Open locally semi-algebraic maps (Q911665)

Starting from the idea that open morphisms occur naturally in the context of semi-algebraic geometry, the paper studies open morphisms of locally semi-algebraic spaces in the context of the theory of real closed spaces, previously developed by the author. In section 1 open morphisms are characterized in terms of path lifting properties. In section 2 it is proved that openness and flatness are equivalent for semi-algebraic morphisms into curves; this result is generalized in section 3. In section 4 local isomorphisms are characterized in terms of a path lifting property, which leads to an algebraic characterization of coverings and (in section 5) to an algebraic characterization of local isomorphisms. In section 6 the fibers of open semi-algebraic maps are discussed and in section 7 it is proved that, in the case of affine semi-algebraic spaces, for a morphism f: \(M\to N\) there exists a largest open subset \(M_ 0\subset M\) such that the restriction \(f_ 0: M_ 0\to N\) is open.