Elementary Topology - Full

ELEMENTARY TOPOLOGY I
ALEX GONZALEZ
1. Introduction 3
2. Metric spaces 4
2.1. Continuous functions 8
2.2. Limits 10
2.3. Open subsets and closed subsets 12
2.4. Continuity, convergence, and open/closed subsets 15
3. Topological spaces 19
3.1. Interior, closure and boundary 21
3.2. Continuous functions 23
3.3. Basis of a topology 25
3.4. The subspace topology 26
3.5. The product topology 28
3.6. The quotient topology 31
3.7. Other constructions 33
4. Connectedness 34
4.1. Path-connected spaces 38
4.2. Connected components 40
5. Compactness 41
5.1. Compact subspaces of Rn 44
6. Countability and separation axioms 47
6.1. The countability axioms 47
6.2. The separation axioms 49
REFERENCES 54
Contents
1
2 ALEX GONZALEZ
ELEMENTARY TOPOLOGY I 3
1. Introduction
When we consider properties of a “reasonable” function, probably the first thing that
comes to mind is that it exhibits continuity: the behavior of the function at a certain
point is similar to the behavior of the function in a small neighborhood of the point.
What’s more, the composition of two continuous functions is also continuous.
Usually, when we think of a continuous functions, the first examples that come to
mind are maps f : R → R:
• the identity function, f (x) = x for all x ∈ R;
• a constant function f (x) = k ;
• polynomial functions, for instance f (x) = xn , for some n ∈ N;
• the exponential function g(x) = ex ;
• trigonometric functions, for instance h(x) = cos(x).
The set of real numbers R is a natural choice of domain to begin to study more
general properties of continuous functions. After all, we are familiar with many of
the properties of the real line, and it is (relatively) easy to draw the graphs of functions
R → R.
So, let’s review the definition of continuity for a function f : R → R: the function f is
continuous at the point a ∈ R if
lim f (x) = f (a)
x→a
(in particular we are assuming that this limit exists!). Another way of putting the
above definition is the following: for each ε > 0 there exists some δ > 0 such that
|f (x) − f (a)| < ε for all x ∈ R such that |x − a| < δ.
The function f is then said to be continuous on all R if it is continuous for all a ∈ R.
So, basically, the definition of continuity depends only on the absolute value, which
is essentially a rule to measure the distance between any two numbers in R. It would
seem that continuity relies on the existence of a rule to measure distances, or more
precisely, a metric.
4 ALEX GONZALEZ
2. Metric spaces
Let X be a set. Roughly speaking, a metric on the set X is just a rule to measure the
distance between any two elements of X .
Definition 2.1. A metric on the set X is a function d : X × X → [0, ∞) such that the
following conditions are satisfied for all x, y, z ∈ X :
(M1) Positive property: d(x, y) = 0 if and only if x = y ;
(M2) Symmetry property: d(x, y) = d(y, x); and
(M3) Triangle inequality: d(x, y) ≤ d(x, z) + d(z, y).
A note of waning! The same set can be given different ways of measuring distances.
Strange as it may seem, the set R2 (the plane) is one of these sets. We will see
different metrics for R2 pretty soon.
Example 2.2. The set X = R with d(x, y) = |x−y|, the absolute value of the difference
x − y , for each x, y ∈ R. Properties (M1) and (M2) are obvious, and
d(x, y) = |x − y| = |(x − z) + (z − y)| ≤ |x − z| + |z − y| = d(x, z) + d(z, y).
Let’s see now some examples of metrics on the set X = R2 .
Example 2.3. The set X = R2 with

p
d (x1 , x2 ), (y1 , y2 ) = (x1 − y1 )2 + (x2 − y2 )2
for each (x1 , x2 ), (y1 , y2 ) ∈ R2 . Again, properties (M1) and (M2) are easy to check.
Property (M3), the triangle inequality, gets its name from this example. Write x =
(x1 , x2 ), y = (y1 , y2 ) and z = (z1 , z2 ). Then,
x
d(x, y)
d(x, z) y
d(z, y)
Can you think of other examples of metrics on R2 ? If we compare the metrics in

Examples 2.2 and 2.3, we can see that the metric on R2 is some sort of “extension”
of the metric on R1 to a higher dimension. But we can try other ways of extending it.
Example 2.4. The functions d, d0 : R2 × R2 → [0, ∞) defined by

d (x1 , x2 ), (y1 , y2 ) = |x1 − y1 | + |x2 − y2 |
d0 (x1 , x2 ), (y1 , y2 ) = max{|x1 − y1 |, |x2 − y2 |}
are also metrics on R2 (the details will be checked in Examples 2.5 and 2.8 below).
We have just see three different metrics on R2 . But why stopping at R2 ? We can
extend these metrics to Rn for all n ≥ 1.
Example 2.5. Let X = Rn and let d : Rn × Rn → [0, ∞) be defined by

n
X
d (x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ), (y1 , y2 , . . . , yn ) = |xi − yi |.
i=1
Then, d is a metric on Rn (sometimes known by the name of Manhattan metric).

Let’s check the details: conditions (M1) and (M2) follow easily. As for the triangle
inequality, we have
n
X
d (x1 , . . . , xn ),(y1 , . . . , yn ) = |xi − yi | =
i=1
n
X
= |(xi − zi ) + (zi − yi )| ≤
i=1
Xn
≤ |xi − zi | + |zi − yi | =
i=1

= d (x1 , . . . , xn ), (z1 , . . . , zn ) + d (z1 , . . . , zn ), (y1 , . . . , yn ) .
Example 2.6. The Euclidean metric on Rn is defined by the formula

v
u n
uX
d (x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ), (y1 , y2 , . . . , yn ) = t (xi − yi )2 ,
i=1
for each (x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ), (y1 , y2 , . . . , yn ) ∈ Rn . As usual (M1) and (M2) are easy to
check, but (M3) is not trivial at all.
Indeed, let x = (x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ), y = (y1 , y2 , . . . , yn ) and z = (z1 , z2 , . . . , zn ) ∈ Rn : Let

also ri = xi − zi and si = zi − yi , for i = 1, . . . , n. We have to prove that
v v v
u n u n u n
uX uX uX
d(x, y) = t (ri + si )2 ≤ t ri2 + t s2i = d(x, z) + d(z, y) (1)
i=1 i=1 i=1
6 ALEX GONZALEZ
Notice that both sides of the inequality are positive. Thus, by squaring the above, it
is equivalent to prove that
v v
n
X n
X n
X
u n
X
u n
u uX
(ri + si )2 ≤ ri2 + i
2
s +2 t r 2t
s2 . i i (2)
i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1
The left part of the inequality expands to

n
X n
X n
X n
X
2
(ri + si ) = ri2 + s2i +2 ri si .
i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1
Replacing this in (2) and simplifying, we deduce that (1) holds if and only if
n
X 2 n
X n
X
ri si ≤ ri2 s2i .
i=1 i=1 i=1
The last inequality is the Cauchy-Schwartz inequality, which we prove below as

Lemma 2.7.
Lemma 2.7 (Cauchy-Schwartz inequality). For each (a1 , . . . , an ), (b1 , . . . , bn ) ∈ Rn ,

n
X 2 n
X n
X
ai b i ≤ a2i 2
bi .
i=1 i=1 i=1
Pn Pn
Proof. Consider the expression i=1 j=1 (ai bj − aj bi )2 . By expanding the brackets,
n X
X n n
X n
X n
X n
X n
X n
X
2 2 2 2 2
(ai bj − aj bi ) = ai bj + aj bi − 2 ai b i aj b j .
i=1 j=1 i=1 j=1 j=1 i=1 i=1 j=1
Now, collect the terms (and reindex the sums) to get

n n n n n
1 XX 2
X X X
2 2
2
(ai bj − aj bi ) = ai bi − ai b i .
2 i=1 j=1 i=1 i=1 i=1
Since the left part of the equality is positive, this proves the statement.
Example 2.8. Finally, the box metric on Rn is defined by

d (x1 , . . . , xn ), (y1 , . . . , yn ) = max{|xi − yi | i = 1, . . . , n}
Properties (M1) and (M2) are easily seen to hold. Let’s check property (M3). Let x =
(x1 , . . . , xn ), y = (y1 , . . . , yn ) and z = (z1 , . . . , zn ) ∈ Rn . Then, for each i = 1, . . . , n,
|xi − yi | = |(xi − zi ) + (zi − yi )| ≤ |xi − zi | + |zi − yi | ≤ d(x, z) + d(z, y).
Thus, the triangle inequality holds. As an exercise, consider the set R2 with this
metric. Fix then a point a ∈ R2 and draw the set

Da = {x ∈ R2 d(a, x) ≤ 1}.
All these examples should serve as a warning of how flexible the notion of metric is:
we should not be surprised to see that statements that go against all intuition are,
in fact, true. The following is a good examples of this: it is a process to define a
metric on every set. This procedure is not rather descriptive, but it is nonetheless
important.
Example 2.9. Let X be any set. The discrete metric on X is defined by

1, if x 6= y
d(x, y) =
0, if x = y
Properties (M1) and (M2) are obvious, so let’s check property (M3). Let x, y, z ∈ X .
If x = y, then d(x, y) = 0, and there is nothing to check. Suppose then that x 6= y.
Then, either z = x 6= y, or z = y 6= x, or z 6= x, y. Regardless the situation, we have
then
1 = d(x, y) and 1 ≤ d(x, z) + d(z, y) ≤ 2,
and the triangle inequality holds.
One could say that this metric is rather bad: if we think of a metric as a rule to
measure the distance between points x, y in the set X , then in this case all points
are far (if x 6= y) or really close (if x = y), but we cannot distinguish anything beyond
this. However, this metric is not useless: it becomes a nice tool to check if geometric
intuition really works and provides counterexamples.
Example 2.10. Consider the set of integer numbers Z, and let p be a prime number.
The p-adic valuation of n ∈ Z is the maximum non-negative integer νp (n) such that
pνp (n) divides n.
We can now define the p-adic metric on Z by

0, if a = b;
d(a, b) = 1
, otherwise.
pνp (a−b)
Property (M1) holds by definition of d, and property (M2) holds by definition of the
p-adic valuation: νp (a − b) = νp (b − a). Let’s prove the triangle inequality. Let then
a, b, c ∈ Z. We can assume that these are all different numbers. In this case, property
(M3) looks like
1 1 1
≤ + ,
pνp (a−b) pνp (a−c) pνp (c−b)
and this is a consequence of the following property of the p-adic valuation:
• νp (a − b) ≥ min{νp (a − c), νp (c − b)}.
Let’s prove the above property. Let then k = νp (a − b), m = νp (a − c), n = νp (c − b)}
and l = min{νp (a − c), νp (c − b). By definition of the p-adic valuation, there exist
x, y, z ∈ Z such that p does not divide any of them, and such that
pk x = a − b = a − c + c − b = pm y + pn z = pl (pm−l y + pn−l z),
and now it is clear that k ≥ l.
8 ALEX GONZALEZ
2.1. Continuous functions. We can introduce now continuity of functions between

metric spaces.
Definition 2.11. Let (X, dX ) and (Y, dY ) be metric spaces, and let f : X → Y be a
set map. The map f is continuous at the point a ∈ X (with respect to the metrics
dX , dY ) if for each ε > 0 there exists some δ > 0 such that
if dX (a, x) < δ then dY (f (a), f (x)) < ε.
If f is continuous at every element a ∈ X , then we say that f is continuous.
The map f is a homeomorphism if the inverse map f −1 exists (as a map of sets
f −1 : Y → X ) and both f and f −1 are continuous. Similarly, two metric spaces
(X, dX ) and (Y, dY ) are homeomorphic if there exists a homeomorphism f : X → Y .
Broadly speaking, the notion of homeomorphism is to metric spaces as the notion

of isomorphism is to groups or other algebraic structures. Notice that the condition
of f −1 existing is already rather restrictive: you know of many continuous maps
f : R → R which do not have an inverse function.
Notice that the above definition depends on the given metrics dX and dY . In order
to specify that the map f is continuous with respect to the metrics dX and dY on X
and Y respectively, we may also write
f : (X, dX ) −→ (Y, dY ).
This is actually rather important since the map f : X → Y can be continuous with
a choice of metrics and discontinuous with another choice of metrics. Let’s see this
with an example.
Example 2.12. Let X = R = Y , and let f : R → R be the map

0, if x ∈ Q
f (x) =
1, if x ∈
/Q
Let then dEuc and ddis be the Euclidean and the discrete metrics on R. We have then
• f : (X, dEuc ) → (Y, dEuc ) is not continuous;
• f : (X, dEuc ) → (Y, ddis ) is not continuous;
• f : (X, ddis ) → (Y, dEuc ) is continuous; and
• f : (X, ddis ) → (Y, ddis ) is continuous.
Of course, this is an extreme example, but it perfectly describes the importance of
keeping in mind which are the ambient metrics. As an exercise, fill in the details to
show each of the points above.
Remark 2.13. The discrete metric also illustrates the following (not intuitive) situa-
tion: a bĳective map f : X → Y of sets which is continuous with respect to a choice
of metrics dX and dY may not have a continuous inverse! Indeed, the identity map
(R, ddis ) → (R, dEuc ) is continuous, but the inverse is not.
Example 2.14. The map µ : R2 → R defined by µ(a, b) = a · b (multiplication of real

numbers) is a continuous function with respect to Euclidean metrics on R2 and R,
which we will denote here by d2 and d1 respectively to avoid confusion.
Fix then some (a, b) ∈ R2 . To prove that µ is continuous at (a, b) we have to check
that for each ε > 0 there exists some δ > 0 such that
if d2 ((a, b), (u, v)) < δ then d1 (µ(a, b), µ(u, v)) = d1 (ab, uv) < ε.
Let’s ignore ε for a second, and suppose that
p
d2 ((a, b), (u, v)) = (a − u)2 + (b − v)2 < δ
for some δ > 0. Then, we have |a − u|, |b − v| < δ , and
d1 (ab, uv) = |ab − uv| = |b(a − u) + a(b − v) + (a − u)(v − b)| ≤
≤ |b| · |a − u| + |a| · |b − v| + |a − u| · |b − v| < δ 2 + δ(|a| + |b|).
Let’s go back now to the question of the continuity of µ at (a, b) ∈ R2 . Let then ε > 0,
and consider the quadratic equation on δ :
δ 2 + (|a| + |b|)δ − ε = 0.
√
−(|a|+|b|)+ (|a|+|b|)2 +4ε
This equation has always a positive solutions, namely δ = 2
, and
the above discussion implies that, for this particular choice of δ , if d2 ((a, b), (u, v)) < δ
then d1 (ab, uv) < ε as required.
Exercise 2.15. Let (X, d) be a metric space and let z ∈ X . We can then define a map
δz
X / [0, ∞)
x / δz (x) = d(z, x)
Prove that the map δz is continuous with respect to the metric d on X and the
Euclidean metric on [0, ∞) ⊆ R.
Example 2.16. Let d be the p-adic metric on the set of integers Z, and fix some
α ∈ Z. Then, the maps
f g
(Z, d) / (Z, d) (Z, d) / (Z, d)
k / α·k k / k+α
are continuous.
Let’s prove first that f is continuous. For every a, b ∈ Z, we have

1 1
d(f (a), f (b)) = d(α · a, α · b) = = =
pνp (α·a−α·b) pνp (α(a−b))
1 1
= = νp (α) · d(a, b).
pνp (α) ·p ν p (a−b) p
10 ALEX GONZALEZ
1
Since pνp (α)
≤ 1, it follows that, for each a ∈ Z and each ε > 0,
if d(a, b) < ε then d(f (a), f (b)) ≤ d(a, b) < ε
and hence f is a continuous map. In particular notice that if p does not divide α
then f is an isometry.
Let’s check now that the map g is continuous. In this case, for each a, b ∈ Z we have
1 1
d(f (a), f (b)) = d(a + α, b + α) = = = d(a, b),
pνp (a+b−(b+α)) pνp (a−b)
so in fact this map is always an isometry (in particular, it is continuous).
Once we start working with functions, it is natural to consider compositions of func-

tions.
Proposition 2.17. Let f : (X, dX ) → (Y, dY ) and g : (Y, dY ) → (Z, dZ ) be continuous

maps of metric spaces. Then, the composition map, (g ◦ f ) : (X, dX ) → (Z, dZ ), is a
continuous map of metric spaces.
Proof. Set for simplicity h = (g ◦ f ) : X → Z , and fix an element a ∈ X . We have

to check that, for each ε > 0 there is some δ > 0 such that, if dX (a, x) < δ , then
dZ (h(a), h(x)) < ε.
Let b = f (a) ∈ Y . Since g is continuous, there exists some γ > 0 such that, if
dY (b, y) < γ , then
dZ (g(b), g(y)) = dZ (h(a), g(y)) < ε.
Similarly, since f is continuous, there exists some δ > 0 such that, if dX (a, x) < δ ,
then
dY (f (a), f (x)) = dY (b, f (x)) < γ.
Combining the above, we get the following:
dX (a, x) < δ =⇒ dY (f (a), f (x)) = dY (b, f (x)) < γ =⇒
=⇒ dZ (g(b), g(f (x))) = dZ (h(a), h(x)) < ε
which proves that the composition is continuous at a ∈ X .
2.2. Limits. Convergence of sequences is another feature that depends on the exis-
tence of a metric.
Definition 2.18. Let (X, d) be a metric space and let {xn }n∈N be a sequence of
elements of X . Then, the the sequence {xn }n∈N converges to the element x ∈ X if, for
every ε > 0 there exists some N ∈ N such that
d(x, xn ) < ε for all n ≥ N.
When this is the case, the element x is called the limit of the sequence {xn }n∈N , and
we write x = limn→∞ xn .
Theorem 2.19. Let (X, d) be a metric space. If the sequence {xn }n∈N in X has a limit,
then it is unique.
Proof. Suppose the sequence {xn }n∈N converges to the points x, y ∈ X , and suppose
x 6= y . This means that, for each ε > 0 there exist Nx , Ny ∈ N such that
d(x, xn ) < ε, for all n ≥ Nx and d(y, xn ) < ε, for all n ≥ Ny .
d(x,y)
In particular, let ε = 2
> 0, and let N = max{Nx , Ny }, where Nx , Ny are as
above (with respect to this particular choice of ε). Then, for each n ≥ N , we have
d(x, xn ), d(y, xn ) < ε. On the other hand, by the triangle inequality,
d(x, y)
d(x, y) ≤ d(x, xn ) + d(xn , y) < 2 · ε = 2 · = d(x, y),
2
which is impossible. Thus, x = y .
Example 2.20. Let X be a set with the discrete metric. Then, a sequence {xn }n∈N is
convergent if and only if there exists some N ∈ N such that xn = xN for all n ≥ N .
Studying the convergence of sequences in a set with the discrete metric is not really
interesting.
Example 2.21. Let X be the set of all continuous functions f : [0, 1] → R, and
consider the following two metrics on X :
Z 1
dint (f, g) = |f (x) − g(x)|dx d∞ (f, g) = max{|f (x) − g(x)| x ∈ [0, 1]}.
0
Now fix some α > 0 and let {fn }n∈N be the sequence where fn is the function with
graph
(0, α)
(0, 0) (1, 0)
( 12 − n1 , 0) ( 12 , 0) ( 12 + n1 , 0)
Then, the sequence {fn }n∈N converges to the function g = 0 (constant on [0, 1] with
image 0) with respect to the metric dint . Indeed, for each n
Z 1 Z 1
1 1
dint (0, fn ) = |0 − fn (x)|dx = fn (x) dx = and lim = 0.
0 0 n n→∞ n
However, the same sequence {fn } does not converge to the constant function g = 0
with respect to the metric d∞ , since for any n

d∞ (0, fn ) = max{|0 − fn (x)| x ∈ [0, 1]} = α > 0.
12 ALEX GONZALEZ
In fact, this sequence does not converge to any continuous function with respect to
the metric d∞ , but we are not ready yet to prove this.
2.3. Open subsets and closed subsets. The idea of open/closed subset again relies
in the existence of a metric.
Definition 2.22. Let (X, d) be a metric space. For each element a ∈ X and each
ε ∈ (0, ∞) ⊆ R, the open ball with center a and radius ε is the subset

Ba,ε = {x ∈ X d(a, x) < ε} ⊆ X.
A subset U ⊆ X is open with respect to the metric d if for each y ∈ U there is some
ε(y) ∈ (0, ∞) such that
By,ε(y) ⊆ U.
A subset U ⊆ X is closed with respect to the metric d if the set X \ U is open with
respect to the metric d.
The notation ε(y) above is there to stress the idea that the radius of the ball By,ε
depends on the element y . Note also that we have to specify with respect to which
metric the subset U is open in X . The following example illustrates the reason.
Example 2.23. Let dEuc and ddis be, respectively, the Euclidean and the discrete
metrics on R2 , and let a ∈ R2 be any point. Then, U = {a} ⊆ R2 is open with respect
to ddis but not open with respect to dEuc .
Lemma 2.24. Let (X, d) be a metric space. Then for each x ∈ X and for each ε > 0,

(1) Bx,ε = {y ∈ X d(x, y) < ε} is an open subset of X with respect to d; and

(2) Dx,ε = {y ∈ X d(x, y) ≤ ε} is a closed subset of X with respect to d.
Proof. To prove part (1), we have to show that, for each y ∈ Bx,ε there exists some
δ > 0 such that By,δ ⊆ Bx,ε . The following sketch already hints which is the right
choice of δ .
Let then δ = ε − d(x, y) > 0. Then, for each

z ∈ By,δ the triangle inequality implies
d(x, z) ≤ d(x, y) + d(y, z) <
ε
< d(x, y) + δ =
= d(x, y) + ε − d(x, y) = ε y
and hence z ∈ Bx,ε . This proves that δ d(x, y) x
the subset Bx,ε is open.

To prove (2), notice that X \ Dx,ε = {y ∈ X d(x, y) > ε}, and we have to prove that
this subset is open. Let then y ∈ X \ Dx,ε , as in the following picture.
Let δ = d(x, y) − ε > 0, and suppose that for

some z ∈ By,δ , we have d(x, z) ≤ ε. Then
y
ε ≥ d(x, z) ≥ |d(x, y) − d(y, z)| =
δ
d(x, y) = |ε + δ − d(y, z)| > ε + δ − δ = ε,
ε
where the second inequality (starting from the
left) follows from Exercise 1 in List 1. But this
ε x is impossible, and thus for each z ∈ By,δ we
have d(x, z) > ε. Thus Dx,ε is closed
The following is the most important and basic result about open subsets in a metric
space.
Theorem 2.25. Let then (X, d) be a metric space, and let O be the collection of all open
subsets of X with respect to d. Then,
14 ALEX GONZALEZ
(1) the total subset, X , and the empty set, ∅, are elements of O;
(2) if {Uα }α∈Γ ⊆ O is any family (possibly infinite) of open subsets, then
[
Uα ∈ O;
α∈Γ
(3) if {U1 , . . . , Un } ⊆ O is any finite family of open subsets, then

n
\
Ui ∈ O.
i=1
Proof. Property (1) is easy: since X contains all possible open balls, it is open. Also,
the empty set ∅ contains no points at all, and thus it also satisfies the condition to
be an open subset.
Let now U = {Uα }α∈Γ ⊆ O be a family (possibly infinite) of open subsets of X , and
let V = ∪Γ Uα ⊆ X . For each u ∈ V , there is at least one Uα ∈ U which contains u.
Furthermore, since Uα is open, there exists some ε > 0 such that
d
Bu,ε ⊆ Uα ⊆ V.
Hence V is open with respect to d.
Finally, let U = {U1 , . . . , Un } ⊆ O be a finite family of open subsets. Let also V =

∩ni=1 Ui , and let u ∈ V . Since u ∈ Ui for all i, there exist ε1 , . . . , εn > 0 such that
d
Bu,di
⊆ Ui
d d
for all i. Let then ε = min{ε1 , . . . , εn }. Then, Bu,ε ⊆ Bu,ε i
for all i, and thus
d
Bu,ε ⊆V
and V is open with respect to d.
There is a similar result for closed subsets.
Proposition 2.26. Let (X, d) be a metric space. Then, the following holds:
(1) X and ∅ are closed subsets;
(2) if {U1 , . . . , Un } ⊆ O is any finite family of closed subsets, then the union
Sn
i=1 Ui
is also a closed subset;
T O is any family (possibly infinite) of closed subsets, then the

(3) if {Uα }α∈Γ ⊆
intersection α∈Γ Uα is also a closed subset.
Example 2.27. Let X be a set with the discrete metric. Then, for each x ∈ X the
one-element subset {x} ⊆ X is both open and closed. To check that it is open just
notice that {x} = Bx,1 (open ball of radius 1). To check that it is closed, notice that
the complement [ [
X \ {x} = {y} = By,1
y∈X\{x} y∈X\{x}
is a (possibly infinite) union of open subsets, and hence is open.
Example 2.28. Consider R2 with the Euclidean metric. Then, for each u ∈ R2 , the
subset {u} ⊆ R2 is closed but not open. Indeed, it is clear that {u} is not open. To
check that it is closed, consider the complement U = R2 \ {u}. We can describe U as

U = {v ∈ R2 d(u, v) > 0}.
d(u,v)
Fix some v ∈ U and set ε = 2
> 0. Then, for each w ∈ Bv,ε we have
d(u, v)
d(u, w) ≥ |d(u, v) − d(v, w)| = d(u, v) − d(v, w) > > 0,
2
and thus w ∈ U (in the above list of (in)equalities we are using some result from the
first exercise list).
Exercise 2.29. Let (X, d) be a metric space and let x ∈ X be any element. Prove
that the subset {x} ⊆ X is closed with respect to d (in other words, regardless of the
metric, a point is always a closed subset).
2.4. Continuity, convergence, and open/closed subsets. The concepts that we

have introduced in the previous sections are not independent from each other. In
this section we will study some of their interactions.
Theorem 2.30. Let (X, d) be a metric space and let V ⊆ X be a subset. Then the
following statements are equivalent.
(1) V is a closed subset of X .
(2) the limit of every convergent sequence {xn }n∈N ⊆ V is an element of V .
Proof. Suppose first that (2) is true. We prove by contradiction that V c is open.
Assume then that V c is not open, and let u ∈ V c be an element for which Bu,ε 6⊆ V c ,
for any ε > 0. This means, in particular, that for any n ∈ N the ball Bu, 1 contains
n
(at least) an element xn of V . We can form then the sequence {xn }n∈N ⊆ V , but this
sequence clearly converges to the element u ∈ / V , hence the contradiction.
Suppose now that (1) is true. We have to show that every convergent sequence of
elements of V has its limit in V . Let then {xn }n∈N ⊆ V be a convergent sequence,
and suppose v = lim xn ∈ V c . Since V c is open by hypothesis, there exists some
ε > 0 such that Bv,ε ⊆ V c . On the other hand, since v = lim xn , there exists some
ε0 < ε and some N ∈ N such that d(v, xn ) < ε0 for all n ≥ N , and this implies that
xn ∈ Bv,ε0 ⊆ Bv,ε ⊆ V c ,
which contradicts the assumption that xn ∈ V for all n.
16 ALEX GONZALEZ
Let’s analyze the definition of continuity. Let then f : (X, dX ) → (Y, dY ) be a contin-
uous function, and let a ∈ X . The map f is continuous at a if, for each ε > 0 there
is some δ > 0 such that
if dX (a, x) < δ then dY (f (a), f (x)) < ε.
The left part above says that x ∈ Ba,δ , while the right part says that f (x) ∈ Bf (a),ε .
This suggests some relation between continuity and open subsets, which we formu-
late properly as the following result. You can take it as a set of equivalent definitions
of the notion of continuity.
Theorem 2.31. Let (X, dX ) and (Y, dY ) be metric spaces, and let f : X → Y be a map.
Then, the following statements are equivalent:
(1) f is a continuous function;
(2) for each open subset U ⊆ Y , f −1 (U ) is an open subset of X ;
(3) for each closed subset V ⊆ Y , f −1 (V ) is a closed subset of X ;
(4) for any sequence {xn }n∈N in X , if {xn } converges to z ∈ X , then the sequence
{f (xn )}n∈N in Y converges to f (z).
A note of warning: given a map of sets f : X → Y , the notation f −1 (U ) stands simply

for the set of pre-images in X of the elements of U ,
f −1 (U ) = {x ∈ X f (x) ∈ U }.

We are not assuming the existence of any inverse function! For instance consider
the function f : R → R defined by f (x) = x2 . Clearly, this function does not have an
inverse, but the pre-image of the subset {1} ∈ R makes perfect sense:
f −1 ({1}) = {x ∈ R f (x) = 1} = {−1, 1}.

Remark 2.32. With this set of equivalent definitions of continuity, we do not need to
define continuity at a point, we can define continuous functions directly: a function
between metric spaces f : X → Y is continuous if and only if for each open subset
U ⊆ Y the pre-image f −1 (U ) is an open subset of X .
Be careful with the following: condition (2) above concerns only the pre-image of
open subsets of Y , but it says nothing about the image of open subsets of X . The
following is, in general, false:
if U ⊆ X is an open subset, then f (U ) ⊆ Y is an open subset.
Proof of Theorem 2.31. Since this proof is rather long, let’s split it in smaller parts,
each proving an equivalence of statements.
• Statements (1) and (2) are equivalent.

First we prove that (1) implies (2). Suppose then that f is a continuous map, and
let U ⊆ Y . Let also a ∈ f −1 (U ), and let u = f (a). Since U is open, there exists
some ε(u) > 0 such that Bu,ε(u) ⊆ U . Also, since f is continuous, there exists some
δ(a) > 0 such that
if dX (a, x) < δ(a) then dY (f (a), f (x)) = dY (u, f (x)) < ε(u),
which implies that f (Ba,δ(a) ) ⊆ U , and hence Ba,δ(a) ⊆ f −1 (U ). This proves that
f −1 (U ) is open with respect to dX .
Let’s see now that (2) implies (1). Suppose then that f −1 (U ) is an open subset of X
for each open subset U ⊆ Y , and fix a ∈ X . For each ε > 0, the open ball Bf (a),ε is
an open subset of Y , and thus f −1 (Bf (a),ε ) is an open subset of X . Furthermore,
a ∈ f −1 (Bf (a),ε ),
and this implies that there exists some δ > 0 such that
Ba,δ ⊆ f −1 (Bf (a),ε ).
The above inclusion is equivalent to say that f is continuous at a ∈ X .
Let V ⊆ Y be a closed subset, and let U = V c , which is an open subset by hypothesis.
By (2), f −1 (U ) is an open subset of X . Furthermore, we have
f −1 (U ) = f −1 (V c ) = f −1 (Y \ V ) = X \ f −1 (V ),
and thus f −1 (V ) is a closed subset, and this proves that (2) implies (3). Replacing
“open” by “closed” proves the converse.
First we prove that (1) implies (4). Let then {xn }n∈N be a sequence in X which
converges to z ∈ X . Since f is continuous (at z ), for each ε > 0 there exists some
δ > 0 such that
if dX (z, x) < δ then dY (f (z), f (x)) < ε.
Also, since the sequence is convergent, we know that there exists some N ∈ N such
that dX (z, xn ) < δ for all n ≥ N . Thus, for all n ≥ N , we have
dY (f (z), f (xn )) < ε,
which implies (4).
Finally, we have to check that (4) implies (1). Suppose otherwise that (1) is not true
on a fixed element a ∈ X : there exists some ε > 0 such that for each δ > 0 there is
some x ∈ X such that
dX (a, x) < δ but dY (f (a), f (x)) ≥ ε.
By fixing such ε, we can then define the sets
1
An = {x ∈ X dX (a, x) < and dY (f (a), f (x)) ≥ ε},
n
18 ALEX GONZALEZ
which is non-empty for all n ∈ N. Next choose for each n an element xn ∈ An : the
sequence {xn }n∈N clearly converges to a ∈ X , while the sequence {f (xn )}n∈N does
not converge to f (a), contradicting (4).
The above result implies a crucial consequence: it is not the metric(s) what matters,
but the collection(s) of open/closed subsets!
3. Topological spaces
We finished the previous chapter realizing that, when we are talking about continuity
of functions, metrics are not so relevant as open subsets. We thus shift the focus to
collections of open subsets instead of metrics.
Definition 3.1. Let X be a set. A topology on X is a collection T of subsets of X

satisfying the following conditions
(T1) the total set, X , and the empty set, ∅, are elements of T ;
(T2) if {Uγ }γ∈Γ is a (possibly infinite) family of elements of T , then

[
Uγ ∈ T;
γ∈Γ
(T3) if {U1 , . . . , Un } ⊆ T is a finite family of elements of T , then

n
\
Ui ∈ T.
i=1
A topological space is a pair (X, T) where T is a topology on X . The elements of T are

called open subsets, while V ⊆ X is a closed subset if V c ∈ T .
Example 3.2. Let X be any set, and let T1 be the collection of all the subsets of X ,
and let T2 = {∅, X}. Then, both T1 and T2 are topologies on X . More precisely,
(1) T1 is called the discrete topology on X , while
(2) T2 is called the indiscrete topology on X .
The topology T1 is induced by the discrete metric, whereas the T2 is as far from the
discrete topology as it can be, hence the name.
Example 3.3. Let (X, d) be a metric space, and let T be the collection of open subsets
of X with respect to the metric d. Then, T is a topology on X by Theorem 2.25, and
(X, T) is a topological space. In other words, every metric on X defines a topology
on X .
Notice that different metrics on the same set X could give rise to the same topology.
For example, let X = Rn . The Manhattan metric (Example 2.5), the Euclidean metric
(Example 2.6) and the box metric (Example 2.8) all define the same topology on X .
Another example of this situation is the following: all metrics on a given finite set
define the same topology, the discrete metric.
Example 3.4. Let X = {a, b, c} and let T = {∅, {a}, {a, b}, X}. Then, T is a topology
on X which is not induced by any metric.
20 ALEX GONZALEZ
a b c
Notice the following: there are no open subsets B, C ∈ T such that b ∈ B , c ∈ / B

and c ∈ C , b ∈/ C . In other words, the elements b and c are “at distance zero” in
this topology (of course the last statement does not make any sense). How many
topologies can you define on the set X = {a, b}?
Example 3.5. Let T be the collection of subsets of R which, in addition to ∅ and R,
contains all the subsets of the form (x, ∞), for x ∈ R. Clearly, this is a topology on
R, with less open subsets than the Euclidean topology, since for example the subset
(0, 1) is not open in the topology T .
This is another example of a topology which is not induced by a metric on R. Indeed,
suppose that there exists a metric d on R which induces the above topology. Since
open balls are in particular open subsets, for each x ∈ R and each ε > 0, we have
Bx,ε = R or Bx,ε = (y, ∞)
for some y ∈ R. Furthermore, if Bx,ε = R for all x ∈ R and all ε > 0, then d cannot
induce the topology T on R (why?).
Thus, there exists at least one x ∈ R and some ε > 0 such that
Bx,ε = (y, ∞)
for some y ∈ R. This way, for each n ∈ N, we have
Bx, 2n+1
ε = (yn+1 , ∞) ⊆ Bx, 2εn = (yn , ∞)
for some yn , yn+1 ∈ R. This means that, for any z > x and all n ∈ N,
ε
d(x, z) < ,
2n
which is impossible since z 6= x.
Let’s see another example of all the unexpected situations that can happen when
dealing with topological spaces.
Example 3.6. This example is usually called the line with two origins. Let X = R∪{z}
(here z denotes simply an extra element), and let
(1) T1 = {U ⊆ R U is open with the Euclidean metric};

(2) T2 = {∅} ∪ {W = V ∪ {z} V ∈ T1 is such that {0} ∈

/ V }.
Finally, let T = T1 ∪ T2 . In other words, an element of T is a union U ∪ W , with

U ∈ T1 and W ∈ T2 . This is a topology in X (check the details), and it has the
following property: if A, B ∈ T are such that 0 ∈ A, z ∈ / A and z ∈ B , 0 ∈
/ B , then
A ∩ B 6= ∅. In other words, it is impossible to separate 0 from z !
Example 3.7. This example is called the finite complement topology. Let X be a set,
and let T be the collection of subsets U ⊆ X for which U c = X \ U is either empty,
finite, or is all of X . Clearly X c = ∅ and ∅c = X , and this takes care of condition (T1).
Let {Uα }α∈Γ be a family of elements of T (we may assume that Uα 6= ∅, X without loss
of generality). Then,
[ \
X\ Uα = (X \ Uα )
α∈Γ α∈Γ
is a finite set, since X \ Uα is finite for all α, and condition (T2) follows. Conditions
(T3) follows similarly.
3.1. Interior, closure and boundary. This section reviews some basic concepts re-
lated to open/closed subgroups.
Definition 3.8. Let (X, T) be a topological space, and let A ⊆ X .
• The interior of A, A◦ , is the greatest open subset of X contained in A.

• The closure of A, A, is the smallest closed subset of X which contains A.
• The boundary of A, ∂(A), is the intersection A ∩ X \ A.
Lemma 3.9. Let (X, T) be a topological space and let A ⊆ X . Then,
(1) the interior of A is the union of all the open subsets which are contained in A:
[
A◦ = U;
U ∈T, U ⊆A
(2) the closure of A is the intersection of all the closed subsets which contain A:
\
A= V.
V c ∈T, A⊆V
Proof. We prove part (i) and leave part (ii) as an exercise. Let W = ∪U ∈T, U ⊆A U . Since
T is a topology, W ∈ T and W ⊆ A. This means that W ⊆ A◦ . On the other hand,
A◦ ∈ T and A◦ ⊆ A. By definition, A◦ ⊆ W .
Lemma 3.10. Let (X, T) be a topological space. Then the following holds.
(1) A subset A ⊆ X is open if and only if A◦ = A.
(2) For every A ⊆ X , if B = A◦ then B ◦ = B .
(3) If A◦ ⊆ B ⊆ A then A◦ = B ◦ .
22 ALEX GONZALEZ
Let {Uα }α∈Γ be a T

(4) S collection (possibly infinite) of subsets of X , and let U =
U
α∈Γ α and V = α∈Γ Uα ; then
[ \
(Uα )◦ ⊆ U ◦ V◦ ⊆ (Uα )◦ .
α∈Γ α∈Γ
Tn
(5) Let {U1 , . . . , Un } be a finite collection of subsets of X and let V = i=1 Ui . Then,
n
\
◦
V = (Ui )◦ .
i=1
Proof. Properties (1) and (2) are obvious by definition. Property (3) is proved as
follows. If A◦ ⊆ B , then by definition A◦ ⊆ B ◦ ⊆ B ⊆ A. Also, since B ◦ is an open
subset of A, it follows that B ◦ ⊆ A◦ . Property (4) follows from the fact that, for each
γ ∈ Γ, we have ∩Γ Uα ⊆ Uγ ⊆ ∪Γ Uα . Finally, let’s prove property (5). The intersection
I = ∩ni=1 (Ui )◦ is an open subset of ∩ni=1 Ui , and hence I ⊆ V . This combined with
property (4) finishes the proof.
A similar list of properties exists for the closure of a subset. We state it below without
proof (the proof is similar to the result above, so it is left as an exercise).
Lemma 3.11. Let (X, T) be a topological space. Then the following holds.
(1) A subset A ⊆ X is closed if and only if A = A.

(2) For every A ⊆ X , if B = A then B = B .
(3) If A ⊆ B ⊆ A then A = B ;
Let {Uα }α∈Γ be a T
(4) S collection (possibly infinite) of subsets of X , and let U =
U
α∈Γ α and V = α∈Γ Uα ; then
[ \
Uα ⊆ U V ⊆ Uα .
α∈Γ α∈Γ
Sn
(5) Let {U1 , . . . , Un } be a finite collection of subsets of X and let V = i=1 Ui . Then,
n
[
V = Ui .
i=1
Finally, let’s see some interesting properties of the interaction of interior, closure and
boundary.
Lemma 3.12. Let (X, T) be a topological space. Then, for any subsets A, B ⊆ X ,
(1) the closure of the complement of A is the complement of the interior of A:
c
Ac = X \ A = X \ (A◦ ) = A◦ ;
(2) the interior of the complement of B is the complement of the closure of B :

c
(B c )◦ = (X \ B)◦ = X \ B = B ;

(3) ∂ A ⊆ A; and
(4) ∂ B ◦ ∩ B ◦ = ∅.

c
Proof. To prove (1), notice that A◦ = A \ ∂(A) = A ∩ ∂(A) . Thus,
c c c
A◦ = X \ (A◦ ) = X \ A ∩ ∂(A) = (X \ A) ∪ X \ ∂(A) =
c c

= Ac ∪ ∂(A) = Ac ∪ ∂(A) = Ac ∪ ∂(Ac ) = Ac
To prove (2) just replace A by B c everywhere above. To check property (3), let B = A.
Then

∂ B = b ∩ X \ B = B ∩ X \ B ⊆ B.
To prove
(4),◦ notice
c that Y ∩ Y c = ∅ for any Y ⊆ X . Thus, we just need to check that
◦
∂ B ⊆ B . Indeed,
∂ B ◦ = ∂ (B ◦ )c = ∂ B c ⊆ B c = (B ◦ )c ,

where (from left to right) the first equality holds by definition, the second equality
holds by (2), the inequality holds by (3) and the last equality holds by (1).
Exercise 3.13. Let (X, T) be a topological space. Prove that, for any subset A ⊆ X ,
def
∂(A) = A \ A◦ = {x ∈ A x ∈
/ A◦ }.

Deduce that, if A is an open and closed subset of X , then ∂(A) = ∅.
3.2. Continuous functions. Continuity of functions is also defined in terms of open

subsets.
Definition 3.14. Let (X, TX ) and (Y, TY ) be topological spaces. A map f : X → Y is

a continuous map if, for all U ∈ TY ,
f −1 (U ) ∈ TX .
The map f : X → Y is a homeomorphism if f is bĳective (as a map between sets) and
both f and f −1 are continuous. The map f : X → Y is an imbedding if the restriction
to f : X → f (X) is a homeomorphism (in particular, f is injective as a map of sets).
Proposition 3.15. Let f : (X, TX ) → (Y, TY ) and g : (Y, TY ) → (Z, TZ ) be continuous

maps. Then, the composition g ◦ f : (X, TX ) → (Z, TZ ) is continuous.
Proof. For any W ∈ TZ , we have U = (g ◦ f )−1 (W ) = f −1 (g −1 (W )) ∈ TX because

V = g −1 (W ) ∈ TY (g is continuous) and U = f −1 (V ) ∈ TX (f is continuous).
24 ALEX GONZALEZ
Exercise 3.16. Let X = {1, 2, 3, 4} and let Y = {1, 2, . . . , 8}. Consider also the
collections
TX = {∅, {1}, {4}, {1, 3}, {2, 4}, {1, 2, 4}, {1, 3, 4}, X}
TY = {∅, {1}, {1, 2}, {1, 2, 3}, . . . , X}
Finally, let f : X → Y be the map defined by

2n, if n is even
f (n) =
n + 1, if n is odd
Prove that TX and TY are topologies for X and Y respectively, and show that f is a
continuous function.
Theorem 3.17. Let (X, TX ) and (Y, TY ) be topological spaces, and let f : X → Y be
a map. Then the following are equivalent.
(1) f is a continuous map.
(2) For every subset A ⊆ X , we have f (A) ⊆ f (A).
(3) For every closed subset V ⊆ Y , the set f −1 (V ) is closed in X .
(4) For each x ∈ X and each V ∈ TY containing f (x), there is some U ∈ TX

containing x and such that f (U ) ⊆ V .
Proof. We prove that (1) implies (2), (2) implies (3), and (3) implies (1). Afterwards we
show that (4) is equivalent to (1).
Assume first that (1) holds, and let A ⊆ X be a subset. For each x ∈ A we have to
check that f (x) ∈ f (A). Fix such x and let V ∈ TY be any open subset containing
f (x). Since f is continuous, the subset U = f −1 (V ) is an open subset that contains
the element x. Note that U ∩A 6= ∅, hence there exists y ∈ A∩U , and f (y) ∈ V ∩f (A).
Since every open subset containing f (x) intersects f (A) nontrivially, this means that
f (A) ⊆ f (A).
Assume now that (2) holds. Let B ⊆ Y be a closed subset, and let A = f −1 (B). We
have to show that A = A. We have f (A) ⊆ B , and thus if x ∈ A then
f (x) ∈ f (A) ⊆ f (A) ⊆ B = B.

This implies that x ∈ A = f −1 (B), and thus A = A.
Suppose next that (3) holds, and let V ⊆ Y be an open subset. Then W = V c = Y \ V
is closed, and
f −1 (W ) = f −1 (Y \ V ) = X \ f −1 (V )
By hypothesis f −1 (W ) is closed, and thus f −1 (V ) is open.
Next we prove that (1) implies (4). Le x ∈ X and let V ∈ TY containing f (x). Then the
set U = f −1 (V ) is an open subset containing x. Conversely, assume that (4) holds.
Let V ∈ TY and let x ∈ f −1 (V ). Then f (x) ∈ V , and by hypothesis there is some
Ux ∈ TX containing x and such that f (Ux ) ⊆ V . Thus Ux ⊆ f −1 (V ). It follows that

f (V ) = x∈f −1 (V ) Ux , which is an element of TX .
−1
S

3.3. Basis of a topology. Very often we will not be able to specify all the open subsets
of a given topology, but rather we will specify a subcollection that generates the whole
topology.
Definition 3.18. Let (X, T) be a topological space. A basis for T is a collection B ⊆ T

such that each open set is a union of sets in B.
Example 3.19. Consider R with the topology induced by the Euclidean metric, and
let
B1 = {(x0 , x1 ) ⊆ R x0 , x1 ∈ Q} B2 {(x0 , x1 ) ⊆ R x0 , x1 ∈ R \ Q}

Both collections above are bases for the same topology, their intersection is empty,
and while B1 has countably many elements, B2 does not!
An alternative characterization of the basis of a topology is as follows.
Lemma 3.20. Let (X, T) be a topological space, and let B be a subset of T . Then, B
is a basis for T if and only if it satisfies the following properties.
(B1) For each U ∈ T and each x ∈ U there exists some V ∈ B such that x ∈ V ⊆ U .
(B2) Let V1 , V2 ∈ B and let x ∈ V1 ∩ V2 . Then there exists V ∈ B such that x ∈ V ⊆
V1 ∩ V2 .
Proof. Suppose first that B is a basis for T . In order to check condition (B1), let U ∈ T
and x ∈ U . By definition of basis, there exists some collection {Vγ }γ∈Γ ⊆ B such that
[
U= Vγ .
γ∈Γ
In particular, there is some Vγ such that x ∈ Vγ ⊆ U .

Let now V1 , V2 ∈ B and let x ∈ V1 ∩ V2 . Since V1 , V2 ∈ T and T is a topology, it follows
that V1 ∩V2 ∈ T . Thus, by property (B1), there exists V ∈ B such that x ∈ V ⊆ V1 ∩V2 ,
and property (B2) holds.
Suppose now that B satisfies properties (B1) and (B2) above. We have to check that
each element U ∈ T is a union of elements of B. Fix an open subset U ∈ T . For each
x ∈ U there exists some Vx ∈ B satisfying condition (B1), and we can write
[
U= Vx .
x∈U
Hence B is a basis for T .
We can use Lemma 3.20 to formalize this idea of a topology generated by a basis.
26 ALEX GONZALEZ
Definition 3.21. Let X be a set. A basis for a topology on X is any collection B of

subsets of X satisfying the following properties.
(B1’) For each x ∈ X there exists some V ∈ B such that x ∈ V .
(B2) Let V1 , V2 ∈ B and let x ∈ V1 ∩ V2 . Then there exists V ∈ B such that

x ∈ V ⊆ V1 ∩ V2 .
Given a basis B for a topology on X , we can define the following collection of subsets:
TB = {U ⊆ X for each x ∈ U there exists V ∈ B such that x ∈ V ⊆ U }.

Proposition 3.22. The collection of subsets TB is a topology on X with basis B.
We call TB the topology generated by B. Again, keep in mind that the same topology
may be generated by more than one basis.
Proof. First, let’s prove that TB is a topology on X .
(T1) Both ∅ and X satisfy the condition to be elements of TB .
(T2) Let {Uγ }γ∈Γ ⊆ TB . We have to check that U = ∪Γ Uγ ∈ TB . Each element

x ∈ U is contained in Uγ , for some γ ∈ Γ. Now Uγ ∈ TB , and this means that
there exists some V ∈ B such that
x ∈ V ⊆ Uγ ⊆ U.
Thus, U ∈ TB .
(T3) Let {U1 , . . . , Un } ⊆ TB . We have to show that U = ∩i Ui ∈ TB . Let then x ∈ U .

This means that x ∈ Ui for all i, and thus there exist V1 , . . . , Vn ∈ B such that
x ∈ Vi ⊆ Ui for each i = 1, . . . , n.
Since B satisfies condition (B2), it follows that there exists some V ∈ B such
that
x ∈ V ⊆ Ui for each i = 1, . . . , n.
Thus, x ∈ V ⊆ U and U ∈ TB .
The fact that B is a basis for TB is a consequence of Lemma 3.20.
3.4. The subspace topology. Let (X, T) be a topological space, and let A ⊆ X be a
subset. We can then define
TA = {U ∩ A U ∈ T}.

Lemma 3.23. The collection TA is a topology on A.
This is known as the subspace topology for obvious reasons.

Proof. (T1) ∅ = ∅ ∩ A, A = X ∩ A ∈ TA .
(T2) Let {Uγ }γ∈Γ ⊆ TA . By definition of TA , for each γ ∈ Γ there
S exists some Wγ ∈ T
such that Uγ = A ∩ Wγ . Since T is a topology, we have W = γ∈Γ Wγ ∈ T , and hence
[ [ [
Wγ ∩ A = W ∩ A ∈ TA .

U= Uγ = (Wγ ∩ A) =
γ∈Γ γ∈Γ γ∈Γ
(T3) Let {U1 , . . . , Un } ⊆ TA . Again, for each i there exists some Wi ∈ T such that
Ui = Wi ∩ A. Since T is a topology, we have
n
\ n
\ n
\
Wi ∩ A ∈ T.

U= Ui = (Wi ∩ A) =
i=1 i=1 i=1

Lemma 3.24. Let (X, T) be a topological space and let A ⊆ X , with the subspace
topology. Then, V ⊆ A is open if and only if there is some U ∈ T such that V = U ∩ A.
Proof. The proof is immediate.

Lemma 3.25. Let (X, T) be a topological space, let A ⊆ X be a subspace. Then, the
inclusion map incl : A → X is continuous.
Proof. Let U ∈ T . We have to check that f −1 (U ) is an open subset of A. By definition

of the inclusion map, we have f −1 (U ) = U ∩ A, which is indeed open.
The subspace topology can be characterized by a universal property.
Theorem 3.26. Let (X, T) be a topological space, let A ⊆ X be a subspace, and let
incl : A → X be the inclusion map. The subspace topology TA on A is the only topology
satisfying the following property.
(S) A map f : (Z, TZ ) → (A, TA ) is continuous if and only if the composition map
incl ◦f : (Z, TZ ) → (X, T) is continuous.
Proof. Suppose first that f is a continuous map. The inclusion map incl : A → X
is continuous by Lemma 3.25, and it follows that incl ◦f is a continuous map by
Proposition 3.15. Conversely, suppose that incl ◦f is continuous. We have to check
that f is continuous: for each V ∈ TA , f −1 (V ) ∈ TZ . Let U ∈ TX be such that
V = U ∩ A. Then,
(incl ◦f )−1 (U ) = f −1 (U ∩ A) = f −1 (V )
is open, and f is continuous.
Theorem 3.27. Let (X, TX ) and (Y, TY ) be topological spaces,
S and suppose that there
exist open (closed) subsets A, B ⊆ X such that X = A B . Consider A and B as
topological subspaces of X . Then, the following holds.
28 ALEX GONZALEZ
(1) If h : X → Y is a continuous function, then f = h|A and g = h|B are continuous

functions.
(2) If f : A → Y and g : B → Y are continuous functions such that f (x) = g(x) for
all x ∈ A ∩ B , then there exists a (unique) continuous function h : X → Y such
that f = h|A and g = h|B .
Proof. Part (1) is an immediate consequence of Proposition 3.15 and Lemma 3.25:
the map f (respectively g ) is the composition of the inclusion map incl : A → X
(respectively incl : B → X ) and h.
To prove (2), let V ∈ TY . Then,
h−1 (V ) = f −1 (V ) ∪ g −1 (V ).
Since f and g are continuous maps, f −1 (V ) ∈ TA and g −1 ∈ TB . Since A and B are
open subsets of X , it follows that f −1 (V ) and g −1 (V ) are also open subsets of X , and
thus h−1 (V ) ∈ TX .
3.5. The product topology. Let now (X, TX ) and (Y, TY ) be topological spaces, let
X × Y be the product set, and consider the collection of subsets
B = {U × V U ∈ TX and V ∈ TY }.

Lemma 3.28. The collection B is a basis for a topology on X × Y .
Proof. We have to check the conditions in Definition 3.21. Condition (B1’) states
that for each (x, y) ∈ X × Y there must exist some W ∈ B such that (x, y) ∈ W .
Let U ∈ TX and V ∈ TY be such that x ∈ U and y ∈ V . Then W = U × V ∈ B
satisfies condition (B1’). Condition (B2) states that, given U1 × V1 , U2 × V2 ∈ B and
(x, y) ∈ (U1 × V1 ) ∩ (U2 × V2 ), there exists some U × V ∈ B such that
(x, y) ∈ U × V ⊆ (U1 × V1 ) ∩ (U2 × V2 ).
Choose U = U1 ∩ U2 ∈ TX , V = V1 ∩ V2 . Then U × V clearly satisfies the condition.
Let TX×Y be the topology generated by the above basis BX×Y , and let πX : X ×Y → X
and πY : X × Y → Y be the obvious projection functions. The product topology is
determined by the following universal property.
Theorem 3.29. The collection TX×Y is the only topology on X × Y satisfying the
following condition.
(P) A map f : (Z, TZ ) → (X × Y, TX×Y ) is continuous if and only if the compositions
πX ◦ f : (Z, TZ ) → (X, TX ) and πY ◦ f : (Z, TZ ) → (Y, TY ) are continuous.
Proof. The collection B is contained in TX×Y , and clearly satisfies the conditions (B1)
and (B2) in Lemma 3.20, and thus TX×Y is the topology generated by B. We have to
check then that it satisfies property (P), and that it is unique satisfying this condition.
The rest of the proof is divided into several smaller parts.
1. The maps πX : (X × Y, TX×Y ) → (X, TX ) and πY : (X × Y, TX×Y ) → (Y, TY ) are

continuous.
−1
For instance, let’s check this for πX : we have to show that πX (U ) ∈ TX×Y for all
U ∈ TX , and this is immediate because πX (U ) = U × Y .
−1
2. If f : (Z, TZ ) → (X × Y, TX×Y ) is continuous then so are the compositions

πX ◦ f and πY ◦ f .
This is an immediate consequence of Proposition 3.15: the composition of continuous
maps is continuous.
3. If the compositions πX ◦ f : Z → X and πY ◦ f : Z → Y are continuous then

so is the map f : Z → X × Y .
We have to check that, for each W ∈ TX×Y , f −1 (W ) ∈ TZ . Let’s assume first that
W = U × V , for some U ∈ TX and V ∈ TY . Then we have
f −1 (W ) = f −1 (U × V ) = f −1 ((U × Y ) ∩ (X × V )) = f −1 (U × Y ) ∩ f −1 (X × V ) =
−1
= f −1 (πX (U )) ∩ f −1 (πY−1 (V )) = (πX ◦ f )−1 (U ) ∩ (πY ◦ f )−1 (V ) ∈ TZ .
This means that the preimage of any element of the basis BX×Y is in TZ . Now, each
W ∈ TX×Y is a union of elements of BX×Y , and this shows that f is continuous.
4. The topology TX×Y is unique satisfying property (P).
Let T be another topology on X × Y satisfying property (P), and consider the identity
map Id : (X × Y, T) → (X × Y, T). This is clearly continuous, and hence πX = πX ◦ Id
and πY = πY ◦ Id are continuous too. This means that, for each U ∈ TX and V ∈ TY ,
we have
−1
πX (U ) = U × Y ∈ T πY−1 (V ) = X × V ∈ T
and hence U × V = (U × Y ) ∩ (X × V ) ∈ T . In other words, T contains the basis
BX×Y , and thus TX×Y ⊆ T .
On the other hand, we know from part 1. that the maps
πX : (X × Y, TX×Y ) → (X, TX ) πY : (X × Y, TX×Y ) → (Y, TY )
are continuous. Notice that the compositions
πX
πX : (X × Y, TX×Y )
Id / (X × Y, T) / (X, TX )
πY
πY : (X × Y, TX×Y )
Id / (X × Y, T) / (Y, TY )
are continuous maps, and thus by property (P) the map Id : (X × Y, TX×Y ) → (X ×
Y, T) is continuous, and this means that T ⊆ TX×Y .
WARNING!. The definition of the product topology TX×Y on X × Y does NOT say that
all the open subsets in TX×Y are of the form U × V for U ∈ TX and V ∈ TY !
30 ALEX GONZALEZ
For instance, let TR be the Euclidean topology (induced by the Euclidean metric) on
R, and let TR×R be the product topology on R × R. The subsets (0, 2), (1, 3) ⊆ R are
open in this topology, and we may consider the subset
W = ([0, 2] × [0, 2]) ∪ ([1, 3] × [1, 3]) ⊆ R × R
which is not of the form U × V for any U, V ∈ TR !

Exercise 3.30. Let f : (X, TX ) → (Y, TY ) be a continuous map, and let

Gf = {(x, f (x)) ∈ X × Y x ∈ X} ⊆ X × Y
be the graph of the function, with the subspace topology induced from the product
topology on X × Y . Show that Gf is homeomorphic to X .
The previous results can be stated actually for infinite cartesian products.
S
Definition 3.31. Let {Xα }α∈Γ be a collection of sets, and let X = α∈Γ Xα . The
cartesian product of {Xα }α∈Γ is
Y
Xα = {set functions ω : Γ → X such that ω(α) ∈ Xα ∀α ∈ Γ}.
α∈Γ
Q
The α-th coordinate of a function ω ∈ α∈Γ Xα is the element ω(α) ∈ Xα . The α-th
projection map is the function
Y
πα : Xα → Xα
α∈Γ
defined by πα (ω) = ω(α).
Let {(Xα , Tα )α∈Γ be a collection of topological spaces. For each α ∈ Γ, let

Sα = {πα−1 (U ) | U ∈ Tα }.
Let S = Sα , and let B be the collection of all finite intersections of elements of S.
S
α
Proposition 3.32. The collection B is a basis for a topology on α∈Γ Xα . TheQ

Q
topology
TB generated by B is called the product topology and is the only topology on α∈Γ Xα
satisfying the following condition.
(P) A map f : (Z, TZ ) → ( α∈Γ Xα , TB ) is continuous if and only if the composition
Q
πα ◦ f : (Z, TZ ) → (Xα , Tα ) is continuous for all α ∈ Γ.
ExampleQ3.33. There are other, “natural” topologies that we can consider on the
productQ α∈Γ Xα , but only one satisfies the universal property above. The box topol-
ogy on α∈Γ Xα is the topology generated by the basis
Y
B={ Uα | Uα ∈ Tα }.
α∈Γ
If the index set Γ is finite (i.e., if we are only considering a finite cartesian product)
then the box product is the same as the product topology, but this is not the case
when the index set Γ is infinite. Indeed, an open subset in the product topology has
the form Y
Uα
α∈Γ
where Uα = Xα for all but finitely many values of α. It is clear then that the box
topology has more open subsets than the product topology.
3.6. The quotient topology. Both the subspace topology and the product topol-
ogy are natural generalizations of constructions available for metric spaces. In this
section we study a new construction which is not available for metric spaces. The
idea behind the quotient topology is to create new spaces by “pasting” together other
spaces.
For example, we can construct a cylinder out of a stripe (a subset of R2 ), by gluing
together two non-adjacent sides, as described in the following sketch.
y y
Stripe (0, 1) Cylinder (2, 1)

(0, 1) (2, 1)
quotient
a a
(0, 0) (2, 0) x (0, 0) (2, 0) x
In this case, it is easy to provide the cylinder with a metric (just consider the cylinder
as a subset of R3 with the Euclidean metric), but we can use this example to analyze
a more general construction.
As a set, the cylinder is the quotient set of the stripe by the following equivalence
relation:
(x, y) ∼ (x, y) if x 6= 0, 1 (0, y) ∼ (1, y).
The question is then which topology do we put on this quotient set. Notice that the
quotient set of the stripe by this equivalence relation is not a subset of R3 (although
it can be identified with a subset of R3 ). As happened with the product of topological
spaces, not any topology is acceptable.
32 ALEX GONZALEZ
Let (X, T) be a topological space, and let ∼ be an equivalence relation on the set X .
You may think of the elements of X in the same equivalence class as the elements
that we are going to glue together, just as we did with the stripe above. Let then X
be the set of equivalence classes, and let
π : X −→ X
be the map that sends each x ∈ X to its equivalence class. Notice that the map π is
surjective (as a map of sets). Define also
T = {U ⊆ X π −1 (U ) ∈ T}.

Lemma 3.34. The collection T is a topology on X .
Proof. Since ∅ = π −1 (∅) ∈ T and X = π −1 (X), condition (T1) to be a topology is

clearly seen to hold. To check condition (T2), let {Uγ }γ∈Γ ⊆ T . We have to check that
the union ∪Γ Uγ ∈ T . Notice that there is an equality
[ [ −1
f −1 Uγ = f (Uγ ).
γ∈Γ γ∈Γ
Since f −1 (Uγ ) ∈ T by hypothesis, and T is a topology, we have ∪Γ f −1 (Uγ ) ∈ T , and

thus ∪Γ Uγ ∈ T . Finally, to check condition (T3), let {U1 , . . . , Un } ⊆ T . Again, there is
an equality
n
\ n
\
−1
f −1 (Ui ),

f Ui =
i=1 i=1
and condition (T3) follows immediately.
For obvious reasons, the topological space (X, T) is called the quotient space of (X, T)
by the equivalence relation ∼, and the map π : X → X is called the quotient map.
Theorem 3.35. Let (X, T) be a topological space, and let ∼ be an equivalence relation
on X . Let also (X, T) be the quotient space by ∼. Then, T is the unique topology on X
satisfying the following conditions.
(Q1) The map π : (X, T) → (X, T) is continuous.
(Q2) A map f : (X, T) → (Y, TY ) is continuous if and only if the composition f ◦ π is

continuous.
Proof. First we have to check that the topology T satisfies conditions (Q1) and (Q2).
The map π : X → X is continuous since, by definition, π −1 (U ) ∈ T for all U ∈ T .
Let f : (X, T) → (Y, TY ). If f is continuous, then clearly f ◦ π is continuous because
it is a composition of continuous functions. Suppose that f ◦ π : (X, T) → (Y, TY )
is continuous. We have to show that π −1 (V ) ∈ T for all V ∈ TY . Since f ◦ π is
continuous, we have (f ◦ π)−1 (V ) = f −1 (π −1 (V )) ∈ T , and hence by definition of T it
follows that π −1 (V ) ∈ T .
0
Now, suppose that T is another topology on X which also satisfies properties (Q1)
0
and (Q2) with respect to the map π 0 : (X, T) → (X, T). We have to prove that T = T .
0 0
Consider first the identity map Id : (X, T) → (X, T ). Since T satisfies condition (Q1),
the map π 0 = Id ◦ π is continuous and thus Id is continuous by property (Q2). This
0 0
implies that T ⊆ T . Similarly, we can consider the map Id0 : (X, T ) → (X, T). Again,
since π = Id ◦ π 0 is continuous, it follows that Id0 is continuous, and hence T ⊆ T .
3.7. Other constructions. Combining the subspace topology, the product topology
and the quotient topology we can create many new topologies (or topological spaces).
Here are some of the most relevant constructions in topology.
Example 3.36. The mapping cylinder. Let f : (X, TX ) → (Y, TY ) be a map of topolog-
ical spaces. To construct the mapping cylinder of f , let
a
Mf = [0, 1] × X Y / ∼,
where ∼ is the equivalence relation generated by (1, x) ∼ f (x) for all x ∈ X . The
topology of Mf is a combination of the product topology and the quotient topology.
Example 3.37. The mapping cone. Let f : (X, TX ) → (Y, TY ) be a map of topological
spaces. The mapping cone is a slight variation of the mapping cylinder:
a
Cf = [0, 1] × X Y / ≡,
where ≡ is the equivalence relation generated by (1, x) ≡ f (x) and (0, x) ≡ (0, z)
for all x, z ∈ X . Again, the topology of Cf is a combination of the product and the
quotient topologies.
Example 3.38. The suspension of a topological space. The suspension of (X, T) is
SX = ([0, 1] × X)/ ∼,
where ∼ is the equivalence relation generated by (0, x) ∼ (0, z) and (1, x) ∼ (1, z)
for all x, z ∈ X . The topology on SX is again a combination of the product and the
quotient topologies.
Example 3.39. The join of two spaces. The join of (X, TX ) and (Y, TY ) is
X ∗ Y = ([0, 1] × X × Y )/ ≡,
where ≡ is the equivalence relation generated by (0, x, y) ≡ (0, x, u) and (1, x, y) ≡
(1, z, y) for all x, z ∈ X and all y, u ∈ Y .
34 ALEX GONZALEZ
4. Connectedness
Now that we understand the basics of topological spaces, we can start comparing
different topological spaces, trying to find properties that will distinguish one space
from another. This chapter deals with the first of such properties: connectedness.
Essentially, a topological space is connected if it cannot be formed out of smaller,
disjoint pieces.
Definition 4.1. A topological space (X, TX ) is connected if it satisfies the following.
(C) If a subset A ⊆ X is both open and closed then either A = X or A = ∅.
Let’s see some examples of connected and non-connected spaces.
Example 4.2. Let X be a set with the discrete topology. Then, X is connected if and
only if X is the empty set or a singleton (if X contains more than one element, then
each sub-singleton of X is open and closed).
Example 4.3. Every set with the indiscrete topology is connected.
Example 4.4. Consider R with the topology corresponding to the Euclidean metric,
and let Q be the subspace of rational numbers. Then, Q is not connected. Indeed,
the subset
(−∞, π) ∩ Q
is open and is also the complement of an open subset, hence closed.
Example 4.5. Consider the set Z with the topology associated

to the p-adic metric.
This space is not connected, since the subset A = {n · p n ∈ Z} ⊆ Z of integers

divisible by p is both open and closed. Indeed, we have
p−1
[
A = B0,1 A=Z\ Bn,1 .
n=1
The equality on the left means that A is open, while the equality on the right says
that A is the complement of an open subset, hence closed.
As we have seen already several times in this course, it is always useful to have
alternative statements for the same definition, so let’s see some alternative ways of
defining connectedness.
Theorem 4.6. Let (X, TX ) be a topological space. Then, the following are equivalent.
(1) (X, TX ) is connected.
(2) There does not exist open subsets U, V ⊆ X such that U ∪V = X and U ∩V = ∅.
(3) There does not exist any surjective continuous map f : (X, TX ) → ({0, 1}, Tdisc ).
Proof. Let’s check first that (1) is equivalent to (3). Suppose first that there is a
surjective, continuous map f : (X, TX ) → ({0, 1}, Tdisc ), and let A = f −1 ({0}) and
B = f −1 ({1}). Since f is surjective, both A and B are non-empty subsets of X .
Furthermore, since {0} (respectively {1}) is and open an closed subset of {0, 1} and
f is continuous, it follows that A (respectively B ) is an open and closed subset of X .
Finally, since both A and B are non-empty, it follows that none of them is either the
empty set or X , and thus X is not connected.
Suppose now that X is not connected, and let U $ X be a non-empty, open and
closed subset. Let also V = U c , and notice that it is again a non-empty, open and
closed subset of X . We can then define a map f : (X, TX ) → ({0, 1}, Tdisc ) by setting
f (U ) = {0} and f (V ) = {1}, and it is clear that f is surjective and continuous.
Finally let’s prove that (2) is equivalent to (3). If there exists a map f as in (3), then
U = f −1 ({0}) and V = f −1 ({1}) are open subsets of X which clearly satisfy the
conditions of (2). Conversely, if U, V ⊆ X satisfy the conditions of (2) then we just
have to define f by f (x) = 0 if x ∈ U and f (x) = 1 if x ∈ V .
Theorem 4.7. Let f : (X, TX ) → (Y, TY ) be a continuous map of topological spaces,
and suppose X is connected. Then, f (X) ⊆ Y is a connected subspace of Y .
Proof. Exercise.
Corollary 4.8. Let h : (X, TX ) → (Y, TY ) be a homeomorphism of topological spaces.
Then, X is connected if and only if Y is connected.
Theorem 4.9. The set R with the topology associated to the Euclidean metric is con-
nected.
Proof. Suppose R = A∪B , where A, B are non-empty open subsets such that A∩B =
∅. Then, A and B are both closed (they are the complement of each other), and thus
∂(A) = A ∩ R \ A = A ∩ B = A ∩ B = ∅,
and similarly for B .
On the other hand, we will now show that if U $ R is non-empty, then ∂(U ) 6= ∅,
hence contradicting the above. This part of the proof uses the Euclidean metric on
R. Let then a ∈ R \ U . If
U ∩ (a, ∞) = ∅ = U ∩ (−∞, a),
then U = {a}, and hence U = ∂(U ) 6= ∅. Suppose then that U ∩ (a, ∞) 6= ∅ (the other
possible case is similar), and let b = inf{x ∈ U ∩ (a, ∞)}. Then we have

inf{d(b, u) u ∈ U } = 0 inf{d(b, v) v ∈ R \ U } = 0,
and this implies that b ∈ ∂(U ).
Now it is easy to deduce the following.

36 ALEX GONZALEZ
Example 4.10. For all a < b ∈ R, the open interval (a, b) ⊆ R is connected. Indeed,
(a, b) is clearly homeomorphic to ( −π , π ) (give the explicit homeomorphism!), and the
2 2
map
−π π
tan : , −→ R
2 2
is a homeomorphism.
Proposition 4.11. Let (X, TX ) be a topological space and let U, K ⊆ X be subsets.

Suppose in addition that U is connected and U ⊆ K ⊆ U . Then K is connected.
Proof. Let f : K → {0, 1} be a continuous function (with respect to the subspace

topology on K and the discrete topology on {0, 1}). Since U is connected and the
restriction of f to U is a continuous function, then either f (U ) = {0} or f (U ) = {1}.
Suppose for simplicity that f (U ) = {0}.
For each k ∈ K , we have k ∈ U . Let {xn } ⊆ U be a sequence converging to k . Since

f is continuous, it follows that the sequence {f (xn )} converges to f (k). On the other
hand, f (xn ) = 0 for all n, and thus f (k) = 0. This proves that f (K) = 0, and hence
K is connected by Theorem 4.6.
Theorem 4.12. Consider R with the topology associated to the Euclidean metric, and
let a < b ∈ R. Then, [a, b] ⊆ R is connected.
Proof. This follows immediately from Proposition 4.11 since [a, b] is the closure of
(a, b), and the latter is connected.
Lemma 4.13. Let (X, TX ) be a topological space, and let {Aγ }γ∈Γ be a collection of
connected subsets of X such that
Aγ ∩ Aω 6= ∅
for all γ, ω ∈ Γ. Then, A = ∪Γ Aγ is a connected subset of X .
Proof. Let f : A → {0, 1} be a continuous function. Since Aγ is connected for all

γ ∈ Γ, we have
f (Aγ ) = εγ ,
where εγ is either 0 or 1. However, for any two γ, ω ∈ Γ, we have Aγ ∩ Aω 6= ∅, and
this implies that εγ = εω . Hence, the map f has to be constant on A: it cannot be
surjective, and thus A is connected.
Theorem 4.14. Let (X, TX ) and (Y, TY ) be topological spaces, and let (X × Y, T) be
the product topological space. Then, X × Y is connected if and only if X and Y are
connected.
Proof. If X × Y is connected, then both X and Y are connected, since the projection
functions πX : X × Y → X and πY : X × Y → Y are continuous maps.
Suppose now that X and Y are connected. Fix then some element a ∈ X and let
Γ = Y (as sets). Consider also the sets
• B = {a} × Y ⊆ X × Y ; and
• Cy = X × {y} ⊆ X × Y , where y ∈ Y .
Note that B is homeomorphic to Y , while Cy is homeomorphic to X for all y ∈ Y .
Thus, all the above subsets are connected subspaces of X × Y .
For each y ∈ Y , we have Cy ∩ B = {(a, y)} = 6 ∅, and hence the subset Uy = B ∪ Cy ⊆
X × Y is connected (for all y ∈ Y ) by Lemma 4.13. Now, consider the collection
{Uy }y∈Y . For any y, y 0 ∈ Y , we have Uy ∩ Uy0 6= ∅, and hence
[
Uy = X × Y
y∈Y
is connected by Lemma 4.13.

Corollary 4.15. A finite cartesian product of connected topological spaces is connected.
In particular, the space Rn (with the topology associated to the Euclidean metric) is
connected.
Example 4.16. Let X = RN be a countable cartesian product of copies of R. Let also
T× and T be the product topology and the box topology respectively (see Example
3.33). Then, (X, T ) is not connected. To see this, let
• A ⊆ X be the set of all bounded sequences of real numbers (i.e., if a ∈ A then
there exists some N ∈ R such that |an | ≤ N for all n).
• B ⊆ X be the set of all unbounded sequences of numbers.
S
These two subsets are clearly disjoint, and X = A B . We claim that they are both
open. Let a ∈ X be a point, and consider the open subset
U = (a1 − 1, a1 + 1) × (a2 − 1, a2 + 1) × . . .
If a ∈ A (if a is bounded), then all the points in U are bounded sequences, thus
U ⊆ A. On the other hand, if a ∈ B (if a is unbounded), then every point of U is an
unbounded sequence, so U ⊆ B . This way, we can describe A and B as unions of
open subsets in the product topology, and thus they are both open.
We have just checked that (X, T ) is not connected, and now we prove that (X, T× ) is
connected. For each n ∈ N, let Xn ⊆ X be the subset of sequences a = (a1 , a2 , . . . , )
such that ai = 0 for all i ≥ n + 1. With the subspace topology, Xn is homeomorphic
to Rn (with the Euclidean topology), and thus Xn is connected for all n ∈ N.
S
Let X∞ = n∈N Xn ⊆ X . Since (0, 0, . . .) is a common element of Xn for all n, it
follows that X∞ is connected by Lemma 4.13.
To finish the proof, we show that X∞ = X (this step fails
Q if we replace the product
topology by the box topology). Let a ∈ X , and let U = n∈N Un be an element of the
38 ALEX GONZALEZ
basis for the product topology that contains a. By definition there is some N ∈ N
such that Ui = R for all i ≥ N + 1, and
x = (a1 , . . . , aN , 0, 0, . . .) ∈ U ∩ X∞ .
This shows that indeed X is the closure of X∞ . By Proposition 4.11, X is connected.
Lemma 4.17. Let f : (X, dX ) → (Y, dY ) be a continuous function,

and suppose that X
is connected. Then, the graph of f , Gf = {(x, y) ∈ X × Y y = f (x)}, is a connected
subspace of X × Y .
Proof. Prove that the space Gf is homeomorphic to X (exercise). Then the statement
follows.
Example 4.18. This example is known as the topologist’s sine curve. Let

Ω = {(x, sin(1/x)) ∈ R2 x > 0} ∪ {(0, y) ∈ R2 y ∈ [−1, 1]} ⊆ R2 .
The following is a sketch of Ω.
To show that this space is connected, let

Γ = {(x, sin(1/x)) ∈ R2 x > 0}.
First note that the subset Γ is connected because it is the graph of the continuous
function f : (0, ∞) → R defined by f (x) = sin(1/x), and (0, ∞) is connected. The
space Ω is the closure of Γ, i.e. Ω = Γ (prove it!), and by Proposition 4.11 Ω is
connected. We will come back to this example in the next section.
4.1. Path-connected spaces. Intuition may tell us that a space is connected if we

can “link together” any two elements by a path. Although this idea is not exactly
right, it is the basis of an important concept that we analyze in this section.
Definition 4.19. Let (X, TX ) be a topological space, and let x, y ∈ X . A path in X

from x to y is a continuous map ω : [0, 1] → X with ω(0) = x and ω(1) = y .
A topological space (X, TX ) is path-connected if, for any two elements x, y ∈ X there
is a path from x to y .
Theorem 4.20. Let (X, TX ) be a path-connected space. Then (X, TX ) is connected.
Proof. Suppose that X is not connected, and let f : X → {0, 1} be a continuous,

surjective map. Let also x ∈ f −1 ({0}) and y ∈ f −1 ({1}). Since X is path-connected,
there is some path ω : [0, 1] → X with ω(0) = x and ω(1) = y . However, the com-
position f ◦ ω : [0, 1] → {0, 1} is both continuous (it is a composition of continuous
functions) and is surjective, and this is impossible since [0, 1] is connected by Theo-
rem 4.12.
Example 4.21. For all n ≥ 1, Rn is path-connected.
Example 4.22. A circle in R2 is the image of a path ω : [0, 1] → R which satisfies the
extra condition ω(0) = ω(1). Thus, a circle is connected.
Exercise 4.23. Let (X, TX ) be a path-connected space, and let x, y, z ∈ X . Let also
ω, γ : [0, 1] → X be paths from x to y and from y to z respectively. How can you define
a path from x to z using ω and γ ?
Corollary 4.24. A cylinder is not homeomorphic to a Moebius band.
Proof. Let M be a Moebius band and C be a cylinder, both seen as subsets of R3 . Let
also ∂(M ) and ∂(C) be the boundaries of M and C are subsets of R3 . Clearly, ∂(C)
is not connected, while ∂(M ) is path-connected (hence connected). Thus, no map
h : C → M can be a homeomorphism.
It turns out that not all connected spaces are path-connected, and we have already
met the first example of this behavior recently.
Example 4.25. Let Ω ⊆ R2 be the subset in Example 4.18, the topologist’s sine
curve, and recall that Ω is connected. Let’s prove now that Ω is not path-connected.
Let then

A = {(0, y) ∈ R2 y ∈ [−1, 1]} Γ = {(x, sin(1/x)) ∈ R2 x > 0}.
If we choose elements a ∈ A and b ∈ Γ, then there is no path in Ω linking a to b! To
prove this, suppose otherwise and let ω : [0, 1] → Ω be a path with ω(0) = (0, 0) and
ω(1) = ( π1 , 0). Let also F : [0, 1] → R be the continuous map
ω π
1
F : [0, 1] −→ Ω −→ R,
where π1 (x, y) = x. Since F (0) = 0 and F (1) = π1 , we can use the Intermediate Value
2
Theorem to find some t1 ∈ (0, 1) such that F (t1 ) = 3π . Using again the Intermediate
2
Value Theorem we can then find some t2 ∈ (0, t1 ) such that F (t2 ) = 5π . Iterating the
process we can find a sequence {tn }n≥1 , such that
2
tn+1 ∈ (0, tn ) and F (tn ) =
(2n + 1)π
40 ALEX GONZALEZ
Since the sequence {tn } ⊆ [0, 1] is monotonic decreasing and bounded below, it is
convergent: there is some t ∈ [0, 1] such that lim tn = t. Finally, since ω is continuous
2
the sequence {ω(tn )} converges to ω(t). On the other hand, ω(tn ) = ( (2n+1)π , (−1)n ),
and this sequence is not convergent, hence a contradiction.
4.2. Connected components. Connectivity constitutes then the first of a series of

properties that we can use to characterize and distinguish topological spaces. Let’s
elaborate this idea a little bit more: a connected space is one which is not made of
smaller, disjoint pieces, but what happens in general? That is, given a topological
space (X, TX ), how many pieces are needed to “construct” X ?
Definition 4.26. Let (X, TX ) be a topological space. A connected component of X is
a connected subset U ⊆ X such that
• if U $ K ⊆ X , then K is not connected.
The collection of connected components of X is denoted by π0 (X).
Alternatively, the set π0 (X) can be constructed as follows. Define a relation on the
set X : x ∼ y if there is some connected subset U ⊆ X such that x, y ∈ U . This is
clearly an equivalence relation, and then we can define π0 (X) as the set of equivalence
classes.
Proposition 4.27. Every continuous map f : (X, TX ) → (Y, TY ) induces a map of sets
f∗ : π0 (X) −→ π0 (Y ).
Proof. Let U ⊆ X be a connected component of X , and let x ∈ U . Let also V ⊆ Y

be a connected component which contains f (x) (each y ∈ Y has to be contained in
such a subset). We can define then f∗ (U ) = V .
To check that this map is well-defined, let z ∈ U be any other element, and let
w = f (z) ∈ Y . We have to prove that f (z) ∈ V . Suppose otherwise: f (z) ∈
/ V . Then
V $ W = V ∪ {f (z)}, and thus W is not connected. But this is impossible, since
f (U ) has to be connected.
Corollary 4.28. Let f : (X, TX ) → (Y, TY ) be a homeomorphism. Then f defines a
bĳection of sets f∗ : π0 (X) → π0 (Y ).
In other words, if X and Y are homeomorphic, they have to be made out of the same
number of pieces.
5. Compactness
Compactness can be thought of as a generalization of finiteness. If X is a finite set

(with the discrete topology) then studying (continuous) maps out of X is reasonably
easy, we just have to check what happens with the function on every element of X .
But we want to consider other maps, not only maps out of finite sets! The idea is that
maps out of compact spaces behave nicely, as maps out of finite spaces (of course
this is rather imprecise).
Definition 5.1. Let (X, TX ) be a topological space and let A ⊆ X be any subset. An
open cover of A in X is a collection {Uγ }γ∈Γ of open subsets of X such that
[
A⊆ Uγ .
γ∈Γ
A subcover of {Uγ }γ∈Γ is a subcollection {Vω }ω∈Ω ⊆ {Uγ }γ∈Γ such that A ⊆ ∪Ω Vω .
Example 5.2. Consider the family of intervals Un = (n, n + 2) ⊆ R (Euclidean topol-
ogy), for n ∈ Z. The collection {Un }n∈Z is an open cover of R. This open cover does
not contain any proper subcover: if we remove Un for some n ∈ Z then the union of
the remaining subsets Um , m 6= n, does not cover R.
Definition 5.3. Let (X, TX ) be a topological space. A subset A ⊆ X is compact if
every open cover of A contains a finite subcover.
Remark 5.4. Let (X, TX ) be a topological space and A ⊆ X . Let also {Uγ }γ∈Γ be an
open cover of A in X . A finite subcover is a finite subcollection {Vω }ω∈Ω ⊆ {Uγ }γ∈Γ
which is also an open cover of A. This is already a hint of the idea that compactness
generalizes finiteness.
WARNING!. As a note of caution, be extremely careful with the above definition.
Specially with the bit every open cover... It is not enough to check that an open cover
contains a finite subcover, we have to check ALL possible open covers! Indeed, notice
that, for any topological space (X, TX ), the collection {X} is a finite open cover of X ,
but this does not make X compact!
The best way to understand this notion is by looking at some examples. Let’s start
with example of spaces which are not compact.
Example 5.5. Consider R with the Euclidean topology. Then, the open cover in
Example 5.2 does not contain any finite subcover, and hence R is not compact.
Example 5.6. Consider R with the Euclidean topology, and let (0, 1) ⊆ R be the open
interval. Then (0, 1) is not compact. Indeed, consider the open cover
( )
1
Un = ,1
n
n∈N
It is easy to see that this open cover does not contain any finite subcover of (0, 1).
42 ALEX GONZALEZ
Example 5.7. Let X = {0} ∪ {1/n | n ∈ N}, with the subspace topology of a subset
of R. Then X is a compact. Indeed, let {Uγ }γ∈Γ be an open cover of X , and let α ∈ Γ
be such that 0 ∈ Uα . Then Uα must contain all but finitely many elements of X . For
each x ∈ X \ Uα , choose Ux ∈ {Uγ }γ∈Γ containing x. This forms a finite subcover.
Theorem 5.8. Let (X, TX ) be a compact space. If A ⊆ X is closed then A is compact.
Proof. Let A ⊆ X be a closed subset, and let {Uγ }γ∈Γ S be an open cover (recall that the
subsets Uγ are open in X ). Then the collection {Ac } {Uγ }γ∈Γ is an open cover of X ,
and there exists some finite subcover, {W1 , . . . , Wn }, since X is compact. But clearly
this subcover also covers A, and upon removing Ac from {W1 , . . . , Wn } if necessary
this constitutes a finite subcover of the original cover {Uγ }γ∈Γ . Thus A is compact.
Theorem 5.9. Let f : (X, TX ) → (Y, TY ) be a continuous map of topological spaces. If

A ⊆ X is compact then so is f (A) ⊆ Y .
Proof. Let {Uγ }γ∈Γ be an open cover of f (A) in Y . Since f is a continuous map, the
collection {f −1 (Uγ )}γ∈Γ is then an open cover of A. Now, since A is compact we know
that there is some finite subcover {f −1 (Uγ1 ), . . . , f −1 (Uγr )}, and thus {Uγ1 , . . . , Uγr }
is a finite subcover of f (A).
Corollary 5.10. Let f : (X, TX ) → (Y, TY ) be a homeomorphism. Then X is compact

if and only if Y is compact.
Theorem 5.11. Let (X, TX ) and (Y, TY ) be topological spaces, and let A ⊆ X , B ⊆ Y
be compact subsets. Then, A × B is a compact subset of X × Y .
Proof. Before we prove the theorem, we show the following.
Step 1. Let a ∈ A and let N ⊆ X × Y be an open subset such that {a} × B ⊆ N . Then
there exists some U ⊆ B such that {a} × B ⊆ U × B ⊆ N .
You can think of U × B as a tube around the ray {a} × B . To show the above point,
let {Wγ }γ∈Γ be an open cover of {a} × B , where, for each γ , the subset Wγ is an
element of the basis for the product topology such that Wγ ⊆ N . In other words, for
each γ ∈ Γ,
Wγ = Uγ × Vγ ⊆ N,
where Uγ ∈ TX and Vγ ∈ TY .
Since {a} × B ∼= B and B is compact, there exists a finite subcover {W1 , . . . , Wn },

convering {a} × B . The following picture illustrates the situation.
W1
W2
W3
B
W4
W5
W6
Recall that Wk = Uk × Vk for k = 1, . . . , n. Set

U = U1 ∩ . . . ∩ Un ∈ TX .
Then a ∈ U . Furthermore, if (x, y) ∈ U × B , then there exists some k such that
(x, y) ∈ Uk × Vk . Indeed, since {W1 , . . . , Wn } covers {a} × B , there is some k such
that (a, y) ∈ Wk = Uk × Vk , and then (x, y) ∈ Wk since U ⊆ Uk . Since Wγ ⊆ N for all
γ ∈ Γ, it follows that U × B ⊆ N .
Step 2. Proof of the theorem.
Let {Wγ }γ∈Γ be an open cover of A × B . Given a ∈ A, the ray {a} × B is compact and
may be covered by finitely many elements Wa,1 , . . . , Wa,ma of the original cover. The
union Na = Wa,1 ∪ . . . ∪ Wa,ma is an open susbet containing {a} × B , and by Step 1
we know that there exist a tube Ua × B such that
{a} × B ⊆ Ua × B ⊆ Na .
Thus, for each a ∈ A we may choose some Ua ∈ TX containing the element a such
that the tube Ua × B can be covered by finitely many elements of {Wγ }γ∈Γ . Note
that {Ua }a∈A forms an open cover of A, and thus there exist a1 , . . . , an ∈ A such that
{Ua1 , . . . , Uan } is a finite subcover, since A is compact.
Note that A × B ⊆ Ua1 × B ∪ . . . ∪ Uan × B . Thus, the collection
{Wa1 ,1 . . . , Wa1 ,ma1 , Wa2 ,1 , . . . , Wa2 ,ma2 , . . . , Wan ,1 , . . . , Wan ,man }
is a finite subcover of A × B .
44 ALEX GONZALEZ
5.1. Compact subspaces of Rn . In this section we study compact subspaces of a

very particular type. Be extremely careful with this section because most of the
results here apply only to Rn with the Euclidean metric or, in some cases, to metric
spaces. We start with a definition.
Definition 5.12. Let (X, dX ) be a metric space. A subset A ⊆ X is bouned if there
exist x ∈ X and ε > 0 such that A ⊆ Bx,ε .
Note that the above definition does not make much sense for topological spaces! Let
us now characterize compact subsets of R.
Theorem 5.13 (Heine-Borel Theorem for R). Consider R with the Euclidean metric,
and let A ⊆ R. Then, A is compact if and only it is closed and bounded.
Proof. Suppose first that A is compact. To see that it is bounded, consider the
following open cover of A:
{Un = B0,n n ∈ N}.
Since it is an open cover of A and A is compact, there exists some finite subcover,
namely {Un1 , . . . , Unr }. Let N = max{n1 , . . . , nr }. Clearly, Un1 , . . . , Unr ⊆ UN , and
hence A ⊆ UN = B1,N , i.e. A is bounded.
Let’s see also that A is closed. Suppose otherwise, and let x ∈ A \ A. For each n ∈ N,
let c
Un = Bx, 1 = R \ Bx, 1 .
n n
By definition, each Un is the complement of a closed subset of R and thus is open.

Furthermore, we have
[ [ \
Un = R \ Bx, 1 = R \ Bx, 1 = R \ {x} ⊇ A.
n n
n∈N n∈N n∈N
In other words, {Un }n∈N is an open cover of A in R, and since A is compact, it

contains a finite subcover, {Un1 , . . . , Uns }. Furthermore, by definition of the subsets
Un , we have Un1 , . . . , Uns ⊆ UN , where N = max{n1 , . . . , ns }, and also A ⊆ UN . But
then we have
A ∩ Bx, 1 = ∅,
N
which contradicts the hypothesis that x ∈ A. Hence A = A.

Let’s prove now the converse. Assume then that A is closed and bounded, and let
{Uγ }γ∈Γ be an open cover of A. Since A is closed and bounded, there exist m and
M ∈ A such that
m≤a≤M ∀a ∈ A.
Now, for each x ∈ R, define the following sets:

• Wx = (−∞, x]; and
• Ax = A ∩ Wx .

Define also B = x ∈ R Ax is covered by a finite subcover of {Uγ } , and note that
B is non-empty, since m ∈ B . Indeed, Am = A ∩ Wm = {m} by definition of m, and
it is clear that Am is covered by a finite subcover of {Uγ }.
Notice also that, to finish the proof, it is enough to show that B is not bounded above:
if this is the case, then M ≤ y for some y ∈ B , and then by definition of B we have
that A = AM = Ay is covered by a finite subcover of {Uγ }.
We will prove that B is not bounded above by contradiction. Suppose then that
u = sup B exists: y ≤ u for all y ∈ B . If u ∈/ A, then there exists some ε > 0 such
that Bu,ε ∩ A = ∅ (this is because A is closed). This implies that
Au−ε = Au+ε .
But notice that u−ε < u, and hence u−ε ∈ B . The above implies then that u+ε ∈ B ,
and this contradicts the hypothesis that u = sup B .
Thus we have to assume that u ∈ A. In this case, since {Uγ } is an open conver of A,
there is some Uω ∈ {Uγ }such that u ∈ Uω . Furthermore, since Uω is open, we can
find some δ > 0 such that
[u − δ, u + δ] ⊆ Uω .
Now, since u − δ < u, the set Au−δ is covered by a finite subcover of {Uγ }, namely
{Uγ1 , . . . , Uγm }, and then {Uω , Uγ1 , . . . , Uγm } is a finite subcover of Au+δ . Again, this
implies that u + δ ∈ B , which contradicts the hypothesis that u = sup B . Hence, B
is not bounded above, and A is compact.
We can use this theorem to deduce that some other subsets of R are compact. The
following example is not intuitive at all.
Example 5.14. Let K ⊆ R be the Cantor set (see Exercise 6 in List 3): start from
I0 = [0, 1] ⊆ R, then form I1 = [0, 13 ] ∪ [ 23 , 1] by removing the middle third ( 13 , 23 ) of I0 ,
and keep iterating the process. We end up with a sequence {In }n∈N of subsets of R,
and
∞
\
K= In .
n=0
Since each In is closed and K is an (infinite) intersection of closed subsets, we know
that K is closed. Also, it is clearly bounded, since K ⊆ I0 , and hence by the Heine-
Borel it is compact.
Proposition 5.15. Let (X, dX ) be a metric space, and let A ⊆ X be a compact sub-
space. Then, A is closed and bounded.
Proof. First we check that A is bounded. Fix some x ∈ X and let Un = Bx,n for each
n ∈ N. The collection {Un }n∈N is thus an open cover of A in X , and since A is compact
there exists some finite subcover, {Un1 , . . . , Unr }. Let then N = max{n1 , . . . , nr }: we
have A ⊆ UN = Bx,N and hence A is bounded.
46 ALEX GONZALEZ
To see that A is also closed, suppose otherwise and let x ∈ A) \ A. For each n ∈ N
define then c
Un = Bx, 1 = X \ Bx, 1 .
n n
Then, Un is open for all n and we have
[ [ \
Un = X \ Bx, 1 = X \ Bx, 1 = X \ {x} ⊆ A.
n n
n∈N n∈N n∈N
Thus, {Un }n∈N is an open cover of A, and since A is compact there is some finite
subcover, {Un1 , . . . , Uns }. Furthermore, by setting N = max{n1 , . . . , ns }, we have
A ⊆ UN , which implies
A ∩ Bx, 1 = ∅,
N
contradicting the hypothesis that x ∈ A. Thus, A = A.

Theorem 5.16 (Heine-Borel Theorem for Rn ). Consider Rn with the Euclidean metric,
and let A ⊆ Rn be a subset. Then, A is compact if and only if it is closed and bounded.
Proof. By Proposition 5.15, if A is compact then it is closed and bounded. Suppose

then that A is closed and bounded. In particular, there is some interval [m, M ] ⊆ R
such that
A ⊆ I = [m, M ] × . . . × [m, M ] ⊆ Rn .
Now, the subset I ⊆ Rn is compact by Theorem 5.11, since I is the direct product
of compact subsets of R, and then by Lemma 5.8 A is compact since it is a closed
subset of I .
We can use now the Heine-Borel Theorem to prove that a certain subset of Rn is
compact.
Example 5.17. Consider R2 with the Euclidean metric. Then, every closed disk and
every circle is compact. More generally, in the Euclidean space Rn , the sphere S n−1 ,

S n−1 = {(x1 , . . . , xn ) ∈ Rn x21 + . . . + x2n = 1}
is a compact space.
Example 5.18. The cylinder and the Moebius band are both compact subsets of
R3 . Thus compactness is not a good property to distinguish these two subsets.
Fortunately connectivity has done the job for us already.
Example 5.19. Consider the set Z with the discrete metric. Then, Z is closed and
bounded, but not compact. Indeed, Z is closed as a subset of itself, and it is bounded
because Z is contained in the open ball of radius 2 around any element. However,
every singleton {n} in Z is an open subset, and hence the collection {n} n∈Z is an
open cover which does not contain any finite subcover.
6. Countability and separation axioms
In this chapter we analyze certain properties of different nature: countability (of bases
for a given topology) and separation (of different subsets in a given topology). The
ultimate goal is to give conditions for a given topological space to be metrizable (i.e.,
the given topology is actually the topology associated to some metric).
6.1. The countability axioms. Recall the definition of basis of a topology, see Sec-
tion 3.3.
Definition 6.1. Let (X, TX ) be a topological space. X has a countable basis at x if
there is a countable collection B of open subsets satisfying the following:
(i) x ∈ U for each U ∈ B; and
(ii) if V ∈ TX is such that x ∈ V , then there exists some U ∈ B such that U ⊆ V .
If X has a countable basis at every element x ∈ X , then X satisfies the first count-
ability axiom. We also say that X is first-countable.
Theorem 6.2. Let (X, dX ) be a metric space, and let TX be the topology associated to
dX . Then (X, TX ) is first-countable.
Proof. For each x ∈ X , the collection B = {Bx , 1/n} satisfies conditions (i) and (ii) in
the definition above.
Theorem 6.3. Let (X, TX ) be a first-countable space. Then the following holds.
(i) Let A ⊆ X and x ∈ X . Then, x ∈ A if and only if there exists a sequence {xn }n∈N
of points of A converging to x.
(ii) Let f : (X, TX ) → (Y, TY ). Then f is continuous if and only if, for every convergent
sequence {xn }n∈N in X with limit x, the sequence {f (xn )}n∈N converges to f (x).
Proof. Part (i) is proved by modifying appropriately the proof of Theorem 2.30. The
necessary modifications in the proof of Theorem 2.31 imply part (ii).
Definition 6.4. A topological space (X, TX ) satisfies the second countability axiom if
it has a countable basis for TX . We also say that X is second-countable.
Remark 6.5. If (X, TX ) is second-countable then it is first-countable, but the con-
verse is not true in general.
Lemma 6.6. Let (X, TX ) be a second-countable space. Then, every discrete subspace
A ⊆ X is countable.
Proof. Let B ⊆ TX be a countable basis. Since A is discreet, every singleton {a} ⊆ A

is an open subset of A, which means that there exists some U ∈ TX such that
U ∩ A = {a}. Hence, for each a ∈ A we may choose a basis element Ua ∈ B such
48 ALEX GONZALEZ
that Ua ∩ A = {a}. This produces an injective map A → B, where a 7→ Ua (if a =

6 b
then Ua ∩ Ub = ∅, so this map is indeed injective), and thus A is countable.
Example 6.7. Let Y = R, and let dY be the Euclidean metric (i.e. absolute value).
Let also d : R × R → [0, ∞) be the map defined by
d(x, y) = min{|x − y|, 1}.
As an exercise, we can show that this is a metric on Y . Now, consider X = Πγ∈Γ R, an
infinite (possibly uncountable) product of copies of R. Define also dX : X ×X → [0, ∞)
by
dX = sup{dY (xγ , yγ ) | γ ∈ Γ}.
This defines a metric on X , called the uniform metric. Again, details that this is a
metric are left as an exercise. Since (X, dX ) is a metric space, it is first-countable by
Theorem 6.2. We claim that it is not second-countable. Let A ⊆ X be the subset of
elements (xγ )γ∈Γ such that xγ ∈ {0, 1} for each γ ∈ Γ. Then A is a discreet subspace,
because
dX ((xγ ), (yγ )) = 1
if (xγ ) 6= (yγ ). By Lemma 6.6, if (X, TX ) was second-countable then A should be
countable, but A is not countable.
Proposition 6.8. The following holds.
(i) A subset of a first-countable space is again first-countable.
(ii) A countable product of first-countable spaces is again first-countable.
(iii) A subset of a second-countable space is again second-countable.
(iv) A countable product of second-countable spaces is again second-countable.
Proof. The proof is left as an exercise.

Definition 6.9. Let (X, TX ) be a topological space. A subset A ⊆ X is dense if
A = X.
Theorem 6.10. Let (X, TX ) be second-countable, and let A ⊆ X . Then the following
holds.
(i) Every open covering of A contains a countable subcover.
(ii) There exists a countable subset of X that is dense in X .
Proof. Let B be a countable basis for X , and let BA = {W ∩A | W ∈ B} be a countable

basis for the subspace topology on A. Since BA is a countable basis, we may write it
as {W1 , W2 , . . .}.
Part (i). Let {Uγ }γ∈Γ be an open covering of A. For each n ∈ N, let Uγn ∈ {Uγ } be
such that Wn ⊆ Uγn or, if no such Uγn exists, set Uγn = ∅. Let also
Ω = {Uγn | n ∈ N and Uγn 6= ∅} ⊆ {Uγ }γ∈Γ .
The collection Ω is countable, and also covers A. Indeed, for each a ∈ A there is
some Uα ∈ {Uγ }γ∈Γ such that a ∈ Uα , and thus Uα contains some element of BA by
definition of basis.
Part (ii). From each nonempty basis element Wn ∈ BA , choose some xn ∈ Wn , and
let D = {xn | Wn ∈ BA , Wn 6= ∅}. Then D is dense in A: for each a ∈ A, every basis
element in BA that contains a must intersect D , so x ∈ D .
6.2. The separation axioms. Given a metric space, we have already seen (in the
exercise lists) that every two elements can be separated from each other by two dis-
joint subsets. We have also seen examples of topological spaces where this property
does not hold any more (for instance X = {a, b} with the indiscrete topology). In
this section we analyze different levels of separability in topological spaces and their
consequences.
Definition 6.11. A space (X, TX ) is Hausdorff if the following condition holds.

(H) For each two distinct elements x, y ∈ X , there exist U, V ∈ TX such that
x ∈ U , y ∈ V and U ∩ V = ∅.
A space (X, TX ) is regular if every singleton {x} ⊆ X is closed and the following
condition holds.
(R) For each x ∈ X and each closed subset B ⊆ X , there exist U, V ∈ TX such
that x ∈ U , B ⊆ V and U ∩ V = ∅.
A space (X, TX ) is normal if every singleton {x} ⊆ X is closed and the following
condition holds.
(N) For each pair of distinct closed subsets A, B ⊆ X there exist U, V ∈ TX such
that A ⊆ U , B ⊆ V and U ∩ V = ∅.
Lemma 6.12. Let (X, TX ) be a Hausdorff space. Then every singleton {x} ⊆ X is a
closed subset.
Proof. Fix x ∈ X and let y 6= x be another element of X . By definition there exist

U, V ∈ TX such that x ∈ U , y ∈ V and U ∩ V = ∅. This implies that V ∩ {x} = ∅, and
thus y does not belong to {x}.
Remark 6.13. In view of the previous result, it is clear that normal implies regular,
and regular implies Hausdorff.
Theorem 6.14. Let (X, dX ) be a metric space, and let TX be the topology associated
to dX . Then (X, TX ) is normal.
Proof. Clearly, a metric space is Hausdorff, and thus singletons are closed subsets.
Let A, B ⊆ X be closed and disjoint subsets. Note that the points in A are not limit
points of B , and reciprocally the points in B are not limit points of A. Thus,
50 ALEX GONZALEZ
(1) for each a ∈ A there is some ε(a) such that Ba,ε(a) ∩ B = ∅; and
(2) for each b ∈ B there is some ε(b) such that Bb,ε(b) ∩ A = ∅.

S S
Let U = a∈A Ba,ε(a)/2 and V = b∈B Bb,ε(b)/2 . Then clearly A ⊆ U and B ⊆ V , and
we have to show that U ∩ V = ∅. Suppose there exists some x ∈ U ∩ B . Then there
exist a ∈ A and b ∈ B such that x ∈ Ba,ε(a)/2 ∩ Bb,ε(b)/2 . Suppose for simplicity that
ε(a) ≤ ε(b). Then,
dX (a, b) ≤ dX (a, x) + dX (b, x) < ε(a)/2 + ε(b)/2 ≤ ε(b).
Thus a ∈ Bb,ε(b) , which contradicts our choice of ε(b). Thus U ∩ V = ∅.
Theorem 6.15. Let (X, TX ) be a Hausdorff space, and let {xn }n∈N be a sequence. If
{xn }n∈N is convergent then its limit is unique.
Proof. Suppose that {xn }n∈N converges to x, and let y 6= x be a different element of
X . By definition there exist U, V ∈ TX such that x ∈ U , y ∈ V and U ∩ V = ∅. Since
the sequence converges to x, the open subset U contains all but finitely many terms
of the sequence, which implies that V contains at most finitely many terms of the
sequence. Thus {xn }n∈N cannot converge to y .
Example 6.16. Let X = R. Let also K = {1/n | n ∈ N}, and let
B = {(a, b) | a, b ∈ R} ∪ {(a, b) \ K | a, b ∈ R}.
This forms a basis for a topology on X , namely TX . The space (X, TX ) is easily seen
to be Hausdorff. However, it is not regular, as we next show: the set K is a closed
subset of X , but it cannot be separated from {0}.
Suppose otherwise, and let U, V ∈ TX be disjoint subsets such that 0 ∈ U and

K ⊆ V . Let also W ∈ B be such that 0 ∈ W ⊆ U . Then W must be of the form
W = (a, b) \ K (if W = (a, b) then W ∩ K 6= ∅). Choose n ∈ N large enough so that
1/n ∈ (a, b), and let Z ∈ B be such that 1/n ∈ Z ⊆ V . Notice that Z = (c, d) for some
c, d ∈ R. Finally, choose z ∈ R so that
z < 1/n and z > max{c, 1/(n + 1)}.
Then z ∈ U ∩ V , contradicting the hypothesis that they are disjoint.
Example 6.17. Let X = R, and let B be the collection of intervals of the form [a, b),
with a < b. Then B forms a basis for a topology on X , namely TB . In this example
we show that (X, TB ) is a normal space, while the product space X × X is not.
To prove that X is normal, first

S note that (a, b) is open in this topology for all a < b.
Indeed, we can write (a, b) = x∈(a,b) [x, b). Thus, it is easy to check that singletons
are closed subsets in this topology. To prove normality, let A, B ⊆ X be closed,
disjoint subsets. For each a ∈ A let [a, xa ) be an open subset not intersecting B ,
and similarly
S for each b ∈SB let [b, yb ) be an open subset not intersecting A. Then,
U = a∈A [a, xa ) and V = b∈B [b, yb ) are disjoint open subsets separating A and B .
Next we show that X × X is not normal (with the product topology). Notice that
X × X is regular, since X is regular. Now, suppose that X × X is normal, and let
L = {(x, −x) | x ∈ X}. Then the following holds (it is left as an exercise to prove these
properties actually hold):
(1) L is closed in X × X ; and
(2) L has the discrete topology as a subspace of X × X .
Let now A ⊆ L be any closed subset. Since L itself is closed, it follows that A is also
closed in X × X . Actually, both A and L \ A are closed in X × X , and there are
disjoint open subsets UA and VA separating A and L \ A.
Let D ⊆ X × X be the subset of points with rational coordinates, which is a dense

subset of X × X , and define a map θ : {subsets of L} → {subsets of D} as follows.

 θ(A) = ∅, A=∅
θ(A) = θ(A) = D, A =D
θ(A) = D ∩ UA , otherwise

Here, UA is the subset of X × X fixed in the previous paragraph. We claim that the
map θ is injective. Let A ⊆ L be a proper subset. Then θ(A) = D ∩ UA 6= ∅, D, since
D ∩ UA , D ∩ VA 6= ∅. Now, if A, B ⊆ L are proper, distinct subsets, then one of them
contains an element that is not contained in the other. For simplicity suppose that
(x, −x) ∈ A, (x, −x) ∈/ B . Then (x, −x) ∈ L \ B , and thus
(x, −x) ∈ UA ∩ VB .
Notice that UA ∩ VB is open and nonempty, and thus K = D ∩ (UA ∩ VB ) 6= ∅, since D
is dense. By definition, the elements of K are elements of D ∩ UA , but not of D ∩ UB ,
and thus θ(A) 6= θ(B).
Next we construct an injective map φ : {subsets of D} → L. Since D is countable

and L has the cardinality of R, it is enough to construct a map from {subsets of N}
into R. For each subset S ⊆ N, define
φ(S) = Σ∞ k
k=1 ak /10 ,
where ak = 0 if k ∈ S and ak = 1 if k ∈/ S . This is clearly injective. Combining the

map φ with the map θ , we obtain an injective map {subsets of L} −→ L, but no such
map can exists. Hence a contradiction.
Lemma 6.18. Let (X, TX ) be a topological space whose singletons are closed subsets.
Then the following holds.
(i) X is regular if and only if given a point x ∈ X and U ∈ TX containing x, there is

a some V ∈ TX such that x ∈ V ⊆ V ⊆ X .
(ii) X is normal if and only if given a closed subset A ⊆ X and U ∈ TX containing A,

there is a some V ∈ TX such that A ⊆ V ⊆ V ⊆ X .
52 ALEX GONZALEZ
Proof. We only prove part (i), part (ii) being an easy exercise. Suppose X is regular,
and let x ∈ X , U ∈ TX be given. Let B = U c , which is a closed subset not containing
x. Since X is regular, there exist disjoint subsets V, W ∈ TX such that x ∈ V and
B ⊆ W . We claim that V ∩ B = ∅: if y ∈ B , then W ∈ TX is such that y ∈ W and
W ∩ V = ∅. Thus, V ⊆ U as desired.
To prove the converse, let x ∈ X and let B ⊆ X be a closed subset not containing x.
We have to show that there are disjoint open subsets separating x and B . Let U =
B c ∈ TX . Then x ∈ U , and there exists some V ∈ TX be such that x ∈ V ⊆ V ⊆ U .
c
Let W = V . Then x ∈ V , B ⊆ W and V ∩ W = ∅. Thus X is regular.
Theorem 6.19. The following holds.
(i) A subset of a Hausdorff space is Hausdorff.
(ii) A product of Hausdorff spaces is Hausdorff.
(iii) A subset of a regular space is regular.
(iv) A product of regular spaces is regular.
Proof. Point (i). Let (X, TX ) be a Hausdorff topological space, let A ⊆ X , and let
x, y ∈ A. Since X is Hausdorff, there exist U, V ∈ TX such that x ∈ U , y ∈ V and
U ∩ B = ∅. Then U ∩ A, V ∩ A ∈ TA , x ∈ U ∩ A, y ∈ V ∩ A and (U ∩ A) ∩ (V ∩ A) = ∅.
Point (ii). Let {Xγ }γ∈Γ be a family of Hausdorff spaces, let X = Πγ∈Γ Xγ be the product
space, and let x = (xγ ), y = (yγ ) be two distinct elements of X . Since x 6= y , there
exists some γ ∈ Γ such that xγ 6= yγ . Choose W, Z ∈ TXγ to be disjoint subsets
separating xγ and yγ , and let U = πγ−1 (W ) and V = πγ−1 (Z), where πγ : X → Xγ is
the projection map. Then U and V are disjoint open subsets of X that separate x
and y .
Point (iii). Let (X, TX ) be a regular space, and let A ⊆ X . By (i), A is Hausdorff, and
thus singletons are closed subsets. Let also x ∈ A be a point and B ⊆ A be a closed
subset (B is closed in A), x ∈ / B . Let C ⊆ X be the closure of B in X , so B = C ∩ A.
Then x ∈ / C , and the regularity of X implies that there exist U, V ∈ TX such that
x ∈ U , C ⊆ V and U ∩ V = ∅. Thus U ∩ A and V ∩ A are disjoint open subsets of A
separating x and B .
Point (iv). Let {Xγ }γ∈Γ be a family of regular spaces, and let X = Πγ∈Γ Xγ be the
product space. By (ii), X is Hausdorff, and thus singletons are closed subsets. Let
x = (xγ ) ∈ X be a point, and let U ⊆ X be an open subset containing x. Choose a
basis open subset W = Πγ Uγ such that x ∈ W ⊆ U . Since each Xγ is regular, we
may choose for each γ an open subset Vγ such that x ∈ Vγ ⊆ Vγ ⊆ Uγ . Furthermore,
whenever Uγ = Xγ , we choose Vγ = Xγ . This way, V = Πγ Vγ satisfies
x ∈ V ⊆ V = Πγ Vγ ⊆ Πγ Uγ ⊆ U.
By Lemma 6.18 (i) it follows that X is regular.
Theorem 6.20. Let (X, TX ) be a second-countable, regular space. Then X is normal.
Proof. Let B be a countable basis for TX , and let A, B ⊆ X be disjoint closed subsets.
Then for each point a ∈ A there is an open subset Ua ∈ TX such that Ua ∩ B = ∅.
Since X is regular, we may choose Va ∈ TX such that a ∈ Va ⊆ Va S ⊆ Ua , and thus
we may also choose Wa ∈ B such that a ∈ Wa ⊆ Va . This way, W = a∈A Wa is such
that A ⊆ W and W ∩ B = ∅. Furthermore, the collection {Wa }a∈A is countable (after
removing any possible repetitions), so we may write it as {Wn }n∈N . A similar process
S
produces a collection {Zn }n∈N such that B ⊆ Z = n∈N Zn and Z ∩ A = ∅. However,
W and Z may not be disjoint.
For each n ∈ N, define
n
[ n
[
Wn0 = Wn \ ( Zi ) and Zn0 = Zn \ ( Wi ).
i=1 i=1
Wn0 0 0 0
Z 0 = n Zn0 . Then,
S S
Notice
S that and ZS
are open for all n. Set W =
n n Wn and
0 0 0 0
A ⊆ n Wn and B ⊆ n Zn , and, we claim that W ∩ Z = ∅. Suppose otherwise and
let x ∈ W 0 ∩ Z 0 . Then x ∈ Wj0 ∩ Zk0 for some j, k ∈ N. Suppose for simplicity that
j ≤ z . By definition of Wj0 it follows that x ∈ Wj . On the other hand, by definition of
Zk0 we have x ∈/ Wj , which is a contradiction.
Theorem 6.21. Let (X, TX ) be a compact Hausdorff space. Then X is normal.
Proof. Let A, B ⊆ X be disjoint closed subsets. Fix a ∈ A. For each b ∈ B there

exist disjoint subsets Ua , Vb ∈ TX containing a and b respectively. Note that {Vb }b∈B
is an open cover of B , and B is compact because it is a closed subset of a compact
Tn there exist b1S
space. Thus , . . . , bn ∈ B such that {Ub1 , . . . , Ubn } is a finite subcover.
n
Let U = i=1 Uai and V = i=1 Vbi . Then a ∈ U , B ⊆ V and U ∩ V = ∅.
Now, for each a ∈ A, choose disjoint subsets Wa , Za ∈ TX such that a ∈ Wa and
B ⊆ Za . The collection {Wa }a∈A is an open cover of A, and A is compact because it
is a closed subset of a compact space, and thus there exist a1 , . . . , am ∈ A such that
{Wa1 , . . . , Wam } is a finite subcover. Set
m
[ m
\
W = Waj and Z= Zaj .
j=1 j=1
Then A ⊆ W , B ⊆ Z , and W ∩ Z = ∅. Thus X is normal.

54 ALEX GONZALEZ
REFERENCES
The main published references for this course are the following.
1. M. O. Searcoid, Metric Spaces, Springer Undergraduate Mathematics Series,
ISBN 978-1-84628-369-7.
2. W. A. Sutherland, Introduction to Metric and Topological Spaces, 2nd Edition,
Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-956308-1.
Other general, electronic sources are the following.
1. http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~john/MT4522/index.html
2. http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Topology/Metric_Spaces
References about the p-adic metric.
1. http://scientopia.org/blogs/goodmath/2013/01/13/define-distance-differently-
the-p-adic-norm/
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-adic_number
References about the Cantor set.
1. http://planetmath.org/cantorset
2. http://mathworld.wolfram.com/CantorSet.html
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantor_set
References about the Heine-Borel Theorem.
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heine%E2%80%93Borel_theorem
References about Hausdorff spaces (this has not been explicitly defined in the course,
but the notion has appeared several times in examples).
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hausdorff_space#Examples_and_counterexamples
References about the classification of surfaces.
1. http://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/mathematics-and-
statistics/mathematics/surfaces/content-section-0
2. http://www.math.uchicago.edu/~may/VIGRE/VIGRE2008/REUPapers/Huang.pdf
3. http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~jean/surfclass-n.pdf

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ELEMENTARY TOPOLOGY I

(M1) Positive property: d(x, y) = 0 if and only if x = y ;

(M2) Symmetry property: d(x, y) = d(y, x); and

(M3) Triangle inequality: d(x, y) ≤ d(x, z) + d(z, y).

Let’s see now some examples of metrics on the set X = R2 .

Example 2.3. The set X = R2 with

Can you think of other examples of metrics on R2 ? If we compare the metrics in

Example 2.4. The functions d, d0 : R2 × R2 → [0, ∞) defined by

Example 2.5. Let X = Rn and let d : Rn × Rn → [0, ∞) be defined by

Then, d is a metric on Rn (sometimes known by the name of Manhattan metric).

Example 2.6. The Euclidean metric on Rn is defined by the formula

Indeed, let x = (x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ), y = (y1 , y2 , . . . , yn ) and z = (z1 , z2 , . . . , zn ) ∈ Rn : Let

The left part of the inequality expands to

The last inequality is the Cauchy-Schwartz inequality, which we prove below as

Lemma 2.7 (Cauchy-Schwartz inequality). For each (a1 , . . . , an ), (b1 , . . . , bn ) ∈ Rn ,

Now, collect the terms (and reindex the sums) to get

2.1. Continuous functions. We can introduce now continuity of functions between

Broadly speaking, the notion of homeomorphism is to metric spaces as the notion

Example 2.14. The map µ : R2 → R defined by µ(a, b) = a · b (multiplication of real

Let’s prove first that f is continuous. For every a, b ∈ Z, we have

Once we start working with functions, it is natural to consider compositions of func-

Proposition 2.17. Let f : (X, dX ) → (Y, dY ) and g : (Y, dY ) → (Z, dZ ) be continuous

Proof. Set for simplicity h = (g ◦ f ) : X → Z , and fix an element a ∈ X . We have

Let then δ = ε − d(x, y) > 0. Then, for each

Let δ = d(x, y) − ε > 0, and suppose that for

(3) if {U1 , . . . , Un } ⊆ O is any finite family of open subsets, then

Finally, let U = {U1 , . . . , Un } ⊆ O be a finite family of open subsets. Let also V =

There is a similar result for closed subsets.

(1) X and ∅ are closed subsets;

T O is any family (possibly infinite) of closed subsets, then the

2.4. Continuity, convergence, and open/closed subsets. The concepts that we

(1) f is a continuous function;

(2) for each open subset U ⊆ Y , f −1 (U ) is an open subset of X ;

(3) for each closed subset V ⊆ Y , f −1 (V ) is a closed subset of X ;

A note of warning: given a map of sets f : X → Y , the notation f −1 (U ) stands simply

f −1 ({1}) = {x ∈ R f (x) = 1} = {−1, 1}.

• Statements (1) and (2) are equivalent.

Definition 3.1. Let X be a set. A topology on X is a collection T of subsets of X

(T2) if {Uγ }γ∈Γ is a (possibly infinite) family of elements of T , then

(T3) if {U1 , . . . , Un } ⊆ T is a finite family of elements of T , then

A topological space is a pair (X, T) where T is a topology on X . The elements of T are

(1) T1 is called the discrete topology on X , while

(2) T2 is called the indiscrete topology on X .

Notice the following: there are no open subsets B, C ∈ T such that b ∈ B , c ∈ / B

(2) T2 = {∅} ∪ {W = V ∪ {z} V ∈ T1 is such that {0} ∈

Finally, let T = T1 ∪ T2 . In other words, an element of T is a union U ∪ W , with

Definition 3.8. Let (X, T) be a topological space, and let A ⊆ X .

• The interior of A, A◦ , is the greatest open subset of X contained in A.

(1) A subset A ⊆ X is open if and only if A◦ = A.

(2) For every A ⊆ X , if B = A◦ then B ◦ = B .

Let {Uα }α∈Γ be a T

(1) A subset A ⊆ X is closed if and only if A = A.

(2) the interior of the complement of B is the complement of the closure of B :

Deduce that, if A is an open and closed subset of X , then ∂(A) = ∅.

3.2. Continuous functions. Continuity of functions is also defined in terms of open

Definition 3.14. Let (X, TX ) and (Y, TY ) be topological spaces. A map f : X → Y is

Proposition 3.15. Let f : (X, TX ) → (Y, TY ) and g : (Y, TY ) → (Z, TZ ) be continuous

Proof. For any W ∈ TZ , we have U = (g ◦ f )−1 (W ) = f −1 (g −1 (W )) ∈ TX because

(1) f is a continuous map.

(2) For every subset A ⊆ X , we have f (A) ⊆ f (A).

(3) For every closed subset V ⊆ Y , the set f −1 (V ) is closed in X .

(4) For each x ∈ X and each V ∈ TY containing f (x), there is some U ∈ TX

f (x) ∈ f (A) ⊆ f (A) ⊆ B = B.