Homogeneity, terminality and some mapping problems (Q5953362)

A subcontinuum \(Z\) of a continuum \(X\) is terminal in \(X\) if each subcontinuum \(Y\) of \(X\) which meets \(Z\) satisfies \(Y \subset Z\) or \(Z \subset Y\). A mapping \(f:X \to Y\) of a continuum \(X\) onto \(Y\) is atomic if each fiber of \(f\) is a terminal subcontinuum in \(X\). A continuum \(X\) is cell-like if each mapping of \(X\) into a compact ANR is inessential. A mapping \(f:X \to Y\) of a compactum \(X\) onto \(Y\) is cell-like if each fiber of \(f\) is cell-like. The authors assert that every terminal subcontinuum in a homogeneous continuum \(X\) is cell-like. Hence an atomic mapping of a homogeneous continuum onto a continuum is cell-like. By [\textit{J. T. Rogers jun.}, Houston J. Math. 8, 421-428 (1982; Zbl 0518.54029)], if \(X\) is hereditarily indecomposable, the assertion is true. However the reviewer does not know the existence of the terminal decomposition for a given homogeneous continuum which was used in the proof. We note that homogeneous cell-like continua are not always one-dimensional. The authors study the cell-like property of terminal subcontinua: if a terminal subcontinuum \(A\) of a compactum \(X\) admits a homeomorphism \(h:X \to X\) which can be represented as a composite of a finite number of arbitrary small homeomorphisms on \(X\) such that \(h(A) \cap A =\emptyset\), then \(A\) is cell-like.