Topology MOC

Dense set

A subset 𝐴 of a topological space 𝑋 is said to be dense iff every point of 𝑋 is either in 𝑋 or arbitrarily close to an element of 𝑋. topology This is defined formally using the following equivalent conditions:

  1. 𝐴 is dense in 𝑋 iff the smallest closed subset of 𝑋 containing 𝐴 is the whole of 𝑋.
  2. 𝐴 is dense in 𝑋 iff the Closure of 𝐴 in 𝑋 is 𝑋 itself, i.e. Cl𝑋⁑(𝐴) =𝑋.
  3. 𝐴 is dense in 𝑋 iff the exterior of 𝐴 is empty, i.e. Int⁑(𝑋 βˆ–π΄) =βˆ….
  4. 𝐴 is dense in 𝑋 with basis B iff very basic neighbourhood 𝐡 ∈B intersects with 𝐴 so that 𝐴 ∩𝐡 β‰ βˆ….

Examples

Metric topology

In a metric space (𝑀,𝑑), 𝐴 βŠ†π‘€ is dense in 𝑀 iff. every Open ball in 𝑀 contains an element of 𝐴. This is the same as condition ^D4 above.

The set of rationals β„š is dense in the real numbers ℝ with the standard euclidean metric. A consequence of this is that a real number can be approximated to arbitrary precision by a rational number.


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