A note on \(b_f\)-spaces and on the distribution of the functor of the Dieudonné completion (Q2667795)

A well-known theorem on the distribution of the functor \(\beta\) of the Stone-Čech compactification was obtained by \textit{I. Glicksberg} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 90, 369--382 (1959; Zbl 0089.38702)]: For infinite spaces \(X\) and \(Y\), the equality \(\beta(X\times Y)=\beta(X)\times\beta(Y)\) holds if and only if \(X\times Y\) is pseudocompact. The problem of obtaining similar results for the functors \(\mu\) and \(\nu\) of the Hewitt realcompactification and of the Dieudonné completion, respectively, has been studied. \par For a topological group \(G\), \(G\) is called a \textit{\(PT\)-group} if the group operations of \(G\) can be extended over the space \(\mu(G)\) in such a way that \(G\) becomes a topological subgroup of the topological group \(\mu(G)\). \textit{A. Arhangel'skii} [Commentat. Math. Univ. Carol. 41, No. 3, 585--595 (2000; Zbl 1038.54013)] gave an example of an abelian group which is not a \(PT\)-group and found a relationship between a \(PT\)-group and the distribution of the functor \(\mu\). For instance, \textit{A. V. Arhangel'skii} and \textit{M. Hušek} [Commentat. Math. Univ. Carol. 42, No. 1, 173--186 (2001; Zbl 1053.54043)] gave the following criterion for the product of two topological groups to be a \(PT\)-group: The product \(G\times H\) of topological groups \(G\) and \(H\) is a \(PT\)-group if and only if \(G\) and \(H\) are \(PT\)-groups and \(\mu(G\times H)=\mu(G)\times \mu(H)\) holds. In this paper, the authors study the relationship between the exponential map and \(b_f\)-continuous extensions of \(b_f\)-continuous functions to \(\mu(X)\times Y\) and apply the results to the equality \(\mu(X\times Y)=\mu(X)\times\mu(Y)\). They generalize or improve several results on the theories by \textit{A. V. Arhangel'skii} [Topology Appl. 115, No. 3, 265--289 (2001; Zbl 0984.54018)], \textit{W. W. Comfort} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 131, 107--118 (1968; Zbl 0157.53402)], \textit{N. Noble} [Czech. Math. J. 19(94), 390--397 (1969; Zbl 0184.47706)] and \textit{H. Ohta} [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 69, 339--343 (1978; Zbl 0358.54007)], for instance, they obtain the following results: \begin{itemize} \item If \(G\) is a locally pseudocompact group and \(X\) is a \(b_f\)-space (in particular, a \(b_f\)-group), then the equality \(\mu(G\times X)=\mu(G)\times\mu(X)\) holds. \item Assume that both \(\mu(X)\times Y\) and \(\mu(X)\times\mu(Y)\) are \(k_r\)-spaces. Then \(\mu(X\times Y)=\mu(X)\times\mu(Y)\). \item If \(\mu(X)\) is locally compact and \(Y\) is a \(k_r\)-space, then \(\mu(X\times Y)=\mu(X)\times\mu(Y)\). \end{itemize}