Non-Hausdorff spaces by John L. Bell.

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on non-Hausdorff topological spaces, exploring their properties, relevance, and available literature. Participants express interest in understanding these spaces in the context of topology and related fields, while also noting the scarcity of resources dedicated to this topic.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes a lack of resources on non-Hausdorff spaces compared to Hausdorff spaces and seeks recommendations for in-depth literature.
  • Another participant argues that non-Hausdorff spaces are primarily of interest as counter-examples to illustrate the necessity of Hausdorff conditions in various theorems.
  • A different viewpoint suggests that the study of non-Hausdorff spaces belongs more to set theory than topology due to their limited properties.
  • It is mentioned that non-Hausdorff spaces are commonly encountered in algebraic geometry.
  • One participant discusses the occurrence of non-Hausdorff topologies in contexts requiring compactness, citing examples like the cofinite and Zariski topologies, and their relevance in variational calculus and non-linear analysis.
  • Another participant highlights the use of non-Hausdorff topologies in categorical formulations of logical systems, suggesting that further insights could be provided by another member of the forum.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the significance and study of non-Hausdorff spaces, with some seeing them as largely uninteresting and others highlighting their applications in various fields. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the overall importance and classification of these spaces.

Contextual Notes

There is a noted limitation in the availability of comprehensive literature specifically addressing non-Hausdorff spaces, which may affect the depth of understanding in the discussion.

sutupidmath
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Hi,

Since i will not be asking for assistance in a particular problem, i am posting under "General Math" rather than "Topology". If inappropriate, please move it somewhere else.

As the title suggests, i am interested in reading more about Topological spaces that are NOT Hausdorff, but there seem to be very little on this topic out there, at least compared to what i was able to find about Hausdorff spaces.

So, i was wondering whether you could provide me with some sources, like articles, books etc. that talk exclusively about non-Hausdorff spaces. I have been able to find a few things, but i was wondering whether there is something more in depth.


Thanks!
 
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You probably won't find much. "Non-Hausdorf" spaces are not very interesting- they are used mainly as "counter-examples" to show exactly why Hausforf is needed in so many theorems.
 
The study of non-Hausdorff spaces properly belongs to set theory, not topology. They just don't have enough nice properties to use topological notions.
 
The spaces studied in algebraic geometry are typically non-Hausdorff...
 
Non-hausdorff topologies occur mostly when you are dealing with problems that demand compactness, but this is incompatible with a strong separation property like Hausdorff's.

Look, for example, at the cofinite and Zarisky topologies; these arise naturally in algebra and algebraic geometry.

In analysis, these topologies also appear when you want to talk about, for example, upper (or lower) semicontinuity of functions; these are the functions that are continuous relative to the topology on [itex]\mathbb R[/itex], generated by the half-open intervals; it is strictly weaker than the standard one and it's not hausdorff. These are important in the modern theories of variational calculus, non-linear analysis and set-valued functions (with applications to game theory and mathematical economics). One note: most textbooks in these fields hide the fact that they are working with a weaker topology by defining upper and lower semicontinuity in terms of upper and lower limits of sequences. But you could take a look at:

Infinite Dimensional Analysis: A Hitchhiker's Guide 3d ed, Aliprantos and Border, Springer, 2006.

Another area where NHT are used is in some of the categorial formulations of logical systems, but Hurkyl could probably tell you much more about these than I. Nevertheless, you may want to take a look at:

http://books.google.pt/books?id=9Hh...esnum=3&ved=0CBgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=&f=false"
 
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