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Open and closed subspaces of a completely metrizable space are completely metrizable, and under Dependent Choice so is every subspace
Statement
Every open or closed subspace of a completely metrizable space is completely metrizable, including the empty subspace. Assuming Dependent Choice, the same holds for every subspace.
Facts & Assumptions
Given: The objects, hypotheses, and choice principles stated above.
If is completely metrizable and is open, then is completely metrizable in its subspace topology. (Every open subspace of a completely metrizable space is completely metrizable).
Assume Dependent Choice. For a subspace of a complete metric space , is completely metrizable if and only if is a subset of . (Alexandrov's theorem, under Dependent Choice: a subspace of a complete metric space is completely metrizable exactly when it is ).
If is complete and is closed, then the subspace metric on is complete, without a choice axiom. The converse, complete subspace implies closed, requires countable choice and is not used here (Closed subspaces of complete metric spaces are complete; the converse under countable choice).
Let be a metric space (def-metric-space) and let be its metric topology (def-metric-topology). Call completely metrizable if some metric on is topologically equivalent to , that is (def-equivalent-metrics), and makes complete (def-complete-metric-space). Then: 1. Homeomorphism invariance. Let be a metric space and let be a bijection (def-injection-surjection-bijection) such that and are continuous (def-metric-continuity). If is completely metrizable then so is . 2. Closed subspaces. If is completely metrizable and is closed in , then is completely metrizable, being the subspace metric (def-isometry-and-metric-embedding). 3. The property is strictly weaker than completeness. Let (def-interval) carry (lem-real-line-is-a-metric-space). Then is not complete, while is a complete metric on with . So is completely metrizable although no completeness assumption holds for itself. Complete metrizability is a condition on the collection of open sets alone: the metric is quantified over and does not survive into the statement. That is exactly what completeness fails to be, and claim 3 shows the two conditions are genuinely different rather than merely stated differently. (Complete metrizability: admitting a topologically equivalent complete metric is preserved by homeomorphism and by closed subspaces, and has it without being complete).
Proof
Use the open-subspace lemma directly.
Choose a compatible complete metric for the ambient space; closed subsets are complete for its restriction, while arbitrary subsets fall under Alexandrov's theorem.
Include the empty subspace.
The preceding construction and implications establish the assertion.
Depends on
Every open subspace of a completely metrizable space is completely metrizable
Alexandrov's theorem, under Dependent Choice: a subspace of a complete metric space is completely metrizable exactly when it is
Closed subspaces of complete metric spaces are complete; the converse under countable choice
Complete metrizability: admitting a topologically equivalent complete metric is preserved by homeomorphism and by closed subspaces, and has it without being complete