[Math] How to prove any closed set in $\mathbb{R}$ is $G_\delta$

general-topology

Is there a general approach to show that any closed set in $\mathbb{R}$ is $G_\delta$?

To show any open set is $F_\sigma$, the approach is:

  1. Show all open intervals are $F_\sigma$
  2. Show all open sets are countable disjoint union of open intervals

  3. Show all countable union of $F_\sigma$ is $F_\sigma$

Is there an equivalent way of doing this for $G_\sigma$. I could not find a reference to this anywhere.

Best Answer

For a metric space we can do the following: let $A$ be a non-empty subset of $(X,d)$.

Then define $f(x) = d(x,A) = \inf \{d(x,a): a \in A \}$. This is a continuous function from $X$ to $\mathbb{R}$. See this answer, e.g.

When $A$ is also closed, $A$ is exactly the set of all points with $f(x) = 0$. E.g. see this answer.

So $A = f^{-1}[\{0\}] = \cap_n f^{-1}[(-\frac{1}{n},\frac{1}{n})]$ is the countable intersection of open sets.

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