For a space X let $\mathcal {K}(X)$ be the set of compact subsets of X ordered by inclusion. A map $\phi :\mathcal {K}(X) \to \mathcal {K}(Y)$ is a relative Tukey quotient if it carries compact covers to compact covers. When there is such a Tukey quotient write $(X,\mathcal {K}(X)) \ge _T (Y,\mathcal {K}(Y))$, and write $(X,\mathcal {K}(X)) =_T (Y,\mathcal {K}(Y))$ if $(X,\mathcal {K}(X)) \ge _T (Y,\mathcal {K}(Y))$ and vice versa.

We investigate the initial structure of pairs $(X,\mathcal {K}(X))$ under the relative Tukey order, focussing on the case of separable metrizable spaces. Connections are made to Menger spaces.

Applications are given demonstrating the diversity of free topological groups, and related free objects, over separable metrizable spaces. It is shown a topological group G has the countable chain condition if it is either $\sigma $-pseudocompact or for some separable metrizable M, we have $\mathcal {K}(M) \ge _T (G,\mathcal {K}(G))$.

For many years, there have been conducting research (e.g., by Bergelson, Furstenberg, Kojman, Kubiś, Shelah, Szeptycki, Weiss) into sequentially compact spaces that are, in a sense, topological counterparts of some combinatorial theorems, for instance, Ramsey’s theorem for coloring graphs, Hindman’s finite sums theorem, and van der Waerden’s arithmetical progressions theorem. These spaces are defined with the aid of different kinds of convergences: IP-convergence, R-convergence, and ordinary convergence.

The first aim of this paper is to present a unified approach to these various types of convergences and spaces. Then, using this unified approach, we prove some general theorems about existence of the considered spaces and show that all results obtained so far in this subject can be derived from our theorems.

The second aim of this paper is to obtain new results about the specific types of these spaces. For instance, we construct a Hausdorff Hindman space that is not an $\mathcal {I}_{1/n}$-space and a Hausdorff differentially compact space that is not Hindman. Moreover, we compare Ramsey spaces with other types of spaces. For instance, we construct a Ramsey space that is not Hindman and a Hindman space that is not Ramsey.

The last aim of this paper is to provide a characterization that shows when there exists a space of one considered type that is not of the other kind. This characterization is expressed in purely combinatorial manner with the aid of the so-called Katětov order that has been extensively examined for many years so far.

This paper may interest the general audience of mathematicians as the results we obtain are on the intersection of topology, combinatorics, set theory, and number theory.

We discuss the question of extending homeomorphisms between closed subsets of the Cantor cube $D^{\tau }$. It is established that any homeomorphism between two closed negligible subsets of $D^{\tau }$ can be extended to an autohomeomorphism of $D^{\tau }$.

We prove that for two connected sets $E,F\subset \mathbb {R}^2$ with cardinalities greater than $1$ , if one of E and F is compact and not a line segment, then the arithmetic sum $E+F$ has nonempty interior. This improves a recent result of Banakh et al. [‘The continuity of additive and convex functions which are upper bounded on non-flat continua in $\mathbb {R}^n$ ’, Topol. Methods Nonlinear Anal. 54(1)(2019), 247–256] in dimension two by relaxing their assumption that E and F are both compact.

We introduce natural strengthenings of sequential compactness, the r-Ramsey property for each natural number $r\geq 1$ . We prove that metrizable compact spaces are r-Ramsey for all r and give examples of compact spaces that are r-Ramsey but not $(r+1)$ -Ramsey for each $r\geq 1$ (assuming Continuum Hypothesis (CH) for all $r>1$ ). Productivity of the r-Ramsey property is considered.

Ellis’ Theorem (i.e., “every compact Hausdorff right topological semigroup has an idempotent element”) is known to be proved only under the assumption of the full Axiom of Choice (AC); AC is used in the proof in the disguise of Zorn’s Lemma.

In this article, we prove that in ZF, Ellis’ Theorem follows from the Boolean Prime Ideal Theorem (BPI), and hence is strictly weaker than AC in ZF. In fact, we establish that BPI implies the formally stronger (than Ellis’ Theorem) statement “for every family ${\cal A} = \{ ({S_i},{ \cdot _i},{{\cal T}_i}):i \in I\}$ of nontrivial compact Hausdorff right topological semigroups, there exists a function f with domain I such that $f\left( i \right)$ is an idempotent of ${S_i}$, for all $i \in I$”, which in turn implies ACfin (i.e., AC for sets of nonempty finite sets).

Furthermore, we prove that in ZFA, the Axiom of Multiple Choice (MC) implies Ellis’ Theorem for abelian semigroups (i.e., “every compact Hausdorff right topological abelian semigroup has an idempotent element”) and that the strictly weaker than MC (in ZFA) principle LW (i.e., “every linearly ordered set can be well-ordered”) implies Ellis’ Theorem for linearly orderable semigroups (i.e., “every compact Hausdorff right topological linearly orderable semigroup has an idempotent element”); thus the latter formally weaker versions of Ellis’ Theorem are strictly weaker than BPI in ZFA. Yet, it is shown that no choice is required in order to prove Ellis’ Theorem for well-orderable semigroups.

We also show that each one of the (strictly weaker than AC) statements “the Tychonoff product $2^{\Cal R} $ is compact and Loeb” and $BPI_{\Cal R}$ (BPI for filters on ${\Cal R}$) implies “there exists a free idempotent ultrafilter on ω” (which in turn is not provable in ZF). Moreover, we prove that the latter statement does not imply $BP{I_\omega }$ (BPI for filters on ω) in ZF, hence it does not imply any of $AC_{\Cal R} $ (AC for sets of nonempty sets of reals) and $BPI_{\Cal R} $ in ZF, either.

In addition, we prove that the statements “there exists a free ultrafilter on ω”, “there exists a free ultrafilter on ω which is not idempotent”, and “for every IP set $A \subseteq \omega$, there exists a free ultrafilter ${\cal F}$ on ω such that $A \in {\cal F}$” are pairwise equivalent in ZF.

We introduce the open degree of a compact space, and we show that for every natural number $n$, the separable Rosenthal compact spaces of degree $n$ have a finite basis.

In this note we partially answer a question of Cascales, Orihuela and Tkachuk [‘Domination by second countable spaces and Lindelöf ${\rm\Sigma}$-property’, Topology Appl.158(2) (2011), 204–214] by proving that under $CH$ a compact space $X$ is metrisable provided $X^{2}\setminus {\rm\Delta}$ can be covered by a family of compact sets $\{K_{f}:f\in {\it\omega}^{{\it\omega}}\}$ such that $K_{f}\subset K_{h}$ whenever $f\leq h$ coordinatewise.

For any generalized ordered space X with the underlying linearly ordered topological space Xu, let X* be the minimal closed linearly ordered extension of X and be the minimal dense linearly ordered extension of X. The following results are obtained.

1. (1) The projection mapping π:X*→X, π(〈x,i〉)=x, is closed.

2. (2) The projection mapping , ϕ(〈x,i〉)=x, is closed.

3. (3) X* is a monotone D-space if and only if X is a monotone D-space.

4. (4) is a monotone D-space if and only if Xu is a monotone D-space.

5. (5) For the Michael line M, is a paracompact p-space, but not continuously Urysohn.

We prove, among other things, that if ${{C}_{p}}\left( X \right)$ is subcompact in the sense of de Groot, then the space $X$ is discrete. This generalizes a series of previous results on completeness properties of function spaces.

A space X is a D-space if, for every neighborhood assignment f there is a closed discrete set D such that f(D) = X. In this paper we give some necessary conditions and some sufficient conditions for a resolution of a topological space to be a D-space. In particular, if a space X is resolved at each x ∊ X into a D-space Yx by continuous mappings fx: X − {x} → Yx, then the resolution is a D-space if and only if {x} × Bd(Yx) is a D-space.

If A and B are disjoint ideals on ω, there is a tower preserving σ-centered forcing which introduces a subset of ω which meets every infinite member of A in an infinite set and is almost disjoint fromeverymember of B. We can then produce a model in which all compact separable radial spaces are Fréchet, thus answering a question of P. Nyikos. The question of the existence of compact ccc radial spaces which are not Fréchet was first asked by Chertanov (see [Arh78]).

We present sufficient conditions on an approximate mapping F: X → Y of approximate inverse systems in order that the limit f: X → Y of F is a universal map in the sense of Holsztyński. A similar theorem holds for a more restrictive concept of a proximately universal map introduced recently by the second author. We get as corollaries some sufficient conditions on an approximate inverse system implying that the its limit has the (proximate) fixed point property. In particular, every chainable compact Hausdorif space has the proximate fixed point property.

We propose an analogue of the Banach contraction principle for connected compact Hausdorff spaces. We define a J-contraction of a connected compact Hausdorff space. We show that every contraction of a compact metric space is a J-contraction and that any J-contraction of a compact metrizable space is a contraction for some admissible metric. We show that every J-contraction has a unique fixed point and that the orbit of each point converges to this fixed point.

For every infinite cardinal k we construct a space Ck universal for all compact T1 -spaces of weight ≤ k. It follows, in particular, that there are only 2k topologically different compact T1 -spaces. We show that Cw is universal for all second countable developable T1 -spaces. The existence of closely universal compact T1 -spaces is discussed.

Let A and A denote the classes of ordinal spaces with the order topology and Σ-product spaces of the two point discrete space respectively. Characterizations are given in terms of ultrafiIters of clopen sets of those O-dimensional Hausdorff topological spaces that can be embedded homeomorphically as a closed subspace of a topological product of either spaces from the class Λ or the class Δ. Both classes consist of spaces that are ω0-bounded. An example is given of a O-dimensional Hausdorff ω0-bounded space that cannot be homeomorphically embedded as a closed subset of a product of spaces from either Λ or Δ, answering a question of R. G. Woods.

A completely regular HausdorfT space is extra countably compact if every infinite subset of βX has an accumulation point in X. It is a theorem of Comfort and Waiveris that if X either an F-space or realcompact (topologically complete), then there is a set {Pξ:ξ<2C} of extra countably compact (countably compact) subspaces of αX such that Pξ ∩ Pξ = X, for ξ<ξ'<2C. Comfort and Waiveris conjecture that in all three cases, the spaces may be chosen pairwise non-homeomorphic. We prove this conjecture, using D- limits and weak P-points. We also give a partial solution to another question asked by Comfort and Waiveris.

Let X be a locally compact, completely regular Hausdorff space. In this paper it is shown that all compact metric spaces are remainders of X if and only if the quotient ring C*(X)/C∞(X) contains a subring having no primitive idempotents.

If X is a topological space then exp X denotes the space of non-empty closed subsets of X with the Vietoris topology and λX denotes the superextension of X Using Martin's axiom together with the negation of the continuum hypothesis the following is proved: If every discrete subset of exp X is countable the X is compact and metrizable. As a corollary, if λX contains no uncountable discrete subsets then X is compact and metrizable. A similar argument establishes the metrizability of any compact space X whose square X × X contains no uncountable discrete subsets.

This paper contains several characterizations of regular-closed and minimal regular topological spaces along with some related properties.