On Quotient Topology

by
Keerti Vardhan Madahar
(keerti1vardhan@gmail.com)
Panjab University, Chandigarh

Introduction. The quotient topology enables us to construct a new

topological space from the given space by dividing it into equivalence classes
each of which is a point in the new space. This new space is then assigned
an appropriate topology to get a quotient space. In this article we study the
quotient spaces , , etc.
Definition. Let (X, ) be a topological space and let R be an
equivalence relation defined on the set X. Let X/R denotes the set of
equivalence classes and f: X → X/R is the canonical surjective map which
sends each point x of X to its equivalence class [x]. Notice that the
collection = { U X/R : f -1(U) lies in } is a topology on X/R. This
topology is known as the quotient topology and the space (X/R, ) is known
as the quotient space. The map f: (X, ) → (X/R, ) is called quotient map, it
is continuous by the definition of the quotient topology.
The motivation for this definition comes from the techniques of cutting
and pasting where one wants to construct new objects from some given
objects together with some rules for cutting and pasting. Here we give some
simple but interesting examples to show how quotient topology and shape of
the quotient space are related.
The topological spaces , , : Let denotes the set of
equivalence classes, two real numbers being equivalent if and only if their
difference is an integer, of the set of real numbers. Notice that there is a
one-to-one correspondence between the elements of the sets and {x : 0 ≤
x <1}. But still the quotient space ( , ) is not homeomorphic to the semi
open interval [0, 1). We shall see below that the quotient space ( , ) is
in fact homeomorphic to the circle.
Consider the surjection f: → ~ [0, 1) which sends each real
number x to that representative of [x] which lies in the interval [0, 1). Since
the quotient map f by definition is a continuous map so the image of any
interval (n- , n+ ), n , must be a connected subset of [0, 1). But notice
that the image set f(n- , n+ ) = [0, ) (1- , 1) is disconnected for each n.
This absurdness can be removed if we assume that ( , ) is homeo-
morphic to a circle (i.e. a space obtained by identifying end points of [0, 1])
instead of an interval. The connectedness of f (n- , n+ ) forces the shape
of to be a simple closed curve instead of a semi open interval.
It is also important to notice that the quotient space is a
compact topological space while the space is non-compact. And the
quotient map in this case is an open map but not a closed map.
Consider the set of equivalences classes, , of the set of real
numbers by assuming two real numbers to be equivalent if and only if their
difference is a rational number. We show that the quotient space ( , )
is non-Hausdorff, connected, compact and has indiscrete topology. We
also show that the quotient map → is an open map.
Consider the following commutative diagram of the quotient maps q 1,
q2 and q3. Since the domain of q3 is compact and connected topological
space so is its image under the continuous map q 3. We now show
that is a non-Hausdorff space although it is a continuous image of a
Hausdorff space.

q2
q1

q3

Notice that for any rational number q the set is precisely the
set of all rational numbers and , for an irrational number r, is the set
of irrational numbers which are at a rational distance from r. Let O = (a, b)
be a base element of the usual topology for and let x be a real number in
the complement of O then there is a real number y in O which is at a
rational distance from x. It follows because we can choose a rational number
q such that x (a+q, b+q) then y = x - q (a, b) is at a rational distance
from x. This implies that the set is equal to for every base
element O . This further implies that is open in for every base
element O, so is an open map.
Since every open subset of contains infinitely many rational
numbers so for any two distinct points x and y of the open
neighbourhoods Nx and Ny, of x and y respectively, must contain the
equivalence class of the set of rational numbers i.e. their intersection is
always non empty. So is a non-Hausdorff space.
Let [U] = U + = { [r] : r U is an irrational number} be a proper
subset of then will be a proper subset of the set of irrational
numbers. Certainly it is not an open subset of because every open subset
of contains rational numbers also. Moreover even if [U] contains the
equivalence class of the rational numbers then also the set = {a
proper subset of irrational numbers} is not an open set of because it is not
a union of open intervals. Notice that the set will be open in
when [U] = . Hence by definition of the quotient topology there is only
one non empty open set in , which is itself. This shows that the
quotient space has indiscrete topology.