Topological continuity (a few questions).

In summary, it seems that if f:X->Y is continuous, then f(x) is a limit point of f(A) if and only if x is a limit point of U in Y, where U is an open neighborhood of f(x). However, this does not always hold, as shown by the fact that if f is injective, then f(x) is not a limit point of f(A) even though x is a limit point of U.
  • #1
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1.suppose that f:X->Y is continuous. if x is a limit point of the subset A of X, is it necessarily true that f(x) is a limit point of f(A)?
2. suppose that f:R->R is continuous from the right, show that f is continuous when considered as a function from R_l to R, where R_l is R in the lower limit topology. (munkres' notation).

Now for 1, I think the answer is no, but I don't find a counterexample if someone could give me a hint on this ( I'm pretty sure it's easy (-: ), but what I did find is that if f is injective then the answer is yes (I proved it by ad absurdum), so my hunch a counterexample should be with a function which is not injective.

Now for two it seems easy enough, if V is open in R, then it contains an open interval, let it be (a,b), now then f^-1(V) contains f^-1((a,b))={x in R_l|f(x) in (a,b)}
now i need to prove that f^-1((a,b)) is an interval of the form: [x0,x1), but I am struggling with that.
any hints?

thanks in advance.
 
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  • #2
loop quantum gravity said:
1.suppose that f:X->Y is continuous. if x is a limit point of the subset A of X, is it necessarily true that f(x) is a limit point of f(A)?

Are you given any special topology on the sets X,Y?

You could start by assuming that f(x) is not a limit point of f(A), i.e. there exists a neighborhood U of f(x) in Y, such that...
 
  • #3
1. How about taking a constant function from R->R? This looks like it works, provided I'm not mixing up the terminology.

2. f being continuous doesn't mean it pulls back basic sets to basic sets, only to open sets.
 
  • #4
the fact that the answer to 1. is yes, is actually the definition of continuity.

oops, it depends on your definition of "limit point of", but it is true if it means "in the closure of".

i realize however that older books define limit points in a strange way.
 
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  • #5
well the definition of x a limit point of a subset A of X, is that for every neighbourhood U of x, the intersection between U and A contanis a point which is different than x.

Now what I did for 1, is that i assumed that f(x) isn't a limit point of f(A) i.e that there exists U open in Y s.t the intersection between f(A) and U is f(x), now i use the fact that
f^-1(f(A)nU)=Anf^-1(U)=(1), by continuity, f^-1(U) is open in X, and if (1) were equal {x} alone that will be a contradiction for x being a limit point, but (1) also equals: f^-1({f(x)})={x' in X|f(x')=f(x)}, and that would be equal {x} if f is injective as i said, or am i missing something here?

any hints on question number 2, morphism's hint doesn't help much.
 

1. What is topological continuity?

Topological continuity is a fundamental concept in topology that describes the connectedness and smoothness of a space. It refers to the idea that small changes in the input of a function result in small changes in the output, without any abrupt jumps or discontinuities.

2. How is topological continuity different from other types of continuity?

Topological continuity is a more general concept than other types of continuity, such as metric continuity or uniform continuity. It does not rely on a specific distance function or metric, but instead looks at the overall structure and connectedness of a space. This makes it a more flexible and powerful tool for studying mathematical spaces.

3. What is the topological definition of continuity?

The topological definition of continuity states that a function f is continuous if for any open set V in the range of f, the preimage of V (i.e. the set of all points in the domain that map to V) is an open set in the domain. In simpler terms, this means that small changes in the input of f result in small changes in the output, without any abrupt jumps or discontinuities.

4. Can a function be topologically continuous but not metrically continuous?

Yes, it is possible for a function to be topologically continuous but not metrically continuous. This is because topological continuity only looks at the overall structure and connectedness of a space, while metric continuity relies on a specific distance function or metric. Therefore, a function can satisfy the topological definition of continuity but not the metric definition if it has abrupt jumps or discontinuities that do not affect the overall structure of the space.

5. How is topological continuity used in real-world applications?

Topological continuity is used in a variety of real-world applications, including computer graphics, image processing, and data analysis. It is also used in physics and engineering to study the behavior of physical systems and phenomena. In computer science, topological continuity is used in algorithms for data compression, pattern recognition, and machine learning. Overall, topological continuity provides a powerful framework for understanding and analyzing complex systems and data.

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