English

Covering maps for locally path-connected spaces

Geometric Topology 2008-02-14 v3 Algebraic Topology General Topology

Abstract

We define Peano covering maps and prove basic properties analogous to classical covers. Their domain is always locally path-connected but the range may be an arbitrary topological space. One of characterizations of Peano covering maps is via the uniqueness of homotopy lifting property for all locally path-connected spaces. Regular Peano covering maps over path-connected spaces are shown to be identical with generalized regular covering maps introduced by Fischer and Zastrow. If XX is path-connected, then every Peano covering map is equivalent to the projection X~/HX\widetilde X/H\to X, where HH is a subgroup of the fundamental group of XX and X~\widetilde X equipped with the basic topology. The projection X~/HX\widetilde X/H\to X is a Peano covering map if and only if it has the unique path lifting property. We define a new topology on X~\widetilde X for which one has a characterization of X~/HX\widetilde X/H\to X having the unique path lifting property if HH is a normal subgroup of π1(X)\pi_1(X). Namely, HH must be closed in π1(X)\pi_1(X). Such groups include π(U,x0)\pi(\mathcal{U},x_0) (U\mathcal{U} being an open cover of XX) and the kernel of the natural homomorphism from the fundamental group to the Cech fundamental group.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.0801.4967,
  title  = {Covering maps for locally path-connected spaces},
  author = {N. Brodskiy and J. Dydak and B. Labuz and A. Mitra},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0801.4967},
  year   = {2008}
}

Comments

25 pages, several references added plus Proposition 4.12 and Example 4.13

R2 v1 2026-06-21T10:08:27.484Z