Symmetric and tufted assignments of neighbourhoods and metrization (Q952618)

Given a topological space \(X,\) a neighbourhood assignment \({\mathcal U}=\{U(x):x\in X\}\) is called symmetric provided that \(y\in U(x)\) iff \(x\in U(y)\) whenever \(x,y\in X.\) If \(\{T(U):=\{x\in X:U(x)=U\}:U\in {\mathcal U}\}\) is closure-preserving, the assignment is called tufted, and the collection \(\{T(U):U\in {\mathcal U}\}\) is called its tufting. The author shows that every metrizable space has a metric with respect to which the open balls of equal radii constitute a tufted and symmetric assignment of neighbourhoods, with a locally finite tufting. He also establishes that the availability on a \(T_3\)-space of a basic sequence of tufted and symmetric assignments of neighbourhoods characterizes metrizability. A Hausdorff space is paracompact if and only if each open cover has a refinement in the form of a tufted and symmetric assignment of neighbourhoods. A Moore space \(X\) is metrizable if (and only if) given any open cover \({\mathcal W}\) there is a sequence \((\{U_n(x):x\in X\})\) of tufted and symmetric assignments of neighbourhoods such that, for every \(x\in X,\) \(U_n(x)\subset St(x,{\mathcal W})\) for some \(n.\) A \(T_3\)-space \(X\) is strongly metrizable (that is, \(X\) has a base that can be arranged in the form of a countable collection of star-finite open covers) if and only if on \(X\) there is a basic sequence of symmetric, point-finite neighbourhood assignments.