I came across a problem asking the reverse of the titular question:
Prove that there is no continuous bijection from B1(0)={(x,y)∈R2:x2+y2<1} to (0,1).
This I did as follows:
Suppose for the sake of contradiction that there is such a map f. Consider the map g:B1(0)∖{0}→(0,1)∖{f(0)} given by g(x)=f(x). Then g is also a continuous bijection. The continuous image of a connected set must be connected, and the domain is connected, so the image must be contained in either (0,f(0)) or (f(0),1), which contradicts surjectivity. Hence, proved.
I then decided to try and prove the claim in the other direction:
Q. Is there a continuous bijection f:(0,1)→B1(0)?
But, the same idea failed to work.
After removing a point from the domain and its image from the codomain, I have two disjoint intervals on the one hand and a connected space on the other. I tried taking a path in the codomain connecting two points, each lying in the image of the two components of the domain. But since the inverse of f is not assumed to be continuous, I couldn't proceed further.
I'm not sure what to do next. Can someone help me prove or disprove the claim? Thanks!
Answer
Note that (0,1) is the countable union of the compact sets [1n,1−1n] (n>2). It turns out that the interior of Cn=f([1n,1−1n]) is empty. Suppose otherwise. Since [1n,1−1n] is compact and B1(0) is Hausdorff, f induces a homeomorphism from [1n,1−1n] onto Cn. Therefore, the restriction of f−1 to an open ball contained in Cn is a homeomorphism from that open ball in B1(0) onto a subset of (0,1). That cannot be by the connectedness argument that you mentioned.
So, f((0,1)) is a countable union of closed sets with empty interior. Now, the Baire Category Theorem tells us that f((0,1)) cannot be B1(0).
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