On the metrizability of spaces with a sharp base

Abstract

A base $\mathcal{B}$ for a space $X$ is said to be sharp if, whenever $x\in X$ and $(B_n)_{n\in\omega}$ is a sequence of pairwise distinct elements of $\mathcal{B}$ each containing $x$, the collection $\{\bigcap_{j\le n}B_j:n\in\omega\}$ is a local base at $x$. We answer questions raised by Alleche et al. and Arhangel$'$ski\u{\i} et al. by showing that a pseudocompact Tychonoff space with a sharp base need not be metrizable and that the product of a space with a sharp base and $[0,1]$ need not have a sharp base. We prove various metrization theorems and provide a characterization along the lines of Ponomarev's for point countable bases.