Pseudocircle

Template:Short description Template:Distinguish The pseudocircle is the finite topological space X consisting of four distinct points {a,b,c,d } with the following non-Hausdorff topology: $$\{\{a,b,c,d\},\{a,b,c\},\{a,b,d\},\{a,b\},\{a\},\{b\},\varnothing \}.$$

This topology corresponds to the partial order $a<c,b<c,a<d,b<d$ where the open sets are downward-closed sets. X is highly pathological from the usual viewpoint of general topology, as it fails to satisfy any separation axiom besides T₀. However, from the viewpoint of algebraic topology, X has the remarkable property that it is indistinguishable from the circle S¹. More precisely, the continuous map $f$ from S¹ to X (where we think of S¹ as the unit circle in ${ℝ}^2$) given by $$f(x,y)=\{\begin{array}{cc}a,& x<0\\ b,& x>0\\ c,& (x,y)=(0,1)\\ d,& (x,y)=(0,-1)\end{array}$$is a weak homotopy equivalence; that is, $f$ induces an isomorphism on all homotopy groups. It follows that $f$ also induces an isomorphism on singular homology and cohomology, and more generally an isomorphism on all ordinary or extraordinary homology and cohomology theories (e.g., K-theory).

This can be proven using the following observation. Like S¹, X is the union of two contractible open sets {a,b,c} and {a,b,d } whose intersection {a,b} is also the union of two disjoint contractible open sets {a} and {b}. So, like S¹, the result follows from the groupoid Seifert-van Kampen theorem, as in the book Topology and Groupoids.

More generally, McCord has shown that, for any finite simplicial complex K, there is a finite topological space X_K which has the same weak homotopy type as the geometric realization |K| of K. More precisely, there is a functor taking K to X_K, from the category of finite simplicial complexes and simplicial maps and a natural weak homotopy equivalence from |K| to X_K.

See also

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