Notes on leximorphic spaces (Q990319)

Let \(M\) be a LOTS with distinct first and last points, denoted 0 and 1, respectively. \(M^n\) is the LOTS of \(n\)-tuples of elements of \(M\), given the lexicographic ordering. Definition 1. (1) A LOTS \(M\) is leximorphic if \(M\) and \(M \times M\) are isomorphic. (2) A set \(A\) is order dense in a LOTS \(S\) if, for each pair \(a,b\in S\) such that \(a < b\), there exists a \(c \in A\) such that \(a < c < b\). Note that, if \(A = S\), we simply say \(S\) is order dense. The authors introduce a notion of countable generalized Cantor space (CGCS) of type \((m_1,m_2,\dots,m_n)\), and they prove the following. Theorem 1. (a) If \(C\) is a CGCS of type (1) or \((1,2,\dots,m_n)\) then \(C\) is leximorphic. (b) If \(M\) is uncountable and separable, then \(M\) is not leximorphic. In connection with this theorem, the authors pose the following questions. Question 1. (a) Are there uncountable leximorphic spaces? (b) Is Theorem 1 (a) a characterization of all leximorphic subspaces of the unit interval? For Question 1 (a), the authors construct an example of an uncountable leximorphic space under CH. Definition 2. \(M\) is consistent if each closed interval in \(M\) is isomorphic to \(M\). Recall that an ordered space is Dedekind complete if each nonempty subset with an upper bound has a least upper bound. A LOTS \(X\) is connected if and only if \(X\) is Dedekind complete and order dense. Then the following are proved. Theorem 2. (a) If \(M\) is consistent and \(M^m \cong M^n\) for some distinct natural numbers \(m\) and \(n\), then all powers of \(M\) are isomorphic. (b) If \(M^m \cong M^n\) for some natural numbers \(m\) and \(n\) such that \(m < n\), then \(M^m \cong M^{(k+1)n-km}\) for all natural numbers \(k\geq 0\). The authors prove the following. Theorem 3. If \(M\) is leximorphic, then \(M\) is not Dedekind complete. This result leads to the following question: Question 2. Can a leximorphic space contain a nontrivial connected subset, or are all leximorphic spaces totally disconnected? Finally, the authors construct some examples of uncountable leximorphic spaces under CH or GCH.