Topological properties of strict (\textit{LF})-spaces and strong duals of Montel strict (\textit{LF})-spaces (Q2416329)

The article investigates the so-called Ascoli property of topological spaces for two classes of locally convex spaces mentioned in the title, the most prominent examples being the space \(\mathscr{D}\) of smooth functions with compact support and the space \(\mathscr{D}'\) of distributions. The Ascoli property of a topological space \(X\) is a weakening of metrizability and even of being a \(k\)-space (where a set is closed if so are its intersections with all compact sets), it means that every compact subset of \(C_k(X)\), the space of continuous functions with the compact-open topology, is equicontinuous, that is, the necessity part of the Arzelà-Ascoli theorem holds for \(X\). The main results say that, for strict locally convex inductive limits of Fréchet spaces and, in the Montel case, their strong duals, the Ascoli property is very restrictive. In particular, neither \(\mathscr{D}\) nor \(\mathscr{D}'\) is Ascoli, which improves the known result that they fail to be \(k\)-spaces.