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On an ordinal with its order topology the sets and form a basis of clopen sets, the isolated points are exactly the non-limit ordinals, and the space is Hausdorff
Statement
Let be an ordinal (Ordinal (von Neumann)), regarded as the set of ordinals below it, linearly ordered by membership (Trichotomy and well-ordering of the ordinals), and give it the order topology (The order topology of a linearly ordered set, with the open rays as a subbasis; order-convex sets, order-density, the least upper bound property, and linear continua). For write
Then:
- Every set of either form is clopen (Topology on a set, open and closed sets, clopen sets, the closed-set axiomatisation, and the coarser/finer comparison), and is a basis for the order topology of (Basis and subbasis for a topology, and the topology generated by a family of sets).
- The isolated points of (Interior, closure, boundary, exterior, derived set and isolated point in a topological space) are exactly the ordinals that are or a successor; a limit ordinal (Successor and limit ordinals) is not isolated.
- with its order topology is Hausdorff (Hausdorff space: distinct points have disjoint open neighbourhoods; every metrizable space is Hausdorff and the indiscrete topology on two points is not).
Regularity is not claimed here, and nothing below asserts any separation property beyond claim 3; the finer separation axioms are not available at this point in the reading order.
Facts & Assumptions
Given: An ordinal with the order topology of the membership order on it.
is the set of the ordinals below it; membership is a strict linear order on it, abbreviates " or ", and holds exactly when (Ordinal (von Neumann), Basic closure properties of ordinals, Trichotomy and well-ordering of the ordinals, Partial order and partially ordered set).
The order topology of a linearly ordered set is generated by the open rays and , and the family consisting of , the open rays and the open intervals is a basis for it (The order topology of a linearly ordered set, with the open rays as a subbasis; order-convex sets, order-density, the least upper bound property, and linear continua, A family is a basis for a unique topology iff it covers the set and every point of an intersection of two members lies in a member inside that intersection; finite intersections of any subbasis form a basis, Basis and subbasis for a topology, and the topology generated by a family of sets).
A family of open sets is a basis for a topology exactly when every open and every admit a member of the family with (Basis and subbasis for a topology, and the topology generated by a family of sets).
Arbitrary unions and finite intersections of open sets are open, and a set is closed exactly when its complement is open (Topology on a set, open and closed sets, clopen sets, the closed-set axiomatisation, and the coarser/finer comparison).
is an ordinal, and for ordinals holds exactly when : from one gets and , hence , and conversely . Every ordinal is , a successor or a limit ordinal (Basic closure properties of ordinals, Successor and limit ordinals, Ordinal (von Neumann)).
A point of a space is isolated exactly when is open, since a neighbourhood of with contains an open with , and conversely (Interior, closure, boundary, exterior, derived set and isolated point in a topological space, Neighbourhood of a point and neighbourhood base, with this library's convention that a neighbourhood need not be open).
A space is Hausdorff when distinct points lie in disjoint open sets (Hausdorff space: distinct points have disjoint open neighbourhoods; every metrizable space is Hausdorff and the indiscrete topology on two points is not).
Proof
For the set is open: if then is equivalent to by [L5], so , an open ray; and if then , since every ordinal below is and so lies in , whence by [L1] and , which is open.
For in the trichotomy of [L1] gives after renaming. By [L5] the inequality gives , and since , [L1] puts in as well; so and are open rays, and they contain and respectively, since and . They are disjoint: a common point would satisfy , hence by [L5] and trichotomy, and at once, which [L1] forbids. So claim 3 holds by [L7].
For the set is open by [L4], being an intersection of two open sets.
Every set is closed, its complement being the open ray .
Every set is closed: its complement in is , a union of an open set by step 1.1 and an open ray, hence open by [L4]. So every member of is clopen.
Claim 2, the isolated points. The point is isolated when , since is open by step 1.1; and a successor is isolated, since puts in and is open by step 2.1.
is a basis. Let be open and ; by [L2] and [L3] there is a set among , the open rays and the open intervals with . If or , then contains and lies inside , since gives in the second case. If or , then and contains and lies inside . In each case a member of sits between and , and its members are open by step 1.1 and step 2.1, so [L3] applies and claim 1 is proved.
Conversely let be a limit ordinal. Were open, step 4.1 would supply with , so . If then and , forcing , which no limit ordinal is. If with then by [L5], and because is not a successor, so puts in alongside . Both cases are impossible, so is not open and is not isolated by [L6]; with step 3.2 this is claim 2.
Remarks
Why the half-open sets and not the open intervals. In an ordinal every point other than a limit is isolated, and the sets are the convenient basic sets that always stay clopen: an open interval need not be closed, while always is, because its complement is again a union of sets of the two admissible forms. That every basic set is clopen is what makes an ordinal space totally disconnected in the naive sense and is used repeatedly in Every successor ordinal is compact in its order topology and every limit ordinal is not; and, assuming countable choice, is countably compact and sequentially compact while is compact.
The topology defined here is the general order topology and not a second notion. It is The order topology of a linearly ordered set, with the open rays as a subbasis; order-convex sets, order-density, the least upper bound property, and linear continua applied to the linearly ordered set , and claim 1 says only that the general basis of rays and intervals may be replaced by the more convenient . A published item elsewhere in the library states the same topology on an ordinal directly, as def-order-topology-on-an-ordinal; it is named here in plain text because its page comes later in the reading order, and the agreement between the two descriptions is exactly claim 1.
The greatest-element case is not an edge case to be waved through. When is a successor its greatest element is and ; step 1.1 treats that case explicitly, and it is the case that makes a successor ordinal compact (Every successor ordinal is compact in its order topology and every limit ordinal is not; and, assuming countable choice, is countably compact and sequentially compact while is compact).
Depends on
- The order topology of a linearly ordered set, with the open rays as a subbasis; order-convex sets, order-density, the least upper bound property, and linear continua
- Ordinal (von Neumann)
- Basic closure properties of ordinals
- Trichotomy and well-ordering of the ordinals
- Successor and limit ordinals
- Basis and subbasis for a topology, and the topology generated by a family of sets
- A family is a basis for a unique topology iff it covers the set and every point of an intersection of two members lies in a member inside that intersection; finite intersections of any subbasis form a basis
- Topology on a set, open and closed sets, clopen sets, the closed-set axiomatisation, and the coarser/finer comparison
- Hausdorff space: distinct points have disjoint open neighbourhoods; every metrizable space is Hausdorff and the indiscrete topology on two points is not
- Interior, closure, boundary, exterior, derived set and isolated point in a topological space
- Neighbourhood of a point and neighbourhood base, with this library's convention that a neighbourhood need not be open
- Partial order and partially ordered set
Used by
- ℝ^* is homeomorphic to the unit circle by inverse stereographic projection, and ℕ^* is the ordinal space ω + 1 Example
- FALSE: every countably compact space is compact False statement
- FALSE: every sequentially compact space is compact False statement
- Every successor ordinal is compact in its order topology and every limit ordinal is not; and, assuming countable choice, ω₁ is countably compact and sequentially compact while ω₁ + 1 is compact Theorem
Dependency tree · next 3 levels
Direct dependencies and their dependencies through the next three levels: 83 results over 15 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
- Order topology (Wikipedia) (standard reference, not scraped)
- Ordinal number (Wikipedia) (standard reference, not scraped)