[Math] Prove that every path-component is an open set.

general-topologypath-connected

If $(X,\tau )$ is a topological space with the property that every point in $X$ has a neighborhood which is path-connected, prove that every path-component is an open set.

I am having trouble thinking as to what property of open set do i use to prove that path-component of some point $x\in X$ , denoted by $PC_X(x)$ is indeed an open set.

What I could figure trivially was that the $PC_X(x)$ is indeed itself such a path-connected neighborhood of the point $x \in X$.

What I was thinking of proving was that $PC_X(x)$ is a neighborhood for each of it's point. But I am not sure how to proceed.

Any hint would be appreciated.

Best Answer

Let $x\in X$ and let $C$ be the path-component of $x$. Let $y\in C$. There is a neighbourhood $N$ of $y$ which is path-connected. Therefore, $C\cup N$ is path-connected and so it is a subset of $C$. This proves that $N\subset C$. Since, for each $y\in C$, $C$ contains a neighbourhood of $y$, $C$ is an open set.