Collectionwise Hausdorff versus collectionwise normal with respect to compact sets

Abstract

Collectionwise normal (CWN) and collectionwise Hausdorff (CWH) spaces have played an increasingly important role in topology since the introduction of these concepts by R.H. Bing in 1951 [3]. It has remained an open and frequently raised question as to whether CWH T 3-spaces are CWN with respect to compact sets. Recently, a counterexample requiring the existence of measurable cardinals and having little additional topological structure was constructed by W.G. Fleissner and the author. In this paper, the author gives a simple example in ZFC of a CWH, first countable, perfect T 3-space that is not CWN with respect to compact, metrizable sets, and, under Martin's Axiom, such an example that is also a Moore space. In addition, the author considers the analogous question for strongly collectionwise Hausdorff (SCWH) T 3-spaces and characterizes the existence of SCWH T 3-spaces that are not CWN with respect to compact sets in set-theoretic and box product formulations. The constructions utilized throughout the paper are of a general nature and several apparently new set-theoretic techniques for interchanging ‘points’ and ‘sets’ are introduced.