NEW YORK SEMINAR ON GENERAL TOPOLOGY AND TOPOLOGICAL ALGEBRA

March - April 2005

CHECK FOR CAMPUS AND LOCATION

MARCH 31:   Ralph Kopperman, CCNY, "Approximation of compact Hausdorff spaces by finite spaces and a theorem in Gillman and Jerison". At College of Staten Island. Tea 3:15 at 1S/215, talk 4:00 at 1S/112. For parking contact P. R. Misra, (718)982-3626, prmisra@netzero.net.

     ABSTRACT: Every compact Hausdorff space is the subspace of closed points of an inverse limit of finite T0 spaces (but the 0-dimensional ones are those which are subspaces of inverse limits of finite T1 spaces).
This inverse limit is not itself Hausdorff, but is compact, and it can be chosen so that all its compact subspaces are normal. This is shown using the fact that the set of prime ideals containing a given prime ideal is always a chain (under set inclusion), 14.8 of Gillman-Jerison, originally due to Kohls.

APRIL 7:  David M. Clark, SUNY at New Paltz, "Axiomatizability of Topological Quasi-varieties". Tea 3:15, talk 4:00, at C. W. Post. For parking and more information, contact Susan Andima, mailto:sandima@liu.edu.

     ABSTRACT: A topological quasi-variety X is a category obtained from a discrete finite algebraic structure M by closing {M} under formation of direct products, topologically closed substructures and isomorphic images. The resulting category X=ISP(M) contains certain algebraic structures of the same type as M with a compatible Boolean topology. Much effort has gone into a search for axiomatic descriptions of specific topological quasi-varieties. We find that, for a finite structure M, there are exactly three possibilities: among Boolean topological structures, X either consists of all models of its underlying universal Horn theory, of all models of some first order theory but of no universal theory, or it is not first order definable at all.
   Illustrations of these three options will be drawn from groups, rings, semigroups, lattices, orders, and graph colorings.

APRIL 14:  Homeira Pajoohesh, CEOL, University College Cork, IE, "Completions of Partial Metrics." Tea 3:15, talk 4:00, at a venue to be arranged.

     ABSTRACT: Partial metrics are metrics except that the distance from a point to itself need not be 0; this property is needed to model the partial information obtained in computation. Each partial metric gives rise to two topologies, and if we allow their values to lie in a power of the unit interval, there is always a partial metric that gives rise to the Scott and lower topologies on continuous posets, which are important in the denotational semantics of computing. Partial metric spaces have both a metric completion, and a spherical completion, and we discuss both.

No meetings April 21 or 28.

For more information, contact:

CCNY (212-650-5346): R. Kopperman
College of Staten Island (718-982-3626): P. R. Misra
Baruch College (212-387-1463): A. Todd
LIU C. W. Post Center (516-299-2447): S. Andima
Marymount College (914-631-3200): M. Hastings
Queens College, Math. (718-997-5849): G. Itzkowitz
Queens College, Comp. Sci. (718-997-3478): T. Y. Kong