Approximation by pointwise bounded sets of continuous functions (Q2161376)

Each space \(X\), in this article, is Tychonoff; \(C(X)\) is the linear space of continuous real-valued functions; \(C_p(X)\) denotes \(C(X)\) with its pointwise convergence topology. Moreover, \(M(X)\) is the bidual of \(C_p(X)\); that is, \(M\) is the set of elements in \(\mathbb{R}^X\) which belong to the closure of some bounded subset of \(C_p(X)\). For an \(f \in \mathbb{R}^X\), \(\mathrm{supp} f\) is the set \(\{x \in X : f(x) \not= 0\}\). Finally, the symbols \(\mathbb{M}\) and \(\mathbb{S}\) represent Michael's line and Sorgenfrey's line, respectively. In this article, the author characterizes the functions \(f \in \mathbb{R}^X\) that belong to \(M(X)\). That is, the author finds necessary and sufficient conditions to approximate a function \(f \in \mathbb{R}^X\) by a pointwise bounded family \(\mathcal{F}\) in \(C(X)\). The main results of this article are: Theorem 1. A function \(f \in \mathbb{R}^X\) belongs to \(M(X)\) if and only if there exists a subset \(Y\) of \(X\), and a family \(\{U_x : x \in Y\}\) of open subsets of \(X\) such that the \(\mathrm{supp}\, f \subseteq Y\) while \(x \in U_x\) and \(f\) is bounded on \(Z_x := \{ y \in Y : y \in U_x\}\) for every \(x \in Y\). Theorem 2. A function \(f \in \mathbb{R}^X\) belongs to \(M(X)\) if and only if there exists a point-finite open covering \(\{U_n : n \in \mathbb{N}\}\) such that \(\{x \in X : n-1 \leq |f(x)| < n\} \subseteq U_n\) for each \(n \in \mathbb{N}\). Theorem 3. \(C(\mathbb{M}) \not\subseteq M(\mathbb{R})\), but \(C(\mathbb{S}) \subseteq M(\mathbb{R})\). Theorem 4. Let \(\tau\) and \(\eta\) be Tychonoff topologies on \(X\). If \((X, \tau)\) is a \(P\)-space with countable extent, then the following statements are equivalent. \begin{itemize} \item[1.] \(C (X, \tau) \subseteq M (X, \eta)\). \item[2.] For each partition \(\{V_n : n \in \mathbb{N}\}\) of \(X\) by \(\tau\)-open sets, there is a point-finite covering \(\{U_n : n \in \mathbb{N}\}\) of \(X\) by \(\eta\)-open sets such that \(V_n \subseteq U_n\) for every \(n \in \mathbb{N}\). \end{itemize}