Topology: Key Definitions, Theorems, and Concepts for Exam

Preparation

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February 19, 2025

Contents

1 Basic Definitions and Concepts 3

1.1 Topological Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 Closed Sets, Closure, and Limit Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Subspace Topology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2 Continuity and Related Maps 4

2.1 Continuous Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2 Open and Closed Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

3 Quotient Maps and Equivalence Relations 4

3.1 Quotient Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2 Product of Quotient Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

4 Local Compactness and One-Point Compactification 5

4.1 Local Compactness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.2 One-Point Compactification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

5 Product Topology and Related Concepts 5

5.1 Product Topology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5.2 Hausdorff Spaces and the Diagonal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

6 Special Constructions and Examples 5

6.1 Furstenberg’s Topology on Z . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
6.2 Real Projective Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

7 Additional Useful Theorems and Tricks 6

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8 Summary and Exam Tips 6

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1 Basic Definitions and Concepts

1.1 Topological Spaces

Definition 1.1 (Topological Space). A topological space is a pair (X, τ ), where X is a set and τ is
a collection of subsets of X (called open sets) such that:

(i) ∅ and X are in τ .

(ii) Any union of members of τ is in τ .

(iii) The finite intersection of members of τ is in τ .

Example 1.1. The standard topology on R consists of all open intervals and their unions. For
example, (a, b) is not open in R unless a = −∞.

Definition 1.2 (Basis). A basis for a topology on X is a collection B of subsets of X such that:

1. For each x ∈ X, there exists B ∈ B with x ∈ B.

2. If x ∈ B1 ∩ B2 for B1 , B2 ∈ B, then there exists B3 ∈ B with x ∈ B3 ⊂ B1 ∩ B2 .

The topology generated by B consists of all unions of basis elements.

1.2 Closed Sets, Closure, and Limit Points

Definition 1.3 (Closed Set). A subset A ⊆ X is closed if its complement X \ A is open.

Definition 1.4 (Limit Point). A point x ∈ X is a limit point of a subset A ⊂ X if every open
neighborhood of x contains a point of A different from x.

Theorem 1.1. A subset A ⊂ X is closed if and only if it contains all its limit points.

Definition 1.5 (Closure). The closure of a subset A ⊂ X, denoted by A, is the intersection of all
closed sets containing A. Equivalently,

A = A ∪ A′ ,

where A′ is the set of limit points of A.

Example 1.2. In R, the closure of (0, 1) is [0, 1]. The point 0 is a limit point not in (0, 1).

1.3 Subspace Topology

Definition 1.6 (Subspace Topology). If (X, τ ) is a topological space and Y ⊂ X, then the subspace
topology on Y is defined by
τY = {U ∩ Y : U ∈ τ }.
Y X
In particular, if A ⊂ Y , the closure of A in Y is given by A = A ∩ Y .

Example 1.3. Consider Y = [0, 1) ⊂ R. The set [0, 1/2) is open in Y since [0, 1/2) = (−1, 1/2)∩Y .

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2 Continuity and Related Maps

2.1 Continuous Maps

Definition 2.1 (Continuous Map). A function f : X → Y between topological spaces is continuous

if for every open set V ⊂ Y , the preimage f −1 (V ) is open in X.
Theorem 2.1 (Pasting Lemma). If X = A ∪ B where A and B are closed, and f : A → Y ,
g : B → Y are continuous maps that agree on A ∩ B, then the combined function h : X → Y is
continuous.

• Homeomorphism: A bijection f : X → Y is a homeomorphism if both f and f −1 are

continuous.
• Composition: If f : X → Y and g : Y → Z are continuous, then so is g ◦ f : X → Z.

2.2 Open and Closed Maps

Definition 2.2 (Open Map). A function f : X → Y is an open map if the image of every open set
in X is open in Y .
Definition 2.3 (Closed Map). A function f : X → Y is a closed map if the image of every closed
set in X is closed in Y .
Theorem 2.2. A continuous bijection from a compact space to a Hausdorff space is a homeomor-
phism.

3 Quotient Maps and Equivalence Relations

3.1 Quotient Map

Definition 3.1 (Quotient Map). A surjective continuous map q : X → Y is called a quotient map
if a subset U ⊂ Y is open whenever q −1 (U ) is open in X. Equivalently, the topology on Y is the
quotient topology induced by q.
Example 3.1. The map q : [0, 1] → S 1 defined by q(t) = (cos 2πt, sin 2πt) is a quotient map. It
identifies 0 and 1 into a single point.

• Saturated sets: A subset A ⊂ X is saturated if A = q −1 (q(A)). Quotient maps map

saturated open sets to open sets.
• Non-example: The identity map from [0, 1] with the discrete topology to [0, 1] with the
standard topology is continuous and surjective but not a quotient map.

3.2 Product of Quotient Maps

Example 3.2 (Non–product Quotient). Consider quotient maps q : R → R/Z (identifying integers)
and q ×Id : R×R → (R/Z)×R. This product map is not a quotient map, illustrating that products
of quotient maps may fail to be quotient maps.

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4 Local Compactness and One-Point Compactification

4.1 Local Compactness

Definition 4.1 (Locally Compact Space). A topological space X is locally compact if every point
x ∈ X has a neighborhood U whose closure U is compact.
Example 4.1. Rn is locally compact. The subspace Q ⊂ R (with Euclidean topology) is not locally
compact.

4.2 One-Point Compactification

Definition 4.2 (One-Point Compactification). For a locally compact Hausdorff space X, the one-
e = X ∪ {∞} has open sets:
point compactification X

• All open sets of X.

• Sets containing ∞ whose complements are compact in X.
Theorem 4.1. If f : X → Y is a homeomorphism, then fe : X
e → Ye mapping ∞X 7→ ∞Y is a
homeomorphism.
Example 4.2. The one-point compactification of Rn is homeomorphic to S n .

5 Product Topology and Related Concepts

5.1 Product Topology

Definition 5.1 (Product Topology). The product topology on X × Y has a basis consisting of
products U × V , where U ⊂ X and V ⊂ Y are open.
Theorem 5.1 (Universal Property). A function f : Z → X × Y is continuous if and only if πX ◦ f
and πY ◦ f are continuous, where πX , πY are projections.

5.2 Hausdorff Spaces and the Diagonal

Definition 5.2 (Hausdorff Space). A space X is Hausdorff if any two distinct points have disjoint
neighborhoods.
Theorem 5.2. X is Hausdorff if and only if the diagonal ∆ ⊂ X × X is closed.
Corollary 5.3. If f, g : Y → X are continuous and X is Hausdorff, then the set {y ∈ Y : f (y) =
g(y)} is closed.

6 Special Constructions and Examples

6.1 Furstenberg’s Topology on Z

• Basis: B = {a + bZ : a ∈ Z, b ≥ 1}.

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 • Infinitude of Primes: If primes were finite, then {−1, 1} would be open, contradicting that
all basis elements are infinite.

6.2 Real Projective Space

Definition 6.1 (Real Projective Space). RPn is the quotient of Rn+1 \ {0} by scalar multiplication.
It is a compact, Hausdorff manifold.

• RP1 is homeomorphic to S 1 .

• The quotient map π : S n → RPn is a closed map since S n is compact.

7 Additional Useful Theorems and Tricks

• Closed Map Lemma: A continuous map from a compact space to a Hausdorff space is
closed.

• Local Compactness: Open subsets of locally compact Hausdorff spaces are locally compact.

• Diagonal Trick: To prove a space is Hausdorff, show ∆ is closed.

• Continuity in Products: Use the universal property to verify continuity.

Theorem 7.1 (Urysohn’s Lemma). In a normal space, for any disjoint closed sets A and B, there
exists a continuous function f : X → [0, 1] with f (A) = 0 and f (B) = 1.

8 Summary and Exam Tips

• Master Definitions: E.g., know the difference between quotient and product topologies.

• Standard Examples: Be fluent with spaces like RPn , Furstenberg’s topology, etc.

• Diagrams: Sketch quotient maps or compactifications to visualize.

• Counterexamples: Know key non-examples (e.g., Q not locally compact).

• Theorems as Tools: Use Urysohn’s lemma, Closed Map Lemma, etc., in proofs.