On the classification of set-valued functions (Q799827)

In this note, which does not contain proofs, the author presents some results for multifunctions of either Baire class \(\alpha\), \(B_{\alpha}\), or of lower or upper Baire class \(\alpha\), denoted by \(LB_{\alpha}\) and \(UB_{\alpha}\) respectively. First he states some preliminary results in the case when \(\alpha\) is any arbitrary countable ordinal number and then establishes some characterizations of multifunctions in \(LB_{\alpha}\) and \(UB_{\alpha}\) in terms of limits of monotone sequences of multifunctions in \(B_{\alpha}\) which are similar in spirit to the analogous famous theorems on functions due to Baire and which contain the well-known selection theorems of Kuratowski and Ryll-Nardzweski and of Michael. Further he represents multifunctions in \(B_{\alpha}\) as limits of elementary multifunctions in lower Baire classes, that is as limits of multifunctions which can be written as a finite union of functions and belong to Baire classes lower than \(\alpha\). Finally he presents two interposition theorems for multifunctions, similar in spirit to the analogous previous version for real functions due to Hahn.