A local characterization of Darboux (B) functions. The semicontinuity of monotone functions (Q1803968)

Let \(f: X\to R\) (\(X\) --- a metric space, \(R\) --- the real line) be a function and let \(B\) be a family of connected sets covering \(X\). A point \(x_ 0\in X\) is said to be a lower-Darboux (B) point of \(f\) if, for any \(U\in B\) such that \(x_ 0\in\overline U\), any sequence \(\{x_ n\}\subset U\) such that \(x_ 0=\lim_{n\to\infty} x_ n\) and any real numbers \(\alpha\), \(\beta\), if \(f(x_ n)\leq \beta<\alpha< f(x_ 0)\) for \(n=1,2,\dots\), then \(\alpha\in f(\overline U)\). An upper-Darboux (B) point is defined in a similar way. A function \(f\) is a lower-Darboux (B) function (an upper-Darboux (B) function) if each point \(x\in X\) is a lower-Darboux (B) point (an upper-Darboux (B) point) of \(f\). A function \(f\) is said to be \(B\)-monotone if \(f^{-1}(\beta)\in B\) for any \(\beta\). The main statement of the paper asserts that if \(B_ 1\) is a family of connected sets satisfying some regularity conditions, and \(B\) a family of connected sets containing \(B_ 1\) and some base \(B_ 2\) of \(X\), and \(f: X\to R\) is a \(B_ 1\)-monotone function, then \(f\) is lower- (upper-) semicontinuous if and only if \(f\) is a lower- (upper-) Darboux (B) function. This is an answer to a problem of B. Ricceri raised in 1987.