A new topology on the universal path space (Q2411464)

In this paper the authors consider various topologies on the fundamental group \({\pi}_1(X)\), where \(X\) is a pointed path-connected space, and their extensions to its universal path space \(\tilde{X}\). Three of the better known topologies on \({\pi}_1(X)\) are the Whisker topology, the Lasso topology and the CO topology. The authors have provided a complete comparison between these in [Topology Appl. 170, 52--62 (2014; Zbl 1296.54042)]. Here they study another such topology \(\tau\) introduced by \textit{J. Brazas} in [Topology Appl. 160, No. 1, 170--188 (2013; Zbl 1264.57001)]. It is defined as the smallest coarsening of the CO topology (in a way the most natural topology on \({\pi}_1(X)\)) which turns \({\pi}_1(X)\) into a topological group. The topology \(\tau\) can, like the other three, be extended to \(\tilde{X}\), where it is denoted by \(\tilde{\tau}\). The authors go on to study the basic properties of \(\tilde{\tau}\) and to provide a complete comparison with the other topologies, in which a particular example of \(X\) appears, known as the Hawaiian Earring.