A two function metaminimax theorem (Q1307417)

The authors prove a metaminimax theorem stated in terms of pseudoconnectedness properties of the level sets of the underlying functions which extends a metaminimax theorem of \textit{S. Simons} [Acta Math. Hung. 69, No. 4, 359-360 (1995; Zbl 0844.49004)] for two functions and they give applications to deduce some known results not covered by Simons' theorem. As key tools they use the following concepts: two sets \(H_0,H_1\) are joined by the set \(H\) if \(H\cap H_0\neq\emptyset\), \(H\cap H_1\neq\emptyset\) with \(H \subset H_0\cup H_1\) and a family \({\mathcal H}\) of sets is pseudoconnected if \(H_0\cap H_1\neq\emptyset\) whenever \(H_0,H_1 \in {\mathcal H}\) are joined by some \(H\in{\mathcal H}\). The main result can be stated as follows. Let \(X\), \(Y\) be topological spaces, \(f,g:X\times Y\to \mathbb R\) two real valued functions such that \(f\leq g\) and \(f(x,.)\) is lower semicontinuous for all \(x\in X\). Suppose the level sets \(L_f^\beta(x) := \{ y\in Y:\;f(x,y)\leq \beta\}\) \((x\in X, \beta\in \mathbb R)\) have the following properties: there exist \(\beta_0 > g_* := \sup_{x\in X} \inf_{y\in Y} g(x,y)\) such that \(L_f^{\beta_0}(x)\) is compact and non-empty for all \(x\in X\) and \(L_f^{g_*}(x_0)\) is compact and non-empty for some \(x_0\in X\); given any \(\beta>g_*\) and a finite \(W \subset X\) such that \(L_f^{g_*}(x)\cap\bigcap_{w\in W} L_f^{g_*}(w) \neq\emptyset\) for all \(x\in X\), the family \(\bigl\{ L_f^\beta(x)\cap\bigcap_{w\in W} L_f^\beta(w) :\;x\in X \bigr\}\) is pseudoconnected and for any \(x_1,x_2\in X\) there exists \(x\in X\) such that \(L_f^\beta(x_1)\) and \(L_f^\beta(x_2)\) are joined by \(L_f^\beta(x)\cap\bigcap_{w\in W} L_f^\beta(w)\). Then \(\inf_{y\in Y} \sup_{x\in X} f(x,y) \leq \sup_{x\in X} \inf_{y\in Y} g(x,y)\).