Appendix I
*Lemma 1. — Let X be a locally compact space, R an open equivalence relation in X, such that the quotient space X/R is paracompact; let π be the canonical mapping of X onto X/R. There exists a continuous real-valued function F ≥ 0 on X such that:
a) F is not identically zero on any equivalence class with respect to R;
b) for every compact subset K of X/R, the intersection of with Supp F is compact.
To each point let us associate a function such that is not identically zero on ; let be the open set of points where ; thus . Since is an open mapping, the form an open covering of X/R. There exists a locally finite open covering , finer than the covering by the , then (GT, IX, §4, No. 3, Prop. 3) a partition of unity on X/R subordinate to the covering . For every , choose a such that . The function belongs to and has support contained in . The supports of the therefore form a locally finite family, so that one can define a continuous function on X by setting .
For every , there exists an such that and therefore ; next, there exists an such that ; then and , therefore and a fortiori ; this proves that F has the property a). Finally, let K be a compact subset of X/R. There exists a finite subset J of I such that, for , one
Same as TG, IX, §4, n° 4, prop. 5 (absent from GT).
has , therefore . Then the set
Lemma 2
Let G be a locally compact group countable at infinity, M a Baire space. Suppose that G operates on the left continuously and transitively in M. For every , let be the stabilizer of in G, so that the mapping of G onto M defines, by passage to the quotient, a continuous bijection of onto M. Then is a homeomorphism of onto M* (in other words (GT, III, §2, No. 5) M is a topological homogeneous space).
Let . It suffices to prove (loc. cit., Prop. 15) that the mapping transforms every neighborhood V of e in G into a neighborhood of in M. Let W be a symmetric compact neighborhood of e such that . By hypothesis, G is the union of a sequence of compact sets, hence of a sequence of translates of W. Then M is the union of the sequence of compact sets . Since M is a Baire space, there exists an index n such that has an interior point (where ). Consequently is an interior point of