Two theorems on generalised metric spaces

We prove that any compact space, and even any countably compact space having the weak topology with respect to a sequence of symmetrisable subspaces, is metrisable. This generalises results of Arhangel'skii and Nedev on metrisability of symmetrisable compact spaces. Also we define and study contraction functions on generalised metric spaces whose topology can be described in terms of a ‘distance function’ which is not quite a metric. In particular we present necessary and sufficient conditions for a space of countable pseudo-character to be submetrisable in terms of real-valued contraction functions on this space.

On weaker forms of compactness Lindelöfness and countable compactness

A theory of e-countable compactness and e-Lindelöfness which are weaker than the concepts of countable compactness and Lindelöfness respectively is developed. Amongst other results we show that an e-countably compact space is pseudocompact, and an example of a space which is pseudocompact but not e-countably compact with respect to any dense set is presented. We also show that every e-Lindelöf metric space is separable.

Countably Compact Spaces and Martin's Axiom

The relationship between compact and countably compact topological spaces has been studied by many topologists. In particular an important question is: “What conditions will make a countably compact space compact?” Conditions which are “covering axioms” have been extensively studied. The best results of this type appear in [19]. We wish to examine countably compact spaces which are separable or perfectly normal. Recall that a space is perfect if and only if every closed subset is a Gδ, and that a space is perfectly normal if and only if it is both perfect and normal. We show that the following statement follows from MA +┐ CH and thus is consistent with the usual axioms of set theory: Every countably compact perfectly normal space is compact. This result is Theorem 3 and can be understood without reading much of what goes before.

A generalization of a theorem of Aquaro

In this paper we introduce the concept of a δθ-cover to generalize Aquaro's Theorem that every point countable open cover of a topological space such that every discrete closed family of sets is countable has a countable subcover. A δθ-cover of a space X is defined to be a family of open sets where each Vn covers X and for x є X there exists n such that Vn is of countable order at x. We replace point countable open cover by a δθ-cover in Aquaro's Theorem and also generalize the result of Worrell and Wicke that a θ-refinable countably compact space is compact and Jones′ result that ℵ1-compact Moore space is Lindelöf which was used to prove his classic result that a normal separable Moore space is metrizable, using the continuum hypothesis.