Point-sensitive and point-free patch constructions (Q2504392)

For a classical topological space \(S\), the patch topology on \(S\) (here called the point-sensitive patch topology) is obtained by adjoining the complements of all compact saturated subsets of \(S\) as additional open sets. It is easy to see that it is intermediate between the original topology and the front topology (in which all closed subsets of the original space are declared to be open). In the `point-free' world, it is well known that the assembly of a frame (or, for those who prefer the localic terminology, the dissolution of a locale) plays a role anaolgous to that of the front topology (although, as the second author of this paper has demonstrated in several papers over the years, it is actually a much more subtle construction). In the present paper, the authors propose a point-free analogue of the patch construction, for an arbitrary frame, and investigate its properties in detail. Once again, this investigation reveals subtleties which are not present in the classical patch-space construction.