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A topological characterization of the  "massiveness"  of a set. A subset <img align="absmiddle" border="0" src="https://www.encyclopediaofmath.org/legacyimages/c/c020/c020760/c0207601.png" /> of a topological space <img align="absmiddle" border="0" src="https://www.encyclopediaofmath.org/legacyimages/c/c020/c020760/c0207602.png" /> is said to be of the first category in <img align="absmiddle" border="0" src="https://www.encyclopediaofmath.org/legacyimages/c/c020/c020760/c0207603.png" /> if it can be expressed as a finite or countable union of nowhere-dense sets in <img align="absmiddle" border="0" src="https://www.encyclopediaofmath.org/legacyimages/c/c020/c020760/c0207604.png" />. Otherwise <img align="absmiddle" border="0" src="https://www.encyclopediaofmath.org/legacyimages/c/c020/c020760/c0207605.png" /> is said to be of the second category. Sometimes the complement in <img align="absmiddle" border="0" src="https://www.encyclopediaofmath.org/legacyimages/c/c020/c020760/c0207606.png" /> of a set of the first category is also called a set of the second category. In modern literature (see [[#References|[2]]]) such sets (in the case of a [[Baire space|Baire space]]) are called residual or comeager. A non-empty closed set of real numbers, in particular an interval, is not of the first category in itself [[#References|[1]]]. This result generalizes to any complete metric space. This generalization has wide application in analysis. The role of a set of the first category in analysis is analogous to that of a null set in measure theory. However, a set of the first category can be a set of full measure, while there are null sets of the second category.
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{{MSC|54A05}}
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[[Category:Descriptive set theory]]
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{{TEX|done}}
  
====References====
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A topological characterization of the  "massivenessof a set. A subset $E$ of a topological space $X$ is said to be of the first category in $X$ if it can be expressed as a finite or countable union of nowhere-dense sets in $X$ Otherwise $E$ is said to be of the second category
<table><TR><TD valign="top">[1]</TD> <TD valign="top"> R. Baire,  "Leçons sur les fonctions discontinues, professées au collège de France" , Gauthier-Villars  (1905)</TD></TR><TR><TD valign="top">[2]</TD> <TD valign="top">  J.C. Oxtoby,  "Measure and category" , Springer  (1971)</TD></TR></table>
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(such sets are also called meager).  
 
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Sometimes the complement in $X$ of a set of the first category is also called a set of the second category. However, in the case of a [[Baire space]] a more appropriate name for such sets is residual (or comeager). A non-empty closed set of real numbers, in particular an interval, is not of the first category in itself. This result generalizes to any complete metric space and it is called [[Baire category theorem]],
 
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(cf. {{Cite|Ro}}). This generalization has wide application in analysis. The role of a set of the first category in analysis is analogous to that of a null set in measure theory. However, in $\mathbb R$ a set of the first category can be a set of full measure, while there are null sets which are residual ({{Cite|vR}}, Th. 5.5).
 
 
====Comments====
 
A set of the first category is also called a meager set. The statement that a complete metric space is not of the first category in itself is known as Baire's category theorem (cf. [[#References|[a1]]]).
 
 
 
Examples of sets that are meager and not null, as well as of those that are null and not meager, can be found in [[#References|[a2]]], Th. 5.5.
 
  
 
====References====
 
====References====
<table><TR><TD valign="top">[a1]</TD> <TD valign="top"> H.L. Royden, [[Royden, "Real analysis"|"Real analysis"]], Macmillan  (1968)</TD></TR><TR><TD valign="top">[a2]</TD> <TD valign="top">  A.C.M. van Rooy,  W.H. Schikhof,  "A second course on real functions" , Cambridge Univ. Press  (1982)</TD></TR></table>
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{|
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|valign="top"|{{Ref|Ba}}|| R. Baire,  "Leçons sur les fonctions discontinues, professées au collège de France" , Gauthier-Villars  (1905)
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|-
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|valign="top"|{{Ref|Ox}}|| J.C. Oxtoby,  "Measure and category" , Springer  (1971)
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|-
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|valign="top"|{{Ref|Ro}}|| H.L. Royden, "Real analysis", Macmillan  (1968)
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|-
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|valign="top"|{{Ref|vR}}|| A.C.M. van Rooy,  W.H. Schikhof,  "A second course on real functions" , Cambridge Univ. Press  (1982)
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|-
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|}

Revision as of 19:21, 31 July 2012

2020 Mathematics Subject Classification: Primary: 54A05 [MSN][ZBL]

A topological characterization of the "massiveness" of a set. A subset $E$ of a topological space $X$ is said to be of the first category in $X$ if it can be expressed as a finite or countable union of nowhere-dense sets in $X$ Otherwise $E$ is said to be of the second category (such sets are also called meager). Sometimes the complement in $X$ of a set of the first category is also called a set of the second category. However, in the case of a Baire space a more appropriate name for such sets is residual (or comeager). A non-empty closed set of real numbers, in particular an interval, is not of the first category in itself. This result generalizes to any complete metric space and it is called Baire category theorem, (cf. [Ro]). This generalization has wide application in analysis. The role of a set of the first category in analysis is analogous to that of a null set in measure theory. However, in $\mathbb R$ a set of the first category can be a set of full measure, while there are null sets which are residual ([vR], Th. 5.5).

References

[Ba] R. Baire, "Leçons sur les fonctions discontinues, professées au collège de France" , Gauthier-Villars (1905)
[Ox] J.C. Oxtoby, "Measure and category" , Springer (1971)
[Ro] H.L. Royden, "Real analysis", Macmillan (1968)
[vR] A.C.M. van Rooy, W.H. Schikhof, "A second course on real functions" , Cambridge Univ. Press (1982)
How to Cite This Entry:
Category of a set. Encyclopedia of Mathematics. URL: http://encyclopediaofmath.org/index.php?title=Category_of_a_set&oldid=25518
This article was adapted from an original article by V.A. Skvortsov (originator), which appeared in Encyclopedia of Mathematics - ISBN 1402006098. See original article