Cover (topology)

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In mathematics, a cover of a set X is a collection of sets whose union contains X as a subset. Formally, if

C = {U : A}

is an indexed family of sets U , then C is a cover of X if

X U .
A

1 Cover in topology
Covers are commonly used in the context of topology. If the set X is a topological space, then a cover C of X is a
collection of subsets U of X whose union is the whole space X. In this case we say that C covers X, or that the sets
U cover X. Also, if Y is a subset of X, then a cover of Y is a collection of subsets of X whose union contains Y, i.e.,
C is a cover of Y if

Y U
A

Let C be a cover of a topological space X. A subcover of C is a subset of C that still covers X.

We say that C is an open cover if each of its members is an open set (i.e. each U is contained in T, where T is the
topology on X).
A cover of X is said to be locally nite if every point of X has a neighborhood which intersects only nitely many sets
in the cover. Formally, C = {U} is locally nite if for any x X, there exists some neighborhood N(x) of x such
that the set

{ A : U N (x) = }

is nite. A cover of X is said to be point nite if every point of X is contained in only nitely many sets in the cover.
A cover is point nite if it is locally nite, though the converse is not necessarily true.

2 Renement
A renement of a cover C of a topological space X is a new cover D of X such that every set in D is contained in
some set in C. Formally,

D = VB

is a renement of

1
2 6 SEE ALSO

UA when V U
In other words, there is a renement map : B A satisfying V U() for every B . This map is used,
for instance, in the ech cohomology of X.[1]
Every subcover is also a renement, but the opposite is not always true. A subcover is made from the sets that are in
the cover, but omitting some of them; whereas a renement is made from any sets that are subsets of the sets in the
cover.
The renement relation is a preorder on the set of covers of X.
Generally speaking, a renement of a given structure is another that in some sense contains it. Examples are to be
found when partitioning an interval (one renement of a0 < a1 < ... < an being a0 < b0 < a1 < a2 < ... < an <
b1 ), considering topologies (the standard topology in euclidean space being a renement of the trivial topology).
When subdividing simplicial complexes (the rst barycentric subdivision of a simplicial complex is a renement), the
situation is slightly dierent: every simplex in the ner complex is a face of some simplex in the coarser one, and
both have equal underlying polyhedra.
Yet another notion of renement is that of star renement.

3 Subcover
A simple way to get a subcover is to omit the sets contained in another set in the cover. Turn to open cover. Let B be
the topological basis of X , we have A = {A B, A U } , where U is any set in an open cover O . A is indeed a
renement. For any A A , we select a UA O (require the selection axiom). Now C = {UA O, A UA } is a
subcover of O . Hence the cardinal of a subcover of an open cover can be as small as that of topological basis. And
second countability implies Lindelf spaces.

4 Compactness
The language of covers is often used to dene several topological properties related to compactness. A topological
space X is said to be

Compact if every open cover has a nite subcover, (or equivalently that every open cover has a nite renement);
Lindelf if every open cover has a countable subcover, (or equivalently that every open cover has a countable re-
nement);
Metacompact if every open cover has a point nite open renement;
Paracompact if every open cover admits a locally nite open renement.

For some more variations see the above articles.

5 Covering dimension
A topological space X is said to be of covering dimension n if every open cover of X has a point nite open renement
such that no point of X is included in more than n+1 sets in the renement and if n is the minimum value for which
this is true.[2] If no such minimal n exists, the space is said to be of innite covering dimension.

6 See also
Covering space
Atlas (topology)
Set cover problem
 3

7 Notes
[1] Bott, Tu (1982). Dierential Forms in Algebraic Topology. p. 111.

[2] Munkres, James (1999). Topology (2nd ed.). Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-181629-2.

8 References
1. Introduction to Topology, Second Edition, Theodore W. Gamelin & Robert Everist Greene. Dover Publications
1999. ISBN 0-486-40680-6
2. General Topology, John L. Kelley. D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc. Princeton, NJ. 1955.

9 External links
Hazewinkel, Michiel, ed. (2001) [1994], Covering (of a set)", Encyclopedia of Mathematics, Springer Sci-
ence+Business Media B.V. / Kluwer Academic Publishers, ISBN 978-1-55608-010-4
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