\textit{snf}-countability and \textit{csf}-countability in \(F_{4}(X)\) (Q1676529)

Let \(F(X)\) denote the free topological group on a Tychonoff space \(X\), let \(G(X)\) be either \(F(X)\) or \(A(X)\) (the abelianization of \(F(X)\)), and let \(F_n(X)\) be the subsets formed by all words whose length is less than or equal to \(n\) for each \(n \in \mathbb{N}\). One of the main purposes of this paper is to discuss conditions under which \(F_4(X)\) of \(F(X)\) contains no closed copy of the fan space \(S_{\omega}\). For example, in Section 3, the authors establish the following results: Theorem 3.5. If one of the following conditions is satisfied and \(G_2(X)\) contains no closed copy of \(S_{\omega}\), then the set of non-isolated points \(NI(X)\) of the space \(X\) is countably compact: (a) \(X\) is a sequential normal space; (b) \(X\) is a \(k^*\)-metrizable \(k\)-space; (c) \(X\) is a \(k\)-semistratifiable \(k\)-space. Theorem 3.8. If one of the following conditions is satisfied, then \(F_4(X)\) contains no closed copy of \(S_{\omega}\) if and only if \(X\) is countably compact or discrete: (a) \(X\) is a sequential normal space; (b) \(X\) is a \(k^*\)-metrizable \(k\)-space; (c) \(X\) is a \(k\)-semistratifiable \(k\)-space. In Section 4, the Fréchet-Urysohn property and \(snf\)-countability of \(F_n(X)\) are discussed which results in an improvement of Theorems 1.1, 1.2, and 1.4: Theorem 4.3. Suppose one of the following conditions is satisfied for a \(k\)-space \(X\): (a) \(X\) is a normal space with a point-countable \(k\)-network; (b) \(X\) is a \(k^*\)-metrizable space. Then the following are equivalent: (1) \(F_3(X)\) is metrizable; (2) \(F_3(X)\) is Fréchet-Urysohn; (3) \(F_2(X)\) is \(snf\)-countable; (4) \(NI(X)\) is compact and \(X\) is first-countable. Let \(e\) be the identity of the free group \(G(X)\). Define the mapping \(i_n : (X \oplus \{e\} \oplus X^{-1})^n \to G_n(X)\) by \(i_n((x_1, x_2, \ldots, x_n)) = x_1x_2 \cdots x_n\) for each \(n \in \mathbb{N}\). Theorem 4.5. Suppose one of the following conditions is satisfied for a \(k\)-space \(X\): (a) \(X\) is a normal space in which every countably compact subset is metrizable; (b) \(X\) is a \(k^*\)-metrizable space; (c) \(X\) is a \(k\)-semistratifiable space. Then the following are equivalent: (1) \(F_n(X)\) is metrizable for each \(n \in \mathbb{N}\); (2) \(F_5(X)\) is Fréchet-Urysohn; (3) \(F_4(X)\) is \(snf\)-countable; (4) \(X\) is compact and or discrete; (5) \(i_n\) is a closed mapping for some \(n \geq 3\); (6) \(i_3\) is a closed mapping. The following theorem is an improvement of Theorem 1.7. Theorem 5.2. Suppose one of the following conditions is satisfied for a space \(X\): (a) \(X\) is a normal \(k\)- and \(\aleph\)-space; (b) \(X\) has a compact-countable \(k\)-network and \(X^2\) is a \(k\)-space. Then the following are equivalent: (1) \(F(X)\) is \(csf\)-countable; (2) \(F_4(X)\) is \(csf\)-countable; (3) \(X\) is an \(\aleph_0\) space or discrete; (4) \(X\) is separable or discrete. The following theorem improves Theorem 1.5. Theorem 5.4. The following are equivalent for a \(k^*\)-metrizable space \(X\): (1) \(F(X)\) is a \(k_{\omega}\)-space or discrete; (2) \(F(X)\) is a \(k\)-space; (3) \(F_n(X)\) is a \(k\)-space and \(csf\)-countable for some \(n \geq 5\); (4) \(F_5(X)\) is a \(k\)-space and \(F_4(X)\) is \(csf\)-countable; (5) \(X\) is a \(k_{\omega}\)-space or discrete.