Algebraic and topological structure of some spaces of set-valued maps (Q316242)

Given topological spaces \(X\) and \(Y\), an upper semicontinuous compact-valued map \(p:X\to Y\) is called \textit{minimal} if for any upper semicontinuous compact-valued map \(q:X\to Y\), such that \(q(x)\subset p(x)\) for each \(x\in X\), we have \(q=p\). The map \(p\) is \textit{quasi-minimal} if for any minimal upper semicontinuous compact-valued map \(q:X\to Y\), such that \(q(x)\subset p(x)\) for each \(x\in X\), we have \(q=p\). The authors consider the sets \(\mathcal{M}(X,Y)\) and \(\mathcal Q(X,Y)\) of upper semicontinuous compact-valued maps which are minimal or quasi-minimal, respectively. It is established, among other things, that if \(X\) is a Baire space and \(Y\) is a metrizable topological group, then it is possible to introduce a group operation on \(\mathcal M(X,Y)\) which extends the natural group operation on the set \(C(X,Y)\) of all point-valued continuous functions from \(X\) to \(Y\). The authors also show that if \(X\) is a locally compact space and \(Y\) is a topological vector space, then the operations from \(C(X,Y)\) can be extended in such a way that some natural topology on the set \(\mathcal M(X,Y)\) turns it into a topological vector space.