When a totally bounded group topology is the Bohr topology of a LCA group (Q2415921)

It is well-known that for each topological group \(G\) there is associated a compact group \(bG\) and a continuous homomorphism \(b\) from \(G\) onto a dense subgroup of \(bG\) with the following property: For every continuous homomorphism \(h\) fom \(G\) into a compact group \(K\) there is a continuous homomorphism \(g\) from \(bG\) into \(K\) such that \(h=g\circ b\). The group \(bG\) is unique up to an isomorphism and is called the \textit{Bohr compactification} of \(G\). If \(b\) is injective, the topological group \((G,t)\) is called \textit{maximally almost periodic}. For such a group let \((G,t^+)\) be the underlying group endowed with the totally bounded group topology \(t^+\) induced by the homomorphism \(b:G\rightarrow bG\). If \(G\) is abelian, let \((G,t)^{\wedge}\) be the group of all continuous characters of \((G,t)\). Then \(t^+\) is the weakest group topology on \(G\) such that all \(\chi\in (G,t)^{\wedge}\) are continuous. The authors introduce the class \(\mathcal{B}\) of all abelian totally bounded groups \((G,w)\) such that there is a locally group topology \(t\) on \(G\) with \(w=t^+\). By a result of \textit{I. Glicksberg} [Can. J. Math. 14, 269--276 (1962; Zbl 0109.02001)] \((G,t)\) and \((G,w)\) have the same compact subsets. The authors give many interesting characterizations of \(\mathcal{B}\) in terms of inner properties of \(w\). Among other things they prove: \((G,w)\in\mathcal{B}\) if and only if there is a compactly generated subgroup \(H\) of \((G,w)\) such that \(H\in\mathcal{B}\) and the quotient topology of \(G/H\) is \(\tau^+\), where \(\tau\) is the discrete topology on \(G/H\). This implies: If \((G,w)\) is a metrizable group in \(\mathcal{B}\), then \((G,w)\) is compact. It is said that a maximally almost periodic group \((G,t)\) \textit{respects compactness} if \((G,t)\) and \((G,t^+)\) have the same compact subsets. (This notion was introduced by the second author in his Ph.D. thesis in 1991.) Then by \textit{W. W. Comfort} et al. [Fundam. Math. 143, 119--136 (1993; Zbl 0812.22001)] the following definitions are given: Let \(N\) be a closed subgroup of the Bohr compactification of \((G,t)\) with canonical epimorphism \(\pi:bG\rightarrow bG/N\) and define \(\phi=\pi |G\). Then (a) \(N\) \textit{preserves compactness} provided: \(A\subseteq G\), then \(\phi(A)\) is compact in \(bG/N\) if and only if \(A\cdot(N\cap G)\) is compact in \(G\); and (b) \((G,t)\) \textit{strongly respects compactness} if every closed, metrizable subgroup of \((G,t)\) preserves compactness. The authors respond to Questions 4.1 and 4.3 in [Comfort et al., loc. cit.]. For that they give an example of a maximally almost periodic abelian group \(G\) such that every closed, metrizable subgroup \(N\) of \(bG\) with \(N\cap G=\{0\}\) preserves compactnesss but \(G\) does not strongly respect compactness. The paper ends with five interesting problems.