Separation axiom
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Separation axioms in topological spaces |
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|---|---|
| Kolmogorov classification | |
| T0 | (Kolmogorov) |
| T1 | (Fréchet) |
| T2 | (Hausdorff) |
| T2½ | (Urysohn) |
| completely T2 | (completely Hausdorff) |
| T3 | (regular Hausdorff) |
| T3½ | (Tychonoff) |
| T4 | (normal Hausdorff) |
| T5 | (completely normal Hausdorff) |
| T6 | (perfectly normal Hausdorff) |
| History | |
In topology and related fields of mathematics, there are several restrictions that one often makes on the kinds of topological spaces that one wishes to consider. Some of these restrictions are given by the separation axioms. These are sometimes called Tychonoff separation axioms, after Andrey Tychonoff.
The separation axioms are axioms only in the sense that, when defining the notion of topological space, one could add these conditions as extra axioms to get a more restricted notion of what a topological space is. The modern approach is to fix once and for all the axiomatization of topological space and then speak of kinds of topological spaces. However, the term "separation axiom" has stuck. The separation axioms are denoted with the letter "T" after the German Trennungsaxiom, which means "separation axiom."
The precise meanings of the terms associated with the separation axioms has varied over time, as explained in History of the separation axioms. It is important to understand the authors' definition of each condition mentioned to know exactly what they mean, especially when reading older literature.
Before we define the separation axioms themselves, we give concrete meaning to the concept of separated sets (and points) in topological spaces. (Separated sets are not the same as separated spaces, defined in the next section.)
The separation axioms are about the use of topological means to distinguish disjoint sets and distinct points. It's not enough for elements of a topological space to be distinct (that is, unequal); we may want them to be topologically distinguishable. Similarly, it's not enough for subsets of a topological space to be disjoint; we may want them to be separated (in any of various ways). The separation axioms all say, in one way or another, that points or sets that are distinguishable or separated in some weak sense must also be distinguishable or separated in some stronger sense.
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