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Every connected component $C$ of a nonempty compact proper subset $D$ of a connected Hausdorff space meets its boundary. If not, the Šura-Bura lemma identifies $C$ as a quasi-component in the compact Hausdorff subspace $D$. Finitely many clopen neighborhoods separate it from the compact boundary, giving a nonempty relatively clopen $H\subseteq \mathrm{int}D$. Such $H$ is open in the ambient space, and is also closed there because $D$ is closed. It is proper because $D$ is proper. This contradicts connectedness.

The open sets $U$ and $X\setminus C_{\lambda }$ cover $X$. A finite subcover exists by compactness, and taking complements yieldsfor a finite index set. This is the finite intersection characterization of compactness in a neighborhood form; the finite index set may be empty when $U=X$.

The Šura-Bura lemma states that in a compact Hausdorff space the connected component $C(x)$ of a point equals its quasi-component, the intersection of all clopen neighborhoods of that point. It also follows that each component has a neighborhood basis of clopen sets. Here is a proof of both assertions.

Let $Q$ be the intersection of the clopen neighborhoods of $x$. Every connected set containing $x$ lies in each such neighborhood, so $C(x)\subseteq Q$. The set $Q$ is closed and compact. If $Q$ were disconnected, write it as the disjoint union of nonempty relatively closed sets $A,B$, choosing $x\in A$. Both are compact and closed in $X$. Normality gives disjoint open sets $O_A,O_B$ containing them. By the finite-intersection result, a finite intersection $V$ of clopen neighborhoods of $x$ satisfies $Q\subseteq V\subseteq O_A\cup O_B$. Then $V\cap O_A$ is clopen in $V$, hence clopen in $X$, and contains $x$ while excluding $B$. This contradicts the definition of $Q$. Thus $Q$ is connected and equals $C(x)$. Given any open neighborhood of the component, the same finite-intersection argument supplies a clopen neighborhood inside it. This proves the neighborhood-basis form as well.

For an explicit noncompact counterexample to the Šura-Bura lemma, put $p=(0,0)$, $q=(1,0)$, and ${\epsilon }_m=1/(m+2)$ for $m\ge 1$. Let $A_m$ be the polygonal arc with successive verticesand give $Z=\{p,q\}\cup {\bigcup }_{m\ge 1}{A}_m$ its subspace topology from the plane. The arcs are pairwise disjoint: a higher arc has its vertical sides outside the horizontal span of any lower arc. Each $A_m$ is compact and relatively open in $Z$, so is clopen. For relative openness, all sufficiently high arcs have vertical sides close to $x=0,1$ and horizontal sides above a fixed bounded neighborhood of $A_m$; the remaining finitely many compact disjoint arcs have positive distance from it.

A connected subset containing $p$ cannot meet any of these clopen arcs, so it lies in $\{p,q\}$ and is just $\{p\}$. But any clopen neighborhood of $p$ contains the left endpoints of all sufficiently high arcs. Connectedness of each arc forces the entire arc into that neighborhood, and closedness then forces the limit $q$ of their right endpoints into it. Conversely the clopen set $Z\setminus A_m$ excludes every point of $A_m$. ThereforeThe compact set containing the endpoints has lost the connection supplied by arcs escaping to arbitrarily large height; compactness of the ambient space is essential to the lemma.

Now let $D={\bigcap }_n{C}_n$ for the decreasing compact connected sets in the compact Hausdorff setting. Every finite intersection is one of the nonempty $C_n$, so the finite intersection property gives $D\ne \varnothing$. It is closed and hence compact. If it were disconnected, its two nonempty compact pieces would have disjoint open neighborhoods $U,V$ in $X$. Since $D\subseteq U\cup V$, the initial finite-intersection result and the decreasing property give $C_N\subseteq U\cup V$ for some $N$. This set meets both neighborhoods because it contains $D$, contradicting its connectedness. ThusThe argument does not need connectedness of the whole ambient space.

For the requested failure without ambient compactness, add the central ray $L=\{(1/2,t):t\ge 1\}$ to the previous example and put $X=Z\cup L$. For $n\ge 1$ defineEach graph formed by the displayed arcs and ray is connected: each arc meets the ray at its top. Adding $p,q$, which are limit points of the graph, preserves connectedness because the closure of a connected set is connected. Its relative closure in $X$ adds exactly these two points, so $C_n$ is closed in $X$. To check that no omitted point is a further limit, a bounded neighborhood away from the lines $x=0,1$ meets only finitely many arcs; the deleted initial arcs are disjoint compact sets, and the deleted ray segment lies strictly below the remaining ray. All other planar limit points on $x=0,1$ are outside $X$.

The sets are decreasing and nonempty, and $X=C_1$ is connected and Hausdorff. Every individual arc and every point of finite height on the ray disappears from sufficiently late sets. Consequentlya nonempty compact disconnected set. Reindexing by $n+1$ gives the source's indexing by $\omega$. The graph is unbounded, so the ambient subspace is not compact. This is an explicit decreasing closed connected sets with disconnected compact intersection example.

The quasi-component of a point is the intersection of its clopen neighborhoods. Its connected component is always contained in it: a connected set meeting a clopen set cannot also meet its complement. Equality need not hold in noncompact Hausdorff spaces. The Šura-Bura lemma proves equality in compact Hausdorff spaces.

A topological space is totally separated when any two distinct points are separated by a clopen set. Such a space has no nontrivial connected subset. A zero-dimensional space with its usual clopen-base definition and $T_1$ is totally separated. Conversely these conditions agree for compact Hausdorff spaces by the Šura-Bura lemma and compactness, although the definitions should not be conflated for arbitrary spaces. Any closed totally separated subset of the unit square is nowhere dense, since every nonempty relatively open subset of the square contains a nontrivial connected line segment. Restricting a clopen set separating the segment's endpoints would disconnect that segment.