On setwise betweenness

Abstract

In this article, we investigate the notion of setwise betweenness, a concept introduced by P. Bankston as a generalisation of pointwise betweenness. In the context of continua, we say that a subset C of a continuum X is between distinct points a and b of X if every subcontinuum K of  X containing both a and b intersects C. The notion of an interval [a,b] then arises naturally. Further interesting questions are derived from considering such intervals within an associated hyperspace on X. We explore these ideas within the context of the Vietoris topology and n-symmetric product hyperspaces on all nonempty closed subsets of a topological space X, CL(X). Moreover, an alternative pointwise interval, derived from setwise intervals, is introduced.