Definition:Hausdorff Space/Definition 1
Definition
Let $T = \struct {S, \tau}$ be a topological space.
$\struct {S, \tau}$ is a Hausdorff space or $T_2$ space if and only if:
- $\forall x, y \in S, x \ne y: \exists U, V \in \tau: x \in U, y \in V: U \cap V = \O$
That is:
- for any two distinct elements $x, y \in S$ there exist disjoint open sets $U, V \in \tau$ containing $x$ and $y$ respectively.
That is:
- $\struct {S, \tau}$ is a $T_2$ space if and only if every two elements in $S$ are separated by open sets.
Also known as
This condition is known as the Hausdorff condition.
For short, $T$ is Hausdorff is used to mean $T$ is a Hausdorff space.
Conveniently, a topological space is Hausdorff if any two distinct points can be housed off from one another in separate disjoint open sets.
Some sources use the term separated space for Hausdorff space but this is discouraged as there already exists considerable confusion and ambiguity around the definition of the word separated in the context of topology.
Some authors require a space to be Hausdorff before allowing it to be classed as a topological space, but this approach is unnecessarily limiting.
Also note that a Hausdorff space is the same thing as $T_2$ space.
Also see
- Results about $T_2$ (Hausdorff) spaces can be found here.
Source of Name
This entry was named for Felix Hausdorff.
Sources
- 1975: W.A. Sutherland: Introduction to Metric and Topological Spaces ... (previous) ... (next): $4$: The Hausdorff condition: $4.2$: Separation axioms: Definition $4.2.1$
- 1978: Lynn Arthur Steen and J. Arthur Seebach, Jr.: Counterexamples in Topology (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Part $\text I$: Basic Definitions: Section $2$: Separation Axioms
- 1991: Walter Rudin: Functional Analysis (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): $1.5$: Topological spaces