Theorem
A discrete space
is Lindelof if and only if it is countable.
Proof
Let
be a discrete topological space so that
is the set of all subsets of
Suppose
is Lindelof then every open cover of
has a countable subcover. Each singleton set
is open.
The family of sets
is an open cover of![]()
Since
is Lindelof, a countable subcover
exists hence
is a countable set.
Conversely suppose
is countable and
is discrete then
is Lindelof. Let
be an open cover of
so that![]()
For each
exists with
and since
is countable we can choose![]()
Hence
s an open subcover of
and
is Lindelof.