A characterization of proper morphisms by the lifting property (Q2131818)

This paper gives a characterization of proper maps with regular domain by means of a categorical lifting property. Recall that a map \(f:X\to Y\) is proper if \(f\) is closed and for each \(y\in Y\), \(f^{-1}(y)\) is compact. First the authors prove some lemmata, notations as given in the text. \textbf{Lemma 3.1.} \((\{a\leftrightarrow b\}\longrightarrow\{a=b\})^{l}\) is the class of injections. \textbf{Lemma 3.2.} \((\{a\searrow b\}\longrightarrow\{a=b\})^{l}\) is the class of maps \(f:X\to Y\) such that the topology on \(X\) is induced from \(Y\). \textbf{Lemma 3.3.} \((\{b\}\longrightarrow\{a\searrow b\})^{l}\) is the class of maps with dense image. \textbf{Lemma 3.4.} \((\{a\swarrow c\searrow b\}\longrightarrow\{a=c=b\})^{l}\) is the class of maps \(f:X\to Y\) such that for any \(A,B\subseteq X\) disjoint closed subsets, we have that \(\overline{f(A)}\cap \overline{f(B)}=\emptyset.\) The authors prove the following results. \textbf{Proposition 3.6.} Let \(X\) be a finite topological space and let \(f:X\to Y\) be a continuous function. Then \(f\) is a proper map if and only if \(f\in(\{a\}\longrightarrow\{a\searrow b\})^{r}.\) \textbf{Theorem 3.8.} Let \(X\) and \(Y\) be topological spaces with \(X\) a regular space. Then, \(f:X\to Y\) is a proper map if and only if \(f\in((\{a\}\longrightarrow\{a\searrow b\})^{r}_{<5})^{lr}.\) This last theorem gives a partial answer to a conjecture by \textit{M. Gavrilovich} [``The unreasonable power of the lifting property in elementary mathematics'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:1707.06615}].