Chapter 7

Compactness

Introduction

The most important topological property is compactness. It plays a key role in many branches
of mathematics. It would be fair to say that until you understand compactness you do not
understand topology!
So what is compactness? It could be described as the topologists generalization of finiteness.
The formal definition says that a topological space is compact if whenever it is a subset of a union
of an infinite number of open sets then it is also a subset of a union of a finite number of these
open sets. Obviously every finite subset of a topological space is compact. And we quickly see
that in a discrete space a set is compact if and only if it is finite. When we move to topological
spaces with richer topological structures, such as R, we discover that infinite sets can be compact.
Indeed all closed intervals [a, b] in R are compact. But intervals of this type are the only ones
which are compact.
So we are led to ask: precisely which subsets of R are compact? The Heine-Borel Theorem
will tell us that the compact subsets of R are precisely the sets which are both closed and bounded.
As we go farther into our study of topology, we shall see that compactness plays a crucial
role. This is especially so of applications of topology to analysis.

149
150 CHAPTER 7. COMPACTNESS

7.1 Compact Spaces

7.1.1 Definition. Let A be a subset of a topological space (X, τ ). Then A is said to be

S
compact if for every set I and every family of open sets, Oi , i ∈ I, such that A ⊆ i∈I Oi
there exists a finite subfamily Oi1 , Oi2 . . . . , Oin such that A ⊆ Oi1 ∪ Oi2 ∪ · · · ∪ Oin .

7.1.2 Example. If (X, τ ) = R and A = (0, ∞), then A is not compact.

S∞
Proof. For each positive integer i, let Oi be the open interval (0, i). Then, clearly, A ⊆ i=1 Oi .
But there do not exist i1 , i2 , . . . in such that A ⊆ (0, i1 ) ∪ (0, i2 ) ∪ · · · ∪ (0, in ). Therefore A is not
compact. 

7.1.3 Example. Let (X, τ ) be any topological space and A = {x1 , x2 , . . . , xn } any finite
subset of (X, τ ). Then A is compact.
S
Proof. Let Oi , i ∈ I, be any family of open sets such that A ⊆ i∈I Oi . Then for each xj ∈ A,
there exists an Oij , such that xj ∈ Oij . Thus A ⊆ Oi1 ∪ Oi2 ∪ · · · ∪ Oin . So A is compact. 

7.1.4 Remark. So we see from Example 7.1.3 that every finite set (in a topological space) is
compact. Indeed “compactness
can be thought of as a topological generalization of “finiteness
.


7.1.5 Example. A subset A of a discrete space (X, τ ) is compact if and only if it is finite.

Proof. If A is finite then Example 7.1.3 shows that it is compact.

Conversely, let A be compact. Then the family of singleton sets Ox = {x}, x ∈ A is such
S
that each Ox is open and A ⊆ x∈A Ox . As A is compact, there exist Ox1 , Ox2 , . . . , Oxn such that
A ⊆ Ox1 ∪ Ox2 ∪ · · · ∪ Oxn ; that is, A ⊆ {x1 , . . . , xn }. Hence A is a finite set. 

Of course if all compact sets were finite then the study of “compactness
would not be
interesting. However we shall see shortly that, for example, every closed interval [a, b] is compact
Firstly, we introduce a little terminology.
7.1. COMPACT SPACES 151

7.1.6 Definitions. Let I be a set and Oi , i ∈ I, a family of open sets in a topological

space (X, τ ). Let A be a subset of (X, τ ). Then Oi , i ∈ I, is said to be an open covering
S
of A if A ⊆ i∈I Oi . A finite subfamily, Oi1 , Oi2 , . . . , Oin , of Oi , i ∈ I is called a finite
subcovering (of A) if A ⊆ Oi1 ∪ Oi2 ∪ · · · ∪ Oin .

So we can rephrase the definition of compactness as follows:

7.1.7 Definitions. A subset A of a topological space (X, τ ) is said to be compact if

every open covering of A has a finite subcovering. If the compact subset A equals X, then
(X, τ ) is said to be a compact space.

7.1.8 Remark. We leave as an exercise the verification of the following statement:

Let A be a subset of (X, τ ) and τ 1 the topology induced on A by τ . Then A is a compact subset
of (X, τ ) if and only if (A, τ 1 ) is a compact space.
[This statement is not as trivial as it may appear at first sight.] 
152 CHAPTER 7. COMPACTNESS

7.1.9 Proposition. The closed interval [0, 1] is compact.

Proof. Let Oi , i ∈ I be any open covering of [0, 1]. Then for each x ∈ [0, 1], there is an Oi
such that x ∈ Oi . As Oi is open about x, there exists an interval Ux , open in [0, 1] such that
x ∈ Ux ⊆ Oi .
Now define a subset S of [0, 1] as follows:

S = {z : [0, z] can be covered by a finite number of the sets Ux }.

[So z ∈ S ⇒ [0, z] ⊆ Ux1 ∪ Ux2 ∪ · · · ∪ Uxn , for some x1 , x2 , . . . , xn .]

Now let x ∈ S and y ∈ Ux . Then as Ux is an interval containing x and y, [x, y] ⊆ Ux . (Here
we are assuming, without loss of generality that x ≤ y.) So

[0, y] ⊆ Ux1 ∪ Ux2 ∪ · · · ∪ Uxn ∪ Ux

and hence y ∈ S.
So for each x ∈ [0, 1], Ux ∩ S = Ux or Ø.
This implies that
[
S= Ux
x∈S

and
[
[0, 1] \ S = Ux .
x∈S
/

Thus we have that S is open in [0, 1] and S is closed in [0, 1]. But [0, 1] is connected. Therefore
S = [0, 1] or Ø.
However 0 ∈ S and so S = [0, 1]; that is, [0, 1] can be covered by a finite number of
Ux . So [0, 1] ⊆ Ux1 ∪ Ux2 ∪ . . . Uxm . But each Uxi is contained in an Oi , i ∈ I. Hence
[0, 1] ⊆ Oi1 ∪ Oi2 ∪ · · · ∪ Oim and we have shown that [0, 1] is compact. 
7.1. COMPACT SPACES 153

Exercises 7.1

1. Let (X, τ ) be an indiscrete space. Prove that every subset of X is compact.

2. Let τ be the finite-closed topology on any set X. Prove that every subset of (X, τ ) is
compact.

3. Prove that each of the following spaces is not compact.

(i) (0, 1);

(ii) [0, 1);

(iii) Q;

(iv) P;

(v) R2 ;

(vi) the open disc D = {hx, yi : x2 + y 2 < 1} considered as a subspace of R2 ;

(vii) the Sorgenfrey line;

(viii) C[0, 1] with the topology induced by the metric d of Example 6.1.5:

(ix) `1 , `2 , `∞ , c0 with the topologies induced respectively by the metrics d1 , d2 , d∞ , and d0

of Exercises 6.1 #7.

4. Is [0, 1] a compact subset of the Sorgenfrey line?

5. Is [0, 1] ∩ Q a compact subset of Q?

∞ ∞
{ n1 } is a compact subset of R while { n1 } is not.
S S
6. Verify that S = {0} ∪
n=1 n=1
154 CHAPTER 7. COMPACTNESS

7.2 The Heine-Borel Theorem

The next proposition says that “a continuous image of a compact space is compact
.

7.2.1 Proposition. Let f : (X, τ ) → (Y, τ 1 ) be a continuous surjective map. If (X, τ ) is

compact, then (Y, τ 1 ) is compact.

S
Proof. Let Oi , i ∈ I, be any open covering of Y ; that is Y ⊆ i∈I Oi .
Then f −1 (Y ) ⊆ f −1 ( i∈I Oi ); that is, X ⊆ i∈I f −1 (Oi ).
S S

So f −1 (Oi ), i ∈ I, is an open covering of X.

As X is compact, there exist i1 , i2 , . . . , in in I such that

X ⊆ f −1 (Oi1 ) ∪ f −1 (Oi2 ) ∪ · · · ∪ f −1 (Oin ).

So Y = f (X)
⊆ f (f −1 (Oi1 ) ∪ f −1 (Oi2 ) ∪ · · · ∪ f −1 (Oin ))
= f (f −1 (Oi1 ) ∪ f (f −1 (Oi2 )) ∪ · · · ∪ f (f −1 (Oin ))
= Oi1 ∪ Oi2 ∪ · · · ∪ Oin , since f is surjective.
S S S
So we have Y ⊆ Oi1 Oi2 ··· Oin ; that is, Y is covered by a finite number of Oi .
Hence Y is compact. 

7.2.2 Corollary. Let (X, τ ) and (Y, τ 1 ) be homeomorphic topological spaces. If (X, τ )
is compact, then (Y, τ 1 ) is compact. 

7.2.3 Corollary. For a and b in R with a < b, [a, b] is compact while (a, b) is not compact.

Proof. The space [a, b] is homeomorphic to the compact space [0, 1] and so, by Proposition
7.2.1, is compact.
The space (a, b) is homeomorphic to (0, ∞). If (a, b) were compact, then (0, ∞) would be
compact, but we saw in Example 7.1.2 that (0, ∞) is not compact. Hence (a, b) is not compact.
7.2. THE HEINE-BOREL THEOREM 155

7.2.4 Proposition. Every closed subset of a compact space is compact.

Proof. Let A be a closed subset of a compact space (X, τ ). Let Ui ∈ τ , i ∈ I, be any open
covering of A. Then
[
X ⊆ ( Ui ) ∪ (X \ A);
i∈I

that is, Ui , i ∈ I, together with the open set X \ A is an open covering of X. Therefore there
exists a finite subcovering Ui1 , Ui2 , . . . , Uik , X \ A. [If X \ A is not in the finite subcovering then
we can include it and still have a finite subcovering of X.]
So
X ⊆ Ui1 ∪ Ui2 ∪ · · · ∪ Uik ∪ (X \ A).

Therefore,
A ⊆ Ui1 ∪ Ui2 ∪ · · · ∪ Uik ∪ (X \ A)

which clearly implies

A ⊆ Ui1 ∪ Ui2 ∪ · · · ∪ Uik

since A ∩ (X \ A) = Ø. Hence A has a finite subcovering and so is compact. 

7.2.5 Proposition. A compact subset of a Hausdorff topological space is closed.

Proof. Let A be a compact subset of the Hausdorff space (X, τ ). We shall show that A
contains all its limit points and hence is closed. Let p ∈ X \ A. Then for each a ∈ A, there exist
open sets Ua and Va such that a ∈ Ua , p ∈ Va and Ua ∩ Va = Ø.
S
Then A ⊆ a∈A Ua . As A is compact, there exist a1 , a2 , . . . , an in A such that

A ⊆ Ua1 ∪ Ua2 ∪ · · · ∪ Uan .

S S S
Put U = Ua1 Ua2 ··· Uan and V = Va1 ∩ Va2 ∩ · · · ∩ Van . Then p ∈ V and Va ∩ Ua = Ø implies
V ∩ U = Ø which in turn implies V ∩ A = Ø. So p is not a limit point of A, and V is an open set
containing p which does not intersect A.
Hence A contains all of its limit points and is therefore closed. 
156 CHAPTER 7. COMPACTNESS

7.2.6 Corollary. A compact subset of a metrizable space is closed. 

7.2.7 Example. For a and b in R with a < b, the intervals [a, b) and (a, b] are not compact as
they are not closed subsets of the metrizable space R. 

7.2.8 Proposition. A compact subset of R is bounded.

S∞
Proof. Let A ⊆ R be unbounded. Then A ⊆ n=1 (−n, n), but {(−n, n) : n = 1, 2, 3, . . . } does
not have any finite subcovering of A as A is unbounded. Therefore A is not compact. Hence all
compact subsets of R are bounded. 

7.2.9 Theorem. (Heine-Borel Theorem) Every closed bounded subset of R is compact.

Proof. If A is a closed bounded subset of R, then A ⊆ [a, b], for some a and b in R. As [a, b] is
compact and A is a closed subset, A is compact. 

The Heine-Borel Theorem is an important result. The proof above is short only because we
extracted and proved Proposition 7.1.9 first.

7.2.10 Proposition. (Converse of Heine-Borel Theorem) Every compact subset of R

is closed and bounded.

Proof. This follows immediately from Propositions 7.2.8 and 7.2.5. 

7.2.11 Definition. A subset A of a metric space (X, d) is said to be bounded if there

exists a real number r such that d(a1 , a2 ) ≤ r, for all a1 and a2 in A.
7.2. THE HEINE-BOREL THEOREM 157

7.2.12 Proposition. Let A be a compact subset of a metric space (X, d). Then A is
closed and bounded.

Proof. By Corollary 7.2.6, A is a closed set. Now fix x0 ∈ X and define the mapping
f : (A, τ ) → R by
f (a) = d(a, x0 ), for every a ∈ A,

where τ is the induced topology on A. Then f is continuous and so, by Proposition 7.2.1, f (A)
is compact. Thus, by Proposition 7.2.10, f (A) is bounded; that is, there exists a real number M
such that
f (a) ≤ M, for all a ∈ A.

Thus d(a, x0 ) ≤ M , for all a ∈ A. Putting r = 2M , we see by the triangle inequality that
d(a1 , a2 ) ≤ r, for all a1 and a2 in A. 

Recalling that Rn denotes the n-dimensional euclidean space with the topology induced by
the euclidean metric, it is possible to generalize the Heine-Borel Theorem and its converse from
R to Rn , n > 1. We state the result here but delay its proof until the next chapter.

7.2.13 Theorem. (Generalized Heine-Borel Theorem) A subset of Rn , n ≥ 1, is

compact if and only if it is closed and bounded.

Warning. Although Theorem 7.2.13 says that every closed bounded subset of Rn is compact,
closed bounded subsets of other metric spaces need not be compact. (See Exercises 7.2 #9.)

7.2.14 Proposition. Let (X, τ ) be a compact space and f a continuous mapping from
(X, τ ) into R. Then the set f (X) has a greatest element and a least element.

Proof. As f is continuous, f (X) is compact. Therefore f (X) is a closed bounded subset of

R. As f (X) is bounded, it has a supremum. Since f (X) is closed, Lemma 3.3.2 implies that the
supremum is in f (X). Thus f (X) has a greatest element – namely its supremum. Similarly it
can be shown that f (X) has a least element. 
158 CHAPTER 7. COMPACTNESS

7.2.15 Proposition. Let a and b be in R and f a continuous function from [a, b] into R.
Then f ([a, b]) = [c, d], for some c and d in R.

Proof. As [a, b] is connected, f ([a, b]) is a connected subset of R and hence is an interval. As
[a, b] is compact, f ([a, b]) is compact. So f ([a, b]) is a closed bounded interval. Hence

f ([a, b]) = [c, d]

for some c and d in R. 

Exercises 7.2

1. Which of the following subsets of R are compact? (Justify your answers.)

(i) Z;
√
2
(ii) { n
: n = 1, 2, 3, . . . };

(iii) {x : x = cos y, y ∈ [0, 1]};

(iv) {x : x = tan y, y ∈ [0, π/2)}.

2. Which of the following subsets of R2 are compact? (Justify your answers.)

(i) {hx, yi : x2 + y 2 = 4}

(ii) {hx, yi : x ≥ y + 1}

(iii) {hx, yi : 0 ≤ x ≤ 2, 0 ≤ y ≤ 4}

(iv) {hx, yi : 0 < x < 2, 0 ≤ y ≤ 4}

3. Let (X, τ ) be a compact space. If {Fi : i ∈ I} is a family of closed subsets of X such that
T
i∈I Fi = Ø, prove that there is a finite subfamily

Fi1 , Fi2 , . . . , Fim such that Fi1 ∩ Fi2 ∩ · · · ∩ Fim = Ø.

7.2. THE HEINE-BOREL THEOREM 159

4. Corollary 4.3.7 says that for real numbers a, b, c and d with a < b and c < d,

(i) (a, b) ∼
6= [c, d]

(ii) [a, b) 6∼
= [c, d].

Prove each of these using a compactness argument (rather than a connectedness argument
as was done in Corollary 4.3.7).

5. Let (X, τ ) and (Y, τ 1 ) be topological spaces. A mapping f : (X, τ ) → (Y, τ 1 ) is said to
be a closed mapping if for every closed subset A of (X, τ ), f (A) is closed in (Y, τ 1 ). A
function f : (X, τ ) → (Y, τ 1 ) is said to be an open mapping if for every open subset A of
(X, τ ), f (A) is open in (Y, τ 1 ).

(a) Find examples of mappings f which are

(i) open but not closed

(ii) closed but not open
(iii) open but not continuous
(iv) closed but not continuous
(v) continuous but not open
(vi) continuous but not closed.

(b) If (X, τ ) and (Y, τ 1 ) are compact Hausdorff spaces and f : (X, τ ) → (Y, τ 1 ) is a
continuous mapping, prove that f is a closed mapping.

6. Let f : (X, τ ) → (Y, τ 1 ) be a continuous bijection. If (X, τ ) is compact and (Y, τ 1 ) is

Hausdorff, prove that f is a homeomorphism.

7. Let {Cj : j ∈ J} be a family of closed compact subsets of a topological space (X, τ ). Prove
T
that j∈J Cj is compact.

8. Let n be a positive integer, d the euclidean metric on Rn , and X a subset of Rn . Prove that
X is bounded in (Rn , d) if and only if there exists a positive real number M such that for
all hx1 , x2 , . . . , xn i ∈ X, −M ≤ xi ≤ M , i = 1, 2, . . . , n.
160 CHAPTER 7. COMPACTNESS

9. Let (C[0, 1], d∗ ) be the metric space defined in Example 6.1.6. Let B = {f : f ∈ C[0, 1] and
d∗ (f, 0) ≤ 1} where 0 denotes the constant function from [0, 1] into R which maps every
element to zero. (The set B is called the closed unit ball.)

(i) Verify that B is closed and bounded in (C[0, 1], d∗ ).

(ii) Prove that B is not compact. [Hint: Let {Bi : i ∈ I} be the family of all open balls
of radius 1
2
in (C[0, 1], d∗ ). Then {Bi : i ∈ I} is an open covering of B. Suppose there
exists a finite subcovering B1 , B2 , . . . BN . Consider the (N + 1) functions fα : [0, 1] → R
given by fα (x) = sin(2N −α .π.x), α = 1, 2, . . . N + 1.

(a) Verify that each fα ∈ B.

(b) Observing that fN +1 (1) = 1 and fm (1) = 0, for all m ≤ N , deduce that if fN +1 ∈ B1
then fm 6∈ B1 , m = 1, . . . , N .
(c) Observing that fN ( 21 ) = 1 and fm ( 21 ) = 0, for all m ≤ N − 1, deduce that if fN ∈ B2
then fm 6∈ B2 , m = 1, . . . , N − 1.
(d) Continuing this process, show that f1 , f2 , . . . , fN +1 lie in distinct Bi – a contradiction.]

10. Prove that every compact Hausdorff space is a normal space.

11.* Let A and B be disjoint compact subsets of a Hausdorff space (X, τ ). Prove that there
exist disjoint open sets G and H such that A ⊆ G and B ⊆ H.

12. Let (X, τ ) be an infinite topological space with the property that every subspace is compact.
Prove that (X, τ ) is not a Hausdorff space.

13. Prove that every uncountable topological space which is not compact has an uncountable
number of subsets which are compact and an uncountable number which are not compact.

14. If (X, τ ) is a Hausdorff space such that every proper closed subspace is compact, prove that
(X, τ ) is compact.
7.3. POSTSCRIPT 161

7.3 Postscript

Compactness plays a key role in applications of topology to all branches of analysis. As noted in
Remark 7.1.4 it can be thought as a topological generalization of finiteness.
The Generalized Heine-Borel Theorem characterizes the compact subsets of Rn as those
which are closed and bounded.
Compactness is a topological property. Indeed any continuous image of a compact space is
compact.
Closed subsets of compact spaces are compact and compact subspaces of Hausdorff spaces
are closed.
Exercises 7.2 # 5 introduces the notions of open mappings and closed mappings. Exercises
7.2 #10 notes that a compact Hausdorff space is a normal space (indeed a T4 -space). That the
closed unit ball in each Rn is compact contrasts with Exercises 7.2 #9. This exercise points out
that the closed unit ball in the metric space (C[0, 1], d∗ ) is not compact. Though we shall not
prove it here, it can be shown that a normed vector space is finite-dimensional if and only if its
closed unit ball is compact.

Warning. It is unfortunate that “compact
is defined in different ways in different books and
some of these are not equivalent to the definition presented here. Firstly some books include
Hausdorff in the definition of compact. Some books, particularly older ones, use “compact
to
mean a weaker property than ours—what is often called sequentially compact. Finally the term
“bikompakt
is often used to mean compact or compact Hausdorff in our sense.