditions can be satisfied by choosing one Sylow subgroup in a quotient refining all the involved quotients and taking its images; compactness of the product of the finite sets then gives a compatible family . DefineThis is a closed subgroup of . Its image in is exactly : for a prescribed , each finite collection of conditions defining together with is satisfiable in a common refining quotient, because the transitions on the chosen Sylow subgroups are surjective. The finite intersection property again supplies . Hence is a pro-p group and for every .
Finally, if a pro-p subgroup contains , its image in every finite quotient is a p-group containing the Sylow subgroup , so that image equals . Thus every belongs to every , whence . The constructed is a maximal pro-p subgroup.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 ib Paper 2 4A Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Suppose the union has a separation into disjoint, nonempty, relatively open subsets. Each connected must lie entirely in one of them: otherwise its intersections with and would separate in its subspace topology. In particular lies on one side, say . Every other intersects , so it cannot lie in and must also lie in . Then , contradicting . The union is connected. This is the connected union with a connected hub argument.
For path-connectedness, take any and . Choose and . There is a path from to inside , a path from to inside , and a path from to inside . Concatenate the three paths on successive thirds of . They agree at the joining points, so the resulting map is continuous and remains in . The union is path-connected. There need not be a single point common to all the subsets.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 ib Paper 1 12F ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Parametrize the logarithmic spiral byThe map is continuous into the ambient plane, hence into with its subspace topology, and it is onto by the definition of the spiral. It is injective because its radius determines uniquely, even when the angular coordinate winds through repeated turns.
Every point of is nonzero. The inverse is thereforethe restriction of a continuous function on the punctured plane. Hence is a homeomorphism and the spiral is homeomorphic to the real line. Its accumulation at the origin causes no failure of this argument: the origin is not included in .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 ib Paper 2 4F i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The equation implies . Its intersections with and are disjoint, nonempty subsets open in the subspace topology, and together cover the entire surface. They therefore form a separation, proving the surface is disconnected. More precisely its two sheets are ; each is homeomorphic to the connected plane by projection, so these are exactly its two connected components.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 ib Paper 2 4A i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
True. Let be an open cover of in its subspace topology. Write with open in . Since is continuous, the sets are open in and cover . By compactness, finitely many cover . Their corresponding then cover , proving that the continuous image of a compact space is compact.

