Theorem:
If ,
,
,
,
Hausdorff and
locally compact, then there is a natural equivalence
defined by
, where if
is a map then
is given by
.
We need the following two propositions in order to prove the theorem.
Proposition
\label{prop13}
The exponential function induces a continuous function
which is a homeomorphism if
and
are Hausdorff and
is locally compact\footnote{every point of
has a compact neighborhood}.
Proposition
\label{prop8}
If is an equivalence relation on a topological space
and
is a homotopy such that each stage
factors through
, i.e.\
, then
induces a homotopy
such that
.
Proof of Theorem
i) is surjective: Let
. From Proposition \ref{prop13} we have that
is a homeomorphism. Hence the function
defined by
is continuous since
and thus
. By the universal property of the quotient,
defines a map
such that
. Thus
, so that
.
ii) is injective: Suppose
are two maps such that
, i.e.\
. Let
be the homotopy rel
. By Proposition \ref{prop13} the function
defined by
is continuous. This is because
so that
, thus
where
is a homeomorphism. For each
we have
. This is because if
, then
or
. If
, then
. If
,
as
is the homotopy rel
. Then by Proposition \ref{prop8} there is a homotopy
rel
such that
. Thus
and similarly
. Thus
via the homotopy
.
Loop space
If , we define the loop space
of
to be the function space
with the constant loop
(
for all
) as base point.
Suspension
If , we define the suspension
of
to be the smash product
of
with the 1-sphere.
Corollary (Natural Equivalence relating and
)
If ,
and
is Hausdorff, then there is a natural equivalence