Scott approach distance on metric spaces (Q1794283)

As metric spaces can be viewed as ordered sets valued in the closed category \(([0, \infty]^{\mathrm{op}}, +)\) [\textit{F. W. Lawvere}, Rend. Semin. Mat. Fis. Milano 43, 135--166 (1974; Zbl 0335.18006)], so do approach spaces as topological spaces valued in the same closed category [\textit{D. Hofmann} (ed.) et al., Monoidal topology. A categorical approach to order, metric, and topology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2014; Zbl 1297.18001)]; this establishes a connective between the interrelations: order theoretic-topological and metric-approach. The relevance of the Scott topology within domain theory supports the investigation of its metric analogue, moving from the interplay between order theoretic and topological structures to the one of metric and approach structures. The latter metric analogue is done by [\textit{B. Windels}, Acta Math. Hung. 88, No. 1--2, 35--44 (2000; Zbl 0958.54039)] for algebraic metric spaces and, in the present paper, the authors amplify his work, defining the \textit{Scott (approach) distance} for a general metric space. After substantial preliminaries on metric and approach spaces, the notion of Scott distance of a metric space \((X, d)\) is presented, by means of a set of regular functions, which consists of the \textit{Scott weights} of \((X,d)\), where such weights are defined by means of \textit{forward Cauchy nets} and \textit{Yoneda limits}. Then, using the Scott distance, the authors take the category \(\mathsf{Met}^{\uparrow}\) of metric spaces and \textit{Yoneda continuous maps} (i.e., which preserve Yoneda limits of forward Cauchy nets) and define a full and faithful functor to the category \(\mathsf{App}\) of approach spaces and contractions. This correspondence, by virtue of a commutative square, shows to behave similarly to the correspondence between the category \(\mathsf{Ord}^{\uparrow}\) of ordered sets and Scott continuous maps and \(\mathsf{Top}\) of topological spaces and continuous maps. Hence the authors can conclude that \textit{Scott distance on metric spaces is an extension of Scott topology on ordered sets}. Moving on, the topological coreflection of the Scott distance of a metric space defines the \textit{c-Scott topology} on it. Then this topology is compared to the \textit{d-Scott topology} from [\textit{J. Goubault-Larrecq}, Non-Hausdorff topology and domain theory. Selected topics in point-set topology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2013; Zbl 1280.54002)] and to the \textit{generalized Scott topology} from [\textit{M. M. Bonsangue} et al., Theor. Comput. Sci. 193, No. 1--2, 1--51 (1998; Zbl 0997.54042)]; an example is provided showing that, in general, the c-Scott and the d-Scott topologies are different, and a condition on the metric space, studied in [\textit{J. Goubault-Larrecq} and \textit{K. M. Ng}, Log. Methods Comput. Sci. 13, No. 4, Paper No. 19, 34 p. (2017; Zbl 1385.54009)], is showed to be sufficient for both topologies to coincide. Concerning the generalized Scott topology, the authors remark that it is unknown whether or not they coincide. Afterwards it is observed that the three topologies coincide for the class of \textit{Yoneda complete metric spaces}. Still in Section 4, the authors prove in Theorem 4.6 that their definition of Scott distance coincides with the one given by [\textit{B. Windels}, Acta Math. Hung. 88, No. 1--2, 35--44 (2000; Zbl 0958.54039)], when restricted to algebraic metric spaces. In the final section, the metric analogue of the isomorphism between injective \(T_{0}\) topological spaces and continuous lattices (Scott [28]) is studied. The authors observe: ``It is well known that a continuous lattice together with its Scott topology is an injective space, but this is not true in the metric setting'', meaning that ``a cocomplete and continuous separated metric space together with the Scott distance need not be an injective approach space'', nevertheless, it is proved in Theorem 5.11 that every injective \(T_{0}\) approach space is of that form, and Corollary 5.12 provides a metric version of the respective isomorphism.