Topology and its Applications 160 (2013) 12711283

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Topology and its Applications

www.elsevier.com/locate/topol

A separable complete metric space of dimension n containing

isometrically all compact metric spaces of dimension n
S.D. Iliadis
Department of General Topology and Geometry, Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, Moscow State University, Moscow 119991, Russia
Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of South Africa, P.O. Box 392, 0003 Unisa, South Africa

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

MSC: In the paper for any n we construct a separable complete metric n-dimensional space
54C25 containing isometrically all compact metric n-dimensional spaces.
54D80 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
54E45
54F45

Keywords:
Embedding
Universal space
Separable complete metric space
Compact metric space
n-Dimensional metric space

1. Introduction

1.1. Some known results

It is well known that in the following classes of separable metric spaces there are topologically universal spaces:

(1) The class of all spaces (see [11]).

(2) The class of all spaces of dimension  n (see [9]).
(3) The class of all countable-dimensional spaces (see [8]).
(4) The class of all strongly countable-dimensional spaces (see [14]).
(5) The class of all locally nite-dimensional spaces (see [16]).
(6) The class of all spaces of dimension ind less than or equal to a countable ordinal (see [7]).
(7) The class of all complete metric spaces of dimension ind less than or equal to + . (See [7]. For see also [15].)
(We note that in this case the constructed embeddings of spaces into the universal space are closed maps.)

In [13] (see also [12]) an isometrically universal space in the above class (1) is constructed, which now is called Urysohn
Universal Metric Space and it is denoted by U. In [1] it is proved that such a space is also the space C[0, 1] of all continuous
functions on the segment [0, 1] with the metric of uniform convergence. In [4] isometrically universal spaces are constructed
in all classes (1)(6). Moreover, isometrically universal spaces are constructed also in the classes:

* Correspondence to: Department of General Topology and Geometry, Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, Moscow State University, Moscow 119991,
Russia.
E-mail address: s.d.iliadis@gmail.com.

0166-8641/$ see front matter 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.topol.2013.04.020
1272 S.D. Iliadis / Topology and its Applications 160 (2013) 12711283

(8) The class of all separable metric spaces of metric dimension  m .

(9) The class of all separable metric spaces of metric dimension  m and dimension ind  n .

In [6] some results concerning isometrically universal elements in classes of non-separable metric spaces are given.
Obviously, by the reason of diameters, in the class of all compact metric spaces there are no isometrically universal
elements. But even for the class of all compact spaces of diameter  d also there is no compact metric space containing
isometrically all elements of this class. This follows from the fact that for a xed > 0 each compact space has a nite
-net (and, therefore, each of its subset has a 2 -net with at most the same number of elements) while for every integer
k there is a compact space with diameter  d such that the number of elements of each of its nite 2 -net is larger
than k.
It is clear that if there exists a totally bounded metric space, in particular a compact metric space, containing isometri-
cally each element of a class P of metric spaces, then this class satises the following conditions: (a) there exists a number
d such that the diameter of any element of P is less than or equal to d and (b) for every > 0 there exists a natural
number n( ) such that each element of P has an -net with the number of elements being less than or equal to n( ).
In [10] it is proved that for a class P of separable metric spaces these two conditions are sucient for the existence of a
totally bounded metric space (and, therefore, a compact metric space) containing isometrically each element of P. Thus, for
a class P of compact metric spaces conditions (a) and (b) are necessary and sucient for the existence of a compact metric
space containing isometrically all elements of P.
In [4] a class of metric spaces satisfying the above conditions (a) and (b) is called uniform. It is proved that if P is a uni-
form subclass of a class (i), i = 1, . . . , 6, then there exists a totally bounded element of the class (i) containing isometrically
all spaces of the class P. In general, this element cannot be a compact metric space. For example, let Q be a compact metric
space of dimension n > 0. Then, the class P of all its nite subsets is a uniform subclass of the class (5) for n = 0. However,
there is no zero-dimensional compact space K containing isometrically all elements of P because, as it is easy to prove,
any such compact metric space would contain isometrically the whole space Q , which does not belong to the class (5) for
n = 0.
The Urysohn Universal Metric Space U has the following basic properties: (a) U is universal in the class of all separable
metric spaces, (b) U is complete, and (c) U is ultrahomogeneous (or -homogeneous), that is if f is an isometry of a nite
subset of U into U, then there exists an isometry of U onto itself, which is an extension of f . (The Euclidean n-dimensional
spaces, n \ {0}, are other examples of ultrahomogeneous spaces.) Each separable metric space V which has properties
(a)(c) is isometrically homeomorphic to U. Property (a) can be replaced by the following property: (a ) every nite metric
space can be isometrically embedded into U, that is if a separable metric space V has properties (a ), (b), and (c), then V is
isometrically homeomorphic to U.
Since the completion of a separable metric space may be not n-dimensional, in the class of all separable metric
n-dimensional spaces there are no complete universal elements. From the above it follows that in the class of all sepa-
rable complete metric n-dimensional spaces there are no ultrahomogeneous isometrically universal elements.
We note also that in the class of all countable-dimensional separable metric spaces there are no topologically and,
therefore, isometrically complete universal elements. This follows from the fact (see [2]) that (transnite) dimension ind
of each separable metric complete countable-dimensional space is a countable ordinal and, on the other hand, there are
separable metric countable-dimensional spaces with (transnite) dimension ind given countable ordinal.
In [5] some problems concerning isometrically embeddings are posed. In particular, it is asked (Problems II.4.1 and II.4.2)
if in the class of all separable complete metric spaces of dimension n are there isometrically universal elements? Here,
in connection to this problem, for any n we construct a separable complete metric n-dimensional space containing
isometrically all compact metric n-dimensional spaces.

2. Preliminaries

2.1. Notation

All spaces are assumed to be separable metric. The metric on a space X will be denoted by X . For a subset Q of
a space X we shall denote by Int X ( Q ), Cl X ( Q ), Bd X ( Q ), and Diam( Q ) the interior, the closure, the boundary, and the
diameter of Q in X , respectively. For the convenient of notation it is assumed that Diam() = 0, X (x, ) = for every
x X , and X ( A , ) = for every subset A X (including the empty set). Also, for a point x of a space X and a positive
number we set
 
O X (x) = y X: X (x, y ) < .
By we denote the rst innite cardinal. By F we denote the set of all nite subsets of (including the empty set).
In particular, any element n \ {0} is identied with the set {0, . . . , n 1} (0 is identied with the empty set) and,
therefore, it is considered as an element of F . Therefore, for the integers n, m relations m n + 1, m  n, and m n are
equivalent.
Below, we give some notions and notation from [4] suited for the class of separable metric spaces, which are widely
used in the proof of the main result.
 S.D. Iliadis / Topology and its Applications 160 (2013) 12711283 1273

2.2. The topological space T(M, R)

(For the proofs and more details see Chapter 1 of [4].) Let S be an arbitrary collection of spaces. An indexed set
  
M U iX : i : X S , (2.1)

where {U iX : i } is an indexed base for the open subsets of a space X S, is called a base for S. (In [4] such a base is
called a co-mark of S.) A base
  
M1 U 1X,i : i : X S
is said to be an extension of a base
  
M2 U 2X,i : i : X S

with an extension mapping : , if for every i we have U 1X,(i ) = U 2X,i . It is easy to see that for every family
{Mi : i } of bases for S there exists a base M for S which is an extension of each base Mi , i .
An indexed family
 
R s : s F , (2.2)
where is an equivalence relation on S, is called admissible if (a) for every s F the number of equivalence classes of the
s

relation s is nite or countable, (b) t s ifs t F , and (c) = S S. By C(s ) we denote the set of all equivalence
classes of the relation s and by C(R) the set {C(s ): s F }.
An admissible family R1 {1s : s F } is said to be a nal renement of an admissible family R2 {2s : s F } if for
every s F there exists t F such that t1 2s . It can be proved that for every set {Ri : i } of admissible families of
equivalence relations on S there exists an admissible family R which is a nal renement of each family Ri , i .
For every s F we denote by M s
, where M is the base (2.1), the equivalence relation on S such that two elements
X , Y S are M -equivalent if and only if there exists an isomorphism i of the algebra AsX of subsets of X generated by the
s

set {U iX : i s} onto the algebra AsY of subsets of Y generated by the set {U iY : i s} such that i (U iX ) = U iY for every i s. It
is easy to see that the indexed family

s
 
RM M : sF
of equivalence relations on S is admissible.
An admissible family R is said to be M-admissible, where M is a base for S, if R is a nal renement of RM . Obviously,
any nal renement of an M-admissible family is also M-admissible.
Let M = {{U iX : i }: X S} be a base for S and R = {s : s F } an M-admissible family of equivalence relations on S.
The Containing Space T T(M, R) corresponding to S is a topological space constructed as follows. On the set of all pairs
(x, X ), where x X S, we consider the equivalence relation M R for which two pairs (x, X ) and ( y , Y ) are R -equivalent
M

if and only if (a) X s Y for every s F and (b) x U iX for some i if and only if y U iY for the same i. Then, the set T
is the set of all MR -equivalence classes. On the set T we consider the topology for which the set
 
BT U iT (H): i , H C(R) ,

where U iT (H) consists of all element a T which contains a pair (x, X ) such that x U iX and X H, is a (standard) base for
this topology. We note that if and for every X S the set {U iX : i } is a base of X , then the set
 
BT U iT (H): i , H C(R)
is also a base of T.
For every H C(R) we denote by T(H) the subset of T consisting of all points a T which contain a pair (x, X ) such that
X H. The subset T(H) is simultaneously open and closed.
By
R we denote the equivalence relation on S dened as follows: X R Y if and only if X Y for every s F . Let
s

C( R ) be the set of equivalence classes of . If E C( ), then by T(E) we denote the subset of T consisting of all
R R
points a containing a pair (x, X ) for which X E.
For every X S we dene a mapping i TX : X T setting i TX (x) = a, where x X and a is the point of T containing the
pair (x, X ). This mapping is a topological embedding of X into T, which is called natural.
Suppose that for every X S a subset Q X of X is given. Then, the indexed set
 
Q Q X: X S (2.3)

is called a restriction of S. The restriction Q is called closed if the subset Q X

is closed for every X S. Any restriction of S
can be considered also as an indexed collection of spaces.
1274 S.D. Iliadis / Topology and its Applications 160 (2013) 12711283

The M-admissible family (2.2) is called (M, Q)-admissible if the family R|Q is M|Q -admissible, where M|Q is the base
  
U iX Q X : i : Q X
Q
of the collection Q and R|Q is the indexed family
 
s |Q : s F
of equivalence relations on the collection Q considered that for every s F two elements Q X and Q Y of Q are
s |Q -equivalent if and only if X and Y are s -equivalent. In this case we can consider the Containing Space

T|Q T(M|Q , R|Q ).

Identied any point of T|Q containing a pair (x, Q X ) with the point of T contained the pair (x, X ) the space T|Q can be
considered as a subset of T. For every H C(R) we denote by T|Q (H) the set T|Q T(H). We note that an admissible family,
which is a nal renement of an (M, Q)-admissible family, is also (M, Q)-admissible.

2.3. The metric space T(M, R, P)

(For the proofs and more details see Chapter 9 of [4].) By the choice of a suitable family R, on the topological space
T(M, R) can be dened a compatible metric, denoted by T , such that the natural embedding i TX of any element X S into
T(M, R) be an isometry. The construction of the metric T can be done as follows.
An indexed set
  
P aiX : i : X S , (2.4)

where {aiX : i } is an indexed dense subset of points of X , is called an S-indexed set of -indexed dense subsets.
The M-admissible family (2.2) is said to be (M, P)-admissible, where M is the base (2.1) for S and P is the S-indexed
set (2.4) of -indexed dense subsets, if for every X , Y S, n \ {0}, and i , j n + 1 the condition X n Y implies that:

(a) Either X (aiX , X \ U Xj ) = Y (aiY , Y \ U Yj ) = or for some element k ,

k   k+1
 X aiX , X \ U Xj < n
2n 2
and
k   k+1
 Y aiY , Y \ U Yj < n ;
2n 2
(b) For some element k ,

k   k+1
 X aiX , a Xj < n
2n 2
and
k   k+1
 Y aiY , a Yj < n ;
2n 2
(c) Either Diam(U iX ) = Diam(U iY ) = or for some element k ,

k   k+1
 Diam U iX < n
2n 2
and
k   k+1
 Diam U iY < n ;
2n 2
(d) Either aiX U Xj and aiY U Yj or aiX
/ U Xj and aiY
/ U Yj .

(We note that conditions (a)(c) are slightly different from that of the denition of the (M, P)-admissible family given
in [4] and condition (d) is not included in this denition.)
The existence of (M, P)-admissible families is clear. Moreover, if R is an (M, P)-admissible family and R1 {1s : s F } is
an admissible family of equivalence relations on S, which is a nal renement of R, then there exists an (M, P)-admissible
family R2 {2s : s F }, which is a nal renement of R1 . Indeed, it suces to put 2s = s 1s for every s F .
 S.D. Iliadis / Topology and its Applications 160 (2013) 12711283 1275

Suppose now that the family R is (M, P)-admissible. Then, the metric T is dened as follows. Let a and b be two
elements of T(M, R) and let (x, X ) a and ( y , Y ) b. First, we consider the case, where X n Y for every n . Let
{aiX : k } be a sequence of points convergent to x and {a Yj : k } be a sequence of points convergent to y. Then, we set
k k
 X X

T (a, b) = lim X aik , a jk .
k

Now, consider the case, where X and Y are not n -equivalent for some n . Let n( X , Y ) be the maximal n of for which
X n Y . Then, we set
      1
T (a, b) = min X x, aiX + Y aiY , y : i n( X , Y ) + 1 + .
2n( X ,Y )
The space T(M, R) with the metric T will be denoted by T(M, R, P) or simply by T.
Let H C(R). We denote by  T, 
T(H), 
T|Q , and 
T|Q (H) the completions of the metric spaces T, T(H) T, T|Q T, and
T|Q (H) T, respectively. (We note that the completion of any subset of the metric space T coincides with the closure of this
subsets in T.)
An M-admissible family R of equivalence relations on S is said to be (M, Q , P)-admissible, where Q is the restric-
tion (2.3) of S, if R is (M, Q)-admissible and (M, P)-admissible. We note that if R is an (M, Q , P)-admissible family and R1
{1s : s F } is an admissible family, which is a nal renement of R, then there exists an (M, Q , P)-admissible family
R2 {2s : s F }, which is a nal renement of R1 . (It suces to put 2s = s 1s for every s F .)

3. The main result

3.1. Proposition. Let S be an indexed collection of compact metric spaces and

   
P P X aiX : i : X S
an S-indexed set of -indexed dense subsets. Let also
 
Q Q X: X S

be a closed restriction of S such that for every X S we have ind( Q X )  n where n {1} . Then, there exists a base MQ for S
having the property: for every base M for S, which is an extension of MQ , there exists an (M, Q , P)-admissible family RM of equivalence
relations on S such that for every (M, Q , P)-admissible family R of equivalence relation on S, which is nal renement of RM , we have
ind(T|Q )  n, where 
T|Q is the completion of T|Q T(M|Q , R|Q ) T(M, R, P) T.

Proof. The base MQ of the proposition will be called an initial base corresponding to the restriction Q with respect to n and
the family RM an initial family corresponding to the base M and the restriction Q with respect to n.
We prove the proposition by induction on n. The proposition is trivial if n = 1. Suppose that the proposition is true for
all integers of less than n. We prove it for n . The proof is divided into parts having titles (in bold letters).
The sets V kX (aiX ). Let X S. For every point aiX P X and for every k let V kX (aiX ) be an open neighbourhood of aiX
such that
   
OX1 aiX V kX aiX ,
2k+1
    
Cl X V kX aiX O X1 aiX ,
2k

and
    
ind Bd X V kX aiX Q X  n 1.
(About the existence of such a neighbourhood (satisfying the last inequality) see, for example, [3].)
The indexed base M0 . Since the set P X is a dense subset of X the set
   
V kX aiX : k, i
is a base for the open subsets of X . Denote by a one-to-one mapping of onto and let
 
U 0X, j : j

be the indexed base for the open subsets of X such that

 
U 0X, j = V kX aiX if j = (k, i ) .

Then, the indexed set

1276 S.D. Iliadis / Topology and its Applications 160 (2013) 12711283

  
M0 U 0X, j : j : X S

is a base for S. We note that is independent of X .

The restriction Q(k,i ) and the initial base MQ(k,i) . Consider the closed restriction
    
Q(k,i ) Q (Xk,i ) Bd X V kX aiX Q X: X S

of S. Obviously, ind( Q (Xk,i ) )  n 1. By inductive assumption there exists an initial base

  
MQ(k,i) = U (Xk,i ), j : j : X S

for S corresponding to the restriction Q(k,i ) with respect to n 1.

The indexed base MQ . Denote by and for every (k, i ) by (k,i ) one-to-one mappings of into such that the
images of all these mappings are mutually disjoint and its union is . We set
  
MQ U QX , j : j : X S ,

where
 
U QX , j = U 0X, j  if j = j 

and
 
U QX , j = U (Xk,i ), j  if j = (k,i ) j  .

We shall prove that MQ is an initial base for S corresponding to Q with respect to n. For this purpose we consider an
arbitrary base
  
M= U iX : i : X S

for S which is an extension of MQ with an extension mapping .

The numbers d( X , j , s), d1 ( X , j , s), and d2 ( X , j , s). In order to dene the family RM of equivalence relations on S we
introduce below some numbers.
For every X S, s , and j = ( ( (k, i ))) s + 1 (and, therefore, U Xj = V kX (aiX )) denote by d( X , j , s) the minimum of
the numbers d1 ( X , j , s) and d2 ( X , j , s), where
         
d1 ( X , j , s) X Cl X U Xj , X \ U Xj Q X
\ O X1 Bd X U Xj Q X
2s

and
         
d2 ( X , j , s) X Cl X U Xj Q X
\ O X1 Bd X U Xj Q X , X \ U Xj .
2s

We note that since X is a compact metric space,

        
Cl X U Xj X \ U Xj Q X
\ O X1 Bd X U Xj Q X = ,
2s

and
         
Cl X U Xj Q X
\ O X1 Bd X U Xj Q X X \ U Xj =
2s

we have d1 ( X , j , s) > 0 and d2 ( X , j , s) > 0. (Recall that > 0.)

The family RM (k,i ) . Since for every (k, i ) the base M is also an extension of MQ(k,i ) , by inductive assumption, there
exists an (M, Q(k,i ) , P)-admissible family RM
(k,i ) of equivalence relations on S, which is an initial family corresponding to the
base M and the restriction Q(k,i ) with respect to n 1.
The family RM . Now, we dene the family RM as an arbitrary (M, Q , P)-admissible family
 
RM M,s : s F

of equivalence relations on S satisfying the following conditions:

 S.D. Iliadis / Topology and its Applications 160 (2013) 12711283 1277

(a) RM is a nal renement of any family RM (k,i ) , (k, i ) (and, therefore, R is (M, Q(k,i ) , P)-admissible family).
M

(b) For every s \ {0} and j ( ( ( ))) (s + 1) relation X M, s

Y implies that either

d( X , j , s) = d( Y , j , s) =
or there exists an integer l {. . . , 2, 1, 0, 1, 2, . . .} such that
1 1
 d( X , j , s) <
2sl+1 2sl
and
1 1
 d( Y , j , s) < .
2sl+1 2sl
The existence of such a family is easily established.

We shall prove that RM is an initial family corresponding to the base M and the restriction Q with respect to n proving
simultaneously that MQ is an initial base. Let
 
R = s : s F
be an arbitrary (M, Q , P)-admissible family of equivalence relations on S which is a nal renement of RM . We need to
prove that ind(
T|Q )  n.
The sets T(E) and the points ai . First we note that if X , Y E C(
T(E)
R ), then, for every i the pairs (aiX , X ) and
T(E)
(ai , Y ) belong to the same point of T T(M, R, P). This point will be denoted by ai . It is easy to see that the set
Y
T(E)
{ai : i } is a dense subset of T(E).

First, we prove that for every X S the natural isometry i TX of X into the metric space T is actually an isometry of X onto
T(E) T, where X E C(
T(E)
R ). Indeed, obviously, i T ( X ) T(E). Let a T(E). Then, there exists a sequence {aim : m }
X

convergent to a. Therefore, this sequence is fundamental. Since (see Chapter 9 of [4])
   
T aTim(E) , aTi (E ) = X aiXm , aiXm ,
m

for every m, m , the sequence {aiX : m } is also fundamental. Since the space X is complete this sequence converges
m
T(E)
to a point x X . From equalities i TX (aiX ) = ai , m , it follows that i TX (x) = a, that is i TX is an isometry of X onto T(E).
m m
In what follows we shall identify a point x X S with the point i TX (x) T and consider the space X as a subset of T. In
of T, where E is the equivalence class of the relation
T(E)
this case a point aiX X coincides with the point ai R containing
the space X E, and the metric space X coincides with the subset T(E) of T.

The sets U Tj (H). For every j ( ( ( ))) and H C(R) we set

F Tj (H) = T(H) \ U Tj (H)

and
  
U Tj (H) = 
T(H) \ Cl T
T(H) F j (H) .

We note that
  
U Tj (H) U Tj (H) Cl T
T(H) U j (H) . (3.1)

Indeed, let x U Tj (H). Then, there exists a neighbourhood V of x in T such that T ( V , F Tj (H)) > > 0. Then,
  
T(H) ClT(H) ( V ), ClT(H) F Tj (H) 

and, therefore, x
/ ClT(H) ( F Tj (H)), that is x U Tj (H) proving the rst inclusion of the relation (3.1).

To prove the second inclusion of (3.1) let a U Tj (H). Then, a 
T(H) and, therefore, any neighbourhood of a in 
T intersect
the set T(H). On the other hand, a = Cl T 
T ( F j (H)) and, therefore, a has a neighbourhood U in T which does not intersect the
set T(H) \ U Tj (H), that is

= U T(H) U Tj (H).
This means that for every neighbourhood V of a in 
T, we have

= (U V ) T(H) U Tj (H).
Therefore, a Cl T
T (U j (H)) proving relation (3.1).
1278 S.D. Iliadis / Topology and its Applications 160 (2013) 12711283


The base BT . Now we shall prove that the set

      
BT U Tj (H): j ( ) , H C(R)
is a base for the open subsets of the space 
T. (We note that for any X S the set BX is a base for the open subsets of X .)
To prove that it suces to show the following property:

() Let a 
T and > 0. Then, there exist j 0 ( ( ( ))) and H0 C(R) such that
 
a U Tj 0 (H0 ) O T (a). ( )

The set Hs . We observe that for every s , by the denition of the metric T , the distance between any point x X S
and any point y Y S, where X and Y belong to distinct elements of C(s ), is greater than 21s . Let
 Xp 
ai
p
T: p , X p S

be a sequence convergent to a. By the preceding observation it follows that for every s there exists a unique element
of C(s ), denoted by Hs , which contains all spaces X p except may be a nite number.
The number q. Let q be an element of \ {0} for which 2q11 < . Without loss of generality, we can suppose that
relations
 X  1
T a, ai pp < and X p Hq+5 (3.2)
2q+5
are satised for every p .
A special case of the relation (). Suppose rst that for every X , Y Hq+5 and for every s , X s Y . This means that
Hq+5 is an element E of C(   1
R ). Then, a is a point a of X . Let q , i be elements of such that q < 2 and a V q (ai  ).
X X
2
Since X is a complete space setting j 0 = ( ( (q , i  ))) and H0 = Hq+5 we have
 
X = T(H0 ) = 
T(H0 ), V qX aiX = U Xj0 = U Tj 0 (H0 ),
 T X
 X
 
T T(H0 ) \ U j 0 (H0 ) = Cl X X \ U j 0 = X \ U j 0 ,
Cl

and

    
U Tj 0 (H0 ) =  T X X
T T(H0 ) \ U j 0 (H0 ) = X \ Cl X X \ U j 0 = U j 0 .
T(H0 ) \ Cl

Therefore, since Diam(U Xj ) < we have

0

  
a = a V q ai  = U Xj0 = U Tj 0 (H0 ) O T (a),
X X

proving property () for this case.

/ C(
The numbers q(0) and i (0). Now, suppose that Hq+5 R ). Let q (0) be the least integer for which there exist two
elements p (0), p (1) such that

/ Hq(0)
X p ( 0) and X p (1) Hq(0)

and, therefore, q(0) > q + 5 and Hq(0) Hq+5 . By the rst of the relations (3.2) it follows that

 X  X p    X    X   1
T ai p , ai  T ai p , a + T a, ai p < (3.3)
p p  p p 2q+4
for every p  , p  . Note that n( X p (0) , X p (1) ) = q(0) 1. By the denition of the metric T it follows that there exists an
integer i (0) n( X p (0) , X p (1) ) + 1 = q(0) such that

 X X   X X   X X  1
T ai pp(0(0) ) , ai pp(1(1) ) = T ai pp(0(0) ) , ai(0p()0) + T ai(0p()1) , ai pp(1(1) ) + . (3.4)
2q(0)1
Relations (3.3) and (3.4) imply that

 X X  1 1 1
T ai pp(0(0) ) , ai(0p()0) <  . (3.5)
2q+4 2q(0)1 2q+5
Also, by the denition of the metric T , we have
 S.D. Iliadis / Topology and its Applications 160 (2013) 12711283 1279

 X  1 1
T ai(0p()0) , aiX(0) =  (3.6)
2q(0)1 2q+5
for every X Hq(0) .
From relations (3.2), (3.5), and (3.6) it follows that
   X   X X   X 
T a, aiX(0)  T a, ai pp(0(0) ) + T ai pp(0(0) ) , ai(0p()0) + T ai(0p()0) , aiX(0)
1 1 1 1
< + + < (3.7)
2q+5 2q+5 2q+5 2q+3
for every X Hq(0) .
The denition of the set V qX (aiX(0) ) and relation (3.7) imply that for every point x X \ V qX (aiX(0) ), where X Hq(0) , we
have
     1 1 3 1
T (a, x)  T aiX(0) , x T a, aiX(0)   q+1 q+3 = q+3 > q+2 . (3.8)
2 2 2 2
The number j 0 and the equivalence class H0 . We put
   
j0 = q, i (0) and H0 = Hq(0) ,

that is for every X H0 we have U Xj = V qX (aiX(0) ). Then, since

0
 
F Tj 0 (H0 ) = X\ U Xj0 : X H0 ,

relation (3.8) means that

  1
T a, F Tj0 (H0 )  . (3.9)
2q+2
Therefore,
   1
T a, ClT F Tj0 (H0 )  ,
2q+2
that is
  
a 
T(H0 ) \ Cl T T
T F j 0 (H0 ) = U j 0 (H0 ) (3.10)

proving the rst part of relation ().

The proof of the second part of relation (). Let

x X S and x U Tj 0 (H0 ).

Then, x U Xj and by denition of the set V qX (aiX(0) ),

0

  1
X aiX(0) , x < .
2q
By the above relation and relation (3.7), we have
    1 1 9
T (a, x)  a, aiX(0) + aiX(0) , x < + =
2q+3 2q 2q+3

and, therefore, for every b 
T \ O T (a) we have
  9 2 9 7
T (x, b)  T (a, b) T (a, x)  > = ,
2q+3 2q 2q+3 2q+3
that is
   7
T x,
T \ O T (a)  .
2q+3
The last relation means that
   7
T U Tj0 (H0 ),
T \ O T (a) 
2q+3
and, therefore,
1280 S.D. Iliadis / Topology and its Applications 160 (2013) 12711283

     7
T ClT U Tj0 (H0 ) ,
T \ O T (a)  ,
2q+3
that is
T T
 
T U j 0 (H0 ) O (a).
Cl (3.11)

Relations (3.10), (3.11), and (3.1) imply property ().


T|Q 
The set U 0, j (H). Thus, the set BT is a base for 
T and, therefore, the set

   
BT|Q U Tj (H) 
T|Q : j , H C(R)

is a base for the completion 

T|Q of the metric space T|Q T. Then, the set

T|Q  T| 
B0 U 0,Qj (H): j , H C(R) ,
where

T|Q    
U 0, j (H) = Int T 
T|Q U j (H) T|Q ,
T|Q Cl

is also a base for 

T|Q .
By inductive assumption, ind(
T|Q(k,i) )  n 1 (where 
T|Q(k,i) is the completion of T|Q(k,i) ). Therefore, in order to prove the
proposition, that is to prove inequality ind(
T|Q )  n, it suces to prove that
 
T|Q 
T|Q U 0, j (H) Cl
Bd T (T|Q(k,i ) ) (3.12)

for every j = ( ( (k, i ))) and H C(s ) C(R). (Recall that 

T|Q(k,i) = Cl
T (T|Q(k,i ) ).)

The case j s + 1. Actually, it suces to consider the case, where j s + 1. Indeed, suppose that H C(s ), s \ {0},
and s { j } s + 1. Then, H is the union of some elements of C(s ), that is we can write

H= {Hm : m },

where , Hm C(s ), and Hm1 Hm2 = for m1 = m2 . By the denition of the metric T ,
  1
T T(Hm1 ), T(Hm2 )  (3.13)
2s
and, therefore,
  1
T 
T(Hm1 ),
T(Hm2 )  (3.14)
2s
and
 

T(H) = 
T(Hm ): m . (3.15)

By the above
 
U Tj (H) = U Tj (Hm ): m

and
 
T(H) \ U Tj (H) = T(Hm ) \ U Tj (Hm ): m ,

that is
 
F Tj (H) = F Tj (Hm ): m .

By relation (3.13), for m1 = m2 ,

  1
T F Tj (Hm1 ), F Tj (Hm2 ) 
2s
and, therefore,
     
T T
T F j (H) =
Cl T F j (Hm ) : m .
Cl (3.16)
 S.D. Iliadis / Topology and its Applications 160 (2013) 12711283 1281

By relations (3.14), (3.15), and (3.16),

   
U Tj (H) = U Tj (Hm ): m

and for m1 = m2 ,

    1
T U Tj (Hm1 ), U Tj (Hm2 )  .
2s
Therefore,

   
U Tj (H) 
T|Q = U Tj (Hm ) 
T|Q : m

and

T|Q  
T|Q 
U 0, j (H) = U 0, j (Hm ): m .

Then,
 
T|Q    
T|Q  
T|Q U 0, j (H) =
Bd T|Q U 0, j (Hm ) : m ,
Bd

which means that if

 
T|Q 
T|Q U 0, j (Hm ) Cl
Bd T (T|Q(k,i ) )

for every m , then relation (3.12) is satised.

Xp
The sequence {b p : p }. Thus, we shall prove relation (3.12) considering that j = ( ( (k, i ))) , H C(s ), and
j s + 1 . Let
 
T|Q 
a Bd
T|Q U 0, j (H) .

It suces to prove that for every > 0 there exists a point x T|Q(k,i) such that T (a, x) < .
T|
Let > 0. Since the set U 0,Qj (H) is regular open in 
T|Q we have


T|Q   T|Q    
a Bd 
T|Q U 0, j (H) Bd
T|Q T|Q (H) \ Cl
T U 0, j (H) .

 
T|Q
Since the open set U Tj (H) 
T|Q (H) of 
T|Q (H) is a dense subset of U 0, j (H), there exists a sequence

{b p : p } (3.17)

of points of U Tj (H) 
T|Q (H) convergent to the point a. Since the set T|Q (H) is a dense subset of 
T|Q (H), without loss of

generality, we can suppose that the points of sequence (3.17) belong to the set U Tj (H) T|Q (H). By relation (3.1) these
T (U j (H)) T|Q (H).
T
points belong to the set Cl Since
T
 T
 
T U j (H) T = ClT U j (H)
Cl

actually the points of sequence (3.17) belong to the set

     
ClT U Tj (H) T|Q (H) = Cl X U Xj Q X : X H . (3.18)

(About equality (3.18) see Lemma 1.2.7 of [4].) Therefore, each point b p , p , coincides with a point of some element X p
Xp Xp Xp Xp
of H. This point will be denoted by b p . Thus, b p Cl X p (U j ) Q Xp
and the sequence {b p : p } converges to a.
X
The sequence {c p : p }. Similarly, since the open set
p

 T 

T|Q (H) \ Cl 
T|Q U j (H) T|Q

T|Q
is a dense subset of 
T|Q (H) \ Cl
T|Q (U 0, j (H)) there exists a sequence

{c p : p } (3.19)
1282 S.D. Iliadis / Topology and its Applications 160 (2013) 12711283


of points of 
T|Q (H) \ Cl  
T|Q (U j (H) T|Q ) convergent to a. Since T|Q (H) is a dense subset of T|Q (H) we can consider that the
T

   
points of this sequence belong to the set T|Q (H) \ Cl
T|Q (U j (H) T|Q ). Since U j (H) T|Q U j (H) T|Q the points of the
T T T

sequence (3.19) belong to the set

  
T|Q (H) \ U Tj (H) = X \ U Xj Q X : X H .

X p X p
Therefore, each point c p coincides with a point of an element X p of H. This point will be denoted by c p . Thus, c p
X  X
( X p \ U j p ) Q X p and the sequence {c p p : p } converges to a.
The nal part of the proof of proposition. Now, consider an element r \ {0} such that

1
s r, r M,s , and < .
2r 1
Let Hr C(r ) be the equivalence class containing the spaces X p and X p for all p except may be a nite number and let H
be the element of C(M,s ) containing Hr . Then, either d( X , j , s) = or there exists l \ {0} such that

1 1
 d( X , j , s) < (3.20)
2sl+1 2sl
for every X H , in particular, for every X Hr .
First we prove that

1
T ( A , B )  , (3.21)
2sl+1
where
        
A Cl X U Xj Q X
\ O X1 Bd X U Xj Q X : X Hr
2s

and
       
B X \ U Xj Q X
\ O X1 Bd X U Xj Q X : X Hr .
2s

Indeed, if A = or B = (and, therefore, T ( A , B ) = ), then relation (3.21) is true. Suppose that A = and B = and let
Y , Z Hr , y Y A and z Z B. If Y = Z , then by the denition of the number d1 (Y , j , s) and relation (3.20) it follows
that
1
Y ( y , z )  d1 ( Y , j , s)  d( Y , j , s)  .
2sl+1
Suppose that Y = Z . Then, n(Y , Z )  r (where n(Y , Z ) is related to the family R). By the denition of the metric T ,
    1
T ( y , z) = Y y , aiY + Z aiZ , z +
2n(Y , Z )
for some i  n(Y , Z ) + 1  r + 1. By condition (d) of the denition of an (M, P)-admissible family, either aiY U Yj and
aiZ U Zj or aiY
/ U Yj and aiZ
/ U Zj . In the rst case,

  1
Z aiZ , z  d1 ( Z , j , s)  d( Z , j , s)  . (3.22)
2sl+1
In the second case,
  1
Y y , aiY  d2 (Y , j , s)  d(Y , j , s)  . (3.23)
2sl+1
Relations (3.22) and (3.23) prove inequality (3.21).
 Hr ,
Now let m such that X m , X m

  1  X  1
T a, bmXm < and T a, cmm < (3.24)
2r 2r
and
 X  1
T bmXm , cmm < . (3.25)
2sl+1
 S.D. Iliadis / Topology and its Applications 160 (2013) 12711283 1283

Relations (3.21) and (3.25) imply that

 X X      
bmm , cmm O T1 BdT|Q U Tj Hr T|Q = . (3.26)
2s

Relation (3.26) implies that there exists a point

     
x BdT|Q U Tj Hr T|Q BdT|Q U Tj (H) T|Q T|Q(k,i) (H)

such that
  X  1
T x, bmXm , cmm < .
2r
The last relation and relations (3.24) imply that

1
T (a, x) < <
2r 1
proving relation (3.12) and completing the proof of the proposition. 2

3.2. Theorem. There exists a separable complete metric space of dimension n containing isometrically all compact metric spaces
of dimension n.

Proof. Denote by S an indexed collection of n-dimensional compact metric spaces such that each n-dimensional compact
metric space is isometrically homeomorphic to an element of S. Let P be an S-indexed set of -indexed dense subsets and
Q { Q X : X S} the restriction of S such that Q X = X for every X S. Denote also by M a base for S and by R a family
of equivalence relations on S constructed in Proposition 3.1. Then, by this proposition, the metric space 
T(M, R, P) is the
required separable complete metric space of dimension n. 2

4. Some problems

4.1. Problem. Let + \ . Is there an isometrically universal element in the class of all separable complete metric spaces
of (transnite) dimension ind  ?

4.2. Problem. Let + \ . Is there an isometrically universal element in the class of all separable complete metric spaces
of (transnite) dimension Ind  ?

4.3. Problem. Let + \ . Is there a separable complete metric space with (transnite) dimension ind  containing
isometrically all compact metric spaces with (transnite) dimension ind  ?

4.4. Problem. Let + \ . Is there a separable complete metric space with (transnite) dimension Ind  containing
isometrically all compact metric spaces with (transnite) dimension Ind  ?

References

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[3] W. Hurewicz, H. Wallman, Dimension Theory, Princeton, 1941.
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[5] S.D. Iliadis, Some Problems on Isometrically Universal Spaces, Cambridge Scientic Publishers, 2012, pp. 231241.
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