[Math] Is a dense set always infinite

general-topologyreal-analysis

Learning about dense sets the classical example is that of $\mathbb Q$, the rationals, in $\mathbb R$. The same interpretation is valid for irrationals in $\mathbb R$. I was wondering if a dense set needs to be infinite, because this is what intuition would suggest. Moreover, are dense sets always countably infinite?

Best Answer

To answer the general question of "are dense sets always infinite": no, because certainly, if $X$ is a finite topological space, then $X$ is dense in itself.

For another example, if $X$ is any set with the indiscrete topology, then every nonempty subset of $X$ is dense.

For yet another example, let $X = \mathbb{R}$ with the topology determined by the Kuratowski closure operator $$\operatorname{cl}(S) = \begin{cases} S, & 0 \notin S; \\ \mathbb{R}, & 0 \in S.\end{cases}$$ Then $\{ 0 \}$ is dense in $X$, yet $X$ is $T_0$. (In fact, this example can easily be modified to give a $T_0$ topological space of any desired cardinality such that some single point is dense.)

On the other hand, in a $T_1$ topological space, every finite subset is closed. So, if a finite subset of a $T_1$ topological space $X$ is dense, then $X$ itself must be finite. Or, for the contrapositive, if $X$ is an infinite $T_1$ topological space, then every dense subset of $X$ is infinite.

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