When is the frame of nuclei spatial: a new approach (Q2301464)

The lattice \(S(L)\) of sublocales of a locale \(L\), unlike the lattice of subspaces of a space, is not in general a Boolean algebra: it is a colocale, that is, the dual of a locale. This is an important difference between point-free topology and classical topology. In the particular case of a spatial locale \(L=\Omega(X)\) (the locale of open sets of some topological space \(X\)), \(S(L)\) can also be much larger than the Boolean algebra of subspaces of \(X\). The locale dual to \(S(L)\) can be equivalently described by nuclei on \(L\). In this case, one speaks about the frame \(N(L)\) of nuclei of \(L\) (called the splitting frame, dissolution frame or assembly frame). This paper provides a new approach to fundamental results of \textit{R. Beazer} and \textit{D. S. Macnab} [Colloq. Math. 41, 1--12 (1979; Zbl 0436.06010)], \textit{H. Simmons} [Colloq. Math. 43, 23--39 (1980; Zbl 0459.54024)], \textit{S. B. Niefield} and \textit{K. I. Rosenthal} [Topology Appl. 26, 263--269 (1987; Zbl 0621.06007)] and \textit{J. Isbell} [Topology Appl. 40, No. 1, 63--70 (1991; Zbl 0734.54001)] about Booleanness and spatiality of \(N(L)\) and \(N(\Omega(X))\). The idea is to use \textit{L. L. Esakia}'s duality [Sov. Math., Dokl. 15, 147--151 (1974; Zbl 0296.02030); translation from Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR 214, 298--301 (1974)] between the category of Heyting algebras and the category of Esakia spaces (and the fact that locales are completely Heyting algebras).