Every compact metric space is
a continuous image of the cantor set
S. Kumaresan
School of Math. and Stat.
University of Hyderabad
Hyderabad 500046
kumaresa@[Link]
Let C be the Cantor set of middle thirds:
X
C := {x ∈ R : x = ak /3k , where ak is either 0 or 2}.
k
The theorem of the title says that any compact metric space is a continuous image of the
Cantor set.
We let I N denote the product of countably infinite product of the unit interval [0, 1].
Lemma 1. If (X, d) is a compact metric space, then X is homeomorphic to a (necessarily
closed) subset of I N .
Proof. We may and do assume that the metric on X is bounded by 1. (Justify this.) Since
X is a compact metric space, there exists a countable dense subset, say {xn : n ∈ N}. We
define F : X → I N by setting
F (x) := (d(x, x1 ), d(x, x2 ), . . . , d(x, xn ), . . .).
The coordinate functions πn ◦ F : X → [0, 1] are continuous. By the universal mapping
property of the product topology, the function F is continuous. We claim that F is one-
one. Suppose that x, y ∈ X are such that F (x) = F (y). Since {xn } is dense in X, there
exists a sequence (xnk ) such that xnk → x as k → ∞. Hence d(xnk , x) → 0 as k → ∞.
Since F (x) = F (y), it follows that d(x, xn ) = d(y, xn ) for all n. In particular, d(y, xnk ) =
d(x, xnk ) → 0. Since the limit of a sequence in a metric space is unique, we deduce that
x = y. This establishes our claim. Since X is compact and I ∞ is Hausdorff, it follows that
F : X → F (X) is a homeomorphism.
Lemma 2. The unit interval [0, 1] is the continuous image of the Cantor set.
Proof. Easy. Consider the map g : C → [0, 1] given by g( k ak /3k ) = k ak /2k+1 .
P P
Q
Lemma 3. The Cantor set C is homeomorphic to N {0, 2}, the countable product of the two
point space {0, 2} with discrete topology.
1
ak /3k ) = (a1 , a2 , . . .).
P
Proof. Consider h( k
Lemma 4. The Cantor set is homeomorphic to the countable product of Cantor sets.
Proof. Observe that N canQ∞be written as a countable union of (infinitely) countable subsets.
It therefore follows that 1 {0, 1} is homeomorphic to the countable product of spaces each of
which is a countable product of two point spaces. The result follows from the last lemma.
Lemma 5. The Hilbert cube I ∞ is the continuus image of the cantor set.
Proof. In view of Lemma 4, we may assume that any x ∈ C is of the form (x1 , x2 , . . .), xi ∈ C.
We define G(x) = (g(x1 ), . . . , g(xn ), . . .), where g is as in the proof of Lemma 2.
Lemma 6. If K is a closed subset of the Cantor set C, then K is the continuous image of
the Cantor set.
Proof. Let the middle-two-thirds set C 0 be the set of real numbers of the formQ k bk /6k where
P
bk is either 0 or 5. The obvious, as seen in Lemma 3, it is homeomorphic to ∞ 1 {0, 1}. Hence
the cantor set C and the middle-two-thirds set C 0 are homeomorphic.
The set C 0 has the property that if x, y ∈ C 0 , then thier mid point (x + y)/2 does not lie
in C 0 . Now assume that K 0 is a closed subset of C 0 . If x0 ∈ C,, then there exists a unique
point kx ∈ K 0 such that d(x0 , kx ) = d(x0 , K 0 ). The function k : C 0 → K” given by k(x) = kx
is a continuous, onto retraction.
We can now complete the proof of the theorem. Let us assume that the given compact
metric space X is a subset of I N . Let F be a continuous function from the Cantor set C onto
I N . Then F 1 (X) is a closed subset of C and it is mapped by F onto X.
References:
1. [Link] and G. Young, Topology, Addison-Wesley, pp.127-8, Thm. 3.28.
2. Alan H. Schoenfeld, Continuous surjection from Cantor sets to compact metric spaces,
Proc. A.M.S., 46 (1974), 141-2.
3. [Link], General Topology, Addison-Wesley, 1968, pp.216-218, Thm. 30.7
4. I. Rosenholtz, Another proof that any compact metric space is the continuous image of
the Cantor set, Amer. Math. Monthly, 1976, pp.646-7.
