Monotone normality and stratifiability from a pointfree point of view (Q2447129)

Monotone normality has traditionally been studied in the class of \(T_1\)-spaces. The restriction to this class is perhaps mainly due to the fact that every subspace of a monotonically normal \(T_1\)-space is monotonically normal. In the article [\textit{J. Gutierrez Garcia} et al., Acta Math. Hung. 122, No. 1--2, 71--80 (2009; Zbl 1240.54077)], the authors study monotone normality in topological spaces which are not necessarily \(T_1\)-spaces. They show, among other things, that in this broader context the property is no longer hereditary, in general. It is thus desirable to know if there is a separation axiom weaker than the \(T_1\)-axiom under which monotone normality is a hereditary property. The authors of the paper under review answer this question most elegantly by stepping outside \(\mathsf{Top}\) into the larger category \(\mathsf{Loc}\). It turns out that the separation axiom which does the trick is subfitness. The depth of the paper lies in the fact that the authors are able to simultaneously improve the classical results in the aforementioned paper, and extend them to the pointfree setting. Not only that; the paper also introduces and studies the natural localic counterpart of the notion of stratifiable spaces.