Separation of points by families of intervals (Q1174602)

Let \(\mathcal F\) be a family of subintervals of \(\mathbb{R}\). This paper takes up the question of when there is a countable subfamily \(\mathcal F_ 0\) of \(\mathcal F\) which separates the same pairs of points as \(\mathcal F\). The authors show that this is always the case if all the members of \(\mathcal F\) are open or if they are all closed and nondegenerate, but it may fail if the members of \(\mathcal F\) are half-open. Generalizations to \(\mathbb{R}^ n\) are also considered. In view of the Blackwell property, it follows that any \(\sigma\)- subalgebra of \(\mathcal B(\mathbb{R})\) generated by open intervals or by closed non-degenerate intervals must be countably generated. The authors also describe a minimal generating family for \(\mathcal B(\mathbb{R})\) which consists of open intervals. This was discovered independently by \textit{R. A. Johnson} [Real Anal. Exch. 16, No. 1, 349-352 (1991; following review)].