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LemmaStatement: AI-adaptedProof: AI-generatedSession-authored (Fable 5 assisted)precheck passverified 2026-08-05 (claude-sonnet-5)
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Every ordinal with its order topology has a basis of clopen sets, and is T1T_1, Hausdorff and regular

Statement

Facts & Assumptions

Given: An ordinal γ\gamma with its order topology, ordinals α,β,ξ,ηγ\alpha, \beta, \xi, \eta \in \gamma, and the basis Bγ\mathcal{B}_\gamma consisting of the sets [0,β][0,\beta] for βγ\beta \in \gamma and (α,β](\alpha,\beta] for α<β\alpha < \beta in γ\gamma.

[A1]

[0,β]={ζγ:ζβ}[0,\beta] = \{\, \zeta \in \gamma : \zeta \le \beta \,\} and (α,β]={ζγ:α<ζβ}(\alpha,\beta] = \{\, \zeta \in \gamma : \alpha < \zeta \le \beta \,\}, and Bγ\mathcal{B}_\gamma is a basis for the order topology (The order topology on an ordinal, with the half-open intervals (α,β](\alpha, \beta] and the initial segments [0,β][0, \beta] as a basis, Basis and subbasis for a topology, and the topology generated by a family of sets).

[L1]

For ordinals exactly one of ζ<η\zeta < \eta, ζ=η\zeta = \eta, η<ζ\eta < \zeta holds, and << is transitive; every element of an ordinal is an ordinal (Trichotomy and well-ordering of the ordinals, Basic closure properties of ordinals, Ordinal (von Neumann)).

[L2]

A set is open exactly when each of its points lies in a basic set inside it; a set is closed exactly when its complement is open; a union of open sets is open (Basis and subbasis for a topology, and the topology generated by a family of sets, Topology on a set, open and closed sets, clopen sets, the closed-set axiomatisation, and the coarser/finer comparison).

[L4]

The basic sets containing a point form a neighbourhood base at that point, consisting of open sets (Neighbourhood of a point and neighbourhood base, with this library's convention that a neighbourhood need not be open).

[L6]

A closed neighbourhood of a point is a neighbourhood of it that is closed, and K=K\overline{K} = K for such a KK (Interior, closure, boundary, exterior, derived set and isolated point in a topological space).

Proof

technique · direct
1.1

The set Tβ:={ζγ:β<ζ}T_\beta := \{\, \zeta \in \gamma : \beta < \zeta \,\} is open for every βγ\beta \in \gamma: if β<ζ\beta < \zeta with ζγ\zeta \in \gamma then (β,ζ](\beta,\zeta] is a basic set with ζ(β,ζ]Tβ\zeta \in (\beta,\zeta] \subseteq T_\beta, by [A1] and transitivity in [L1].

A1L1L2
1.2

The set Sξ:={ζγ:ζ<ξ}S_\xi := \{\, \zeta \in \gamma : \zeta < \xi \,\} is open for every ξγ\xi \in \gamma: if ζ<ξ\zeta < \xi then [0,ζ][0,\zeta] is a basic set with ζ[0,ζ]Sξ\zeta \in [0,\zeta] \subseteq S_\xi, again by [A1] and transitivity.

A1L1L2
1.3

Let ξη\xi \ne \eta in γ\gamma and assume ξ<η\xi < \eta without loss of generality, by [L1]. Then [0,ξ][0,\xi] and (ξ,η](\xi,\eta] are basic open sets with ξ[0,ξ]\xi \in [0,\xi], η(ξ,η]\eta \in (\xi,\eta] and [0,ξ](ξ,η]=[0,\xi] \cap (\xi,\eta] = \varnothing by [A1] and trichotomy; so γ\gamma is Hausdorff, which is claim 3.

A1L1
2.1

γ[0,β]=Tβ\gamma \setminus [0,\beta] = T_\beta by trichotomy, so [0,β][0,\beta] is closed by step 1.1 and [L2]; and [0,β][0,\beta] is open, being basic.

step 1.1A1L1L2
2.2

γ(α,β]=Sα+Tβ\gamma \setminus (\alpha,\beta] = S_{\alpha^{+}} \cup T_\beta by trichotomy, where Sα+=[0,α]S_{\alpha^{+}} = [0,\alpha] is basic open and TβT_\beta is open by step 1.1, so (α,β](\alpha,\beta] is closed by [L2]; and it is open, being basic.

step 1.1A1L1L2
2.3

γ{ξ}=SξTξ\gamma \setminus \{\xi\} = S_\xi \cup T_\xi by trichotomy, which is open by steps 1.1 and 1.2 and [L2], so {ξ}\{\xi\} is closed.

step 1.1step 1.2L1L2
3.1

Steps 2.1 and 2.2 exhaust Bγ\mathcal{B}_\gamma, so every basic set is clopen, which is claim 1.

step 2.1step 2.2A1
3.2

Step 2.3 makes every singleton closed, so γ\gamma is T1T_1 by [L3], which is claim 2.

step 2.3L3
4.1

Let ξγ\xi \in \gamma and let NN be a neighbourhood of ξ\xi; by [L4] there is a basic BBγB \in \mathcal{B}_\gamma with ξBN\xi \in B \subseteq N, and BB is closed by step 3.1 and open, hence a closed neighbourhood of ξ\xi inside NN.

step 3.1L4L6
5.1

By step 4.1 every point of γ\gamma has a neighbourhood base of closed neighbourhoods, so γ\gamma is regular by [L5]; with step 3.2 it is T3T_3, which is claim 4.

step 3.2step 4.1L5

Remarks

  • The clopen basis is the whole content. A space with a basis of clopen sets is regular for the reason given in step 4.1, and the ordinals have such a basis because a half-open interval (α,β](\alpha,\beta] has an immediate left endpoint outside it, namely α\alpha, and everything above β\beta is separated from it by a further half-open interval. No case distinction between successors and limits is needed anywhere in the proof.

  • Regularity is claimed and normality is not. Nothing above asserts that an ordinal with its order topology is normal, and nothing on this page proves it. The companion page's deleted plank is a subspace of a product of two ordinal spaces and is not normal, so no normality statement about ordinal spaces may be read off from this lemma in either direction.

  • No choice principle is used, every ingredient being a theorem of ZF (Basic closure properties of ordinals, Trichotomy and well-ordering of the ordinals).

Depends on

Used by

Dependency tree · next 3 levels

Direct dependencies and their dependencies through the next three levels: 85 results over 19 levels. An arrow runs from a result to what uses it, and this result sits at the bottom with a heavier outline. Click the chart to enlarge it.

Sources