Two spaces are not homeomorphic

  • Thread starter beetle2
  • Start date
In summary, quasar has the right idea... basically, for there to be a continuous bijection it has to be monotone (increasing or decreasing). Then f(1) taking a finite value causes serious problems.
  • #1
beetle2
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Prove that no continuous surjective function [itex]f : ]0; 1] \rightarrow R [/itex]can be injective.


My questions is can I use a proof by contradiction and assume that there is a injection

Then I can use the fact that if there was an injection ie there's a bijective function then the two spaces would be homeomorphic to each other.

And then show the the two spaces are not homeomorphic so impossible?
 
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  • #2


If there's a bijection, they would be isomorphic as far as I can tell. I think that it has something to do with the continuity and that the segment is closed.
 
  • #3


beetle2 said:
Prove that no continuous surjective function [itex]f : ]0; 1] \rightarrow R [/itex]can be injective.


My questions is can I use a proof by contradiction and assume that there is a injection

Then I can use the fact that if there was an injection ie there's a bijective function then the two spaces would be homeomorphic to each other.

And then show the the two spaces are not homeomorphic so impossible?

Of course.
 
  • #4


beetle2 said:
Prove that no continuous surjective function [itex]f : ]0; 1] \rightarrow R [/itex]can be injective.


My questions is can I use a proof by contradiction and assume that there is a injection

Then I can use the fact that if there was an injection ie there's a bijective function then the two spaces would be homeomorphic to each other.

And then show the the two spaces are not homeomorphic so impossible?

the inverse image of the positive integers has a limit point
 
  • #5


Then I will try and show that both spaces are homeomorhic.
 
  • #6


Suppose that f is continuous and injective. Maybe it's easiest to prove that it cannot be a surjection, i.e. there is at least one real number which is not the image of any point on the segment [0, 1].
 
  • #7


But the segment is (0.1]
 
  • #8


You only need one boundary point contained in the finite region, so i think you can still do it.
 
  • #9


So If I assume that f is continuous and injective:

take
[itex] a \in X a = 1 [/itex]such that [itex]f(a) \in Y[/itex]
And as [itex]f[/itex]is continuous and injective I can find for any [itex]\epsilon > 0[/itex]
a real element [itex] y \in Y [/itex] such that the inverse [itex]f^{-1}(y+ \epsilon) - f^{-1}(y) + f^{-1}(y) - f^{-1}(y-\epsilon)[/itex] is in [itex]X[/itex]
How ever since [itex]f^{-1}f(a)[/itex] is a boundary point this is impossible

showing there is at leat one real number which is not the image of any point on the segment (0, 1].
 
  • #10


beetle2 said:
Prove that no continuous surjective function [itex]f : ]0; 1] \rightarrow R [/itex]can be injective.


My questions is can I use a proof by contradiction and assume that there is a injection

Then I can use the fact that if there was an injection ie there's a bijective function then the two spaces would be homeomorphic to each other.

And then show the the two spaces are not homeomorphic so impossible?

I'm sorry, I read your post a little too fast. Your second sentence contains a false statement: the existence of a continuous bijective function does not imply the existence of a homeomorphism.

To solve this problem, try supposing that there is a continuous injective and surjective function f:]0,1]-->R. Then f([½,1])=[a,b] for some real numbers a and b. Suppose that f(1)=b (the case f(1)=a is similar). Show that no x>b is hit by f. In other words, [itex]f^{-1}(]b,\infty[)=\emptyset[/itex] and thus f is not surjective: a contradiction.
 
  • #11


I appreciate all your help guys.
 
  • #12


Your map can't exist in the first place; the image of a compact subset under a continuous map is compact, and the reals are not compact.

Other than that, I suppose you could also say that if your map was injective, then since bijective maps from compact spaces to Hausdorff spaces are homeomorphisms, then you would have a contradiction since [0,1] is not homeomorphic to the reals, since for example [0,1] is compact; although this is the point I made in the first paragraph.
 
  • #13


Jamma said:
Your map can't exist in the first place; the image of a compact subset under a continuous map is compact, and the reals are not compact.
Prove it.
 
  • #14


The domain isn't compact anyway (it doesn't contain 0). As for proving the reals are NOT compact, that's easy since all you need to do is come up with a counterexample to the definition.

quasar has the right idea... basically, for there to be a continuous bijection it has to be monotone (increasing or decreasing). Then f(1) taking a finite value causes serious problems
 
  • #15


A subset of R^n is compact iff it is closed and bounded. ]0,1] is not compact because it is not closed. R is not compact because it is not bounded.
 
  • #16


the negative integers -m map to an infinite decreasing or increasing sequence in (0,1] that either has a limit point or converges to 0. If there is a limit point the inverse can not be a homeomorphism. but then the positive integers must have a limit point.
 
  • #17


Maybe you can use the fact that a continuous bijection between [0,1] and R
would be (is) a homeo. (cont. bijection, compact, Hausd. , yada yada)

Then, if h is that homeo., the restriction:

h<sup>^</sup>:(0,1]-->R-{f(0)} is also a homeo.

but R-{f(0)} is disconnected, and (0,1] (as a subspace) is not.
 
  • #18


This looks like an argument against the existence of a homeomorphism between R and [0,1] (which is direct by compactness by the way). The OP was trying to find an argument against the existence of a homeo between R and (0,1].
 
  • #19


I was not claiming this is a solution; just mentioning
a result that seemed closed to what the OP was asking
for; I thought it may help give him an idea.
 
  • #20


Sorry, I thought that the ]0,1] was a typo to mean [0,1], in which case I'd obviously have been correct. I've never seen this (very weird) notation, and would use (0,1].

Looking at it though, it does make a bit of sense, its like the brackets are indicating visually where the boundaries lie on the real line, and it can be annoying having things like (0,1) around when there are also 2-tuples.
 
  • #21


The notation is universal in french books. I've seen it on rare occasions in english books, perhaps by authors trying to popularize it.
 
  • #22


Since f is continuous, the preimage [tex]A = f^{-1}((f(1), +\infty))[/tex] must be open in (0, 1]. Ditto for [tex]B = f^{-1}((-\infty, f(1))[/tex].

Then [tex](0, 1) \subset A \cup B [/tex] and the surjectivity assures neither A nor B are empty. And this along with their openness implies [tex]A \cap B \ne \emptyset[/tex], which implies [tex]A \cup B[/tex] is connected, and so [tex]f(A \cup B)[/tex] is connected (and equal the whole real line), and therefore [tex]f(1) \in f(A \cup B)[/tex]. So f is not injective.
 

1. What does it mean for two spaces to be homeomorphic?

Two spaces being homeomorphic means that there exists a continuous function between them that can be reversed, with both the function and its inverse also being continuous. In simpler terms, it means that the two spaces are topologically equivalent.

2. How can you prove that two spaces are not homeomorphic?

One way to prove that two spaces are not homeomorphic is by showing that they have different topological properties, such as different numbers of connected components, holes, or dimensions. Another way is to use topological invariants, such as the Euler characteristic, to show that they are not equal.

3. Can two spaces have the same shape but not be homeomorphic?

Yes, two spaces can have the same shape but not be homeomorphic. This is because homeomorphism only considers the topological properties of a space, while shape takes into account additional geometric features such as distances and angles.

4. Is homeomorphism an equivalence relation?

Yes, homeomorphism is an equivalence relation. This means that it is reflexive, symmetric, and transitive. In other words, every space is homeomorphic to itself, if two spaces are homeomorphic, then their inverse functions are also homeomorphic, and if two spaces are homeomorphic and one of them is homeomorphic to a third space, then the third space is also homeomorphic to the other two.

5. Can two spaces be homeomorphic if one is compact and the other is not?

No, two spaces cannot be homeomorphic if one is compact and the other is not. This is because compactness is a topological property that is preserved under homeomorphism. Therefore, if one space is compact and the other is not, they must have different topological properties and thus cannot be homeomorphic.

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