Products of \(k\)-spaces, and special countable spaces (Q1881440)

A space \(X\) is a \textit{\(k\)-space} if a subset of \(X\) is closed if and only if its intersection with every compact closed set is closed. The authors study the problem when the product \(X\times Y\) of two \(k\)-spaces \(X\) and \(Y\) is a \(k\)-space. One of the main results asserts that if \(X\) is a bi-\(k\)-space and \(Y\) is a sequential space which is the image of an \(M\)-space under a closed map \(f\), then the following are equivalent: (1) \(X\times Y\) is a \(k\)-space; (2) either \(X\) is locally countably compact or the boundary of \(f^{-1}(y)\) is countably compact for each \(y\in Y\); (3) either \(X\) is locally countably compact or \(Y\) is a \(q\)-space. A variety of theorems of this kind are proved.