Dendritic generalized Peano continua (Q2502976)

A known result in continuum theory states that a Peano continuum is a dendrite if and only if it is a tree-like space, i.e., it is the limit of an inverse sequence of compact trees. This result and other background material about continua can be found in [\textit{S. B. Nadler}, Continuum Theory, Marcel Dekker, New York (1992; Zbl 0757.54009)]. One aim of this paper is to extend that result to a wider class of spaces. A generalized Peano continuum is a locally compact, connected metrizable space. A dendritic space is one in which any two points can be separated by the omission of some third point. Finally, an infinite dendrite is a dendritic generalized Peano continuum. In this paper by tree the authors mean a locally compact, contractible graph. They characterize generalized Peano continua that are dendritic as follows: Theorem 10: A generalized Peano continuum is dendritic if and only if it is an inverse limit of an inverse sequence of trees with proper bonding maps that induce homeomorphisms on the Freudenthal ends of the trees. In Section 3 the authors prove that the proper homotopy type of an infinite dendrite is completely determined by the homeomorphism type of its space of ends. In Section 5, the final section, they provide a space \(U\) that is an infinite dendrite and which is universal for infinite dendrites in the sense that they all have proper embeddings in it. It is possible to choose such \(U\) to be a closed subset of \(\mathbb R^2\).