Topology and its Applications 154 (2007) 817–833

www.elsevier.com/locate/topol

On thin, very thin, and slim dense sets

Gary Gruenhage a,1 , Tomasz Natkaniec b , Zbigniew Piotrowski c,∗
a Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36830, USA
b Institute of Mathematics, Gdańsk University, Wita Stwosza 57, 80-952 Gdańsk, Poland
c Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Youngstown State University, Youngstown, OH 44555, USA

Received 9 February 2006; accepted 31 August 2006

Abstract
The notions of thin and very thin dense subsets of a product space were introduced by the third author, and in this article we also
introduce the notion of a slim dense set in a product. We obtain a number of results concerning the existence and non-existence of
these types of small dense sets, and we study the relations among them.
© 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

MSC: primary 54B10; secondary 54A25, 03E75, 54C08

Keywords: Dense set; Thin set; Very thin set; Irresolvable space; Strongly irresolvable space; Near continuity

1. Introduction

In the paper we will consider three kinds of dense subsets in

products of topological spaces. Assume that κ > 1 is
a cardinal number, Xα , α < κ, are topological spaces, and X = α<κ Xα . We say that the set D ⊂ X is

• thin if |{α < κ: xα = yα }| > 1 whenever x, y ∈ D, x = y, x = (xα )α<κ , y = (yα )α<κ ;

• very thin if for every x, y ∈ D, x = y, and α < κ we havexα = yα ;
• slim if for every nonempty proper subset K ⊂ κ and v ∈ α∈K Xα the set D ∩ C(v) is nowhere dense in C(v).

Here C(v) denotes the cross-section of X at v, i.e., C(v) = {x ∈ X: x  K = v}.

Notice that every very thin set in X is also thin. In the product of two spaces those notions coincide. If all Xα are
dense-in-themselves T1 spaces, then every very thin set in X is slim, but we will see that the notions of thinness and
slimness are not comparable in general.
The notions of thin and very thin were introduced in [12], where it is shown that the product of c many separable
spaces always has a countable dense thin set. Answering a question in [12], P.J. Szeptycki [15] and, independently,
J. Schröder [14], showed that one cannot necessarily produce a very thin dense subset in such a product, for if τ is the

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (G. Gruenhage), [email protected] (T. Natkaniec), [email protected] (Z. Piotrowski).
1 Research partially supported by NSF Grant DMS-0405216.

0166-8641/$ – see front matter © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.topol.2006.08.007
818 G. Gruenhage et al. / Topology and its Applications 154 (2007) 817–833

topology on ω generated by a maximal independent family, then there is no very thin dense set in τ × τ , and hence
not in τ c . On the other hand, in [14] the author shows that there is a very thin dense subset in a product of c spaces if
each factor is dense-in-itself and has a countable (weak) π -base.
In this note, we give a number of results which assert the existence or non-existence of these kinds of dense sets.
In Section 2, we show that there is a metrizable space X such that X n does not have a thin dense set for any n < ω,
and X ω has no very thin dense set. We show that any infinite power of a space X has a thin dense set; on the other
hand, this does not hold for products with different factors. We also construct, under CH, a space X such that X 2 has
a (very) thin dense set, but X 3 does not have a thin dense set.
In Section 3, we show that any product of dense-in-themselves metrizable spaces has a slim dense set, but there
are spaces X and Y , one of which is metrizable, such that X × Y does not have a slim dense set. Assuming CH, we
construct a regular separable space whose square does not have a slim dense set, but we show that any infinite product
of separable Hausdorff spaces has a dense set which is both slim and thin. In Section 4, we introduce properties
(NC) and (GC) of the ideal of nowhere dense sets. Every metrizable space satisfies (GC) and every product of spaces
satisfying (GC) has a slim dense set, as does every power of a space satisfying (NC).
Recall that a space X is irresolvable if it does not have disjoint dense sets. Noting that the examples of Szeptycki
and Schröder mentioned earlier are irresolvable, it is not surprising that some of our results involve this notion. For
example, we show that in any model in which there are no irresolvable Baire spaces (e.g., V = L), any infinite power
of any dense-in-itself space has a slim dense subset (Theorem 3.12). Also, while we do not know of any example of a
dense-in-itself space X such that X ω has no slim dense set, we show that if there is such an X, then it must contain an
irresolvable Baire subspace.
All spaces are assumed to be at least Hausdorff.

2. Very thin and thin dense sets

We begin with a result relating the existence of a very thin dense subset of a product space to certain cardinal
functions on the factors. Recall that Δ(X) is the least cardinal of a nonempty open subset of X. Also, a π -base for
X is a collection B of nonempty open sets such that every nonempty open subset of X contains some member of B,
and the π -weight πw(X) of X is a least cardinal of a π -base for X. Finally, the density d(X) is the least cardinal of a
dense subset of X.

Proposition 2.1. Assume X = α<κ Xα , where all Xα are dense-in-themselves. Consider the following three condi-
tions.

(i) λ = infα<κ Δ(Xα )  supα<κ πw(Xα ) and 2λ  κ;

(ii) There is a very thin dense set in X;
(iii) Δ(Xα )  d(Xβ ) for any α, β < κ, α = β.

Then (i) ⇒ (ii) ⇒ (iii).

Proof. (i) ⇒ (ii). This proof is essentially a generalization of the proof of Theorem 8 in [14] for the countable case, as
well as a mildly souped up version of the well-known Hewitt–Marczewski–Pondiczery Theorem [3, Theorem 2.3.15].
Since there is a one-to-one function from κ into the space 2λ with the product topology, which has weight λ, there
is a collection C of cardinality  λ of subsets of κ such that, for any finite sequence α0 , α1 , . . . , αn of distinct points
of κ, there are pairwise-disjoint sets C0 , C1 , . . . , Cn ∈ C with αi ∈ Ci for each i.
Let {Bαβ : β < λ} index a π -base for Xα (repetitions are allowed), and consider the collection P of all finite
sequences (Ci , βi ) i<k , where βi ∈ λ for each i, and {Ci }i<k is a pairwise-disjoint subcollection of C.
Note that |P| = λ; let
  
Ci (δ), βi (δ) i<k(δ) : δ < λ

index P. For each δ < λ, choose a point d
δ ∈ α<κ Xα such that dδ (α) ∈ Xα \ {dγ (α): γ < δ}, and furthermore, if
α ∈ Ci , then dδ (α) ∈ Bαβi (δ) . It is straightforward to check that D = {d
δ : δ < λ} is dense and very thin.
 G. Gruenhage et al. / Topology and its Applications 154 (2007) 817–833 819

(ii) ⇒ (iii). Assume D is dense very thin set in X. Fix α, β < κ, α = β. Let D  be the projection of D onto the
product Xα × Xβ , i.e., D  = {d(α), d(β) : d ∈ D}. Then D  is very thin dense in Xα × Xβ . Fix an open set U ∈ Xα
with Δ(Xα ) = |U |. Then D  is dense in U × Xβ , | dom(D  ∩ U × Xβ )| = | rng(D  ∩ U × Xβ )|, and rng(D  ∩ U × Xβ )
is dense in Xβ , thus Δ(Xα )  |U |  | rng(D  ∩ U × Xβ )|  d(Xβ ). 2

Remark 2.2. For every Hausdorff space X with at least two points, there is a cardinal κ such that there is no dense
very thin set in X κ .
λ
Proof. We can assume that λ = |X| > 1. Let κ = 22 . Suppose D is a very thin dense set in X κ . Then |D|  λ, so
d(X) λ
d(X κ ) < λ. On the other hand, 2κ  |X κ |  22  22 = κ (see [3, Theorem 1.5.3]), a contradiction. 2

Now we will work with dense thin sets. The examples from [15,14] mentioned in the introduction which show
that there is separable dense-in-itself Hausdorff space X with no dense thin set in X 2 cannot be metrizable, because
metrizable dense-in-themselves separable spaces satisfy 2.1(i). However, we have an example of a metrizable dense-
in-itself space X with a similar property.

Example 2.3. There is a metrizable space X such that for every positive integer n > 1, X n has no thin dense set, and
X ω has no very thin dense set.

Proof. Let X = c × Q be the product of the discrete space of size c and the space Q of rationals with the Euclidean
topology. Then Δ(X) = ω and d(X) = c. Thus, by Theorem 2.1(iii), there is no dense very thin set in X ω . Now fix
a positive integer n > 1. Notice that X n can be identify with the product c × Qn . Suppose D ⊂ X n is a thin dense set
in X n . Then for each α < c there are rationals qα,1 , . . . , qα,n such that α, qα,1 , . . . , qα,n ∈ D, and consequently, there
are q1 , . . . , qn ∈ Q for which the set {α < c: α, q1 , . . . , qn ∈ D} has size c, contrary to the fact that D is assumed to
be thin. 2

It is not very hard to observe that for X from the example above, there is a thin dense set in X ω . Now we will show
that this is nothing special.

Theorem 2.4. Let |X| = λ > 1, and let κ be an infinite cardinal.

(i) If λ < κ, then there is a dense D ⊂ X κ such that, for any d = d  ∈ D, d(α) = d  (α) for κ-many α < κ;
(ii) If λ  κ, then there is a dense D ⊂ X κ such that, for any d = d  ∈ D, d(α) = d  (α) for all but finitely many
α < κ.

Proof. Clearly it suffices to prove this when X = λ with the discrete topology. Let F be the family of all functions
defined on finite subsets of κ with values in X.
If λ < κ, then |F| = κ · λ = κ. Set F = {ϕα : α < κ}, and let G = {gα : α < κ} list the characteristic functions of
κ-many pairwise-disjoint subsets of κ, each of size κ. For every α < κ choose fα ∈ X κ such that fα  dom ϕα = ϕα
and fα agrees with gα otherwise. Let D = {fα : α < κ}; then D is as required.
If λ  κ, then |F| = κ · λ = λ. Set F = {ϕα : α < λ}. For every α < λ choose fα ∈ X κ such that

(1) ϕα ⊂ fα ;
/ dom ϕα then fα (ξ ) = fβ (ξ ) for all β < α.
(2) If ξ ∈

Clearly D is as required. 2

However, there are easy examples of infinite products of different spaces, even nice ones, which do not have thin
dense sets.

Example 2.5. There are countably many dense-in-themselves metrizable spaces whose product does not have a thin
dense set.
820 G. Gruenhage et al. / Topology and its Applications 154 (2007) 817–833

Proof. Let X0 be the topological sum of more than continuum-many copies of the rationals Q, and for n > 0, let
Xn = Q. Let X = n∈ω Xn . Since  the density of X is greater than the continuum, any dense subset of X must contain
at least two points that agree on n>0 Xn . 2

The above results lead to a natural question if there are spaces X, Y, Z such that the product of each pair has a
(very) thin dense subset but X × Y × Z does not. The next theorem answers this question under CH.

Example 2.6. (CH) There is a countable regular space X such that X 2 has a thin dense subset, but X 3 does not.

Proof. The set for X is ω, and we let D = {n, n + 1 : n is even}. Clearly D is thin. The plan is to inductively define
a topology on X such that D is dense in X 2 , killing potential thin dense subsets of X 3 as we go.
Call E ⊂ X 3 suitable if it is thin, all three coordinates of every e ∈ E are distinct, and E satisfies one of the
following conditions:

(a) No point e ∈ E has coordinates {k, n, n + 1} where k < n and n is even;

(b) There are i, j < 3 such that every point of E has coordinates {k, n, n + 1} where k < n and n is even, and k is the
ith coordinate and n the j th coordinate.

Let {Eα : α < ω1 } index all suitable subsets of X 3 with each appearing ω1 times. We will inductively define
Tα ⊂ ω such that the topology generated by the Tα ’s and their complements gives the desired space, and we will
denote basic (cl)open sets in this topology by [σ ], where σ is a function from a finite subset of ω1 into 2, and
 σ (α)
[σ ] = α∈dom(σ ) Tα , where Tα0 = Tα and Tα1 = ω \ Tα . Further, we will make {Tα }α<ω1 an independent family, so
each [σ ] will be infinite; in particular, this ensures that X will have no isolated points.
If the Tβ ’s for β < α have been defined, let τα denote the topology generated by them and their complements, and
let Xα = (ω, τα ). It is easy to define an independent family Tn , n ∈ ω, such that Xω is a Hausdorff space with no
isolated points and such that D is dense in X 2 .
Suppose ω  α < ω1 and suppose Tβ has been defined for all β < α satisfying:

(i) {Tγ }γ β is an independent family;

2 ;
(ii) D is dense in Xβ+1
(iii) Eβ ∩ Tβ3 is nowhere-dense in Xβ+1
3 .

The final space is Xω1 = (ω, τω1 ). Let us first see that if we are able to carry out the inductive construction, then
Xω1 will have the desired properties. Clearly D will be dense in Xω2 1 since it is so at every stage.
We need to see why Xω3 1 has no thin dense set E. Suppose on the contrary, E ⊂ Xω3 1 is thin and dense. W.l.o.g.,
each e ∈ E has distinct coordinates. E maybe is not suitable, but it is the union of no more than 7 suitable subsets (one
satisfying condition (a) in the definition of suitable, 6 satisfying (b)). Label these suitable subsets E0 , E1 , . . . , E6 so
that there are α0 < α1 < · · · < α6 < ω1 such that Ei = Eαi for each i. By the construction, Ei ∩ Tα3i is nowhere-dense

in Xα3i +1 . It will follow that E ∩ i<7 Tα3i is nowhere-dense in Xω3 1 as soon as we verify the following:

Claim. If α < ω1 and N is nowhere-dense in Xα3 , then N is nowhere-dense in Xβ3 for any α  β  ω1 .

To see this, let U be dense open in Xα3 with U ∩ N = ∅. It suffices to show that U remains dense in Xβ3 for β > α.
Suppose otherwise, and consider the least β such that U is not dense in Xβ3 . It is easy to see that β is not a limit ordinal.
Let β = γ + 1. There are σi , i < 3, with dom(σi ) a finite subset Si of β, such that ([σ0 ] × [σ1 ] × [σ2 ]) ∩ U = ∅. Let
σi = σi  (Si \ {γ }). Since U is dense open in Xγ3 , there are extensions σi of σi (with dom(σi ) ⊂ γ ) such that
([σ0 ] × [σ1 ] × [σ2 ]) ⊂ U . But then if τi = σi ∪ σi , we have that ([τ0 ] × [τ1 ] × [τ2 ]) is a nonempty open subset of
([σ0 ] × [σ1 ] × [σ2 ]) ∩ U = ∅, contradiction.
 G. Gruenhage et al. / Topology and its Applications 154 (2007) 817–833 821

To complete the inductive construction, suppose that Tβ has been defined for β < α, and we are given the suitable
subset Eα of ω3 . Let Un , Vn , in , n ∈ ω, index all triples U, V , i where i ∈ ω and U, V is a pair of nonempty open
sets in a countable base for Xα , such that, for each such pair U, V , each i ∈ ω, and each j < 4, the set
 
Mj = m: Um , Vm = U, V , im = i, and m = j mod 4
is infinite.
We will define by induction disjoint finite sets Fk , Gk , and we promise to make Fk ⊂ Tα and Gk ⊂ ω \ Tα . Let
F0 = G0 = ∅ to start, and suppose at step k, we have chosen Fk , Gk . We will choose at this step an even n with
n, n + 1 ∈ Uk × Vk , and distribute n and n + 1 into Fk or Gk in some way depending on the value of ik mod 4. Let
us say that if ik = 0 mod 4, we will put both n and n + 1 in Fk to get Fk+1 ; so if ik = 0 mod 4, at most one of n, n + 1
will be added to Fk .
Since Eα is thin, the set Hk = {n: Eα ∩ (Fk ∪ {n})3 \ Fk3 = ∅} is finite. If ik = 0 mod 4, choose any even n such
that n, n + 1 ∈ Uk × Vk and n > max(Fk ∪ Gk ∪ Hk ) and distribute n, n + 1 to Fk and Gk as follows: put n ∈ Fk ,
n + 1 ∈ Gk if ik = 1 mod 4, the reverse if ik = 2 mod 4, and both in Gk if ik = 3 mod 4. Note that in this case,
Eα ∩ Fk+1 3 = E ∩ F 3.
α k
Now suppose ik = 0 mod 4; we will put both n and n + 1 in Fk for some appropriate n. If possible, choose an
even n larger than max(Fk ∪ Gk ∪ Hk ) with n, n + 1 ∈ Uk × Vk such that Eα ∩ Fk+1 3 = E ∩ F 3 (where F
α k k+1 =
Fk ∪ {n, n + 1}). Note that this is always possible if Eα satisfies condition (a) of the definition of suitable. If this is not
possible, thenany even n larger than max(Fk ∪ Gk ∪ Hk ) with n, n + 1 ∈ Uk × Vk will do.
Let Tα = k∈ω Fk . By the construction, both Tα and its complement meet every basic clopen subset of Xα in an
infinite set. It follows that {Tβ : β  α} is an independent family. It also follows easily from the construction that each
basic open set [σ0 ] × [σ1 ] in Xα+1
2 meets D.
It remains to prove that Eα ∩ Tα3 is nowhere-dense in Xα+1 3 . Suppose not. Note that by the construction, if E
α
satisfies condition (a) of the definition of suitable, then we could at any stage add what we needed to the set Fk so that
Eα ∩ Fk+1 3 = E ∩ F . So in this case, E ∩ T 3 = ∅. Hence we may assume E satisfies condition (b) of the definition
α k α α α
of suitable, for some i0 , j0 < 3. To ease the notation, let us assume i0 = 1 and j0 = 2, as the other cases are similar.
Since we are assuming Eα ∩ Tα3 is somewhere-dense in Xα+1 3 , there are basic open sets B , i < 3, of X such that E
i α α
contains a dense subset of (B0 × B1 × B2 ) ∩ Tα3 . Let e ∈ Eα ∩ (B0 × B1 × B2 ) ∩ Tα3 . Then e ∈ Fm+1 3 \ Fm3 for some m,
and hence e = ne + 1, ke , ne , where ke ∈ Fm ⊂ ne , and ne , ne + 1 ∈ Um × Vm . It follows that

(Vm ∩ B0 ) × B1 × (Um ∩ B2 ) ∩ Tα3

is open nonempty (it contains e), and thus so is

(Vm ∩ B0 ) × B1 × (Um ∩ B2 ) ∩ (Tα \ ne + 1)3 .

There must be some e ∈ Eα which is also in the above open set. Now e = ne + 1, ke , ne , where ke , ne > ne . By
the construction, since e ∈ Fm+1
3 \ Fm3 , at step m it was not possible to add n, n + 1 to Fm such that n is larger than
max(Fm ∪ Gm ∪ Hm ) with n, n + 1 ∈ Um × Vm and Eα ∩ Fm+1 3 = Eα ∩ Fm3 . It follows that there is another point

e = ne + 1, k, ne in Eα for some k ∈ Fm . But this contradicts thinness of Eα . 2

3. Slim dense sets

If X is the space defined in Example 2.3 then X 2 has no thin dense set, but it is not hard to show that X 2 has a slim
dense set. In fact, we will prove that any product of metrizable spaces with no isolated points has a slim dense set.
(See Corollary 4.3.) Thus slim dense does not imply thin dense.

Lemma 3.1. Assume X and Y are topological spaces and |X| = κ. If no union of κ-many nowhere dense sets in Y is
dense in Y , then there is no dense slim set in X × Y .

Proof. Suppose D is a slim dense set in X × Y . Let dom(D) be the projection of D onto X, rng(D) be the projec-
each x ∈ dom(D) let Dx = {y ∈ Y : x, y ∈ D} be the x-section of D. Then rng(D) is
tion of D onto Y , and for 
dense in Y and rng(D) = {Dx : x ∈ dom(D)}. But each Dx is nowhere dense in Y , so rng(D) is not dense in Y ,
a contradiction. 2
822 G. Gruenhage et al. / Topology and its Applications 154 (2007) 817–833

Corollary 3.2. There are two dense-in-themselves spaces, a metrizable separable space X and a regular space Y ,
with no slim dense set in X × Y .

Proof. Let X = Q be the space of rationals with the Euclidean topology, and let Y be the real line with the density
topology. (Recall that the density topology is Tychonoff but not normal; see [4], or [10], the remark before Theo-
rem 22.9.) Then X and Y satisfy assumptions of Lemma 3.1. 2

Recall that a space X is κ-resolvable if it can be decomposed into κ-many dense subsets.

Example 3.3. Let Q be the space of rationals with the Euclidean topology, let Y be any ω-resolvable space in which
no meager set is dense (e.g., let Y be the same as in Corollary 3.2), and let X = Q ⊕ Y . Then X n has no slim dense
set for any n < ω but X ω does have a slim dense set.

Proof. Notice that X is ω-resolvable, so the fact that X ω has a slim dense set will follow from Corollary 3.7. Now,
for a given n < ω, suppose D is slim dense in X n . Then D ∩ (Qn−1 × Y ) is slim dense in Qn−1 × Y , contrary to
Lemma 3.1. 2

Example 3.4. (CH) There is a countable regular space X (generated by a maximal independent family on ω) such that
X 2 has no slim dense subset.

Proof. The set for X is ω. List all infinite subsets of ω in the sequence {Bα : α < ω1 } and all subsets of ω2 in the
sequence {Eα : α < ω1 } such that each set appears in this sequence ω1 times. For α < ω1 we will define 0-dimensional
T2 topology on ω generated by a countable independent family Aα such that

• If β < α then Aβ ⊂ Aα , so τβ ⊂ τα .
• Either Bα or ω \ Bα is not dense in τα+1 .
• Eα is not slim dense in τα+1
2 .

Let τ0 be a 0-dimensional topology on ω generated by a countable independent family A0 . Suppose Aβ and τβ are
defined for β  γ and α = γ + 1. If Bγ is not dense or not co-dense in τγ then Aα = Aγ and τα = τγ . Otherwise
Aγ ∪ {Bγ } is an independent family. Then set Aα = Aγ ∪ {Bγ } and define τα as the topology generated by Aα . Note
that Bγ is not dense in τα .
Next, if Eγ is not slim dense in τα × τα then put Aα = Aα and τα = τα . Otherwise we will define Tα ⊂ ω such that
Aα ∪ {Tα } is an independent family and Tα2 ∩ Eγ = ∅. Let {Un : n < ω} be a sequence of basis sets of τα with each


appearing infinite many times. Choose inductively two sequences an , bn , n < ω, such that

(i) an , bn ∈ Un \ {ai , bi : i < n}, an = bn ;

(ii) {ai : i  n}2 × Eγ = ∅.

Such a choice is possible because the set Hn = {x: x, ai ∈ Eγ or ai , x ∈ Eγ } is nowhere dense (as Eγ is slim),
so Un \ Hn is infinite. Let Tα = {an : n < ω}. Since {bn : n ∈ ω} ⊂ ω \ Tα , Aα = Aα ∪ {Tα } is an independent family.
Let τα be the topology on ω generated by Aα . Then τα is a T2 second countable 0-dimensional space without isolated
points suchthat Bγ is not dense or not co-dense in τα and Eγ is not slim dense in τα2 . 
Let τ = α<ω1 τα and X = (ω, τ ). Then τ is generated by the independent family A = α<ω1 Aα .
Observe that A is maximal. In fact, otherwise there is B ⊂ ω such that A ∪ {B} is an independent family. Then
B = Bγ for some γ < ω1 , and B is dense in τ . Thus B is dense in τγ +1 , a contradiction.
Finally we will verify that there is no dense slim set in X 2 . Suppose E is such. W.l.o.g., we may assume each e ∈ E
has distinct coordinates. Since X is countable, every open set U in X (respectively, X 2 ) is the union of countably
many basic open sets, and hence is open in (X, τα ) (respectively, (X, τα )2 ) for some α < ω1 . Since τα is a weaker
topology, if U is also dense in X it is dense in the weaker topology. It follows that, since there are only countably
many cross-sections to consider, E is also a slim dense set in some (X, τα ). Let β  α such that Eβ = E. Then by
condition (iii) in the construction, Eβ is not dense in (X, τβ+1 ), contradiction. 2
 G. Gruenhage et al. / Topology and its Applications 154 (2007) 817–833 823

Since thin implies very thin in X 2 , it also implies slim in X 2 . But for X 3 , thin need not imply slim.

Example 3.5. (CH) There is a countable regular space X such that X 2 has a (very) thin dense subset, and X 3 has a
thin dense set, but X 3 has no slim (hence no very thin) dense subset.

Proof. The set for X is ω. Let D = {n, n + 1 : n even}, and let {Dn }n∈ω be a partition of D into infinite sets. Our
goal will be to define a topology on X such that each Dn is dense in X 2 . Thus X 2 has a (very) thin dense set. It also
follows that E = {n, m, m + 1 : m, m + 1 ∈ Dn } is a thin dense subset of X 3 .
We need to take care that X 3 has no slim dense set. Let {Eα : α < ω1 } index all subsets of X 3 with each appearing
ω1 times, and such that each e ∈ Eα has distinct coordinates. We will define Tα ⊂ ω such that the topology generated
by the Tα ’s and their complements gives the desired space. We will denote basic (cl)open sets in this topology by [σ ],
 σ (α)
where σ is a function from a finite subset of ω1 into 2, and [σ ] = α∈dom(σ ) Tα , where Tα0 = Tα and Tα1 = ω \ Tα .
We will define the Tα ’s inductively. If the Tβ ’s for β < α have been defined, let τα denote the topology generated
by them and their complements. To start, it is easy to define Tn , n ∈ ω, such that (X, τω ) is a Hausdorff space with no
isolated points and such that each Dn is dense.
Now suppose ω  α < ω1 and suppose Tβ has been defined for all β < α satisfying:

(i) (X, τβ+1 ) has no isolated points;

(ii) Each Dn is dense in (X, τβ+1 )2 ;
(iii) If Eβ is a slim dense subset of (X, τβ )3 , then Eβ ∩ Tβ3 = ∅.

Conditions (i) and (ii) imply that (X, τα )2 has no isolated points and each Dn is dense. Suppose that Eα is a slim
dense subset of (X, τα )3 . Let Un , Vn , in , n ∈ ω, index all triples U, V , i where U, V is a pair of nonempty open
sets in a countable base for (X, τα ) and i ∈ ω, such that, for each such pair (U, V ), each i ∈ ω, and each j < 4, the set
 
Mj = m: Um , Vm = U, V , im = i, and m = j mod 4
is infinite.
We will define Tα in steps, taking care that conditions (i)–(iii) will hold for β = α. Let F0 = G0 = ∅. Suppose
at step n, we have disjoint finite sets Fn , Gn , we promise to make Fn ⊂ Tα and Gn ⊂ ω \ Tα , and we also have
Fn3 ∩ Eα = ∅ Since each e ∈ Eα has distinct coordinates, any e ∈ Eα ∩ ({l, m} ∪ Fn ∪ Gn )3 has a coordinate in
Fn ∪ Gn . Hence, since Eα is slim, it follows that the set
  3

Hn = l, m : {l, m, } ∪ F ∪ G \ (F ∪ G)3 ∩ Eα = ∅
is nowhere dense in (X, τα )2 . Hence we can choose an , bn , such that an , bn ∈ Din ∩ [(Un × Vn ) \ Hn ] and {an , bn } ∩
(Fn ∪ Gn ) = ∅. Now, if n = j (mod 4), put both an and bn in Fn if j = 0, both in Gn if j = 1, an in Fn , bn ∈ Gn if
j = 2, and an in Gn , bn in Fn if j = 3.
Let Tα0 = Tα and Tα1 = ω \ Tα . By the way we indexed of the U, V , i ’s, for any fixed U, V and any i, and any
j
j, k < 2, the set (U × V ) ∩ Di ∩ Tα × Tαk is infinite. It follows that (X, τα+1 ) has no isolated points and each Dn is
2
dense in (X, τα+1 ) , i.e., conditions (i) and (ii) hold.
In the inductive definition of Tα , note that if e ∈ Fn+1
3 ∩ E , then some coordinate of e is in F (since |F
α n n+1 \ Fn | 
2 and all coordinates of e are distinct); but this contradicts the facts that Fn ∩ Eα = ∅ and {an , bn ) ∈
3 / Hn .
Let τ = τω1 ; we will show that X = (X, τ ) has the desired properties. We have already noted that X 2 and X 3 have
dense thin sets, so it remains to show that there is no dense slim subset of X 3 . Suppose E is such. This fact can be
described by use only countably many sets from A, thus there is α < ω1 such that E is slim dense in τβ × τβ for each
β  α. (See the end of proof of Example 3.4.) Fix γ  α such that E = Eγ , then E is slim dense in τγ +1 × τγ +1 ,
a contradiction. 2

Now we will consider the existence of slim dense subsets of infinite powers of a space X.

Proposition 3.6. Suppose X admits a decreasing sequence Dn of dense sets such that n<ω Dn = ∅. Then for any
infinite cardinal κ, X κ has a dense set which is both slim and thin.
824 G. Gruenhage et al. / Topology and its Applications 154 (2007) 817–833


Proof. Let x0 ∈ X, let θ be a one-to-one mapping of n∈ω Dnn into X \ {x0 }, and let {Kα }α<κ be κ-many pairwise-
disjoint subsets of κ of cardinality κ. Also, let [κ]<ω denote the finite subsets of κ, and let ν : [κ]<ω → κ be one-to-one.
For every n > 0, let En be the set of all points e ∈ X κ such that, for some subset Fe of κ of size n, we have:

(1) e  Fe is a one-to-one map of Fe into Dn ;

(2) For every β ∈ / Fe , if β ∈ Kν(Fe ) then e(β) = x0 else e(β) = θ ((e  Fe ) ◦ s), where s is the order preserving
bijection of n to Fe .

Then let E = n∈ω En .

Claim 1. E is dense.

Clear.

Claim 2. E is thin.

Suppose e = e ∈ E. If Fe = Fe , then e and e differ on Kν(Fe ) ∪ Kν(Fe ) , while if Fe = Fe , then e  Fe = e  Fe

(else e = e ), so e and e differ on κ \ (Kν(Fe ) ∪ Fe ).

Claim 3. E is slim.

Let p : A → X, where A is a nonempty proper subset of κ. Let C(p) = {f ∈ X κ : f  A = p}. Let us assume
E ∩ C(p) = ∅. We need to show E ∩ C(p) is nowhere dense in C(p).
Case 1. A is infinite. Then there is x ∈ rng(θ ) \ {x0 } such that, for almost all α ∈ A, p(α) ∈ {x, x0 }. So θ −1 (x) is
some point s in Dnn for some unique n, and the projection of E ∩ C(p) on any coordinate is included in the finite set
{x, x0 } ∪ rng(s).
Case 2. A is finite. Then for some k, rng(p) ∩ Dk = ∅. Also, for each x ∈ rng(p), if θ −1 (x) is defined, it is some
point in Dkkxx for some kx ∈ ω. Choose m > k + max{kx : x ∈ rng(p)}. Then any point of E ∩ C(p) has no more than
m distinct coordinates. So if Ui , i < m + 1 are pairwise disjoint open sets in X \ {x0 }, and αi , i < m + 1 are distinct
members of κ \ A, then

C(p) ∩ πα−1
i
(Ui )
i<m+1
is a dense open set in C(p) which misses E. 2

Corollary 3.7. If X is ω-resolvable then for any infinite cardinal κ, X κ has a dense slim and thin set.
 
Proof. Let X = n<ω Xn be the partition of X onto dense subsets. Then Dn = k>n Xk , n < ω, satisfy assumptions
of Proposition 3.6. 2

Corollary 3.8. Assume X has a meager dense subset. Then for any infinite cardinal κ, X κ has a dense slim and thin
set.
 
Proof. Let Nk , k < ω be a sequence of nowhere dense sets in X such that k<ω Nk is dense. Then Dn = k>n Nk ,
n < ω, satisfy assumptions of Proposition 3.6. 2

Corollary 3.9. If X is a separable Hausdorff space with no isolated points then for any infinite cardinal κ, X κ has a
dense slim and thin set.

Proof. If D = {dn : n < ω} is dense in X, then Dn = {di : i > n}, n < ω, satisfy the assumptions of Proposi-
tion 3.6. 2

Proposition 3.6 is only true for powers, not the product of different spaces.
 G. Gruenhage et al. / Topology and its Applications 154 (2007) 817–833 825

Example 3.10. There are countably many dense-in-themselves spaces, each having a sequence of dense subsets as in
Proposition 3.6, whose product has no slim or thin dense set.

Proof. Let X0 be any dense-in-itself ω-resolvable space such that no union of c-many nowhere dense sets is dense.
(Such an example is 2κ , where κ > c, with the topology obtained by declaring to be open any intersection of less than
 sets open in the usual topology.) For each
κ-many  n > 0, let Xn be a copy of the rationals. Then for every dense set D
in n∈ω Xn , there is some v
= v1 , v2 , . . . ∈ n>0 Xn such that {x ∈ X0 : x, v1 , v2 , . . . ∈ D} is somewhere dense
in X0 . Hence D is neither slim nor thin. 2

Nevertheless, Corollary 3.9 can be generalized to products of different spaces.

Proposition 3.11. Any infinite product of separable Hausdorff spaces with no isolated points has a slim and thin dense
set.

Proof. Let κ be an infinite cardinal, and suppose for each α < κ, Xα is a Hausdorff space with no isolated points with
a countable dense proper subset Dα ⊂ Xα , say Dα = {dαi : i ∈ ω}. We will show that X = α<κ Xα has a slim and
thin dense set.
For each n, let Dαn = {dαi : i  n}.
 W.l.o.g., there are countably infinite Kαn , n ∈ ω, which are disjoint from each
other and from Dα , such that Kα = n∈ω Kαn is nowhere dense in Xα . Let Kαn = {kαni : i ∈ ω}.
W.l.o.g., Dα = Xα , so we can choose v
∈ X such that v(α) ∈ / Dα ∪ Kα for all α. Also let {Hα }α<κ be κ-many
disjoint subsets of κ, each of size κ, and let ν : [κ]<ω → κ be one-to-one, where [κ]<ω denotes the set of all finite
subsets of κ. Finally, let μ : ω<ω → ω be one-to-one such that μ(σ )  max rng(σ ).
Now for every n > 0, let En be the set of all points e ∈ X such that, for some subset Fe of κ of size n, we have:

(1) e(α) ∈ Dαn for every α ∈ Fe ;

(2) Let σe ∈ ωn be such that e(αj ) = dαj σe (j ) , where αj is the j th member (in the natural order on the ordinals) of Fe .
/ Fe , if β ∈ Hν(Fe ) then e(β) = v(β), else e(β) = kβnμ(σe ) .
Then for every β ∈

Note that the En ’s are pairwise disjoint. Let E = n∈ω En .

Claim 1. E is dense in X.

This follows easily from the definition of E and the fact that each Dαn is dense in Xα .

Claim 2. E is thin.

Suppose e = e ∈ E. If Fe = Fe , then e and e differ on Hν(Fe ) ∪ Hν(Fe ) , while if Fe = Fe , then σe = σe (else

e = e ), so e and e differ on κ \ (Hν(Fe ) ∪ Fe ).

Claim 3. E is slim.

Let p ∈ α∈A Xα , where A is a nonempty proper subset of κ. Let C(p) = {f ∈ X: f  A = p}. Let us assume
E ∩ C(p) = ∅. We need to show E ∩ C(p) is nowhere dense in C(p).
Case 1. A is infinite. Then there are m, j such that p(β) ∈ {v(β), kβmj } for all but finitely many β ∈ A. It follows
that if e ∈ E ∩ C(p), then e(γ ) ∈ {v(γ ), kγ mj } for all γ ∈
/ Fe , and so for each α ∈ Fe , if e(α) = dαi , then i  j . Hence
the projection of E ∩ C(p) on each coordinate is finite. 
Case 2. A is finite. Then rng(p) is finite, so there is n0 such that, for each α ∈ dom(p), p(α) ∈ / nn0 Dαn ∪ Kαn .
It follows that if e ∈ En ∩ C(p), then n < n0 , and hence e(β) ∈ Kβ ∪ {v(β)} for all but at most n0 − 1 many β. Hence
if we take a set G ⊂ κ \ dom(p) of size n0 , then
   
C(p) ∩ πα−1 Xα \ Kα ∪ v(α)
α∈G
is a dense open set in C(p) which misses E. 2
826 G. Gruenhage et al. / Topology and its Applications 154 (2007) 817–833

Theorem 3.12. Assuming V = L, every infinite power of any dense-in-itself space has a slim and thin dense set.

Proof. Recall that every dense-in-itself space X has a dense subspace which is the union of two open sets U0 and
U1 , where U0 is a Baire space and U1 is meager. It is known that under V = L every dense-in-itself Baire space is
ω-resolvable [11]. Thus U0 can be decomposed into dense sets Dn , n < ω. Since U1 is meager, it can 
be decomposed
into nowhere
 dense sets N n , n < ω. For each n > 0 put E n = D n ∪ N n . Moreover, let E 0 = X \ n>0 En . Then
X = n<ω En is decomposition of X onto ω many dense sets, so Corollary 3.7 gives a dense slim and thin set in
Xκ . 2

We are unable to determine whether or not the assertion of Theorem 3.12 can be proved in ZFC. However, we will
show that if X ω has no slim dense set, then X contains a subspace which is strongly irresolvable and Baire. So the key
to finding an infinite power of X with no slim dense set, if such exists, has to be to look at Baire strongly irresolvable
spaces.
Recall that a space is strongly irresolvable if every dense-in-itself subset is irresolvable; Hewitt [5] showed that
every irresolvable space contains an open strongly irresolvable subspace.2 In a strongly irresolvable space, every dense
set has nowhere dense complement. If the space is also Baire, it follows that every meager set is nowhere dense. It
is known to be consistent, modulo large cardinals, that Baire (strongly) irresolvable spaces exist, though they do not
exist if, e.g., V = L. There can be, e.g., a Hausdorff Baire strongly irresolvable topology on ω1 , and a regular Baire
strongly irresolvable topology on 2ω1 [7,8].

Proposition 3.13. If X ω has no slim dense set, then X contains a subspace which is strongly irresolvable and Baire.

Proof. Let U be the union of a maximal disjoint collection of open sets which have meager dense subsets, and let
V = X \ Ū . If V is empty then X = Ū , thus U is nonempty and has a meager dense subset which is also a meager
dense in X, and then, by Corollary 3.8, X ω has a slim dense set. Thus we can assume that V is nonempty. From the
definition of U , we see that any meager subset of V is nowhere dense; in particular V is Baire. Now observe that V
cannot be ω-resolvable. In fact, else U ∪ V has a sequence of dense set with empty intersection, thus X is ω-resolvable,
and by Corollary 3.7, X ω has a slim dense set. It is known that a space is ω-resolvable iff it is n-resolvable for every
positive integer n [6]. So, let n be the minimal integer for which V is not (n + 1)-resolvable. Write V as the union of
n many dense set D1 , D2 , . . . , Dn . Then each of these sets must be irresolvable. In particular, D1 is irresolvable. Each
irresolvable space contains an open strongly irresolvable subspace, so let Y be an open strongly irresolvable subspace
of D1 . From the fact that any meager subset of V is nowhere dense, it follows that any meager subset of Y is nowhere
dense in Y , so Y is Baire strongly irresolvable. 2

4. Some conditions which imply the existence of slim dense sets

Let us define the following properties of a space X.

(NC) There is a pairwise disjoint collection N of nowhere dense sets in X such that, given any finite collection U of
nonempty open sets in X, there is some N ∈ N which meets every U ∈ U .
(GC) There is a pairwise disjoint collection N of nowhere dense sets in X such that every nonempty open set U ⊂ X
meets all but finitely many members of N .

Moreover, for a given k < ω we will denote by (NCk ) a weaker version of the condition (NC) obtained by requiring
|U|  k in the definition of (NC).
Notice that for every space X we have

• If k < m then (NCm ) implies (NCk ).

2 The authors of [7] define strongly irresolvable to mean every open subset is irresolvable. It follows from Hewitt’s result that the statements in
[7] are valid for either definition of strongly irresolvable.
 G. Gruenhage et al. / Topology and its Applications 154 (2007) 817–833 827

• If X satisfies (GC) then it satisfies (NC).

• A collection N witnesses property (NC) iff it witnesses (NCk ) for every k < ω.

In spite of this last statement, we do not know whether or not property (NC) holds iff (NCk ) holds for all k < ω.
Observe also the following facts.

• In the definition of (GC) we may assume that the family N is countable. Also, for any partition of N into infinite
subfamilies, their unions are disjoint dense sets;in particular, (GC) implies ω-resolvable.
• If a family N witnesses property (NC2 ) then N is dense in X. Moreover, every nonempty set G ⊂ X meets
infinitely many N ∈ N , thus X is dense-in-itself.

Proposition 4.1.

(1) If X satisfies (NC) then every power of X has a slim dense set.
(2) If X satisfies (NCk ) for some k < ω, then X k has a slim dense set. 
(3) Assume Xα , α < κ, satisfy (GC). Then there is a slim dense set in α<κ Xα .

Proof. (1) Let N = {Nα : α < λ} be family fulfilling (NC). Fix a cardinal κ and define D = α<λ Nακ . It is clear
that D is slim (because each cross-section of D is a product of nowhere dense sets), we will verify that D is dense in
X κ . Let B be a basic open set in X κ and let A be the set of all ξ < κ for which πξ (B) = X; A is finite. Thus there
is α < λ such that Nα meets all πξ (B) for ξ ∈ A and consequently, B ∩ Nακ = ∅. The proof above works also for the
statement (2).
(3) For α < κ let Nα be a family witnessing
 (GC) in Xα . We  may assume that all Nα are countable, say Nα =
{Nα,k : k < ω}. Then the set D = k<ω α<κ Nα,k is slim in X = α<κ Xα . We will verify that D is dense in X. Let
B be a basic open set in X and let A be the set of all α < κ for which πα (B) = Xα ; A is finite. For each α ∈ A there
is a positive integer kα such that πα (B) ∩ Nα,n = ∅ if n  kα . Let k = maxα∈A kα . Then for every α < κ and n > k we
have πα (B) ∩ Nα,k = ∅, so B ∩ D = ∅. 2

Proposition 4.2. Every metrizable dense-in-itself space X satisfies (GC).

1
Proof. Let X be metrizable and dense-in-itself. For each n > 0 choose a nowhere dense n -net En in X such that
En ∩ Em = ∅ if n = m. Then the sequence En , n < ω, fulfills the condition (GC). 2

Corollary 4.3. Every product of metrizable dense-in-themselves spaces has a slim dense set.

In Example 4.6, we will show that the product of different spaces Xα satisfying (NC) may have no slim dense set.
First a couple of results on spaces which satisfy (NC) or (GC) witnessed by a collection of finite sets.

Proposition 4.4. Let X be a dense-in-itself space.

(i) If Δ(X)  πw(X), then X satisfies (NC) witnessed by a collection of finite sets;
(ii) If X is separable and πw(X) = ω, then X satisfies (GC) witnessed by a collection of finite sets.

Proof. (i) Let B be a π -base of X with |B| = λ  Δ(X). List all finite subfamilies of B in the sequence
 {Bα : α < λ}.
Now, for each α < λ, choose inductively a finite set Nα meeting every B ∈ Bα and disjoint with β<α Nβ . Then
N = {Nα : α < λ} witnesses (NC).
We omit the similar and easy proof of (ii). 2

For the separable case, let us see that it is consistent to have the same conclusion as in Proposition 4.4(ii) as long
as πw(X) < c. Recall that the cardinal p is the least cardinal of a family of infinite subsets of ω with every finite
intersection infinite, such that there is no infinite set almost contained in every member of the collection. It is well
known that p is the least cardinal such that Martin’s Axiom for σ -centered posets fails [1].
828 G. Gruenhage et al. / Topology and its Applications 154 (2007) 817–833

Proposition 4.5. Let X be a separable space with πw(X) < p. Then X satisfies (GC) witnessed by a collection of
finite sets.

Proof. Let D be a countable dense subset of X and B a π -base of cardinality < p. Define the poset P to be all
p = f p , B p such that

(i) f p is a function with domain np ∈ ω;

(ii) For each i < np , f p (i) is a finite subset of D;
(iii) For i = j < np , f p (i) ∩ f p (j ) = ∅;
(iv) B p is a finite subset of B.

Also define q  p if f q extends f p , B q ⊇ B p , and, for every j ∈ nq \ np , f q (j ) meets every member of B p . Note
that if f p = f q , then p and q are compatible; hence P is σ -centered. A standard dense set argument (which we omit)
shows that a suitably generic filter produces a function f with domain ω such that {f (i): i ∈ ω} consists of disjoint
finite sets, such that every B ∈ B meets all but finitely many of them. 2

The above proposition shows, for example, that any countable dense-in-itself subset of 2ω1 can in some models
satisfy (GC), witnessed even by a collection of finite sets.

Example 4.6. There are topological spaces X satisfying (GC) and Y satisfying (NC) such that X × Y has no dense
slim set. Thus Y is a topological space which satisfies (NC) but does not satisfy (GC).

Proof. The spaces X and Y are the same as in Corollary 3.2, i.e., X = Q and Y is the real line with the density
topology. Observe that Δ(Y ) = c = πω(Y ); thus by Proposition 4.4, Y satisfies (NC). Since X satisfies (GC) and
there is no slim dense set in X × Y (cf., Corollary 3.2), Y does not satisfy (GC). 2

On the other hand, it is not very hard to observe that if X satisfies (NC) with a countable family N , then for every
space Y satisfying (GC), there is a dense slim set in X × Y .

Proposition 4.7. If X,Y satisfy (GC) then X ⊕ Y satisfies (GC) too.

Proof. Let N and M be a countable families of nowhere dense sets witnessing (GC) in X and Y , respectively. List
N = {Nk : k < ω}, M = {Mk : k < ω}. Then all sets Kk = Nk ∪ Mk are pairwise disjoint, nowhere dense in X ⊕ Y
and, clearly, each nonempty open set in X ⊕ Y meets almost all Kn . 2

It is easy to check that the topological sum of spaces X and Y from Example 4.6 does not satisfy (NC). Thus the
topological sum of two spaces satisfying (NC) may not satisfy (NC), even if one of them satisfies (GC). However, if
the condition (NC) in X is witnessed by a countable family N , and Y satisfies (GC), then there is a slim dense set in
X × Y.

Proposition 4.8. If all Xα , α < κ satisfies (NC) (respectively, (NCk ), or (GC)), then the product α<κ Xk has the
same property.

Proof. Let {Xα : α < κ} be a family of topological spaces satisfying (NC) and let X = α<κ X α . For α < κ let Nα
be a family of pairwise disjoint nowhere dense sets in Xα which witnesses (NC). Then N = { α<κ Nα : Nα ∈ Nα }
is a family of pairwise disjoint nowhere dense sets in X which witnesses (NC) in X. The same proof works in other
cases ((GC) or (NCk )). 2

Example 4.9. (CH) There exists a topology τ on ω such that the space X = (ω, τ ) satisfies (NC2 ) but X 3 has no slim
dense sets. Hence X does not satisfy (NC3 ).
 G. Gruenhage et al. / Topology and its Applications 154 (2007) 817–833 829

Proof. Let X be the space constructed in Example 3.5. Then the set D = {n, n + 1 : n even} is dense in X 2 , so the
family N = {{n, n + 1}: n even} witnesses (NC2 ) in X. On the other hand, there is no slim dense set in X 3 , thus X
does not satisfy (NC3 ). 2

In the above example, we got our witness to (NC2 ) easily from a very thin dense set whose elements were disjoint
as unordered pairs. We now show that the existence of (very) thin countable dense set in X 2 always implies (NC2 ).
We do not know if “very thin” can be weakened to “slim” in this result.

Proposition 4.10. If k ∈ ω and X k has a countable very thin dense set, then X satisfies (NCk ) (witnessed by finite
sets).

 D ⊂ X be a countable very thin dense set. For each d ∈ D, let c(d) be the coordinates of d, and let
Proof. Let k

c(D) = {c(d): d
∈ D} = {xn : n ∈ ω}. (Note that the set c(D) is dense in X, so X is separable.)
Let H0 = {x∅ }, and if the disjoint finite sets Hi , i  n, have been defined, let
  
Hn+1 = {xkn } ∪
d
∈ D and c(d)
c(d):
∩ Hn = ∅ \ Hi ,
in

where kn is least such that xkn ∈ / in Hi . Then Hn+1 is certainly disjoint from each Hi , i  n, and since D is very
thin, it follows that Hn+1 is finite.
Now for each infinite A ⊂ ω, let a0 , a1 , . . . be its increasing enumeration, and let
 
 
a1 
a2
NA = Hi , Hi , Hi , . . . .
ia0 i=a0 +1 i=a1 +1

The following claim completes the proof.

Claim. For some A ⊂ ω, NA witnesses (NCk ).

Suppose otherwise. Then for each infinite A ⊂ ω, there are nonempty open sets U (A, i), i < k, such that no member
of NA meets all of them. Let A be an uncountable almost disjoint family of subsets of ω. By separability of X, there
are distinct A, B ∈ A such that U (A, i) ∩ U (B, i) = ∅ for each i < k. There is d
∈ D ∩ i<k U (A, i) ∩ U (B, i). Let
n be the least number such that c(d)
∩ Hn = ∅. Note that by the construction, c(d)
⊂ Hn ∪ Hn+1 . If n were not in A,
it would follow that some N ∈ NA contains
 Hn ∪ Hn+1 hence would meet every U (A, i). So  n ∈ A, and similarly,
n ∈ B. So we have that every d
∈ D ∩ i<k U (A, i) ∩ U (B, i) has a coordinate in the finite set n∈A∩B Hn . Since D

which contradicts D being very thin. 2
is dense, there are infinitely many such d,

As mentioned earlier, we do not know of any consistent example of a dense-in-itself space X such that X ω has no
slim dense set. Recall that, by Proposition 3.13, if such an example exists it must contain a strongly irresolvable Baire
subspace. We now obtain some conditions on strongly irresolvable spaces which imply that (NC) or related properties
do not hold.
Recall that an ideal N on a cardinal κ is selective if whenever P is a partition of κ by members of N , then there
is A ∈/ N such that |A ∩ P |  1 for every P ∈ P. Also, N is a normal ideal if every regressive function f : κ → κ is
constant on some set A ∈ / N . It is known that normal ideals are selective, and the non-stationary ideal is contained in
every normal ideal.
In the paper [7], the authors show that, assuming enough large cardinals, there is a Hausdorff Baire strongly
irresolvable topology on ω1 for which the ideal of nowhere dense sets is selective, and there is also such a topology on
a stationary subset S of ω1 for which the ideal of subsets of ω1 whose trace on S is nowhere dense in the topology on
S is a normal ideal. Also, in the paper [2], the authors construct under MA (σ -centered) a countable regular strongly
irresolvable space for which the nowhere dense ideal is selective.
Observe that if X is a strongly irresolvable space with underlying set κ for which that ideal N of nowhere dense
sets is selective, then the set A in the definition of selective can be taken to be an open set (since every somewhere
dense set has nonempty interior).
830 G. Gruenhage et al. / Topology and its Applications 154 (2007) 817–833

Proposition 4.11. Suppose X is a strongly irresolvable topology on κ for which that ideal N of nowhere dense sets is
selective. Then X does not satisfy (NC2 ).

Proof. Suppose P is a partition of X into nowhere dense sets. By selectivity and strongly irresolvable, there is an
open set U which meets each member of P in at most one point. Then if V and W are disjoint open subsets of U , no
member of P meets both V and W . So P cannot satisfy (NC2 ). 2

Proposition 4.12. Suppose X is a strongly irresolvable topology on a stationary subset S of ω1 such that the ideal
N = {A ⊂ ω1 : A ∩ S is nowhere dense}
is normal. Then X 2 has no slim dense set.

Proof. Suppose D ⊂ S 2 is slim. W.l.o.g., D is symmetric, i.e., α, β ∈ D ⇐⇒ β, α ∈ D. We may also assume no
point with coordinate 0 or 1 is in D. Define f : ω1 → ω1 by:

(1) f (α) is the least β < α such that α, β ∈ D, if there is such β < α;
(2) If α ∈ S but there is no β < α with α, β ∈ D, then f (α) = 0;
(3) If α ∈
/ S, then f (α) = 1.

By normality, there is some β such that f −1 (β) is not in the ideal. Clearly, β = 1. Suppose β > 1; then {β}×f −1 (β) ⊂
D; but since D is slim, f −1 (β) is nowhere dense, a contradiction. So β = 0. Let U be an open subset of f −1 (0).
There must be some β < α with β, α ∈ D ∩ U 2 . But then f (α) = 0, a contradiction. 2

Lemma 4.13. Let X be strongly irresolvable space satisfying (NC2 ), with a collection N . Then the family F of all
M ⊂ N such that M witnesses (NC2 ) in X is an ultrafilter on N .

Proof.

Claim 1. M ∈ F ⇐⇒ M is dense.

 suppose M is dense, but M does not satisfy
The forward direction is easy. For the reverse, (NC2 ), say witnessed
by the pair of open sets U, V . Note Y = X \ M is nowhere dense. Let U = U \ Y , V  = V \ Y . Then no member
of N can meet both U  and V  , a contradiction. 
From Claim 1 and strong irresolvability, we have also that M ∈ F iff M has dense interior; this implies F is a
filter.

Claim 2. F is an ultrafilter.

Suppose not. Then there is some M0 ⊂N such that neither M0 nor its complement M1 is in F . By Claim 1,
for i < 2 there are open sets Ui such that ( Mi ) ∩ Ui = ∅. But then the pair U1 , U2 shows that N fails the (NC2 )
property, a contradiction. 2

In Example 4.9 we showed that (NC2 ) need not imply (NC3 ) (consistently); the following shows that there are no
irresolvable examples of this kind.

Proposition 4.14. If X is strongly irresolvable space, then X satisfies (NC) iff it satisfies (NC2 ).

Proof. Let N be a family witnessing (NC2 ) in X, andlet F be as in Lemma 4.13. For each nonempty open set U
let us put F(U ) = {N ∈ N : N ∩ U = ∅}. By (NC2 ), F(U ) is dense, so by Claim  1 of Lemma 4.13, F(U ) ∈ F .
Thus for a given finite sequence of nonempty open sets U0 , . . . , Uk , we have ik F(Ui ) = ∅, and consequently,
N witnesses (NC). 2
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Theorem 4.15. If X is strongly irresolvable Baire, and |X| is less than the first measurable cardinal, then X cannot
satisfy (NC2 ).

Proof. Suppose X satisfies the hypotheses, and N is a pairwise disjoint collection of nowhere dense sets witnessing
(NC2 ). Let F be the ultrafilter defined in Lemma 4.13. By Claim 1 of Lemma 4.13, M ∈ F iff M is dense in X.
Thus it follows easily from the Baire property that F is countably complete (i.e., closed under countable intersections).
Since |N | is less than the first measurable, this gives a contradiction. 2

The following example shows that Baireness is (consistently) essential in the previous result.

Example 4.16. (CH) There is a countable regular space X generated by a maximal independent family on ω (thus
there is also a strongly irresolvable space) which satisfies (NC).3

Proof. Let C be the family of all finite subsets of Q. For each n < ω let An = {C ∈ C: |C| = n}. For each q ∈ Q let
Eq = {C ∈ C: |C ∩ (−∞, q)| is even}. Note that the family Eq , q ∈ Q, is independent, and generates the topology τ0
on C (and consequently, on ω) such that for any U ∈ τ0 , the set {n: |An ∩ U | = ω} is cofinite.
Choose any ultrafilter F on ω. We are going to make a topology on ω such that the following condition holds:

(∗) For each nonempty open U , we have F (U ) = {n < ω: |An ∩ U | = ω} ∈ F .

Thus τ0 satisfies (∗). We

will define an increasing sequence τα , α < ω1 , of topologies satisfying (∗); our final space
will be (ω, τ ), where τ = α<ω1 τα .
Let Bα , α < ω1 , index all infinite subsets of ω. Now suppose we are at stage α < ω1 , and for every β < α, we have
defined a 0-dimensional topology τβ with a countable base satisfying (∗) and:

(i) If β = γ + 1, either Bγ or ω \ Bγ is not dense in (ω, τβ );

(ii) β < β  implies τβ ⊂ τβ  .

If α is a limit ordinal, let τα = β<α τβ . Then (ω, τα ) satisfies the required conditions.
Suppose α = γ + 1. If Bγ is not dense and co-dense in (ω, τγ ), we can let τα = τγ . So, assume Bγ is dense and
co-dense.
Case 1. For every U ∈ τγ , we have F (U ∩ Bγ ) = {n: |An ∩ U ∩ Bγ | = ω} ∈ F . First, it is not difficult in this case
to write Bγ as a disjoint union of sets B̃γ ,i , i ∈ ω, each satisfying the condition of Case 1. To see this, let U0 , U1 , . . .
index a countable base for τγ . Clearly it suffices to define B̃γ ,i such that for any n, m and i,
|An ∩ Um ∩ Bγ | = ω iff |An ∩ Um ∩ B̃γ ,i | = ω.
To this end, let mi , ni , i ∈ ω, index all pairs m, n ∈ ω2 , each appearing infinitely often. Then at step k choose
xk,0 , xk,1 , . . . , xk,k ∈ Umk ∩ Bγ ∩ Ank \ {xi,j : i < k, j  i}.

Finally, for i  1 let B̃γ ,i = {xj,i : j  i} and let B̃γ ,0 = Bγ \ i1 B̃γ ,i . It is easy to check that this works.
Now, let A = {Am : m < ω} be an independent family of subsets of ω. Let Φ denote the family of all functions
 ϕ(m)
ϕ : C → 2, C ∈ [ω]<ω . For each ϕ ∈ Φ, let ϕ[A] = {Am : m ∈ dom(ϕ)}, where A0 = ω \ A, A1 = A. For each
i ∈ ω put Bi = m∈Ai B̃γ ,m . Let Bγ = {Bi : i < ω}. Observe that for each ϕ ∈ Φ the set ϕ[Bγ ] satisfies the condition
of Case 1. In fact, since ϕ[A] = ∅, there is i ∈ ϕ[A] and B̃γ ,i ⊂ ϕ[Bγ ]. Then {n: |An ∩ U ∩ ϕ[Bγ ]| = ω} ⊃ {n: |An ∩
U ∩ B̃γ ,i | = ω} ∈ F .
Let τα be the topology generated by the sets U ∩ ϕ[Bγ ], U ∈ τγ , U = ∅, ϕ ∈ Φ. Then τα is a 0-dimensional
topology with the countable base satisfying (∗) in which ω \ Bγ is nowhere dense.
Case 2. Not Case 1. Then for some clopen set U in τγ , we have F (U ∩ Bγ ) ∈ / F . Since F (V ) ∈ F for any nonempty
open V , it follows that for any nonempty open subset V of U , F (V ∩ (ω \ Bγ )) ∈ F . Hence Bγ∗ = [U ∩ (ω \ Bγ )] ∪

3 Note that such a space cannot satisfy (GC).

832 G. Gruenhage et al. / Topology and its Applications 154 (2007) 817–833

[ω \ U ] satisfies the condition of Case 1 with Bγ replaced by Bγ∗ . Hence there is a 0-dimensional topology τα with a
countable base satisfying (∗) such that ω \ Bγ∗ is nowhere dense. Note that this makes Bγ fail to be dense in τα (its
intersection with U is nowhere dense).  
This completes the inductive construction. Let X = (ω, τ ), where τ = α<ω1 τα , and let B = γ Bγ = {Bγ ,i : γ <
ω1 , i < ω}. Then B is an independent family generating τ . Observe that B is maximal. In fact, otherwise there is
D ⊂ ω which is dense and co-dense in τ . Then there is α < ω1 such that D = Bα and D is dense in co-dense in τα+1 ,
a contradiction. Hence X is irresolvable.
X satisfies the condition (∗) since it does so at each stage. It follows that the An ’s witness property (NC) for X.
Finally, the existence of a strongly irresolvable space with these properties follows simply from the fact that every
irresolvable space has an open strongly irresolvable subspace. 2

5. Applications

Let us recall one of the oldest and most significant generalizations of continuity, called near continuity. (The
history of this concept one can find e.g. in [13].) Let X and Y be topological spaces. A function f : X → Y is nearly

continuous if f −1 (V ) ⊂ int(f −1 (V )) for every open set V ⊂ Y . Now, for a function f : α<κ Xα → Y it is natural to
consider the problem of relations between separate near continuity versus joint near continuity. It is known that for
real functions f : R2 → R neither separate near continuity implies joint near continuity, nor vice versa [9]. Now, using
notions of small dense sets considered in the paper, we obtain a wide class of examples of jointly nearly continuous
but not separately nearly continuous functions.
 Indeed, for D ⊂ α<κ Xα let χD be the characteristic function of D.
It is easy to observe that if D is dense in α<κ Xα , then χD is jointly nearly continuous. Moreover, if D is thin then
each codimension 1 cross-section of χD is not nearly continuous (however it is Baire one); and if D is slim then each
cross-section of χD is not nearly continuous. In the both cases, χD is not separately nearly continuous.

6. Open questions

(1) Can there be a dense-in-itself Hausdorff space X such that X ω has no slim dense set? (Consistently, no; see
Theorem 3.12.)
(2) Does X strongly irresolvable Baire imply X 2 and/or X ω has no slim dense set?
(3) Is there in ZFC a separable Hausdorff space X such that X 2 has no slim dense set? (Yes under CH, see Exam-
ple 3.4.)
(4) Is there in ZFC a separable space X which does not satisfy (NC)? (Yes under CH, see Example 3.4.)
(5) Is there a space X in ZFC such that X 2 has a thin dense set but X 3 does not? (Yes under CH, see Example 2.6.)
(6) Is there in ZFC a space X satisfying (NC2 ) but not (NC3 )? (Yes under CH, see Example 4.9.)
(7) Is there a space X such that there is a slim dense set in X 2 but X does not satisfy (NC2 )?
(8) Is there a space X that satisfies (NCk ) for every k < ω but does not satisfy (NC)?
(9) Can there be a space X such that X k has a slim (respectively, very thin) dense set for every k < ω, but X ω does
not?
(10) Do there exist spaces X, Y with (NC) witnessing by countable families NX , NY , respectively, with no slim
dense set in X × Y ?

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