Left-separating order types (Q2215674)

Recall that a well-ordering \(\prec\) of a topological space \(X\) is left-separating if \(\{ x^\prime\in X:x^\prime\prec x \}\) is closed in \(X\) for any \(x\in X\). If a space has a left-separating well-ordering, we say that the space is left-separated. The left-separating type ord\(_l(X)\) of a left-separated space \(X\) is the minimum of the order types of the left-separating well-orderings of \(X\). The authors in this article prove that if \(\kappa\) is a regular cardinal, then for each ordinal \(\alpha<\kappa^+\) there is a \(T_2\) space \(X\) with ord\(_l(X)=\kappa\cdot\alpha\). Moreover, if \(\kappa=\lambda^+\) and cf\((\lambda)=\lambda>\omega\), then for each ordinal \(\alpha<\kappa^+\) there is a \(0\)-dimensional \(T_2\) space \(X\) with ord\(_l(X)=\kappa\cdot\alpha\). Furthermore, it is proved that if \(\kappa=2^\omega\) or \(\kappa=\sqsupset_{\beta +1}\), where cf\((\beta)=\omega\), then for each ordinal \(\alpha<\kappa^+\) there is a locally compact, locally countable, \(0\)-dimensional space \(X\) with ord\(_l(X)=\kappa\cdot\alpha\). It is known that the union of two left-separated spaces is not necessarily left-separated. The authors show, however, that if the space \(X\) is countably tight, \(X=Y\cup Z\), ord\(_l(X)<\omega_1\cdot\omega\) and ord\(_l(Z)<\omega_1\cdot\omega\), then \(X\) is also left-separated and we have \[ \text{ord}_l(X)\leq\text{ord}_l(Y)+\text{ord}_l(Z). \] Finally, the authors show that it is consistent that there is a first countable, \(0\)-dimensional space \(X\), which is not left-separated, but there is a c.c.c poset such that \[ V^Q\vDash \text{ord}_l(X)=\omega_1\cdot\omega. \] However, if \(X\) is a topological space and \(Q\) is a c.c.c poset such that \[ V^Q\vDash \text{ord}_l(X)<\omega_1\cdot\omega, \] then \(X\) is left-separated even in \(V\).