The space of intervals in a Euclidean space (Q813176)

\textit{G. Segal} [Invent. Math. 21, 213--221 (1973; Zbl 0267.55020)] introduced a configuration space \(C(\mathbb R^n,X)\) of a finite number of points in \(\mathbb R^n\) with labels in \(X\), and he showed that it is weakly homotopy equivalent to \(\Omega^n\Sigma^nX\) if \(X\) is connected. When \(X\) is not connected, \(\Omega^n\Sigma^nX\) is a group completion of \(C(\mathbb R^n;X)\). In this paper, the author defines a space \(I_n(X)\) of intervals suitably topologized in \(\mathbb R^n\) and he shows that it is weakly homotopy equivalent \(\Omega^n\Sigma^nX\) without the assumption on connectivity. For proving this result, he uses the notions of the configuration space with labels in a partial abelian monoid and several properties of it. \textit{J. Carso} and \textit{S. Warner}, [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 265, 147--162 (1981; Zbl 0475.55003)] also constructed another such group completion model based on the space of little cubes but it seems that the present one is slightly simpler.