139 Hausdorff Space

A Hausdorff space is a topological space in which any two distinct points have disjoint neighborhoods that is used to guarantee uniqueness of limits.

Definition (Hausdorff Space) A Hausdorff space is a topological space, \(X\), that satisfies the following condition:

  • Disjoint neighborhoods: \(U_1 \cap U_2 = \empty\), for any pair of points \(p_1,p_2 \in X\)

where

  • \(U_1, U_2\) are neighborhoods
  • \(p_1,p_2 \in X\) are distinct points
  • \(X\) is a topological space

139.1 Elementary Example

139.1.1 Simple

In a Hausdorff space, distinct points have disjoint neighborhoods.

\[ X = \{ 1,\ 2,\ 3 \} \]

\[ \tau = \mathcal{P}(X) \]

\[ p_{1} = 1,\ p_{2} = 2,\quad U_{1} = \{1\},\ U_{2} = \{2\} \]

\[ U_{1} \cap U_{2} = \emptyset \]

where

  • \(U_{1}, U_{2}\) are neighborhoods of \(p_{1}, p_{2}\).
  • \(\mathcal{P}(X)\) is the discrete topology.

139.1.2 General

On four points with the discrete topology, every pair of distinct points separates.

\[ X = \{ a,\ b,\ c,\ d \} \]

\[ \tau = \mathcal{P}(X) \]

\[ U_{p} = \{p\}\ \text{for each } p \in X \]

where

  • \(U_{p} \cap U_{q} = \emptyset\) whenever \(p \neq q\).