Convergent sequences in topological spaces

1. Definition and examples

Definition 1.1. Let (X, T ) be a topological space and xn ∈ X a sequence. We say that
the sequence xn converges to x0 ∈ X if for every open set U ⊆ X which contains x0
there exists an n0 ∈ N such that for all n ≥ n0 the points xn lie in U .
Examples: 1. This definition of convergence agrees with the familiar definition
(from calculus) of convergence on Rn if we endow Rn with the Euclidean topology.
2. Let X = R be equipped with the partition topology TP associated to the
partition
P = {[4a − 2, 4a + 2i | a ∈ Z}
Then the sequence xn = (−1)n converges to 0. In fact it converges to any point in
[−2, 2i. Show that the sequence yn = sin n is also convergent.
3. If X is equipped with the trivial topology T = {∅, X} then any sequence in X
is convergent and its limit is any point in X.
4. Let X = R be given the finite complement topology. Convince yourself that the
sequence xn = n converges to x0 = 1. Does this still remain true if instead we let X
have the countable complement topology?
5. On X = R consider the particular point topology Tp with p = 0. Then the
only sequences converging to p = 0 are the sequences which are constant (and equal to
zero) after some n0 , that is there is some n0 such that for all n ≥ n0 we have xn = 0.
Describe all sequences which converge to x0 = 1!

2. Uniqueness of limit and Hausdorff spaces

As the examples above show, in general topological spaces limits of sequences may
not be unique. They are unique though if X happens to have the Hausdorff property.
Theorem 2.1. Let X be a Hausdorff space and xn ∈ X a convergent sequence. Then
the limit lim xn is unique.
n→∞

Proof. Suppose that there are two (or more) limits, say a and b. Since X is Hausdorff,
we can find disjoint open sets Ua and Ub with a ∈ Ua and b ∈ Ub . Let na ∈ N be such
that xn ∈ Ua for all n ≥ na and nb ∈ N have the property that xn ∈ Ub for all n ≥ nb .
Then for all n ≥ max{na , nb } we have that xn ∈ Ua ∩ Ub which is a contradiction since
Ua ∩ Ub = ∅. 
The converse of theorem 2.1 is not generally true. That is, there are examples
of topological spaces which are not Hausdorff even tough every of their convergent
sequences has a unique limit. Here is one such example.
Example 6: Consider X = R with the countable complement topology. Let us
first check that every convergent sequence xn ∈ X has a unique limit. Suppose not,
that is suppose that lim xn = a and lim xn = b with a 6= b. Let Ua be the open set
Ua = R − {xi | xi 6= a}
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Clearly a ∈ Ua and so there must be some na ∈ N such that xn ∈ Ua for all n ≥ na .

But then xn = a for all n ≥ na since xn ∈ Ua ∩ {xi | i ∈ N} = {a}. A similar argument
shows that for some nb ∈ N all xn = b for n ≥ nb . But then xn = a and xn = b
for n ≥ max{na , nb } which is impossible since a 6= b. On the other hand, X is not
Hausdorff since every two non-empty open sets have nontrivial intersection.
There is still a broad class of topological spaces for which the converse of theorem 2.1
does hold true. To describe this class of spaces we first need the following definition.
Definition 2.2. Let (X, T ) be a topological space and x ∈ X a point. A collection
of open sets Bx is called a basis at x if for every open set U ⊆ X containing x
there is some element V ∈ Bx such that V ⊆ U . A topological space (X, T ) is called
first-countable if every point x ∈ X has a countable basis at x.
Note that if X is second-countable then it is first-countable (but not the other way
around). We now have the following converse of theorem 2.1.
Theorem 2.3. If X is a first-countable topological space and has the property that
every convergent sequence has a unique limit then X is Hausdorff.
Proof. Given two arbitrary points a, b ∈ X we need to find two disjoint open sets of
which one contains a and the other contains b.
Let Ba = {Uia ⊆ X | i ∈ N} and Bb = {Uib ⊆ X | i ∈ N} be countable bases at a and
b respectively. We define new open sets Via and Vib as
Via = U1a ∩ U2a ∩ ... ∩ Uia and Vib = U1b ∩ U2b ∩ ... ∩ Uib
These sets are open sets since they are obtained as finite intersections of open sets.
Furthermore, notice that Vja ⊆ Uia and Vjb ⊆ Uib for every j ≥ i and a ∈ Via and b ∈ Vib
for every i ∈ N.
If Via ∩Vib = ∅ for some i we have proved the theorem. Suppose thus that Via ∩Vib 6= ∅
for any i ∈ N. Let xi ∈ Via ∩ Vib be an arbitrary point. This yields a sequence in X
which we claim converges to a. To see this, let U be an open set containing a. Let
Una ∈ Ba be an open set such that Una ⊆ U . Then Vja ⊆ U for every j ≥ n, in particular
xj ∈ U for every j ≥ n. This means that lim xi = a. Repeating this same argument for
b shows also that lim xi = b. This is a contradiction since by assumption all convergent
sequences in X have a unique limit.
We conclude that there is some i ∈ N for which Via ∩ Vib = ∅. Since a, b ∈ X were
chosen arbitrarily, X is a Hausdorff space. 

3. Convergent sequences and closed sets

Recall that we saw that a subset A ⊆ Rn (with the Euclidean topology) is closed if
and only if it contains the limits of all its convergent sequences (this was our original
definition of a closed subset of Rn ). This characterization of closed sets is only “half-
way”true in general topological spaces.
Theorem 3.1. If A ⊆ X is a closed subset of X, then A contains the limits of all its
convergent sequences.
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Proof. Suppose an ∈ A is a convergent sequence with lim an = a0 . If a0 ∈ / A then

a0 ∈ X−A which is an open set. Since an is convergent, there must be some n0 ∈ N such
that an ∈ X −A for all n ≥ n0 . This is impossible since an ∈ A and A∩(X −A) = ∅. 
That the converse of this theorem is not true in general topological spaces is illus-
trated by the following example.
Example 7: Let X = R be equipped with the countable complement topology and
let A ⊆ X be the set A = X − {0}. Notice that A is not closed (since X − A = {0} is
not open). But A contains the limits of all of its convergent subsequences. To see this
we only need to show that no sequence xn ∈ A can converge to 0. This is easy to see
since the set U = X − {x1 , x2 , ...} is an open set which contains zero but not element
of the sequence xn . Thus A contains the limits of all of its convergent sequences.
Nonetheless, as in the previous section, there is a class of topological spaces for which
the converse of theorem 3.1 is still true.
Theorem 3.2. Let X be a first-countable topological space and A ⊆ X a subset of X
with the property that it contains the limits of all of its convergent sequences. Then A
is closed.
Proof. We will show that A is closed by exhibiting that A = Ā. Suppose not, then
Ā − A is nonempty. Let p ∈ Ā − A and let Bp = {Ui ⊆ X | i = 1, 2, 3, ...} be a countable
basis at p. As in the proof of theorem 2.3 we define a new family Vi of open sets as
Vi = U1 ∩ U2 ∩ ... ∩ Ui
The sets Vi are open and Vj ⊆ Ui for all j ≥ i. Each Vi contains p. By lemma ?? each
set Vi ∩ A is non-empty. Pick an arbitrary element xi ∈ Vi ∩ A. Arguing as in the proof
of theorem 2.3, we find that xi is a convergent sequence with lim xi = p. Since xi ∈ A
and lim xi = p we conclude that p ∈ A. Thus Ā = A. 
This theorem together with example 7 shows that (R, Tcc ) (where Tcc is the count-
able complement topology) is not a first-countable space (and hence also not second-
countable). Thus (R, Tcc ) is not homeomorphic to (R, TE ) (where TE it the Euclidean
topology on R).
4. Convergent sequences and continuous functions
The relation between convergent sequences and continuous functions in general topo-
logical spaces is the same as it is in Euclidean space:
Theorem 4.1. Let f : X → Y be a continuous function between two topological spaces.
If xi ∈ X is a convergent sequence with lim xi = x0 then f (xi ) ∈ Y is also a convergent
sequence with lim f (xi ) = f (x0 ).
Proof. Let V ⊆ Y be an open set containing f (x0 ). Since f is continuous, the set
U = f −1 (V ) ⊆ X is an open set in X containing x0 . Since lim xi = x0 there is some
n0 ∈ N such that xn ∈ U for all n ≥ n0 . But then f (xn ) ∈ V for all n ≥ n0 showing
that lim f (xi ) = f (x0 ).