99

A FACTORIZATION THEOREM FOR WEAK

\alpha ‐FAVOURABILITY

ALEJANDRO DORANTES‐ALDAMA AND DMITRI SHAKHMATOV

All spaces are assumed to be Tychonoff and all topological groups are assumed to beHausdorff.

1. WHAT IS WEAK \alpha ‐FAVOURABILITY? THE BANACH−MAZUR GAMEThe notion of weak \alpha ‐favourability is defined in terms of a topological game.
For a topological space X , the Banach‐Mazur game on X is played between two players.
At round 1, Player A selects a non‐empty open subset A_{1} of X , and Player B respondswith choosing a non‐empty open subset B_{1} inside of A_{1} . At round 2, Player A selects anon‐empty open subset A_{2}\subseteq B_{1} , and Player B responds by choosing a non‐empty open
subset B_{2}\subseteq A_{2} . The game continues to infinity producing a decreasing sequence(1)

A_{1}\supseteq B_{1}\supseteq A_{2}\supseteq B_{2}\supseteq

of non‐empty open subsets of X . Player B wins if(2)\bigcap_{n\in\mathb {N} A_{n}=\bigcap_{n\in\mathb {N} B_{n}\neq\emptyset ;otherwise Player A wins.

Player A tries to make the intersection \bigcap_{n\in \mathbb{N} A_{n}=\bigcap_{n\in \mathbb{N} B_{n} empty, while Player B tries

to make it non‐empty. The vague word “tries” corresponds to the rigorous notion of awinning strategy.

Let \mathcal{O} denotes the family of all non‐empty open subsets of X . Let Seq( \mathcal{O} ) denotes
the set of all finite sequences (U_{0} , U_{n}) of elements of \mathcal{O} . A strategy is a function\sigma: Seq (\mathcal{O})ar ow \mathcal{O} such that\sigma(U_{0} . , U_{n})\subseteq U_{n} for every (U_{0}, \ldots, U_{n})\in Seq(\mathcal{O}) .

A strategy \beta is a winning strategy for Player B provided that Player B wins the gamedefined by

A_{1}=\alpha(\emptyset), B_{1}=\beta(A_{1}) , , A_{n}=\alpha(B_{1} . , B_{n-1}) , B_{n}=\beta(A_{1}, \ldots, A_{n}) ,for every strategy \alpha for Player A ; that is, (2) holds.
Definition 1.1. The space X is called weakly \alpha ‐favourable if Playerstrategy in the Banach‐Mazur game on X.

B

has a winning

It is known that

Čech‐complete arrow Oxtoby complete arrow weakly \alpha- favourable arrow Baire.
This talk was presented at the conference by the second listed author.

100
2. FACTORIZATION THEOREMS FOR WEAK

\alpha ‐FAVOURABILITY

We are going to study weak \alpha ‐favourability and related completeness properties bymeans of a factorization theorem.

Let \mathcal{P} and \mathcal{Q} be topological properties. Assume that h : Xarrow Z is a continuous
map such that X has property \mathcal{P} and Z has property \mathcal{Q} . Can we factorize this map hthrough an intermediate space Y which has both properties \mathcal{P} and \mathcal{Q} ? In other words, canwe find a topological space Y having both properties \mathcal{P} and \mathcal{Q} , a continuous surjection
g : Xarrow Y and a continuous map f : Yarrow Z such that h=f\circ g ? If this is possible forevery continuous map h as above, then we say that the factorization theorem holds forthe pair of topological properties (\mathcal{P}, \mathcal{Q}) .
The notion of a factorization theorem can be appropriately defined also for other cat‐egories, for example, for the category of topological groups and their continuous homo‐morphisms.
Our main result is the following factorization theorem, in which w(X) denotes theweight of a topological space X , i.e. the minimal cardinality of a base for X.

Theorem 2.1 (A general factorization theorem for weak \alpha ‐favourability). Let h:Xarrow Z

be a continuous map from a weakly \alpha ‐favourable space X to a topological space Z. Thenthere exist a weakly \alpha ‐favourable topological space Y and continuous maps g : Xarrow Y,
f : Yarrow Z such that h=f\circ g, Y=g(X) and w(Y)\leq w(Z) .

Since a metric weakly \alpha ‐favourable space

Ycontains a dense completely metrizable

subspace [8, Theorem 3(11)], from this theorem we get the following corollary.
Corollary 2.2. For every continuous map h:Xarrow Z from a weakly a‐favourable space
X to a separable metric space Z , there exist a separable metric space Y , a continuous
surjection g : Xarrow Y and a continuous map f : Yarrow Z such that h=f\circ g and Y

contains a dense completely metrizable (thus, Polishable) subspace.
The next corollary provides a factorization meta‐theorem for a class P of spaces.
Corollary 2.3. Let P be any class of topological spaces having the following two proper‐
ties:(i) every space in the class P is weakly \alpha ‐favourable;(ii) if a separable metric space Y has a dense completely metrizable subspace, then Y

belongs to the class P.
Then for every continuous map h : Xarrow Z from a space X in the class P to a separa‐
ble metric space Z , there exist a separable metric space Y in the class P , a continuoussurjection g:Xarrow Y and a continuous map f : Yarrow Z such that h=f\circ g.

Proof. Let X,

Z and h be as in the assumption of our corollary.

ThenX is weakly\alpha‐favourable by item (i). Use Corollary 2.2 to find Y, f and g as in the conclusion of this\squarecorollary. Then the space Y belongs to the class P by item (ii).
Items (i) and (ii) of this corollary can be briefly summarized by the following line:\exists dense complete metric subspace arrow

belongs to Parrow weakly \alpha ‐favourable.

From Corollary 2.3, we obtain nine concrete factorization theorems for different classes
P of topological spaces.

Corollary 2.4. Let P be one of the following classes of spaces considered (and some ofthem defined) in [4]:

101
101
(i) Sánchez‐Okunev countably compact spaces,(ii) Oxtoby countably compact spaces,(iii) Todd countably compact spaces,(iv) strong Sánchez‐Okunev complete spaces,(v) strong Oxtoby complete spaces,(vi) strong Todd complete spaces,(vii) Sánchez‐Okunev complete spaces,(viii) Todd complete spaces,(ix) Oxtoby complete spaces.
Then for every continuous map h : Xarrow Z from a space X in the class P to a sepa‐
rable metric space Z , there exist a separable metric space Y in the class P , a continuous
surjection g:Xarrow Y and a continuous map f : Yarrow Z such that h=f\circ g.

Proof. By [4, Diagram 2], every space in the class P is Todd complete, and by [3, Theorem6.10], every Todd complete space is weakly \alpha ‐favourable. Therefore, by [4, Theorem 4.1]
and [1, Corollary 2.4], if a metric space Y has a dense completely metrizable subspace,then Y belongs to P. Hence, P satisfies the hypothesis of Corollary 2.3.

\square3. WEAK \alpha ‐FAVOURABILITY IN \omega ‐BOUNDED TOPOLOGICAL GROUPS

Definition 3.1. [4, Definition 4.3] A topological group X is Polish factorizable provided

that for every continuous homomorphism h:Xarrow Z from X to a separable metric groupZ , there exist a Polish group Y and continuous homomorphisms g:Xarrow Y, f : Yarrow Z
such that h=f\circ g and Y=g(X) .

Fact 3.2. [4] Pseudocompact groups are Polish factorizable.
Proof. Let h : Xarrow Z be a continuous homomorphism from a pseudocompact group X toa separable metric group Z . Then h(X) is pseudocompact. Since pseudocompact metricspaces are compact, Y=h(X) is compact. Thus, Y is a Polish group. So we can take\square
g=h and f=id:Yarrow Z.

Definition 3.3. [6] A topological group X is called w ‐bounded provided that for every
open neighbourhood U of the identity of X , one can find an at most countable set S such
thatX=SU.

Clearly, Lindelöf groups are \omega ‐bounded [6].
Fact 3.4. [6] A topological group is \omega ‐bounded if and only if it is topologically andalgebraically isomorphic to a subgroup of a suitable product of separable metric groups.

Theorem 3.5. A weakly \alpha ‐favourable \omega ‐bounded group is Polish factorizable.
The following is a restatement of Theorem 3.5 based on Fact 3.4.
Theorem 3.6. Let \{H_{i} : i\in I\} be a family of separable metric groups and let H=\prod_{i\in I}H_{i} be its product. If a subgroup G of H is weakly \alpha ‐favourable, then G is Polishfactorizable.
4. WHEN IS A DENSE SUBGROUP OF A PRODUCT OF SEPARABLE METRIC GROUPSWEAKLY \alpha ‐FAVOURABLE?

Our next theorem characterizes weak \alpha ‐favourability of dense subgroups of products ofseparable metric groups.

102
Theorem 4.1. Let G be a dense subgroup in the product H= \prod_{i\in I}H_{i} of separable metricgroups H_{i} . Then the following conditions are equivalent:(i) G is weakly \alpha ‐favourable;(ii) all groups H_{i} are Polishable and \pi_{J}(G)=\prod_{i\in J}H_{i} for every at most countable
subset J of I , where \pi_{J} : H arrow\prod_{i\in J}H_{i} is the projection.

In [4, Theorem 4.6], the authors give the following list of conditions equivalent to item(ii) of this theorem:(iii) G is Sánchez‐Okunev complete;(iv) G is Oxtoby complete;(v) G is Telgársky complete;(vi) G is strongly Sánchez‐Okunev complete;(vii) G is strongly Oxtoby complete;(viii) G is Sánchez‐Okunev countably compact;(ix) G is Oxtoby countably compact;(x) G is Polish factorizable.
Since Todd complete spaces are weakly \alpha ‐favourable [3, Theorem 6.10], now we can add
another equivalent condition to this list, thereby answering positively [4, Question 11.9]:(xi) G is Todd complete.
5. TWO CHARACTERIZATIONS OF PSEUDOCOMPACTNESS IN TOPOLOGICAL GROUPS

Definition 5.1. A topological group X is called precompact provided that for every open
neighbourhood U of the identity of X one can find an a finite set S such that X=SU.
It is obvious from Definitions 3.3 and 5.1 that precompact groups are \omega ‐bounded.

Theorem 5.2 (Weil). A topological group is precompact if and only if it is both topologi‐
cally and algebraically isomorphic to a subgroup of some compact group.

Fact 5.3. [2] Pseudocompact groups are precompact.
It follows from Facts 3.2 and 5.3 that pseudocompact groups are precompact and Pol‐ish factorizable. As it turns out, these two properties combined together characterize
pseudocompact groups:

Theorem 5.4 (first characterization of pseudocompact groups). A topological group ispseudocompact if and only if it is both precompact and Polish factorizable.

Fact 5.5. Pseudocompact (regular) spaces are weakly \alpha ‐favourable.
Proof. Indeed, let X be a pseudocompact space. Presented with the nth move A_{n} by
Player A , Player B can simply use regularity of X to select a non‐empty open subset
B_{n} of X which is contained in A_{n} together with its closure. This defines a (stationary)winning strategy \beta for Player B . Indeed, let (1) be the game obtained by following somestrategy \alpha of Player A and the strategy \beta for Player B defined above. Then \{B_{n} : n\in \mathbb{N}\}is a sequence of non‐empty open subsets of X such that the closure of each B_{n+1} iscontained in B_{n} . Since X is pseudocompact, one can easily see that (2) holds.

\squareIt follows from Facts 5.3 and 5.5 that pseudocompact groups are precompact and weakly‐favourable. As it turns out, these two properties combined together characterize pseu‐
docompact groups:\alpha103
Theorem 5.6 (second characterization of pseudocompact groups). A topological groupis pseudocompact if and only if it is both precompact and weakly a‐favourable.

Proof. The “only if” implication follows from Facts 5.3 and 5.5. To show the “if” im‐plication, suppose that G is a precompact weakly \alpha ‐favourable group. Then G is also\omega ‐bounded.
Applying Theorem 3.5, we conclude that G is Polish factorizable. Now\squarepseudocompactness of G follows from Theorem 5.4.
Theorem 5.6 is “best possible” in a sense that weak \alpha ‐favourability is the weakest of
all known “completeness” properties which imply the Baire property, and a precompact
Baire group need not be pseudocompact.

6. ANSWERING QUESTIONS OF GARCíA‐FERREIRA, ROJAS‐HERNÁNDEZ AND
TAMARIZ‐MASCARÚA

In [5, Problem 7.5], the following problem was proposed:
Question 6.1. Is a precompact weakly \alpha ‐favourable topological group Oxtoby complete?
Since pseudocompact spaces are Oxtoby complete, Theorem 5.6 gives a strong positiveanswer to this question.

In [5, Problem 7.7], the following problem was proposed:
Question 6.2. For which class of topological groups G it is true that C_{p}(X, G) being
weakly pseudocompact and dense in the Tychonoff product G^{X} implies C_{p}(X, G) is Ox‐
toby complete, for every Tychonoff space X ?
It follows from our results that the answer is positive for separable metric groups G
and precompact groups G.
7. TWO OPEN QUESTIONS ABOUT BAIRE SPACES

Question 7.1. Is Baire property factorizable? That is, given a continuous map h:Xarrow Zfrom a Baire space X to a separable metric space Z , can we find a separable metric Bairespace Y and continuous maps g : Xarrow Y, f : Yarrow Z such that h=fog and Y=g(X) ?
Question 7.2. Is Baire property factorizable in the category of topological groups? Thatis, given a continuous homomorphism h : Xarrow Z from a Baire group X to a separable
metric group Z , can we find a separable metric Baire group Y and continuous homomor‐phisms g:Xarrow Y, f : Yarrow Z such that h=f\circ g and Y=g(X) ?
REFERENCES[1] J.M. Aarts and D.J. Lutzer, Pseudo‐completeness and the product of Baire Spaces, Pacific J. Math.
48 (1) (1973), 1‐10.
[2] W. W. Comfort, K. A. Ross, Pseudocompactness and uniform continuity in topological groups, Pacific
J. Math. 16 (1966), no. 3, 483‐496.

[3] A. Dorantes‐Aldama, R. Rojas‐Hernández and Á. Tamariz‐Mascarúa, Weak pseudocompactness onspaces of continuous functions, Topology Appl. 196 Part A (2015), 72‐91.
[4] A. Dorantes‐Aldama, D. Shakhmatov, Completeness and compactness properties in metric spaces,topological groups and function spaces, Topology Appl. 226 Part A (2017), 134‐164.

[5] S. García‐Ferreira, R. Rojas‐Hernández, Á. Tamariz‐Mascarúa, Completeness type properties on
C_{p}(X, Y) spaces, Topology Appl. 219 (2017), 90‐110.
[6] I. I. Guran, Topological groups similar to Lindelöf groups (in Russian), Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR 256(1981), no. 6, 1305‐1307.
[7] A.R. Todd, Quasiregular products of Baire spaces, Pac. J. Math. 95(1) (1981), 233‐250.

104[S] H. E. White, Topological spaces that are \alpha ‐favourable for a player with perfect information, Proc.
Amer. Math. Soc., 50 (1975), 477‐482.

FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS, UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL AUTóNOMA DE MÉxIco (UNAM), D.F., MÉxIco
E‐mail address: alejandro‐dorantes@ciencias.unam.mx
DIVISION OF MATHEMATICS, PHYSICS AND EARTH SCIENCES, GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND
ENGINEERING, EHIME UNIVERSITY, MATSUYAMA 790‐8577, JAPANE‐mail address: dmitri. shakhmatov@ehime‐u.ac.jp