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# Notes on Topological Vector Spaces

## Preface

In the notion of a topological vector space, there is a very nice interplay between the algebraic structure of a vector space and a topology on the space, basically so that the vector space operations are continuous mappings. There are also plenty of examples, involving spaces of functions on various domains, perhaps with additional properties, and so on. Here we shall try to give an introduction to these topics, without getting too much into the theory, which is treated more thoroughly in the books in the bibliography. Knowledge of linear algebra is assumed, and some familiarity with elementary topology would be useful, with some of the relevant material being reviewed in the first chapter.

## Chapter 1 Some background information

### 1.1 Real and complex numbers

The real numbers will be denoted $`𝐑`$, and the complex numbers will be denoted $`𝐂`$. Thus every complex number can be written as $`a+bi`$, where $`a`$, $`b`$ are real numebers and $`i^2=1`$. If $`z`$ is a complex number with $`z=a+bi`$, where $`a,b𝐑`$, then $`a`$, $`b`$ are called the real and imaginary parts of $`z`$. The integers are denoted $`𝐙`$, and the positive integers are denoted $`𝐙_+`$. The positive integers together with $`0`$ are called the nonnegative integers.

Of course the real and complex numbers are equipped with the arithmetic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, satisfying the usual properties. Let us mention also the well-known facts that every polynomial on $`𝐑`$ with real coefficients and having odd degree takes the value $`0`$ somewhere on $`𝐑`$, and that every polynomial on $`𝐂`$ which is not a constant takes the value $`0`$ somewhere on $`𝐂`$. By applying the second statement repeatedly, it follows that every polynomial on $`𝐂`$ can be expressed as a constant times a product of linear factors.

On the real numbers there is also the usual ordering with its standard properties, such as the sum and product of positive real numbers being positive real numbers. If $`a`$, $`b`$ are real numbers such that $`a<b`$, then we can define the open interval $`(a,b)`$, the half-open, half-closed intervals $`[a,b)`$, and $`(a,b]`$, and the closed interval $`[a,b]`$, where the latter is also defined when $`a=b`$. Namely, the open interval $`(a,b)`$ consists of the real numbers $`x`$ such that $`a<x<b`$, the interval $`[a,b)`$ consists of the real numbers $`x`$ such that $`ax<b`$, the interval $`(a,b]`$ consists of the real numbers $`x`$ such that $`a<xb`$, and $`[a,b]`$ consists of the real numbers $`x`$ such that $`axb`$. We also allow $`a`$ or $`b`$ to be $`\pm \mathrm{}`$ when appropriate, so that for example $`(\mathrm{},\mathrm{})`$ is the real line, and $`[0,\mathrm{})`$ is the set of nonnegative real numbers.

If $`E`$ is a set of real numbers, then a real number $`a`$ is said to be a *lower bound* for $`E`$ if $`ax`$ for all $`xE`$. Similarly, a real number $`b`$ is said to be an *upper bound* for $`E`$ if $`xb`$ for all $`xE`$. A real number $`c`$ is said to be the *greatest lower bound* or *infimum* of $`E`$ if $`c`$ is a lower bound of $`E`$, and if $`ac`$ whenever $`a𝐑`$ is a lower bound for $`E`$. It is easy to see from the definition that $`c`$ is unique if it exists. A real number $`d`$ is said to be the *least upper bound* or *supremum* of $`E`$ if $`d`$ is an upper bound for $`E`$ and $`bd`$ whenever $`b𝐑`$ is an upper bound for $`E`$. Again, it is easy to see that $`d`$ is unique if it exists. A completeness property of the real numbers is that every nonempty set $`E`$ of real numbers which has an upper bound also has a least upper bound. This implies that every nonempty set $`F`$ of real numbers which has a lower bound also has a greatest lower bound. Indeed, the existence of the infimum of $`F`$ can be derived from the existence of the supremum of $`E=F`$, which consists of the real numbers $`x`$ for $`xF`$. Alternatively, the infimum of $`F`$ can be obtained as the supremum of the set of lower bounds of $`F`$.

If $`x`$ is a real number, then the *absolute value* is denoted $`|x|`$ and defined by $`|x|=x`$ if $`x0`$, $`|x|=x`$ if $`x0`$. Thus the absolute value of a real number is always a nonnegative real number, and one can check that

(1.1)
$$|x+y||x|+|y|,|xy|=|x||y|$$

for all $`x,y𝐑`$.

If $`z`$ is a complex number, $`z=x+yi`$ with $`x,y𝐑`$, then the *complex conjugate* of $`z`$ is denoted $`\overline{z}`$ and defined by

(1.2)
$$\overline{z}=xyi.$$

It is easy to see that

(1.3)
$$\overline{z+w}=\overline{z}+\overline{w},\overline{zw}=\overline{z}\overline{w}$$

for all $`z,w𝐂`$, and that the complex conjugate of the complex conjugate of $`z`$ is equal to $`z`$. Also,

(1.4)
$$z\overline{z}=x^2+y^2,$$

and in particular $`z\overline{z}`$ is always a nonnegative real number.

The *modulus* or *absolute value* of a complex number $`z`$ is defined to be $`|z|=\sqrt{z\overline{z}}`$. It is well-known that

(1.5)
$$|z+w||z|+|w|$$

for all $`z,w𝐂`$, and we also have that

(1.6)
$$|zw|=|z||w|$$

for all $`z,w𝐂`$.

As a special case, if $`\theta `$ is a complex number such that $`|\theta |=1`$, then

(1.7)
$$|\theta z|=|z|$$

for all $`z𝐂`$. In effect, multiplication by $`\theta `$ represents a rotation on $`𝐂`$.

Let $`\{z_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ be a sequence of complex numbers, and let $`z`$ be another complex number. We say that $`\{z_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to $`z`$ if for every $`ϵ>0`$ there is a positive integer $`N`$ such that

(1.8)
$$|z_jz|<ϵ\text{ for all }jN.$$

In this event we write

(1.9)
$$\underset{j\mathrm{}}{lim}z_j=z,$$

and call $`z`$ the limit of the sequence $`\{z_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$. It is easy to see that the limit of a convergent sequence is unique.

It is easy to verify that a sequence $`\{z_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ of complex numbers converges to a complex number $`z`$ if and only if the sequence of real parts of the $`z_j`$’s converges to the real part of $`z`$ and the sequence of imaginary parts of the $`z_j`$’s converges to the imaginary part of $`z`$. Similarly, $`\{z_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to $`z`$ if and only if $`\{\overline{z}_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to $`\overline{Z}`$ of $`z`$. If $`\{z_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a sequence of complex numbers which converges to the complex number $`z`$, then $`\{|z_j|\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to $`|z|`$.

Suppose that $`\{z_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$, $`\{w_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ are sequences of complex numbers which converge to $`z,w𝐂`$, respectively. It is well known that the sequences $`\{z_j+w_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ and $`\{z_jw_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converge to $`z+w`$ and $`zw`$, respectively. If $`\{z_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a sequence of nonzero complex numbers which converges to the nonzero complex number $`z`$, then $`\{1/z_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to $`1/z`$.

A sequence of complex numbers $`\{z_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is said to be a *Cauchy sequence* if for every $`ϵ>0`$ there is a positive integer $`N`$ such that

(1.10)
$$|z_jz_l|<ϵ\text{ for all }j,lN.$$

It is easy to check that if $`\{z_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a convergent sequence of complex numbers, then it is also a Cauchy sequence. A completeness property of the complex numbers states that every Cauchy sequence in $`𝐂`$ converges in $`𝐂`$.

Suppose that $`p`$ is a positive real number. If $`p1`$, then the function $`t^p`$ on $`[0,\mathrm{})`$ is *convex*, which means that

(1.11)
$$(\lambda a+(1\lambda )b)^p\lambda a^p+(1\lambda )b^p$$

for all nonnegative real numbers $`a`$, $`b`$, and $`\lambda `$ with $`\lambda 1`$. This is a well-known fact from calculus.

If $`p1`$, then another useful inequality states that

(1.12)
$$(a+b)^pa^p+b^p.$$

This can also be analyzed in terms of calculus, and one can give a more direct derivation as well.

### 1.2 Vector spaces

Let $`V`$ be a vector space. In this monograph we make the standing assumption that all vector spaces use either the real or the complex numbers as scalars, and we say “real vector spaces” and “complex vector spaces” to specify whether real or complex numbers are being used. To say that $`V`$ is a vector space means that $`V`$ is a nonempty set with a distinguished element called $`0`$ and operations of addition and scalar multiplication which satisfy the usual properties. Recall that a subset $`L`$ of $`V`$ is said to be a *linear subspace* if $`0L`$, $`v+wL`$ whenever $`v,wL`$, and $`\zeta vL`$ whenever $`\zeta `$ is a scalar, which is to say a real or complex number, as appropriate, and $`vL`$. Thus $`L`$ is then a vector space too, with the same choice of scalars, and using the restriction of the vector space operations from $`V`$ to $`L`$.

If $`V_1`$, $`V_2`$ are two vector spaces, both real or both complex, then a mapping $`f:V_1V_2`$ is said to be *linear* if

(1.13)
$$f(v+w)=f(v)+f(w)$$

for all $`v,wV_1`$, and

(1.14)
$$f(\alpha v)=\alpha f(v)$$

for all scalars $`\alpha `$ and $`vV_1`$. If $`f`$ is a one-to-one mapping from $`V_1`$ onto $`V_2`$, so that the inverse mapping $`f^1:V_2V_1`$ is defined, then $`f^1`$ is a linear mapping from $`V_2`$ to $`V_1`$ if $`f`$ is a linear mapping from $`V_1`$ to $`V_2`$. In this case we say that $`f`$ defines an *isomorphism* from $`V_1`$ onto $`V_2`$ as vector spaces, and that $`V_1`$, $`V_2`$ are isomorphic vector spaces.

The space of linear mappings from $`V_1`$ to $`V_2`$ is denoted $`(V_1,V_2)`$. It is easy to see that the sum of two elements of $`(V_1,V_2)`$ defines an element of $`(V_1,V_2)`$, and that the product of a scalar and an element of $`(V_1,V_2)`$ defines an element of $`(V_1,V_2)`$. Thus $`(V_1,V_2)`$ is a vector space in a natural way, with the same scalars as for $`V_1`$, $`V_2`$. For a single vector space $`V`$ we may write $`(V)`$ instead of $`(V,V)`$.

If $`V`$ is a real vector space and $`f`$ is a linear mapping from $`V`$ to $`𝐑`$, or if $`V`$ is a complex vector space and $`f`$ is a linear mapping from $`V`$ to $`𝐂`$, then $`f`$ is called a *linear functional* on $`V`$. The space of linear functionals on $`V`$ is called the *dual* of $`V`$ and is denoted $`V^{}`$. Thus $`V^{}=(V,𝐑)`$ and $`V^{}`$ is a real vector space when $`V`$ is a real vector space, and $`V^{}=(V,𝐂)`$ and $`V^{}`$ is a complex vector space when $`V`$ is a complex vector space.

If $`V_1`$, $`V_2`$, and $`V_3`$ are vector spaces with the same scalars, and if $`f_1:V_1V_2`$ and $`f_2:V_2V_3`$ are linear mappings, then the composition $`f_2f_1:V_1V_3`$, defined by $`(f_2f_1)(v)=f_2(f_1(v))`$ for $`vV_1`$, defines a linear mapping from $`V_1`$ to $`V_3`$. For a single vector space $`(V)`$, we have that the composition of two elements of $`(V)`$ is also an element of $`(V)`$.

If $`n`$ is a positive integer, then $`𝐑^n`$ and $`𝐂^n`$, which consist of $`n`$-tuples of real and complex numbers, respectively, are real and complex vector spaces with respect to coordinatewise addition and scalar multiplication. If $`V`$ is a real vector space with positive finite dimension $`n`$, then $`V`$ is isomorphic to $`𝐑^n`$, and if $`V`$ is a complex vector space of positive finite dimension $`n`$, then $`V`$ is isomorphic to $`𝐂^n`$.

More generally, if $`n`$ is a positive integer greater than or equal to $`2`$, and $`V_1,V_2,\mathrm{},V_n`$ are vector spaces, all real or all complex, then the Cartesian product

(1.15)
$$V_1\times V_2\times \mathrm{}\times V_n$$

defines a vector space in a natural way, with the same choice of scalars. Specifically, this Cartesian product consists of $`n`$-tuples $`(v_1,v_2,\mathrm{},v_n)`$, with $`v_jV_j`$ for $`j=1,2,\mathrm{},n`$. If $`(v_1,v_2,\mathrm{},v_n)`$ and $`(w_1,w_2,\mathrm{},w_n)`$ are two elements of the Cartesian product, then their sum is defined coordinatewise, which is to say that the sum is equal to

(1.16)
$$(v_1+w_1,v_2+w_2,\mathrm{},v_n+w_n).$$

Similarly, if $`(v_1,v_2,\mathrm{},v_n)`$ is an element of the Cartesian product and $`\zeta `$ is a scalar, then the scalar product of $`\zeta `$ with $`(v_1,v_2,\mathrm{},v_n)`$ is defined coordinatewise and is equal to

(1.17)
$$(\zeta v_1,\zeta v_2,\mathrm{},\zeta v_n).$$

Actually, the vector space that results in this manner is called the *direct sum* of $`V_1,V_2,\mathrm{},V_n`$. If each $`V_j`$ has finite dimension, then the direct sum also has finite dimension, and the dimension of the direct sum is equal to the sum of the dimensions of the $`V_j`$’s.

If $`V_1`$ and $`V_2`$ are vector spaces, both real or both complex, and if $`f`$ is a mapping from $`V_1`$ to $`V_2`$, then we can associate to $`f`$ its graph in the direct sum of $`V_1`$ and $`V_2`$, which is the set of ordered pairs $`(v,f(v))`$ with $`vV_1`$. One can verify that $`f`$ is a linear mapping from $`V_1`$ to $`V_2`$ if and only if the graph of $`f`$ is a linear subspace of the direct sum of $`V_1`$ and $`V_2`$.

Let $`n`$ be a positive integer, $`n2`$, and suppose that $`V_1,V_2,\mathrm{},V_n`$ and $`W_1,W_2,\mathrm{},W_n`$ are vector spaces, all with the same choice of scalars. Also assume that for each $`j=1,2,\mathrm{},n`$ we have a linear mapping $`f_j:V_jW_j`$. Then we get a linear mapping $`F`$ from the direct sum of the $`V_j`$’s to the direct sum of the $`W_j`$’s in a natural way, following the rule

(1.18)
$$(v_1,v_2,\mathrm{},v_n)(f(v_1),f(v_2),\mathrm{},f(v_n)).$$

A complex vector space can be viewed as a real vector space by “restriction of scalars”, which amounts to just using real numbers as scalars even if complex multiplication by $`i`$ is also defined. If $`V`$ is a complex vector space of finite dimension $`n`$, then when we view it as a real vector space in this manner, it has dimension $`2n`$. If $`V`$ is a real vector space, then we can “complexify” it by taking the Cartesian product $`V\times V`$, initially as a real vector space, and then extending the scalar multiplication to complex numbers by taking

(1.19)
$$i(v_1,v_2)=(v_2,v_1).$$

In other words, if $`\widehat{V}`$ denotes the complexification of $`V`$, then we can think of $`\widehat{V}`$ as consisting of vectors of the form $`v_1+v_2i`$, where $`v_1,v_2V`$, and where scalar multiplication by $`i`$ is defined in the obvious manner. If $`V`$ is a real vector space with finite dimension $`n`$, then the complexification $`\widehat{V}`$ of $`V`$ is a complex vector space with dimension $`n`$.

Here is another point of view with similar ideas. Let $`W`$ be a real vector space, and let $`J`$ be a linear mapping from $`W`$ to itself whose square as a linear mapping is equal to minus the identity mapping on $`W`$, i.e.,

(1.20)
$$J(J(w))=w$$

for all $`wW`$. Then we can view $`W`$ as a complex vector space, where $`iw`$ is defined to be $`J(w)`$ for all $`wW`$. If $`W`$ has finite dimension $`n`$ as a real vector space, then $`n`$ is necessarily even in this case, and $`W`$ has dimension $`n/2`$ as a complex vector space.

Let $`V`$ be a vector space, real or complex, and let $`E`$ be a subset of $`V`$. We say that $`E`$ is *convex* if $`\lambda v+(1\lambda )wE`$ whenever $`v,wE`$ and $`\lambda [0,1]`$. If $`A`$ and $`B`$ are nonempty subsets of $`V`$, then we write $`A+B`$ for the subset of $`V`$ consisting of vectors of the form $`v+w`$, where $`vA`$ and $`wB`$. If $`A`$ is a nonempty subset of $`V`$ and $`\zeta `$ is a scalar, i.e., a real or complex number, as appropriate, then we write $`\zeta A`$ for the subset of $`V`$ consisting of vectors of the form $`\zeta v`$, where $`vA`$. The statement that $`E`$ is convex can be rewritten as saying that

(1.21)
$$\lambda E+(1\lambda )EE$$

for all $`\lambda [0,1]`$.

If $`A`$ and $`B`$ are nonempty subsets of $`V`$ which are convex, then $`A+B`$ is convex too. If $`A`$ is a convex nonempty subset of $`V`$ and $`\zeta `$ is a scalar, then $`\zeta A`$ is a convex subset of $`V`$.

If $`E`$ is a nonempty convex subset of $`V`$ and $`f(v)`$ is a real-valued function on $`E`$, then we say that $`f(v)`$ is *convex* if

(1.22)
$$f(\lambda v+(1\lambda )w)\lambda f(v)+(1\lambda )f(w)$$

for all $`v,wE`$ and $`\lambda [0,1]`$. The sum of two convex functions is convex, and the product of a convex function by a nonnegative real number is convex.

The property of convexity of $`f(v)`$ on $`E`$ can be characterized geometrically as follows. Inside the Cartesian product $`V\times 𝐑`$, consider the set

(1.23)
$$\{(v,t)V\times 𝐑:vE,tf(v)\}.$$

The function $`f(v)`$ on $`E`$ is convex if and only if this is a convex subset of $`V\times 𝐑`$.

If $`A`$ is a nonempty subset of $`V`$, then we say that $`A`$ is *symmetric* if $`A=A`$. A subset $`A`$ of $`V`$ which contains $`0`$ is said to be *starlike around $`0`$* if $`tAA`$ for each real number $`t`$ such that $`0t1`$. If $`V`$ is a complex vector space and $`A`$ is a nonempty subset of $`V`$, then $`A`$ is said to be *circular* if $`\theta A=A`$ for all complex numbers $`\theta `$ such that $`|\theta |=1`$. Thus a nonempty subset $`A`$ of $`V`$ is starlike about $`0`$ and circular if and only if $`\zeta AA`$ for all complex numbers $`\zeta `$ such that $`|\zeta |1`$.

If $`V`$ is a vector space and $`A`$ is a nonempty subset of $`V`$, then the *convex hull* of $`A`$ is denoted $`co(A)`$ and is the subset of $`V`$ consisting of all convex combinations of elements of $`A`$. More precisely, a vector $`wV`$ lies in $`co(A)`$ if there is a positive integer $`n`$, vectors $`v_1,\mathrm{},v_nA`$, and real numbers $`\lambda _1,\mathrm{},\lambda _n[0,1]`$ such that

(1.24)
$$w=\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}\lambda _iv_i\text{and}\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}\lambda _i=1.$$

It is easy to see from the definitions that $`co(A)=A`$ when $`A`$ is a convex subset of $`V`$, and that $`co(A)`$ is always a convex subset of $`V`$. Also, if $`V`$ is a real vector space of finite dimension $`m`$, then the convex hull of a nonempty subset $`A`$ of $`V`$ is equal to the set of points in $`V`$ which can be expressed as convex combinations of at most $`m+1`$ elements of $`A`$.

### 1.3 Topological spaces

Let $`X`$ be a nonempty set. If $`A`$ is another nonempty set, then $`\{E_\alpha \}_{\alpha A}`$ defines a *family of subsets of $`X`$* if $`E_\alpha `$ is a subset of $`X`$ for each $`\alpha A`$. The set $`A`$ is called the *index* set of the family. The union and intersection of the sets in the family are denoted

(1.25)
$$\underset{\alpha A}{}E_\alpha ,\underset{\alpha A}{}E_\alpha ,$$

and the union consists of the points in $`X`$ which lie in $`E_\alpha `$ for at least one $`\alpha A`$, while the intersection consists of the points in $`X`$ which lie in $`E_\alpha `$ for every $`\alpha A`$.

If $`F`$ is a subset of $`X`$, then the complement of $`F`$ in $`X`$ is denoted $`X\backslash F`$ and it is defined to be the set of points in $`X`$ which do not lie in $`F`$. Of course the complement of the complement of $`F`$ in $`X`$ is $`F`$ itself. If $`\{E_\alpha \}_{\alpha A}`$ is a family of subsets of $`X`$ as above, then

(1.26)
$$X\backslash \left(\underset{\alpha A}{}E_\alpha \right)=\underset{\alpha A}{}(X\backslash E_\alpha ),$$

and

(1.27)
$$X\backslash (\underset{\alpha A}{}E_\alpha )=_{\alpha A}(X\backslash E_\alpha ).$$

Let $`X`$ be a nonempty set, and let $`\tau `$ be a collection of subsets of $`X`$. We say that $`\tau `$ defines a *topology* on $`X`$ if the empty set $`\mathrm{}`$ and $`X`$ itself lie in $`\tau `$, if the union of any family of elements of $`\tau `$ is again an element of $`\tau `$, and if the intersection of any finite collection of elements of $`\tau `$ is also an element of $`\tau `$. The combination of $`X`$ and $`\tau `$ is called a topological space.

For any set $`X`$, we might choose $`\tau `$ so that it contains only $`\mathrm{}`$ and $`X`$, i.e., this satisfies the conditions just mentioned. This is the smallest possible topology on $`X`$. At the other extreme we might take $`\tau `$ to be the collection of all subsets of $`X`$, which is the largest possible topology on $`X`$, also known as the discrete topology on $`X`$. We shall normally be interested in topologies between these, although the discrete topology is sometimes useful.

When a nonempty set $`X`$ is equipped with a topology $`\tau `$ in this way, the elements of $`\tau `$ are called the *open* subsets of $`X`$. A subset $`F`$ of $`X`$ such that $`X\backslash F`$ is open is said to be a *closed* subset of $`X`$. By the conditions mentioned before, the empty set $`\mathrm{}`$ and $`X`$ itself are automatically closed subsets of $`X`$, the intersection of any family of closed subsets of $`X`$ is again a closed subset of $`X`$, and the union of finitely many closed subsets of $`X`$ is a closed subset of $`X`$.

If $`(X,\tau )`$ is a topological space, $`E`$ is a subset of $`X`$, and $`p`$ is a point in $`X`$, then $`p`$ is said to be a *limit point* of $`E`$ if for each open subset $`U`$ of $`X`$ such that $`pU`$ there is a point $`qE`$ such that $`qU`$ and $`qE`$. One can check that a subset $`F`$ of $`X`$ is closed if and only every limit point of $`F`$ in $`X`$ is also an element of $`F`$.

If $`E`$ is a subset of the topological space $`X`$, then the *closure* of $`E`$ is denoted $`\overline{E}`$ and defined to be the union of $`E`$ and the set of limit points of $`E`$. Thus $`p\overline{E}`$ if and only if for every open subset $`U`$ of $`X`$ such that $`pU`$ there is a point $`qE`$ which satisfies $`qU`$.

A subset $`D`$ of $`X`$ is said to be *dense* if the closure of $`D`$ is equal to $`X`$. This is the same as saying that $`D`$ is dense in $`X`$ if every nonempty open subset of $`X`$ contains an element of $`D`$.

The *interior* of a subset $`A`$ of $`X`$ is denoted $`A^{}`$ and is defined to be the set of points $`xA`$ such that there is an open subset $`U`$ of $`X`$ which satisfies $`xU`$ and $`UA`$. Because the union of any family of open subsets of $`X`$ is an open subset of $`X`$, the interior of $`A`$ is always an open subset of $`X`$, which may be the empty set. If $`E`$ is a subset of $`X`$, then one can check that

(1.28)
$$X\backslash \overline{E}=(X\backslash E)^{},$$

which is to say that the complement of the closure of $`E`$ in $`X`$ is equal to the interior of the complement of $`E`$ in $`X`$. As a result, the closure of $`E`$ is always a closed subset of $`X`$.

It is often natural to assume *separation conditions* on a topological space. One of the simplest of these asks that each subset of the topological space with exactly one element is a closed subset of the topological space. This implies automatically that every finite subset of the topological space is a closed subset. If $`X`$ is a topological space which has this property, if $`E`$ is a subset of $`X`$, and if $`p`$ is a limit point of $`E`$ in $`X`$, then for every open subset $`U`$ of $`X`$ such that $`pU`$, the set $`EU`$ has infinitely many elements.

A topological space $`(X,\tau )`$ is said to be *Hausdorff* if for every pair of distinct points $`p,qX`$ there are open subsets $`U`$, $`W`$ of $`X`$ such that $`pU`$, $`qW`$, and $`UW=\mathrm{}`$. This condition implies the one described in the previous paragraph.

If $`X`$ is a nonempty set and $`d(x,y)`$ is a real-valued function on the Cartesian product $`X\times X`$ of $`X`$ with itself, then $`d(x,y)`$ is said to be a *semimetric* if $`d(x,y)0`$ for all $`x,yX`$, $`d(x,x)=0`$ for all $`xX`$,

(1.29)
$$d(x,y)=d(y,x)$$

for all $`x,yX`$, and

(1.30)
$$d(x,z)d(x,y)+d(y,z)$$

for all $`x,y,zX`$. If also $`d(x,y)>0`$ when $`xy`$, then $`d(,)`$ is said to be a *metric*.

If $`d(x,y)`$ is a semimetric on $`X`$, then we can define a topology on $`X`$ by saying that a subset $`U`$ of $`X`$ is open if and only if for every $`xU`$ there is a positive real number such that $`yU`$ for all $`yX`$ which satisfy $`d(x,y)<r`$. This topological space has the property that subsets of $`X`$ with exactly one element are closed subsets of $`X`$ if and only if $`d(,)`$ is a metric. Conversely, if $`d(,)`$ is a metric, then the associated topology on $`X`$ is Hausdorff.

A basic observation about semimetrics is that if $`d(x,y)`$ is a semimetric on $`X`$, then for each $`pX`$ and each positive real number $`t`$ the open ball centered at $`p`$ with radius $`t`$ with respect to the semimetric, defined by

(1.31)
$$\{zX:d(z,p)<t\},$$

is an open subset of $`X`$ with respect to the topology that comes from $`d(x,y)`$. This is not hard to show, using the triangle inequality.

As basic examples, the real line $`𝐑`$ has the standard metric $`|xy|`$, and on the complex numbers $`𝐂`$ we have the standard metric $`|zw|`$. The topologies on $`𝐑`$ and $`𝐂`$ associated to these metrics are called their standard topologies.

If $``$ is a nonempty family of semimetrics on $`X`$, then we can define a topology on $`X`$ by saying that a subset $`U`$ of $`X`$ is open if and only if for each point $`xU`$ there are semimetrics $`d_1(,),\mathrm{},d_n(,)`$ in the family $``$ and positive real numbers $`r_1,\mathrm{},r_n`$ such that $`yU`$ when $`yX`$ satisfies $`d_j(y,x)<r_j`$ for $`j=1,\mathrm{},n`$. With this topology, one-element subsets of $`X`$ are closed if and only if for every pair of distinct points $`p,qX`$ there is a semimetric $`d(,)`$ in the family $``$ such that $`d(p,q)>0`$, and conversely this condition implies that $`X`$ is Hausdorff.

Notice that if $`d(x,y)`$ is a semimetric on $`X`$, and $`a`$, $`b`$ are positive real numbers such that $`b1`$, then

(1.32)
$$\mathrm{min}(d(x,y),1),d(x,y)^b,\frac{d(x,y)}{1+d(x,y)}$$

are semimetrics on $`X`$ as well. In terms of defining topologies, as above, these semimetrics are all equivalent to the original semimetric $`d(x,y)`$.

If $`(X,\tau )`$ is a topological space and $`Y`$ is a nonempty subset of $`X`$, then we get a natural topology $`\tau _Y`$ on $`Y`$ induced from the one on $`X`$ by taking $`\tau _Y`$ to be the collection of subsets of $`Y`$ of the form $`YU`$, where $`U\tau `$. In other words, a subset of $`Y`$ is considered to be open relative to $`Y`$ if it is the intersection of $`Y`$ with an open subset of $`X`$. With respect to this topology on $`Y`$, a subset of $`Y`$ is closed relative to $`Y`$ if it is the intersection of $`Y`$ with a closed subset of $`X`$. If $`X`$ has the property that one-element subsets are closed, then so does $`Y`$, and if $`X`$ is Hausdorff, then so is $`Y`$ too.

Now suppose that $`n`$ is a positive integer greater than or equal to $`2`$, and that $`(X_1,\tau _1),(X_2,\tau _2),\mathrm{},(X_n,\tau _n)`$ are topological spaces. Consider the Cartesian product

(1.33)
$$X_1\times X_2\times \mathrm{}\times X_n,$$

which consists of $`n`$-tuples of the form $`(x_1,x_2,\mathrm{},x_n)`$ with $`x_jX_j`$ for $`j=1,2,\mathrm{},n`$. There is a natural topology on the Cartesian product of the $`X_j`$’s, in which a subset $`W`$ of the Cartesian product is open if for each point $`(x_1,x_2,\mathrm{},x_n)`$ in $`W`$ there are open subsets $`U_j`$ of $`X_j`$, $`1jn`$, such that $`x_jU_j`$ for each $`j`$ and

(1.34)
$$U_1\times U_2\times \mathrm{}\times U_nW.$$

In other words, a subset $`W`$ of $`X_1\times X_2\times \mathrm{}\times X_n`$ is considered an open subset if it can be expressed as the union of Cartesian products of open subsets of the $`X_j`$’s. This topology on the Cartesian product of the $`X_j`$’s is called the *product topology* associated to the topologies on the $`X_j`$’s individually.

In particular, Cartesian products of open subsets of the $`X_j`$’s define open subsets of the Cartesian product of the $`X_j`$’s. One can also check that Cartesian products of closed subsets of the $`X_j`$’s define closed subsets of the Cartesian product. As a result, if each $`X_j`$ has the property that one-element subsets are closed subsets, then the same holds for the Cartesian product of the $`X_j`$’s. Similarly, if each $`X_j`$ is Hausdorff, then one can verify that the Cartesian product of the $`X_j`$’s is Hausdorff.

Let $`X`$ and $`Y`$ be sets, and suppose that $`f`$ is a mapping from $`X`$ to $`Y`$. If $`A`$ is a subset of $`X`$, then the image of $`A`$ under $`f`$ in $`Y`$ is denoted $`f(A)`$ and defined by

(1.35)
$$f(A)=\{yY:y=f(x)\text{ for some }xA\}.$$

If $`\{A_\iota \}_{\iota I}`$ is a family of subsets of $`X`$, then

(1.36)
$$f\left(\underset{\iota I}{}A_\iota \right)=\underset{\iota I}{}f(A_\iota ).$$

For intersections we have the inclusion

(1.37)
$$f\left(\underset{\iota I}{}A_\iota \right)\underset{\iota I}{}f(A_\iota ),$$

and equality does not have to hold in general.

If $`E`$ is a subset of $`Y`$, then the inverse image of $`E`$ under $`f`$ in $`X`$ is denoted $`f^1(E)`$ and defined by

(1.38)
$$f^1(E)=\{xX:f(x)E\}.$$

The inverse image behaves nicely in the sense that for each family $`\{E_\beta \}_{\beta B}`$ of subsets of $`Y`$ we have that

(1.39)
$$f^1\left(\underset{\beta B}{}E_\beta \right)=\underset{\beta B}{}f^1(E_\beta )$$

and

(1.40)
$$f^1\left(\underset{\beta B}{}E_\beta \right)=\underset{\beta B}{}f^1(E_\beta ),$$

and also

(1.41)
$$f^1(Y\backslash E)=X\backslash f^1(E)$$

for each subset $`E`$ of $`Y`$.

Let $`(X,\sigma )`$ and $`(Y,\tau )`$ be topological spaces, and let $`f`$ be a mapping from $`X`$ to $`Y`$. If $`p`$ is a point in $`X`$, then we say that $`f`$ is *continuous at $`p`$* if for every open subset $`W`$ of $`Y`$ such that $`f(p)W`$ there is an open subset $`U`$ of $`X`$ such that $`Uf^1(W)`$. We say that $`f:XY`$ is *continuous* if $`f`$ is continuous at every point $`p`$ in $`X`$. This is equivalent to saying that $`f^1(W)`$ is an open subset of $`X`$ for every open subset $`W`$ of $`Y`$, or that $`f^1(E)`$ is a closed subset of $`X`$ for every closed subset $`E`$ of $`Y`$.

If $`f:XY`$ is continuous, then notice that

(1.42)
$$f(\overline{A})\overline{f(A)}$$

for every subset $`A`$ of $`X`$. In other words, the image of the closure of $`A`$ in $`X`$ under $`f`$, which is a subset of $`Y`$, is contained in the closure of the image of $`A`$ under $`f`$ in $`Y`$. Another nice property of continuous mappings is that if $`f:XY`$ is continuous, then the graph of $`f`$ in $`X\times Y`$, defined by

(1.43)
$$\{(x,y)X\times Y:y=f(x)\},$$

is a closed subset of $`X\times Y`$ with respect to the topology on $`X\times Y`$ obtained from the topologies on $`X`$, $`Y`$ as above. The space of continuous mappings from $`X`$ to $`Y`$ will be denoted $`𝒞(X,Y)`$.

Suppose that $`n`$ is a positive integer, $`n2`$, and that $`(X_j,\sigma _j)`$, $`(Y_j,\tau _j)`$, $`1jn`$, are topological spaces. Assume also that for each $`j=1,2,\mathrm{},n`$ we have a mapping $`f_j:X_jY_j`$. We can combine these mappings in a natural way to get a mapping $`F`$ from the Cartesian product of the $`X_j`$’s into the Cartesian product of the $`Y_j`$’s, defined by

(1.44)
$$(x_1,x_2,\mathrm{},x_n)(f_1(x_1),f_2(x_2),\mathrm{},f_n(x_n)).$$

If for each $`j`$ we have a point $`p_j`$ in $`X_j`$ and $`f_j`$ is continuous at $`p_j`$, then $`F`$ is continuous as a mapping between the Cartesian products at the point $`(p_1,p_2,\mathrm{},p_n)`$. If $`f_j:X_jY_j`$ is continuous for each $`j`$, then

(1.45)
$$F:X_1\times X_2\times \mathrm{}\times X_nY_1\times Y_2\times \mathrm{}\times Y_n$$

is also continuous.

Let $`(X_1,\tau _1)`$, $`(X_2,\tau _2)`$, and $`(X_3,\tau _3)`$ be topological spaces. Assume that $`f_1`$ is a mapping from $`X_1`$ to $`X_2`$, and that $`f_2`$ is a mapping from $`X_2`$ to $`X_3`$. If $`p`$ is an element of $`X_1`$, $`f_1`$ is continuous at $`p`$, and $`f_2`$ is continuous at $`f_1(p)`$, then it is easy to check that the composition $`f_2f_1`$, which is a mapping from $`X_1`$ to $`X_3`$, is continuous at $`p`$. If $`f_1`$ is continuous as a mapping from $`X_1`$ to $`X_2`$ and $`f_2`$ is continuous as a mapping from $`X_2`$ to $`X_3`$, then $`f_2f_1`$ is continuous as a mapping from $`X_1`$ to $`X_3`$.

If $`(X,\sigma )`$ and $`(Y,\tau )`$ are topological spaces and $`f`$ is a one-to-one mapping from $`X`$ onto $`Y`$, so that the inverse mapping $`f^1`$ from $`Y`$ to $`X`$ exists, then $`f`$ is said to be a *homeomorphism* from $`X`$ onto $`Y`$ if $`f`$, $`f^1`$ are both continuous as mappings from $`X`$ to $`Y`$ and from $`Y`$ to $`X`$, respectively. In this case $`f^1`$ is also a heomeomorphism from $`Y`$ onto $`X`$.

If $`(X,\tau )`$ is a topological space, and if $`f_1`$, $`f_2`$ are two real-valued continuous functions on $`X`$, or two complex-valued continuous functions on $`X`$, then the sum $`f_1+f_2`$ and the product $`f_1f_2`$ are also continuous functions on $`X`$. One way to look at this is as a consequence of the fact that the mappings from $`𝐑\times 𝐑`$ to $`𝐑`$ and from $`𝐂\times 𝐂`$ to $`𝐂`$ given by addition and multiplication are continuous.

### 1.4 Countability conditions

Let $`E`$ be a set. To be a bit formal, we say that $`E`$ is finite if it is empty, in which case it has $`0`$ elements, or if there is a positive integer $`n`$ such that there is a one-to-one correspondence between $`E`$ and the set $`\{1,2,\mathrm{},n\}`$ of the first $`n`$ positive integers, in which case we say that $`E`$ has $`n`$ elements. If there is a one-to-one correspondence between $`E`$ and the set $`𝐙_+`$ of positive integers, then we say that $`E`$ is countably-infinite, and we say that $`E`$ is at most countable if $`E`$ is either finite or countable. Of course the union of finitely many finite sets is a finite set, and if $`\{E_\alpha \}\alpha A`$ is a family of subsets of a set $`X`$ such that the index set $`A`$ is at most countable and each $`E_\alpha `$, $`\alpha A`$, is at most countable, then the union $`_{\alpha A}E_\alpha `$ is also at most countable.

Now let $`(X,\sigma )`$ be a topological space, and let $``$ be a collection of open subsets of $`X`$. We say that $``$ is a *basis for the topology of $`X`$* if every open subset of $`X`$ is the union of some collection of open sets in $``$. If $`p`$ is a point in $`X`$, then we say that $``$ is a *local basis for the topology of $`X`$ at $`p`$* if for every open subset $`U_1`$ of $`X`$ such that $`pU_1`$ there is an open subset $`U_2`$ of $`X`$ such that $`pU_2`$, $`U_2U_1`$, and $`U_2`$. It is easy to see that $``$ is a basis for the topology of $`X`$ if and only if $``$ is a local basis for the topology of $`X`$ at each point in $`X`$.

If $`p`$ is a point in $`X`$, then we say that $`X`$ satisfies the *first axiom of countability at $`p`$* if there is a local basis for the topology of $`X`$ at $`p`$ which has at most countably many element. We say that $`X`$ satisfies the *first axiom of countability* if $`X`$ satisfies the first axiom of countability at each point in itself. We say that $`X`$ satisfies the *second axiom of countability* if there is a basis for the topology of $`X`$ which has at most countably many elements. Notice that the second axiom of countability implies the first axiom of countability.

Suppose that $`\{p_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a sequence of points in $`X`$, and that $`p`$ is a point in $`X`$. We say that $`\{p_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ *converges* to $`p`$ if for every open subset $`U`$ of $`X`$ such that $`pU`$, there is a positive integer $`N`$ so that $`p_jU`$ when $`jN`$. In this case we write

(1.46)
$$\underset{j\mathrm{}}{lim}p_j=p.$$

If $`X`$ has the property that one-element subsets of $`X`$ are closed subsets of $`X`$, then a sequence of points in $`X`$ can have at most one limit, i.e., the limit is unique when it exists.

Let $`p`$ be an element of $`X`$, let $`E`$ be a subset of $`X`$, and assume that $`X`$ satisfies the first axiom of countability at $`p`$. The $`p`$ is an element of the closure of $`E`$ if and only if there is a sequence $`\{p_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ of points in $`E`$ which converges to $`p`$. If $`pE`$, we can simply take $`p_j=p`$ for all $`j`$ here.

Suppose that $`(X,\sigma )`$ and $`(Y,\tau )`$ are topological spaces, $`p`$ is a point in $`X`$, and $`f`$ is a mapping from $`X`$ to $`Y`$. If $`X`$ satisfies the first axiom of countability at $`p`$, then $`f`$ is continuous at $`p`$ if and only if for every sequence $`\{p_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ of points in $`X`$ which converges to $`p`$, we have that $`\{f(p_j)\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to $`f(p)`$ in $`Y`$.

Let $`(X,\sigma )`$ be a topological space, and let $``$ be a collection of open subsets of $`X`$. Define $`\widehat{}`$ to be the collection of subsets of $`X`$ which are intersections of finitely many subsets of $`X`$ in $``$. Thus $`\widehat{}`$ is at most countable if $``$ is at most countable.

The collection $``$ of open subsets of $`X`$ is said to be a *sub-basis for the topology of $`X`$* if $`\widehat{}`$ is a basis for the topology of $`X`$. Similarly, if $`p`$ is a point in $`X`$, then $``$ is said to be a *local sub-basis for the topology of $`X`$ at $`p`$* if $`\widehat{}`$ is a local basis for the topology of $`X`$ at $`p`$. It is easy to see that $``$ is a sub-basis for the topology of $`X`$ if and only if $``$ is a local sub-basis for the topology of $`X`$ at each point in $`X`$.

One can go in the other direction and start with a nonempty set $`X`$ and a collection $``$ of subsets of $`X`$, define $`\widehat{}`$ as before, and then define a topology on $`X`$ so that $``$ is a sub-basis for that topology, namely, where a subset of $`X`$ is open if it is a union subsets of $`X`$ in $`\widehat{}`$. For this to work one should assume that the union of the subsets of $`X`$ in $``$ is all of $`X`$, and one can interpret the empty subset of $`X`$ as the empty union of subsets of $`X`$ in $`\widehat{}`$, although it is also easy for the empty set to occur as an intersection of finitely many subsets of $`X`$ in $``$.

A basic situation of this type arises with families of semimetrics, as discussed in the previous section. Specifically, if $``$ is a nonempty family of semimetrics on $`X`$, then the topology on $`X`$ associated to this topology is the same as the topology for which the collection $``$ of open balls in $`X`$ with respect to the semimetrics in $``$ is a sub-basis.

If $``$ is at most countable, then it is easy to see that the corresponding topology on $`X`$ satisfies the first axiom of countability. In fact, if $``$ is at most countable, then there are simple tricks for defining a single semimetric on $`X`$ with the same topological information as the family $``$ of semimetrics. However, it may be that the semimetrics in $``$ have some nice features and that one would like to keep them.

Notice that if $`(X_1,\tau _1),\mathrm{},(X_n,\tau _n)`$ are topological spaces, $`p_1,\mathrm{},p_n`$ are points in $`X_1,\mathrm{},X_n`$, respectively, and $`X_j`$ satisfies the first axiom of countability at $`p_j`$ for $`j=1,\mathrm{},n`$, then the product $`X_1\times \mathrm{}\times X_n`$, with the product topology discussed in the previous section, satisfies the first axiom of countability at the point $`(p_1,\mathrm{},p_n)`$. Hence if $`X_1,\mathrm{},X_n`$ satisfy the first axiom of countability at all of their points, then so does the product $`X_1\times \mathrm{}\times X_n`$. Similarly, if $`X_1,\mathrm{},X_n`$ satisfy the second axiom of countability, then the product $`X_1\times \mathrm{}\times X_n`$ does too.

A topological space $`(X,\tau )`$ is said to be *separable* if it has a subset which is at most countable and also dense. If $`X`$ satisfies the second axiom of countability, then $`X`$ is separable. Conversely, if the topology on $`X`$ comes from an at most countable family of semimetrics, and if $`X`$ is separable, then $`X`$ satisfies the second axiom of countability.

Notice that the notions of basis and sub-basis and the countability conditions for a topological space behave well in terms of restricting from that space to a subspace. To be more precise, let $`(X,\tau )`$ be a topological space, let $`Y`$ be a nonempty subset of $`X`$, and let $`\tau _Y`$ be the topology on $`Y`$ induced from the one on $`X`$ by saying that a subset $`E`$ of $`Y`$ is open relative to $`Y`$ if it is of the form $`UY`$, where $`U`$ is an open subset of $`X`$. Suppose that $``$ is a collection of open subsets of $`X`$, and put

(1.47)
$$_Y=\{UY:U\}.$$

If $`p`$ is a point in $`Y`$ and $``$ is a local basis for the topology of $`X`$ at $`p`$, then $`_Y`$ is a local basis for the topology of $`Y`$ at $`p`$. Similarly, if $``$ is a local sub-basis for the topology of $`X`$ at $`p`$, then $`_Y`$ is a local sub-basis for the topology of $`Y`$ at $`p`$. If $``$ is a basis for the topology of $`X`$, then $`_Y`$ is a basis for the topology of $`Y`$, and if $``$ is a sub-basis for the topology of $`X`$, then $`_Y`$ is a sub-basis for the topology of $`Y`$. As a result, if $`pY`$ and $`X`$ satisfies the first axiom of countability at $`p`$, then $`Y`$ also satisfies the first axiom of countability at $`p`$. If $`X`$ satisfies the first axiom of countability, then $`Y`$ satisfies the first axiom of countability, and if $`X`$ satisfies the second axiom of countability, then $`Y`$ satisfies the second axiom of countability.

### 1.5 Compactness

Let $`(X,\tau )`$ be a topological space, and let $`E`$ be a subset of $`X`$. By an *open covering* of $`E`$ in $`X`$ we mean a family $`\{U_\alpha \}_{\alpha A}`$ of open subsets of $`X`$ such that $`E_{\alpha A}U_\alpha `$. We say that $`E`$ is *compact* if for every open covering of $`E`$ in $`X`$ there is a finite subcovering of $`E`$ from that open covering. In other words, if $`\{U_\alpha \}_{\alpha A}`$ is an open covering of $`E`$ in $`X`$, then we ask that there be a finite subset $`A_1`$ of $`A`$ such that $`E_{\alpha A_1}U_\alpha `$.

If $`(X,\sigma )`$, $`(Y,\tau )`$ are topological space, $`f`$ is a continuous mapping from $`X`$ to $`Y`$, and $`E`$ is a compact subset of $`X`$, then $`f(E)`$ is a compact subset of $`Y`$.

There are a number of related notions and variants of compactness that one sometimes likes to consider. Let us say that a subset $`E`$ of $`X`$ is *countably compact* if for every open covering $`\{U_\alpha \}_{\alpha A}`$ of $`E`$ in $`X`$ there is a subcovering of $`E`$ from this covering which is at most countable, which is to say that there is a subset $`A_2`$ of $`A`$ which is at most countable such that $`E_{\alpha A_2}U_\alpha `$.

A basic fact is that if $`(X,\tau )`$ is a topological space, $`Y`$ is a nonempty subset of $`X`$, and $`E`$ is a subset of $`Y`$, then $`E`$ is compact as a subset of $`X`$ if and only if $`E`$ is compact as a subset of $`Y`$, using the topology on $`Y`$ induced from the one on $`X`$. In the same way, if $`E`$ is countably compact as a subset of $`X`$, then $`E`$ is countably compact as a subset of $`Y`$.

It is well-known and not hard to show that if $`X`$ satisfies the second axiom of countability, then every subset of $`X`$ is countably compact. Thus if $`(X,\tau )`$ is a topological space which satisfies the second axiom of countability and if $`E`$ is a subset of $`X`$, then $`E`$ is compact if and only if for every open covering $`\{U_\alpha \}_{\alpha A}`$ of $`E`$ with index set $`A`$ which is at most countable, there is a finite subcovering of $`E`$ from this open covering.

If $`(X,\tau )`$ is a topological space and $`E`$ is a subset of $`X`$, then $`E`$ has the *limit point property* if every infinite subset $`L`$ if $`E`$ has a limit point in $`X`$ which is also an element of $`E`$. If $`E`$ is a compact subset of $`X`$, then $`E`$ satisfies the limit point property. To see this, assume for the sake of a contradiction that $`E`$ does not satisfy the limit point property. This means that there is an infinite subset $`L`$ of $`E`$ such that no element of $`E`$ is a limit point of $`L`$. This implies in turn that for each $`pE`$ there is an open subset $`U_p`$ of $`X`$ such that $`pU_p`$ and $`U_pL`$ is either empty or contains $`p`$ only. Thus $`\{U_p\}pE`$ is an open covering of $`E`$ in $`X`$, and the compactness of $`E`$ implies that there is a finite subset $`E_1`$ of $`E`$ such that $`E_{pE_1}U_p`$. Because $`LE`$ and $`LU_p`$ has at most one element for each $`pE`$, it follows that $`L`$ is finite, a contradiction. Thus compactness implies the limit point property.

As for compactness, if $`(X,\tau )`$ is a topological space, $`Y`$ is a nonempty subset of $`X`$, and $`E`$ is a subset of $`Y`$, then $`E`$ has the limit point property as a subset of $`X`$ if and only if $`E`$ has the limit point property as a subset of $`Y`$, equipped with the topology induced from the one on $`X`$. This is because a point in $`E`$ is a limit point of a subset $`L`$ of $`E`$ in the topological space $`X`$ if and only if this holds in the topological space $`Y`$.

Let $`(X,\tau )`$ be a topological space and let $`E_1`$, $`E_2`$ be subsets of $`X`$. If $`E_1`$, $`E_2`$ are compact, then so is $`E_1E_2`$. If $`E_1`$, $`E_2`$ have the limit point property, then $`E_1E_2`$ has the limit point property too. If $`E`$, $`F`$ are subsets of $`X`$ such that $`FE`$, $`F`$ is closed, and $`E`$ is compact, then $`F`$ is compact. If $`E`$, $`F`$ are subsets of $`X`$ such that $`FE`$, $`F`$ is closed, and $`E`$ has the limit point property, then $`F`$ has the limit property. It is immediate from the definitions that finite sets are compact and have the limit point property.

Here is a reformulation of compactness which is sometimes useful. A topological space $`(X,\tau )`$ is itself compact if and only if for every family $`\{F_\alpha \}_{\alpha A}`$ of closed subsets of $`X`$ such that $`_{\alpha A_0}F_\alpha \mathrm{}`$ whenever $`A_0`$ is a nonempty finite subset of $`A`$, we have that $`_{\alpha A}F_\alpha \mathrm{}`$. If $`(X,\tau )`$ satisfies the second axiom of countability, then we can restrict our attention to families of closed subsets of $`X`$ which are at most countable, and which can then be arranged in a sequence. In fact we get that if $`(X,\tau )`$ satisfies the second axiom of countability, then $`X`$ is compact if and only if for every sequence $`\{F_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ of nonempty closed subsets of $`X`$ such that $`F_{j+1}F_j`$ for all $`j`$ we have that $`_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}F_j\mathrm{}`$.

Suppose that $`(X,\tau )`$ is a Hausdorff topological space. Let us check that if $`E`$ is a compact subset of $`X`$, then $`E`$ is closed. Assume for the sake of a contradiction that $`p`$ is a limit point of $`E`$ which is not an element of $`E`$. For each point $`qE`$, let $`U(q)`$, $`V(q)`$ be disjoint open subsets of $`X`$ such that $`qU(q)`$ and $`pV(q)`$. Thus $`\{U(q)\}_{qE}`$ is an open covering of $`E`$, and therefore there is a finite subset $`E_1`$ of $`E`$ such that

(1.48)
$$E\underset{qE_1}{}U(q).$$

This implies that $`E`$ is disjoint from $`_{qE_1}V(q)`$, which is an open subset of $`X`$ that contains $`p`$. This contradicts the assumption that $`p`$ is a limit point of $`E`$, and it follows that $`E`$ is a closed subset of $`X`$.

A subset $`E`$ of a topological space $`X`$ is said to be *sequentially compact* if for every sequence $`\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ of points in $`E`$ there is a subsequence $`\{x_{j_l}\}_{l=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ and a point $`xE`$ such that $`\{x_{j_l}\}_{l=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to $`x`$. It is easy to see that finite sets are sequentially compact, and that if $`E`$ is sequentially compact, then $`E`$ has the limit point property. The union of two sequentially compact subsets of $`X`$ is also sequentially compact, and a closed subset of a sequentially compact subset of $`X`$ is sequentially compact. If $`(X,\tau )`$ is a topological space, $`Y`$ is a nonempty subset of $`X`$, and $`E`$ is a subset of $`Y`$, then $`E`$ is sequentially compact as a subset of $`X`$ if and only if $`E`$ is sequentially compact as a subset of $`Y`$, equipped with the topology induced from the one on $`X`$.

Suppose that $`(X,\tau )`$ is a topological space which satisfies the first axiom of countability and in which one-element subsets are closed. Let $`E`$ be a subset of $`X`$ which satisfies the limit point property, which holds in particular when $`E`$ is compact, and let us show that $`E`$ is sequentially compact. Let $`\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ be a sequence of points in $`E`$, and let $`L`$ denote the subset of $`X`$ consisting of the points in this sequence. If $`L`$ is a finite set, then there is a subsequence of $`\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ in which all of the terms are the same, and this subsequence converges trivially. Thus we assume that $`L`$ is infinite. Because $`E`$ satisfies the limit point property, there is a point $`xE`$ which is a limit point of $`L`$. It is not difficult to show that there is then a subsequence of $`\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ which converges to $`x`$.

If $`(X,\tau )`$ is a topological space which satisfies the first axiom of countability and in which one-element subsets are closed, and if $`E`$ is a sequentially-compact subset of $`X`$, then $`E`$ is a closed subset of $`X`$.

If $`(X,\tau )`$ is a topological space which satisfies the second axiom of countability and if $`X`$ is sequentially compact, then $`X`$ is compact. Indeed, as mentioned above, it suffices to show that if $`\{F_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a sequence of nonempty subsets of $`X`$ such that $`F_{j+1}F_j`$ for all $`j`$, then $`_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}F_j\mathrm{}`$. For each positive integer $`j`$, let $`x_j`$ be an element of $`F_j`$. This gives a sequence $`\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ of points in $`X`$, and sequential compactness implies that there is a subsequence of this sequence which converges to a point $`xX`$. It is easy to see that $`xF_j`$ for all $`j`$, as desired.

Suppose that $`(X_1,\tau _1)`$, $`(X_2,\tau _2)`$ are topological spaces, and consider the Cartesian product $`X_1\times X_2`$ equipped with the product topology coming from the topologies on $`X_1`$, $`X_2`$. If $`E_1`$, $`E_2`$ are compact subsets of $`X_1`$, $`X_2`$, respectively, then $`E_1\times E_2`$ is a compact subset of $`X_1\times X_2`$. If $`E_1`$, $`E_2`$ are sequentially compact subsets of $`X_1`$, $`X_2`$, then $`E_1\times E_2`$ is a sequentially compact subset of $`X_1\times X_2`$. These statements are not too difficult to show.

A fundamental result states that closed and bounded subsets of $`𝐑^n`$ are compact.

## Chapter 2 Topological vector spaces

### 2.1 Basic notions

To say that $`V`$ is a *topological vector space* means that $`V`$ is a vector space, that $`V`$ is also equipped with a topology, and that with respect to this topology the vector space operations

(2.1)
$$\text{addition}:V\times VV,$$

and

(2.2)
$$\text{scalar multiplication}:𝐑\times VV$$

if $`V`$ is a real vector space or

(2.3)
$$\text{scalar multiplication}:𝐂\times VV$$

if $`V`$ is a complex vector space, are continuous.

It is easy to see from the definition that if $`V`$ is a topological vector space and $`v_0`$ is an element of $`V`$, then the translation mapping

(2.4)
$$vv+v_0$$

defines a homeomorphism from $`V`$ onto itself. Similarly, if $`\alpha `$ is a nonzero scalar, then the dilation mapping

(2.5)
$$v\alpha v$$

defines a homeomorphism from $`V`$ onto itself.

The continuity of the binary operation of vector addition at $`(0,0)`$ in $`V\times V`$ is equivalent to the statement that for each open subset $`U_1`$ of $`V`$ such that $`0U_1`$, there is an open subset $`U_2`$ of $`V`$ such that $`0U_2`$ and

(2.6)
$$U_2+U_2U_1.$$

This condition is often useful as a way of saying that $`U_2`$ is about “half” the size of $`U_1`$, or smaller. If $`U_1`$ is convex, then one can simply take

(2.7)
$$U_2=\frac{1}{2}U_1,$$

but this does not work in general.

If $`E`$ is a nonempty subset of $`V`$ and $`U`$ is an open subset of $`V`$ such that $`0U`$, then consider the set

(2.8)
$$E+U.$$

This is an open subset of $`V`$ which contains $`E`$. In fact, one can check that the closure of $`E`$ is contained in $`E+U`$. If $`_0`$ is a local basis for the topology of $`V`$ at $`0`$, then one can also check that

(2.9)
$$\overline{E}=\underset{U_0}{}(E+U).$$

If $`U_1`$ is an open subset of $`V`$ such that $`0U_1`$, then there is an open subset $`U_2`$ of $`V`$ such that $`0U_2`$ and the closure of $`U_2`$ is contained in $`U_1`$. Indeed, by the remarks of the preceding paragraph, it is enough to choose $`U_2`$ so that $`U_2+U_2U_1`$, as before.

The continuity of scalar multiplication at $`(0,0)`$ is equivalent to the statement that for each open subset $`W`$ of $`V`$ such that $`0W`$ there is a positive real number $`r`$ and an open subset $`U`$ of $`V`$ such that $`0U`$ and $`\alpha vW`$ whenever $`\alpha `$ is a scalar which satisfies $`|\alpha |<r`$ and $`vU`$. If we put

(2.10)
$$\widehat{U}=\underset{|\alpha |<r}{}\alpha U,$$

where the union is taken over scalars $`\alpha `$, then $`\widehat{U}`$ is an open subset of $`V`$ and

(2.11)
$$\widehat{U}W.$$

Moreover, $`U`$ is starlike around $`0`$, symmetric when $`V`$ is a real vector space, and circular when $`V`$ is a complex vector space.

Let $`U`$ be an open subset of $`V`$ such that $`0U`$, and let $`v`$ be a nonzero vector in $`V`$. Using the continuity of scalar multiplication, it follows that there is a positive real number $`r`$ so that $`\alpha vU`$ when $`\alpha `$ is a scalar which satisfies $`|\alpha |<r`$. As a result,

(2.12)
$$\underset{n=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}nU=V.$$

###### Lemma 2.13

If $`V`$ is a topological vector space and $`\{0\}`$ is a closed subset of $`V`$, then $`V`$ is Hausdorff as a topological space.

From now on in this monograph we make the standing assumption that $`\{0\}`$ is a closed subset in a topological vector space, so that topological vector spaces are Hausdorff, unless otherwise stated in some situation

If $`V`$ is a topological vector space and $`\{0\}`$ is a closed subset of $`V`$, then every one-element subset of $`V`$ is closed, because translations on $`V`$ are homeomorphisms. To show that $`V`$ is Hausdorff, let $`p`$, $`q`$ be a pair of distinct elements of $`V`$. We would like to show that there are disjoint open subsets of $`V`$ that contain $`p`$, $`q`$. We may as well assume that $`p=0`$, so that $`q`$ is any element of $`V`$ which is different from $`0`$, by using translations again.

Let $`W`$ be the open subset of $`V`$ defined by $`W=V\backslash \{q\}`$. Because $`V`$ is a topological vector space, there is an open subset $`U`$ of $`V`$ such that $`0U`$ and

(2.14)
$$UUW.$$

It follows that $`U`$ and $`U+q`$ are disjoint open subsets of $`V`$ containing $`0`$, $`q`$, respectively, as desired. This proves the lemma.

Suppose that $`V`$ is a topological vector space and that $`L`$ is a linear subspace of $`V`$. Then $`L`$ also inherits a topology from the one on $`V`$. It is easy to see that $`L`$ is a topological vector space in its own right, with respect to this topology.

Now suppose that $`V_1,\mathrm{},V_n`$ are topological vector spaces, all real or all complex. Consider the direct sum of the $`V_j`$’s, which is defined as a vector space by taking the Cartesian product

(2.15)
$$V_1\times V_2\times \mathrm{}\times V_n$$

and using coordinatewise addition and scalar multiplication. The topologies on the $`V_j`$’s lead to the product topology on the direct sum, and one can check that the direct sum becomes a topological vector space in this way.

If $`V`$ is a real topological vector space, then one can complexify it first as a vector space by taking the direct sum of $`V`$ with itself, and defining multiplication by $`i`$ on the direct sum by $`i(v_1,v_2)=(v_2,v_1)`$. The topology on $`V`$ again leads to the product topology on the direct sum, and one can verify that the complexification of $`V`$ becomes a complex topological vector space.

Let $`X`$ be a topological space and $`V`$ a topological vector space, and recall that $`𝒞(X,V)`$ denotes the space of continuous mappings from $`X`$ to $`V`$. One can check that sums and scalar multiples of continuous mappings from $`X`$ to $`V`$ are again continuous mappings. In other words, $`𝒞(X,V)`$ is a vector space in a natural way, which is real if $`V`$ is real and complex if $`V`$ is complex.

### 2.2 Norms, seminorms, and local convexity

Let $`V`$ be a vector space. A real-valued function $`N(v)`$ on $`V`$ is said to be a *seminorm* if $`N(v)0`$ for all $`vV`$, if the homogeneity condition

(2.16)
$$N(\alpha v)=|\alpha |N(v)$$

holds for all scalars $`\alpha `$, which is to say for all real or complex numbers $`\alpha `$, as appropriate, and for all $`vV`$, and if the triangle inequality

(2.17)
$$N(v+w)N(v)+N(w)$$

holds for all $`v,wV`$. If also $`N(v)>0`$ when $`v0`$, then we say that $`N(v)`$ defines a *norm* on $`V`$.

###### Remark 2.18

If $`N(v)`$ is a nonnegative real-valued function on $`V`$ which satisfies the homogeneity condition above, then $`N(v)`$ satisfies the triangle inequality, and hence is a seminorm, if and only if $`N(v)`$ is a convex function on $`V`$. This is also equivalent to the associated open unit ball

(2.19)
$$\{vV:N(v)<1\}$$

being a convex subset of $`V`$. These statements are not difficult to verify.

If $`N(v)`$ is a seminorm on $`V`$, then

(2.20)
$$|N(v)N(w)|N(vw)$$

for all $`v,wV`$, as one can check using the triangle inequality. If $`V`$ is a topological vector space, then it follows that $`N(v)`$ is continuous as a real-valued function on $`V`$ if and only if the open unit ball with respect to $`N(v)`$ is an open subset of $`V`$.

If $`N(v)`$ is a seminorm on $`V`$, then

(2.21)
$$d(v,w)=N(vw)$$

defines a semimetric on $`V`$. If $`N(v)`$ is a norm, then $`d(v,w)`$ as just defined is a metric on $`V`$.

A vector space $`V`$ equipped with a choice of norm $`N(v)`$ is called a *normed vector space*. The norm leads to a metric and hence a topology on $`V`$, and it is easy to see that $`V`$ becomes a topological vector space in this manner. It is not too difficult to check that two norms $`N_1(v)`$, $`N_2(v)`$ on a vector space $`V`$ determine the same topology on $`V`$ if and only if there is a positive real number such that $`N_1(v)CN_2(v)`$ and $`N_2(v)CN_1(v)`$ for all $`vV`$.

Suppose that $``$ is a nonempty family of seminorms on $`V`$. This leads to a family of semimetrics on $`V`$ as above. Let us assume that for each $`vV`$ such that $`v0`$ there is a seminorm $`N`$ such that $`N(v)0`$. Then the family of semimetrics on $`V`$ associated to the seminorms in $``$ defines a Hausdorff topology on $`V`$, and $`V`$ becomes a topological vector space in this way.

A topological vector space $`V`$ is said to be *locally convex* if for each open subset $`W`$ of $`V`$ such that $`0W`$ there is an open subset $`U`$ of $`V`$ such that $`0U`$, $`UV`$, and $`U`$ is convex. This is equivalent to saying that there is a local basis for the topology of $`V`$ at $`0`$ consisting of convex open subsets of $`V`$, and it is also equivalent to saying that there is a basis for the topology of $`V`$ consisting of convex open subsets of $`V`$. If $`V`$ is a topological vector space where the topology can be defined by a family of seminorms, then $`V`$ is locally convex.

Let $`V`$ be a vector space, and let $`E`$ be a subset of $`V`$. Assume that $`0E`$, that $`E`$ is starlike around $`0`$, and that $`E`$ is symmetric when $`V`$ is a real vector space and $`E`$ is circular when $`V`$ is a complex vector space. Assume also that

(2.22)
$$\underset{n=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}nE=V.$$

Under these conditions, the *Minkowski function associated to $`E`$* is the function $`\mu _E(v)`$ defined on $`V`$ by

(2.23)
$$\mu _E(v)=inf\{t>0:t^1vE\}.$$

Thus $`\mu _E(v)`$ is a nonnegative real-valued function on $`V`$ such that $`\mu _E(0)=0`$, $`\mu (\alpha v)=|\alpha |\mu _E(v)`$, $`\mu (v)1`$ for all $`vE`$, and $`vE`$ when $`\mu (v)<1`$. If $`E`$ is convex, then $`\mu _E(v)`$ defines a seminorm on $`V`$.

Now suppose that $`V`$ is a topological vector space and that $`U`$ is an open subset of $`V`$ such that $`0U`$ and $`U`$ is convex. In the case where the scalars are real numbers, if we put

(2.24)
$$U_1=U(U),$$

then $`U_1`$ is an open subset of $`V`$ such that $`0U_1`$, $`U_1U`$, $`U_1`$ is convex, and $`U_1`$ is symmetric. In the case where the scalars are complex numbers, if we put

(2.25)
$$U_1=\{vV:\theta vU\text{ for all }\theta 𝐂\text{ such that }|\theta |=1\},$$

then one can check that $`U_1`$ is an open subset of $`V`$ such that $`0U_1`$, $`U_1U`$, $`U_1`$ is convex, and $`U_1`$ is circular. In both cases we have that the Minkowski function $`\mu _{U_1}(v)`$ is a continuous function on $`V`$ whose open unit ball is contained in $`U`$. From this it follows that every locally convex topological vector space can have the topology described by a family of seminorms.

### 2.3 Bounded subsets of a topological vector space

Let $`V`$ be a topological vector space, and let $`E`$ be a subset of $`V`$. We say that $`E`$ is *bounded* if for every open subset $`U`$ of $`V`$ such that $`0U`$, there is a positive real number $`t`$ so that $`EtU`$. Notice that a compact subset of $`V`$ is bounded.

If $`V`$ is a normed vector space, so that the topology of $`V`$ comes from a norm $`N(v)`$ on $`V`$, then it is not hard to see that a subset $`E`$ of $`V`$ is bounded if and only if the set of real numbers $`N(v)`$, $`vE`$, is bounded from above. More generally, if the topology on $`V`$ comes from a nonempty family $``$ of seminorms on $`V`$, then $`E`$ is a bounded subset of $`V`$ if and only if for each seminorm $`N`$ in $``$ the set of real numbers $`N(v)`$, $`vE`$, is bounded.

Suppose that $`E`$ is a bounded subset of $`V`$. It is easy to see that $`\alpha E`$ is then bounded for all scalars $`\alpha `$. Let us check that the closure $`\overline{E}`$ of $`E`$ is also bounded. Let $`W`$ be any open subset of $`V`$ such that $`0W`$. We would like to show that there is a positive real number $`t`$ such that $`EtW`$. To do this we use the fact that there is an open subset $`U`$ of $`V`$ such that $`0U`$ and $`\overline{U}W`$. Because $`E`$ is bounded, there is a positive real number $`t`$ such that $`EtU`$, and that implies that $`\overline{E}tW`$.

Now assume that $`E_1`$, $`E_2`$ are bounded subsets of $`V`$, and let us check that $`E_1E_2`$ is bounded. Let $`W`$ be any open subset of $`V`$ such that $`0W`$. We may as well assume that $`W`$ is starlike around the origin. Since $`E_1`$, $`E_2`$ are bounded, there are positive real numbers $`t_1`$, $`t_2`$ such that

(2.26)
$$E_1t_1W,E_2t_2W.$$

If we set $`t=\mathrm{max}(t_1,t_2)`$, then

(2.27)
$$E_1E_2tW,$$

which is what we wanted.

Next, if $`E_1`$, $`E_2`$ are nonempty bounded subsets of $`V`$, then the sum $`E_1+E_2`$ is a bounded subset of $`V`$ too. To see this, let $`W`$ be an open subset of $`V`$ such that $`0W`$, and let $`U_1`$, $`U_2`$ be open subsets of $`V`$ such that $`0U_1,U_2`$, each of $`U_1`$, $`U_2`$ is starlike around the origin, and $`U_1,U_2W`$. Because $`E_1`$, $`E_2`$ are bounded, there are positive real numbers $`t_1`$, $`t_2`$ such that

(2.28)
$$E_1t_1U_1,E_2t_2U_2.$$

The starlikeness conditions imply that if $`t=\mathrm{max}(t_1,t_2)`$, then

(2.29)
$$E_1tU_1,E_2tU_2.$$

Hence

(2.30)
$$E_1+E_2tU_1+tU_2tW,$$

which is what we wanted.

In a locally convex topological vector space, the convex hull of a bounded set is also a bounded set.

Suppose that $`V`$ is a topological vector space, and that $`U`$ is a nonempty open subset of $`V`$ which is bounded. This is a strong condition. By translation we may assume that $`0U`$. One can check that the family of sets of the form

(2.31)
$$\frac{1}{n}U,n𝐙_+,$$

forms a local basis for the topology of $`V`$ at $`0`$. If there is a bounded nonempty convex open subset of $`V`$, then it follows that there is a norm on $`V`$ so that the topology defined by the norm is the same as the topology that is given.

### 2.4 Countability conditions and topological vector spaces

When a topological space satisfies the first axiom of countability, it has the nice property that sequences are enough to describe the topology, in the sense that closed subsets can be characterized in terms of convergent sequences, for instance. In the context of topological vector spaces, we shall be concerned with two basic scenarios, where the space itself satisfies the first axiom of countability, and when suitably restricted subsets satisfy the first axiom of countability as topological spaces themselves. In this section we shall concentrate on the first case, where a topological vector space itself satisfies the first axiom of countability.

Let $`V`$ be a topological vector space, and assume that $`V`$ satisfies the first axiom of countability at $`0`$, so that there is a sequence of open sets in $`V`$ which contain $`0`$ and form a basis for the local topology at $`0`$. This implies that $`V`$ satisfies the first axiom of countability at all of its points, since one can translate the sequence of open sets around $`0`$ to any point in $`V`$. In other words, if $`_0`$ is a local basis for the topology of $`V`$ at $`0`$, then

(2.32)
$$_v=\{v+U:U_0\}$$

is a local basis for the topology of $`V`$ at $`vV`$. If the topology on $`V`$ can be defined by a norm, or if $`V`$ has a nonempty bounded open subset, or if the topology on $`V`$ can be defined by an at most countable family of seminorms, then $`V`$ satisfies the first axiom of countability.

A basic result states that when $`V`$ is a topological vector space which satisfies the first axiom of countability, there is a metric on $`V`$, which is in fact invariant under translations, such that the topology determined by the metric is the same as the one on $`V`$ already. In general this metric may not come from a norm, or something like that, however. I like to not take this route, unless there is a nice metric with some nice features, or something along those lines, but instead pretty much do the same things directly, in terms of the objects available, which may have quite nice properties. Of course if there is a nice metric around, translation-invariant in particular, say, then one would like to do things in a way which is compatible with the metric.

As a basic instance of this, let us say that a sequence $`\{z_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ in $`V`$ is a *Cauchy sequence* if for each open subset $`U`$ of $`V`$ such that $`0U`$ there is a positive integer $`N`$ such that

(2.33)
$$z_jz_lU\text{ for all }j,lN.$$

This definition makes sense in any topological vector space, but behaves better when something like the first axiom of countability holds. Observe that if $`\{z_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to some point in $`V`$, then $`\{z_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a Cauchy sequence. Note that if $`V`$ is equipped with a translation-invariant metric which defines the topology on $`V`$, then this notion of a Cauchy sequence and the usual one defined using the metric are equivalent.

A topological vector space which satisfies the first axiom of countability and in which every Cauchy sequence converges is said to be *complete*. A normed vector space which is complete is called a *Banach space*. A vector space equipped with a countable family of seminorms yielding a complete topological vector space is called a *Fréchet space*.

Let $`V`$ be a topological vector space which satisfies the first axiom of countability at $`0`$, and let $`_0`$ be a countable collection of open subsets of $`V`$ which contain $`0`$ and form a local basis for the topology at $`0`$. Suppose that $`V`$ is separable as a topological space, so that there is a countable dense subset $`E`$ of $`V`$. Consider the countable family of open subsets of $`V`$ given by

(2.34)
$$\{x+U:xE,U_0\}.$$

Let us show that this family is a basis for the topology of $`V`$, and hence that $`V`$ satisfies the second axiom of countability.

Let $`y`$ be any point in $`V`$ and let $`W`$ be an open subset of $`V`$ such that $`yW`$. We would like to find an $`xE`$ and a $`U_0`$ such that

(2.35)
$$yx+U,x+UW.$$

Since $`y+W`$ is an open subset of $`V`$ which contains $`0`$, there is a $`U_0`$ so that $`U+Uy+W`$, which is to say that $`y+U+UW`$. Since $`y+U`$ is a nonempty open subset of $`V`$, there is an $`xE`$ such that $`xy+U`$. Hence

(2.36)
$$x+Uy+U+UW,$$

as desired.

### 2.5 Continuous linear mappings

Let $`V_1`$, $`V_2`$ be topological vector spaces, both real or both complex. Since $`V_1`$, $`V_2`$ are vector spaces, it makes sense to talk about linear mappings from $`V_1`$ to $`V_2`$, and since $`V_1`$, $`V_2`$ are topological spaces it makes sense to talk about continuous mappings from $`V_1`$ to $`V_2`$. We can also talk about continuous linear mappings, which we shall consider now.

Suppose that $`f`$ is a linear mapping from $`V_1`$ to $`V_2`$. To say that $`f`$ is continuous at $`0`$ in $`V_1`$ means that for every open subset $`W`$ of $`V_2`$ which contains $`0`$ there is an open subset $`U`$ of $`V_1`$ which contains $`0`$ such that

(2.37)
$$f(U)W.$$

It is easy to see that this implies that $`f`$ is continuous everywhere on $`V_1`$, because of linearity.

For any mapping $`h`$ from $`V_1`$ to $`V_2`$, we can define uniform continuity to mean that for every open subset $`W`$ of $`V_2`$ such that $`0W`$ there is an open subset $`U`$ of $`V_1`$ such that $`0U`$ and

(2.38)
$$h(x)h(y)W\text{ for all }x,yV_1\text{ with }xyU.$$

This is analogous to the notion of uniform continuity for mappings between metric spaces, and if $`V_1`$, $`V_2`$ are equipped with translation-invariant metrics which define their topologies, then the two notions of uniform continuity are equivalent. A continuous linear mapping from $`V_1`$ to $`V_2`$ is automatically uniformly continuous. Just as for continuous mappings, notice that sums and scalar multiples of uniformly continuous mappings are uniformly continuous.

The vector space of continuous linear mappings from $`V_1`$ to $`V_2`$ is denoted $`𝒞(V_1,V_2)`$. For a single topological vector space $`V`$ we may write $`𝒞(V)`$ instead of $`𝒞(V,V)`$. Note that if $`V_1`$, $`V_2`$, $`V_3`$ are topological vector spaces, all real or all complex, and if $`f_1`$ is a continuous linear mapping from $`V_1`$ to $`V_2`$ and $`f_2`$ is a continuous linear mapping from $`V_2`$ to $`V_3`$, then the composition $`f_2f_1`$ is a continuous linear mapping from $`V_1`$ to $`V_3`$. In particular, for a single topological vector space, composition of elements of $`𝒞(V)`$ again lie in $`𝒞(V)`$.

If $`V`$ is a topological vector space, then the *continuous dual* of $`V`$ is denoted $`V^{}`$ and defined to be $`𝒞(V,𝐑)`$ when $`V`$ is a real vector space and to be $`𝒞(V,𝐂)`$ when $`V`$ is a complex vector space. Thus $`V^{}`$ is a real vector space when $`V`$ is a real vector space and $`V^{}`$ is a complex vector space when $`V`$ is a complex vector space.

Let $`V_1`$, $`V_2`$ be topological vector spaces again, both real or both complex. A linear mapping $`f`$ from $`V_1`$ to $`V_2`$ is said to be *bounded* if for every bounded subset $`E`$ of $`V_1`$ we have that $`f(E)`$ is a bounded subset of $`V_2`$. It is easy to see that continuous linear mappings are bounded.

The space of bounded linear mappings from $`V_1`$ to $`V_2`$ is denoted $`(V_1,V_2)`$. As before, for a single topological vector space $`V`$ we may write $`(V)`$ rather than $`(V,V)`$. Notice that sums and scalar multiples of bounded linear mappings from $`V_1`$ to $`V_2`$ are again bounded, so that $`(V_1,V_2)`$ is a vector space in a natural way. Since continuous linear mappings are bounded, $`𝒞(V_1,V_2)`$ is a linear subspace of $`(V_1,V_2)`$.

If $`V_1`$, $`V_2`$, $`V_3`$ are topological vector spaces, all real or all complex, and if $`f_1`$ is a bounded linear mapping from $`V_1`$ to $`V_2`$ and $`f_2`$ is a bounded linear mapping from $`V_2`$ to $`V_3`$, then the composition $`f_2f_1`$ is a bounded linear mapping from $`V_1`$ to $`V_3`$. This is easy to see from the definitions. In particular, for a single topological vector space $`V`$, compositions of elements of $`(V)`$ are again elements of $`(V)`$.

If $`V`$ is a topological vector space, then the *bounded dual* is denoted $`V^b`$ and defined to be $`(V,𝐑)`$ when $`V`$ is a real vector space and to be $`(V,𝐂)`$ when $`V`$ is a complex vector space. Thus $`V^b`$ is a real vector space when $`V`$ is a real vector spave and $`V^b`$ is a complex vector space when $`V`$ is a complex vector space. In both cases the continuous dual $`V^{}`$ is a linear subspace of the bounded dual $`V^b`$.

If $`V_1`$, $`V_2`$ are topological vector spaces, both real or both complex, and if $`V_1`$ contains a nonempty bounded open subset, then it is easy to check that

(2.39)
$$(V_1,V_2)=𝒞(V_1,V_2).$$

In particular, this holds when $`V_1`$ is a normed vector space. If both $`V_1`$, $`V_2`$ are normed vector spaces, with norms $`N_1`$, $`N_2`$, then the condition of boundedness for a linear mapping $`f`$ from $`V_1`$ to $`V_2`$ can be expressed succinctly by the statement that there is a nonnegative real number $`C`$ such that

(2.40)
$$N_2(f(v))CN_1(v)$$

for all $`vV_1`$.

Suppose that $`V_1`$, $`V_2`$, and $`V_3`$ are vector spaces, all real or all complex, equipped with norms $`N_1`$, $`N_2`$, $`N_3`$, respectively. Let $`f_1`$ be a bounded linear mapping from $`V_1`$ to $`V_2`$, and define the corresponding operator norm of $`f_1`$ by

(2.41)
$$f_1_{op,12}=sup\{N_2(f_1(v)):vV_1,N_1(v)1\}.$$

It is not difficult to show that this does define a norm on the vector space $`(V_1,V_2)`$. Let $`f_2`$ be a bounded linear mapping from $`V_2`$ to $`V_3`$, and define the corresponding operator norm $`f_2_{op,23}`$ analogously. The operator norm $`_{op,13}`$ for bounded linear mappings from $`V_1`$ to $`V_3`$ can be defined in the same way, and one can check that

(2.42)
$$f_2f_1_{op,13}f_1_{op,12}f_2_{op,23}.$$

If $`V_1`$, $`V_2`$ are vector spaces, both real or both complex, equipped with norms $`N_1`$, $`N_2`$, and if $`V_2`$ is complete with respect to this norm, which is to say that it is a Banach space, then $`(V_1,V_2)`$, equipped with the operator norm described in the previous paragraph is also complete, and hence defines a Banach space. For if $`\{T_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a Cauchy sequence of bounded linear mappings from $`V_1`$ to $`V_2`$, then $`\{T_j(v)\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a Cauchy sequence of elements of $`V_2`$ for each $`vV_1`$, and hence converges in $`V_2`$. If we denote the limit as $`T(v)`$, then one can check that $`T(v)`$ is a bounded linear mapping from $`V_1`$ to $`V_2`$, and that $`\{T_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to $`T`$ with respect to the operator norm.

What about analogous topologies on $`(V_1,V_2)`$, $`𝒞(V_1,V_2)`$ for topological vector spaces $`V_1`$, $`V_2`$, both real or both complex, more generally? This can be a somewhat tricky issue, and so we only mention a few basic points.

If there is a nonempty bounded open subset of $`V_1`$, then $`(V_1,V_2)=𝒞(V_1,V_2)`$, and one can follow similar ideas as for the case of normed vector spaces. Namely, the operator norm topology in the case of normed vector spaces basically looks at the size of a bounded linear operator on, say, the unit ball in the domain $`V_1`$, which then limits the size on all of $`V_1`$ by linearity. If $`V_1`$ has a nonempty open subset $`U`$, which we may as well assume contains $`0`$, then we can look at the size of a bounded linear operator $`T`$ from $`V_1`$ to $`V_2`$ in terms of the size of $`T`$ on $`U`$, noting that $`T(U)`$ will be a bounded subset of $`V_2`$. This is especially simple if $`V_2`$ also contains a nonempty bounded open subset $`W`$, which we may assume contains $`0`$, because we can then look at for which positive real numbers $`r`$ we have $`T(U)rW`$. In general, we can look at the size of $`T`$ in terms of which open subsets of $`V_2`$ contain $`T(U)`$, which dilations of them do, etc.

In general one can try to measure the size of a bounded linear operator $`T`$ from $`V_1`$ to $`V_2`$ in terms of the size of $`T`$ on bounded subsets of $`V_1`$. That is, if $`E`$ is a bounded subset of $`V_1`$ and $`W`$ is an open subset of $`V_2`$ which contains $`0`$, one can ask whether $`T(E)W`$, look at the set of $`r>0`$ such that $`T(E)rW`$, and so on. However, one may need to consider families of choices of $`E`$ and $`W`$.

## Chapter 3 Examples, 1

### 3.1 $`\mathrm{}^p`$ spaces, $`1p\mathrm{}`$, and $`c_0`$

If $`p`$ is a real number such that $`1p<\mathrm{}`$, define $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$, respectively, to be the space of sequences $`x=\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ with values in $`𝐑`$, $`𝐂`$, respectively, such that

(3.1)
$$\underset{j=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}|x_j|^p<\mathrm{}.$$

For $`x=\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ in $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$, we put

(3.2)
$$x_p=\left(\underset{j=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}|x_j|^p\right)^{1/p}.$$

When $`p=\mathrm{}`$, we define $`\mathrm{}^{\mathrm{}}(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^{\mathrm{}}(𝐂)`$, respectively, to be the space of sequences $`x=\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ with values in $`𝐑`$, $`𝐂`$, respectively, which are bounded, i.e., whose values are contained in a bounded set. In this case we set

(3.3)
$$x_{\mathrm{}}=sup\{|x_j|:j𝐙_+\}$$

for $`x=\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ in $`\mathrm{}^{\mathrm{}}(𝐑)`$ or $`\mathrm{}^{\mathrm{}}(𝐂)`$. When $`p=\mathrm{}`$ we can also consider the spaces $`c_0(𝐑)`$, $`c_0(𝐂)`$, respectively, of sequences $`x=\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ with values in $`𝐑`$, $`𝐂`$, respectively, such that

(3.4)
$$\underset{j\mathrm{}}{lim}x_j=0.$$

Such a sequence is bounded in particular, so that

(3.5)
$$c_0(𝐑)\mathrm{}^{\mathrm{}}(𝐑),c_0(𝐂)\mathrm{}^{\mathrm{}}(𝐂).$$

It is easy to see that $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$ are real and complex vector spaces for all $`p`$, $`1p\mathrm{}`$, and that $`c_0(𝐑)`$, $`c_0(𝐂)`$ are linear subspaces of $`\mathrm{}^{\mathrm{}}(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^{\mathrm{}}(𝐂)`$, respectively. Clearly $`x_p0`$ for all $`x`$ in $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$, with $`x_p=0`$ if and only if $`x=0`$, and

(3.6)
$$\alpha x_p=|\alpha |x_p$$

when $`\alpha `$ is a real or complex number and $`x`$ is an element of $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$ or $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$, respectively. When $`p=1`$ one can check directly from the definition that $`x_p`$ satisfies the triangle inequality, and hence defines a norm on $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$. One way to see this when $`1<p<\mathrm{}`$ is to check that the set of $`x`$ in $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$ or in $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$ such that $`x_p1`$ is a convex set. This is not difficult to do, using the fact that $`t^p`$ is a convex function on the set of nonnegative real numbers.

Thus $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$ are normed vector spaces for $`1p\mathrm{}`$. Also $`c_0(𝐑)`$, $`c_0(𝐂)`$ are normed vector spaces with respect to the norm $`x_{\mathrm{}}`$. One can show that if $`1pq<\mathrm{}`$, then

(3.7) $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)\mathrm{}^q(𝐑)c_0(𝐑)\mathrm{}^{\mathrm{}}(𝐑),`$
(3.8) $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)\mathrm{}^q(𝐂)c_0(𝐂)\mathrm{}^{\mathrm{}}(𝐂),`$
and

(3.9)
$$x_{\mathrm{}}x_qx_p$$

when $`x`$ is an element of $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$.

Notice that $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$ are complete, in the sense that every Cauchy sequence converges. Let us sketch the argument. Suppose that $`\{x(l)\}_{l=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a Cauchy sequence in one of these $`\mathrm{}^p`$ spaces, so that for each $`l`$, $`x(l)=\{x_j(l)\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is itself a sequence of real or complex numbers. Because of the way that the norm is defined, one can check that $`\{x_j(l)\}_{l=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a Cauchy sequence as a sequence of real or complex numbers for each positive integer $`j`$, and hence converges as a sequence of real or complex numbers to some $`x_j`$. Thus we get a sequence $`x=\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$, and one can show that this $`x`$ lies in the $`\mathrm{}^p`$ space and is the limit of the sequence $`\{x(l)\}_{l=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ in the $`\mathrm{}^p`$ space.

One can also show that $`c_0(𝐑)`$, $`c_0(𝐂)`$ are closed linear subspaces of $`\mathrm{}^{\mathrm{}}(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$, and hence are complete as topological vector spaces in their own right. This is not hard to do.

For the $`\mathrm{}^p`$ spaces when $`1p<\mathrm{}`$ and for the $`c_0`$ spaces, the linear subspaces consisting of sequences $`x=\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ such that $`x_j=0`$ for all but at most finitely many $`j`$ are dense. This is not the case for the $`\mathrm{}^{\mathrm{}}`$ spaces, for which the closure of this subspace is the corresponding $`c_0`$ space. As a result, the $`\mathrm{}^p`$ spaces for $`1p<\mathrm{}`$ and the $`c_0`$ spaces are separable, which is to say that they contain countable dense subsets, and therefore satisfy the second axiom of countability.

The inclusions (3.7), (3.8) can be viewed as bounded linear mappings between the $`\mathrm{}^p`$ and $`c_0`$ spaces. Another natural class of bounded linear mappings from the $`\mathrm{}^p`$ or $`c_0`$ spaces into the same space again are given by multiplication by a bounded sequence. One can also map $`\mathrm{}^{\mathrm{}}`$ and $`c_0`$ spaces into $`\mathrm{}^p`$ spaces by multiplication by a sequence in $`\mathrm{}^p`$, to get a bounded linear mapping. Next we describe a class of bounded linear mappings from $`\mathrm{}^p`$ spaces to other $`\mathrm{}^r`$ spaces, using Hölder’s inequality, which we review first.

Suppose that $`p_0`$, $`q_0`$ are real numbers such that $`1<p_0,q_0<\mathrm{}`$ and

(3.10)
$$\frac{1}{p_0}+\frac{1}{q_0}=1.$$

Let $`\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$, $`\{y_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ be sequences of nonnegative real numbers such that

(3.11)
$$\underset{j=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}x_j^{p_0},\underset{j=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}y_j^{q_0}<\mathrm{}.$$

Hölder’s inequality states that

(3.12)
$$\underset{j=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}x_jy_j\left(\underset{k=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}x_k^{p_0}\right)^{1/p_0}\left(\underset{l=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}y_l^{q_0}\right)^{1/q_0},$$

and in particular that the sum on the left converges.

To see this, one can start with the inequality

(3.13)
$$ab\frac{a^{p_0}}{p_0}+\frac{b^{q_0}}{q_0}$$

for nonnegative real numbers. We leave this inequality as an exercise. As a consequence,

(3.14)
$$\underset{j=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}x_jy_j\frac{1}{p_0}\underset{k=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}x_k^{p_0}+\frac{1}{q_0}\underset{l=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}y_l^{q_0}.$$

One can derive Hölder’s inequality from this using homogeneity considerations, which is to say by multiplying the $`x_j`$’s and $`y_l`$’s by positive real numbers.

As a consequence of Hölder’s inequality, if $`p`$, $`q`$, and $`r`$ are positive real numbers such that

(3.15)
$$\frac{1}{r}=\frac{1}{p}+\frac{1}{q},$$

and if $`\{u_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$, $`\{w_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ are sequences of nonnegative real numbers such that

(3.16)
$$\underset{j=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}u_j^p,\underset{j=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}w_j^q<\mathrm{},$$

then

(3.17)
$$\left(\underset{j=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}(u_jw_j)^r\right)^{1/r}\left(\underset{k=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}u_j^p\right)^{1/p}\left(\underset{l=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}w_j^q\right)^{1/q},$$

and in particular the sum on the left converges. This leads to bounded linear mappings from $`\mathrm{}^p`$ to $`\mathrm{}^r`$ by multiplication by sequences in $`\mathrm{}^q`$ when $`p`$, $`q`$, and $`r`$ are as above and $`r1`$.

Let us mention two other types of bounded linear operators on the $`\mathrm{}^p`$ and $`c_0`$ spaces, namely, backward and forward shift operators. If $`\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a sequence of real or complex numbers, then the backward shift operator sends this sequence to $`\{x_{j+1}\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$, which has the effect of dropping the first term. On each $`\mathrm{}^p`$ space, and on the $`c_0`$ spaces, this defines a bounded linear operator from the space onto the same space, with operator norm $`1`$, and with a $`1`$-dimensional kernel or nullspace consisting of the sequences $`\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ such that $`x_j=0`$ when $`j2`$. The forward shift operator takes a sequence $`\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ and sends it to the sequence with first term equal to $`0`$ and with $`j`$th term equal to $`x_{j1}`$ when $`j2`$. This defines a bounded linear operator on each $`\mathrm{}^p`$ space and on the $`c_0`$ spaces, which is an isometry, in the sense that the norm is preserved, and which maps the space onto the subspace of sequences whose first term is equal to $`0`$.

One can also consider doubly-infinite sequences $`\{x_j\}_{j=\mathrm{}}^{\mathrm{}}`$ of real and complex numbers, and the corresponding $`\mathrm{}^p`$ and $`c_0`$ Banach spaces. For these spaces we have the same kind of inclusions and multiplication operators as before. The backward and forward shift operators now define isometric linear mappings of these spaces onto themselves.

If $`V`$ is any topological vector space, one can define $`\mathrm{}^p(V)`$ in a natural way as a generalization of $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$. This is simplest when $`V`$ is equipped with a norm $`N`$. In this case we can define $`\mathrm{}^p(V)`$ to be the vector space of sequences $`\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ with terms in $`V`$ such that the sequence $`\{N(x_j)\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ of norms of the $`x_j`$’s lies in $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$. We can define the $`\mathrm{}^p(V)`$ norm of such a sequence to be the $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$ norm of $`\{N(x_j)\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$, and indeed one can check that this does define a norm on $`\mathrm{}^p(V)`$. Similarly, we can define $`c_0(V)`$ as a closed subspace of $`\mathrm{}^{\mathrm{}}(V)`$, consisting of the sequences $`\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ in $`V`$ such that $`\{N(x_j)\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ lies in $`c_0(𝐑)`$.

In general for a topological vector space $`V`$, we can take $`\mathrm{}^{\mathrm{}}(V)`$ to be the vector space of sequences $`\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ in $`V`$ which are bounded, in the sense that there is a bounded subset of $`V`$ which contains all the terms of the sequence. We can define $`c_0(V)`$ to be the space of sequences in $`V`$ which tend to $`0`$ in $`V`$, and $`\mathrm{}^p(V)`$ to be the space of sequences $`\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ such that for every open subset $`U`$ of $`V`$ which contains $`0`$ there is a sequence $`\{r_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ of positive real numbers in $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$ such that $`x_jr_jU`$ for all $`j`$. Alternatively one might define $`c_0(V)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(V)`$ to be the spaces of sequences $`\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ in $`V`$ which can be expressed as $`\{r_jv_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$, where $`\{r_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a sequence of positive real numbers in $`c_0(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, respectively, and $`\{v_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a bounded sequence in $`V`$.

### 3.2 $`\mathrm{}^p`$ spaces, $`0<p<1`$

Just as when $`p1`$, for a real number $`p`$ such that $`0<p<1`$, let us define $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$, respectively, to be the spaces of sequences $`x=\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ with values in $`𝐑`$, $`𝐂`$, respectively, such that

(3.18)
$$\underset{j=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}|x_j|^p<\mathrm{}.$$

When $`x=\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is an element of $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$ or $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$, we again set

(3.19)
$$x_p=\left(\underset{j=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}|x_j|^p\right)^{1/p}.$$

It is easy to see that $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$ are real and complex vector spaces, respectively, when $`0<p<1`$. Also $`x_p0`$ for all $`x`$ in $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$, $`x_p=0`$ if and only if $`x=0`$, and

(3.20)
$$\alpha x_p=|\alpha |x_p$$

for all real or complex numbers $`\alpha `$ and all $`x`$ in $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$ or $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$, respectively. It is not the case that $`x_p`$ is a norm on $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$ or $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$ when $`0<p<1`$, however, because the triangle inequality does not hold. There is a substitute for this, which is that

(3.21)
$$x+y_p^px_p^p+y_p^p$$

for $`x`$, $`y`$ in $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$ or in $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$, $`0<p1`$. One sometimes calls this the *$`p`$-triangle inequality*, and says that $`x_p`$ is a *$`p`$-norm*.

The $`p`$-triangle inequality implies that

(3.22)
$$xy_p^p$$

defines a metric on $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$, and it is not difficult to see that $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$ become topological vector spaces with respect to this topology. Analogous to the situation for a normed vector space, a subset $`E`$ of $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$ is bounded in the sense for topological vector spaces if and only if it is bounded in the sense for metric spaces, which is to say that the set of nonnegative real numbers

(3.23)
$$\{x_p:xE\}$$

is bounded from above. The open unit ball

(3.24)
$$\{x\mathrm{}^p(𝐑):x_p<1\}$$

in $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$ is a bounded open subset of $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$ which contains $`0`$, is starlike around $`0`$, and is symmetric, and the open unit ball

(3.25)
$$\{x\mathrm{}^p(𝐂):x_p<1\}$$

in $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$ is a bounded open subset of $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$ which contains $`0`$, is starlike around $`0`$, and is circular.

When $`0<p<1`$, one can check that the convex hull of the open unit ball in $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$ contains the set of real or complex sequences $`y=\{y_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$, respectively, such that $`y_j=0`$ for all but finitely many $`j`$ and

(3.26)
$$y_1=\underset{j=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}|y_j|<1.$$

As a result, the convex hull of the open unit ball in $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$ is not bounded. Thus $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$ are not locally convex when $`0<p<1`$, and in particular the topology on them does not come from a norm.

Let us mention that for $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$ there are natural *pseudoconvexity* properties of the unit ball, in terms of complex analysis. The function $`v_p`$ enjoys corresponding *plurisubharmonicity* properties rather than convexity. Compare with .

If $`0<pq1`$, then

(3.27)
$$\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)\mathrm{}^q(𝐑)\mathrm{}^1(𝐑)$$

and

(3.28)
$$\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)\mathrm{}^q(𝐂)\mathrm{}^1(𝐂),$$

and for $`x`$ in $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$, we have that

(3.29)
$$x_1x_qx_p.$$

Just as when $`p1`$, one can show that these $`\mathrm{}^p`$ spaces are complete. Also, the linear subspaces of the $`\mathrm{}^p`$ spaces consisting of sequences $`x=\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ such that $`x_j=0`$ for all but at most finitely many $`j`$’s are dense, and as a result the $`\mathrm{}^p`$ spaces are separable, and satisfy the second axiom of countability, when $`0<p<1`$.

The inclusions (3.27) and (3.28) can be interpreted again as defining bounded linear operators between the $`\mathrm{}^p`$ spaces. Just as before, one has mappings between $`\mathrm{}^p`$ spaces coming from multiplications. One also has backward and forward shift operators as before.

One can also consider $`\mathrm{}^p(V)`$ for topological vector spaces $`V`$, in essentially the same manner as when $`p1`$.

### 3.3 Continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$

Let $`n`$ be a positive integer, and let $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ denote the real and complex vector spaces of real and complex-valued continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$, respectively.

For each positive integer $`j`$, define $`N_j()`$ on $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ by

(3.30)
$$N_j(f)=sup\{|f(x)|:x𝐑^n,|x|j\}$$

when $`f`$ is a continuous real or complex-valued function on $`𝐑^n`$. It is easy to see that this defines a seminorm on $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, and that $`N_j(f)=0`$ for all $`j𝐙_+`$ if and only if $`f0`$ on $`𝐑^n`$. Thus $`N_j`$, $`j𝐙_+`$, determine topologies on $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, in such a way that they become real and complex locally-convex topological spaces.

If $`E`$ is a subset of $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$ or $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, then $`E`$ is bounded with respect to the topology on the corresponding vector space just defined if and only if for each $`j`$ the set of nonnegative real numbers

(3.31)
$$\{N_j(f):fE\}$$

is a bounded set of real numbers. Let us emphasize that the upper bounds for these sets are permitted to depend on $`j`$.

Using this description of the bounded subsets of $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, it follows that these topological vector spaces do not contain nonempty open subsets which are bounded. In particular, there is no single norm on $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$ or $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ which defines the same topology.

Let $`\{f_k\}_{k=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ be a sequence of functions in $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$ or $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, and let $`f`$ be another function in the same space. Then $`\{f_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to $`f`$ in the space if and only if

(3.32)
$$\underset{k\mathrm{}}{lim}sup\{|f_k(x)f(x)|:x𝐑^n,|x|j\}=0$$

for all positive integers $`j`$. This is the same as saying that $`\{f_k\}_{k=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to $`f`$ uniformly on every bounded subset of $`𝐑^n`$.

Now suppose that $`\{f_k\}_{k=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a sequence of functions in $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$ or $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ which is a Cauchy sequence. Explicitly, this means that for every $`ϵ>0`$ and every positive integer $`j`$ there is a positive integer $`L`$ such that

(3.33)
$$|f_k(x)f_l(x)|ϵ\text{when }x𝐑^n,|x|j,\text{ and }k,lL.$$

In particular, $`\{f_k(x)\}_{k=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a Cauchy sequence of real or complex numbers for each $`x𝐑^n`$, which therefore converges to a real or complex number, as appropriate, which we can denote $`f(x)`$. One can then show that $`f`$ is a continuous function on $`𝐑^n`$, and that $`\{f_k\}_{k=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to $`f`$ uniformly on bounded subsets of $`𝐑^n`$. Thus $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ are complete, so that they are in fact Fréchet spaces.

Let us write $`𝒫(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒫(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ for the vector spaces of real and complex-valued polynomials on $`𝐑^n`$, respectively. Thus,

(3.34)
$$𝒫(𝐑^n,𝐑)𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑),𝒫(𝐑^n,𝐂)𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂).$$

In fact, $`𝒫(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒫(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ are dense in $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, respectively. Indeed, if $`f`$ is a continuous function on $`𝐑^n`$, then for each positive integer $`j`$ there is a polynomial $`P_j`$ on $`𝐑^n`$ such that

(3.35)
$$|f(x)P_j(x)|\frac{1}{j}\text{for all }x𝐑^n,|x|j,$$

since continuous functions on compact subsets of $`𝐑^n`$ can be approximated uniformly by polynomials. Hence $`\{P_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to $`f`$ uniformly on bounded subsets of $`𝐑^n`$, which implies the above-mentioned denseness result.

Using this, one can show that $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ contain countable dense subsets, so that they are separable. This implies that they satisfy the second axiom of countability. This might seem a bit surprising, and one might say that these spaces and the topologies on them balance each other in a nice way.

If $`f(x)`$ is a real or complex-valued function on $`𝐑^n`$, then the support of $`f`$, denoted $`suppf`$, is defined to be the closure of the set of points $`x𝐑^n`$ such that $`f(x)0`$. Let us write $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ for the real and complex vector spaces of real and complex-valued continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$ with compact support. Of course

(3.36)
$$𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐑)𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑),𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐂)𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂).$$

For each positive integer $`l`$, let $`\varphi _l(x)`$ be a continuous real-valued function on $`𝐑^n`$ such that $`\varphi _l(x)=1`$ when $`|x|l`$, $`\varphi _l(x)=0`$ when $`|x|l+1`$, and $`0\varphi _l(x)1`$ for all $`x𝐑^n`$. If $`f`$ is a continuous real or complex-valued function on $`𝐑^n`$, then the sequence of products $`\{\varphi _lf\}_{l=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a sequence of continuous functions with compact support on $`𝐑^n`$ which converges to $`f`$ uniformly on every bounded subset of $`𝐑^n`$. Thus $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ are dense subspaces of $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, respectively, and this can be used to give an alternate approach to the separability of the latter spaces.

For each nonempty compact subset $`K`$ of $`𝐑^n`$, define $`𝒞(K,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(K,𝐂)`$ to be the real and complex vector spaces of real and complex-valued continuous functions on $`K`$, respectively. On these spaces we have the supremum norm $`f_{sup}`$ defined by

(3.37)
$$f_{sup}=sup\{|f(x)|:xK\}.$$

It is easy to see that the supremum norm does indeed define a norm on $`𝒞(K,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(K,𝐂)`$, and it is well known that $`𝒞(K,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(K,𝐂)`$ are complete with respect to the supremum norm, and therefore become Banach spaces. Of course convergence of a sequence of functions on $`K`$ in the supremum norm is the same as uniform convergence.

For each nonempty compact subset $`K`$ of $`𝐑^n`$ we get linear mappings

(3.38)
$$𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)𝒞(K,𝐑),𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)$$

defined by taking a continuous function $`f`$ on $`𝐑^n`$ and simply restricting it to a continuous function on $`K`$. There are well-known extension results which say that every continuous function on $`K`$ can be realized as the restriction to $`K`$ of a continuous function on $`𝐑^n`$, so that the mappings in (3.38) are surjections. In fact there are continuous linear extension operators

(3.39)
$$𝒞(K,𝐑)𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑),𝒞(K,𝐂)𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)$$

such that the compositions of these mappings with the restriction mappings are equal to the identity mapping on $`𝒞(K,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(K,𝐂)`$, respectively.

Let us be a bit more precise. Let $`K_1`$ be a compact subset of $`𝐑^n`$ such that $`K`$ is contained in the interior of $`K_1`$. The linear extension operators just mentioned can be chosen so that continuous functions on $`K`$ are extended to continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$ which are supported in $`K_1`$. This can be obtained as a by-product of standard constructions of the extension operator, or arranged afterwards simply by multiplying by a continuous function on $`𝐑^n`$ which is equal to $`1`$ on $`K`$ and has support contained in $`K_1`$. It is easy to have the extension operators also have norm equal to $`1`$ with respect to the supremum metric on the domain and range.

Notice that for each $`a𝐑^n`$ the translation operator

(3.40)
$$f(x)f(xa)$$

defines a continuous linear mapping from each of $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ to itself. More generally, if $`\rho `$ is a continuous mapping from $`𝐑^n`$ to itself, then

(3.41)
$$f(x)f(\rho (x))$$

defines a continuous linear mapping from each of $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ to itself. As another class of operators, if $`h(x)`$ is a continuous real or complex-valued function on $`𝐑^n`$, respectively, then

(3.42)
$$f(x)h(x)f(x)$$

defines a continuous linear mapping from $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ to itself, respectively.

One can also consider continuous functions with values in a topological vector space $`V`$.

### 3.4 Rapidly decreasing continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$

Let $`f(x)`$ be a real or complex-valued function on $`𝐑^n`$. We say that $`f(x)`$ is *rapidly decreasing* on $`𝐑^n`$ if for every positive integer $`j`$ there is a positive real number $`C(j)`$ such that

(3.43)
$$|f(x)|C(j)(|x|+1)^j\text{for all }x𝐑^n.$$

In other words, $`f(x)=O((|x|+1)^j)`$ for all positive integers $`j`$. The space of real-valued continuous rapidly decreasing functions on $`𝐑^n`$ is denoted $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, and the space of complex-valued rapidly decreasing continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$ is denoted $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$.

Clearly $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ are real and complex vector spaces, with respect to ordinary addition and scalar multiplication of functions. On each of these spaces and for each positive integer $`j`$ we can define the norm

(3.44)
$$M_j(f)=sup\{|f(x)|(|x|+1)^j:x𝐑^n\},$$

and this family of norms leads to a topology on each of $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ which makes these spaces locally convex topological vector spaces.

Let $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ be the real and complex vector spaces of real and complex-valued continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$, respectively, as in the previous section. Also, for each positive integer $`l`$, let $`\varphi _l(x)`$ be a continuous real-valued function on $`𝐑^n`$ such that $`\varphi _l(x)=1`$ when $`|x|l`$, $`\varphi _l(x)=0`$ when $`|x|l+1`$, and $`0\varphi _l(x)1`$ for all $`x𝐑^n`$, again as in the previous section. If $`f(x)`$ is a rapidly decreasing continuous function on $`𝐑^n`$, then one can check that the sequence of products $`\{\varphi _lf\}_{l=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to $`f`$ in $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$ or $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, as appropriate

Thus $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ are dense linear subspaces of $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, respectively. One can use this observation to show that the topological vector spaces $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ are separable. As a result, they satisfy the second axiom of countability.

Suppose that $`\{f_k\}_{k=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a sequence of real or complex-valued rapidly decreasing sequence of functions on $`𝐑^n`$ which is a Cauchy sequence with respect to the family of norms $`M_j`$, $`j𝐙_+`$. This means that for each $`ϵ>0`$ and each positive integer $`j`$ there is a positive integer $`L`$ such that

(3.45)
$$sup\{|f_k(x)f_l(x)|(|x|+1)^j:x𝐑^n\}ϵ\text{ for all }k,lL.$$

For each $`x𝐑^n`$, the sequence $`\{f_k(x)\}_{k=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ of real or complex numbers is then a Cauchy sequence as well, and hence converges. If we denote the limit $`f(x)`$, then one can show that $`f(x)`$ is a rapidly decreasing continuous function on $`𝐑^n`$ and that $`\{f_k\}_{k=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to $`f`$ with respect to the norms $`M_j`$ for each positive integer $`j`$. Thus $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ are complete, and hence are Fréchet spaces.

Let $`E`$ be a subset of $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$ or $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$. Then $`E`$ is bounded in the sense of bounded subsets of topological vector spaces if and only if for every positive integer $`j`$ the set of nonnegative real numbers

(3.46)
$$\{M_j(f):fE\}$$

is bounded from above. As a result, one can verify that nonempty open subsets of $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$ and $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ are not bounded.

The family of norms $`M_j`$, $`j𝐙_+`$, has a nice feature, which basically says that the property of boundedness for a subset of $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$. Namely, if $`\{f_k\}_{k=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a bounded sequence in $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$ or $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, so that $`\{M_j(f_k)\}_{k=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a bounded sequence of real numbers for each $`j`$, and if $`\{f_k\}_{k=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges uniformly on compact subsets of $`𝐑^n`$ to a real or complex-valued function $`f`$, as appropriate, then $`f`$ is rapidly decreasing and $`\{f_k\}_{k=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to $`f`$ in the topology of rapidly decreasing functions. In other words, if $`E`$ is a bounded subset of $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$ or $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, then the topology on $`E`$ inherited from the space of rapidly decreasing functions is the same as the topology on $`E`$ inherited from $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, as appropriate.

Let $`K`$ be a nonempty compact subset of $`𝐑^n`$, and consider the restriction mappings

(3.47)
$$𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)𝒞(K,𝐑),𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)𝒞(K,𝐂),$$

i.e., the linear mappings which take a rapidly-decreasing continuous function $`f`$ on $`𝐑^n`$ and restrict it to $`K`$. As in the previous section, $`𝒞(K,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(K,𝐂)`$ become normed vector spaces in a natural way by using the supremum metric. It is easy to see that the restriction mappings above are continuous mappings, and in fact they map $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ onto $`𝒞(K,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(K,𝐂)`$. As in the previous section again, there are even bounded linear extension operators from continuous functions on $`K`$ to continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$ with support contained in a compact subset $`K_1`$ of $`𝐑^n`$ such that $`K`$ is contained in the interior of $`K`$, so that the extension operator from functions on $`K`$ to functions on $`𝐑^n`$ composed with the restriction operator from functions on $`𝐑^n`$ to functions on $`K`$ is the identity operator on functions on $`K`$.

If $`h(x)`$ is a continuous real or complex-valued function of moderate growth, in the sense that there is a positive integer $`l`$ and a nonnegative real number $`C`$ such that

(3.48)
$$|h(x)|C(1+|x|)^l$$

for all $`x𝐑^n`$, then the multiplication operator

(3.49)
$$f(x)h(x)f(x)$$

defines a continuous linear mapping from $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ to itself, respectively. This is not hard to check from the definitions. If $`\varphi (x)`$ is a real or complex-valued continuous function on $`𝐑^n`$ with compact support, then the multiplication operator

(3.50)
$$f(x)\varphi (x)f(x)$$

defines a continuous linear mapping from $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ to $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, respectively. Of course the range of this mapping is contained in the space of real or complex-valued continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$, respectively, with support contained in the support of $`\varphi `$. Also, the obvious inclusions of $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ into $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, respectively, are continuous linear mappings.

If $`a𝐑^n`$, then the translation operator

(3.51)
$$f(x)f(xa)$$

defines a continuous linear operator on each of $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$. If $`A`$ is an invertible linear mapping of $`𝐑^n`$ onto itself, then the composition operator

(3.52)
$$f(x)f(A(x))$$

defines a continuous linear operator on each of $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$. Compositions with continuous mappings from $`𝐑^n`$ to $`𝐑^n`$ do not quite work in general, but they do work under reasonable conditions.

### 3.5 Normed and topological algebras

Let $`A`$ be a vector space. Suppose that in addition to the vector space operations there is another binary operation on $`A`$ which one can call a “product” which satisfies the usual associative law, the usual dsitributive laws with respect to addition on $`A`$, and the usual compatibility conditions with respect to scalar multiplication, so that scalar multiplication commutes with multiplication on $`A`$. Then we say that $`A`$ is an *algebra*. For instance, if $`V`$ is a vector space, then the vector space $`(V)`$ of linear mappings from $`V`$ into itself is an algebra, using composition of linear operators as multiplication.

Suppose in addition that $`A`$ is a topological vector space, and that the operation of multiplication is a continuous mapping from $`A`$ to $`A`$. Then $`A`$ is said to be a *topological algebra*. If the topology on $`A`$ is determined by a norm $``$, and if

(3.53)
$$abab$$

for all $`a,bA`$, i.e., the norm of a product is less than or equal to the product of the corresponding norms, then we say that $`A`$ is a *normed algebra*. This condition implies that multiplication is continuous on $`A`$.

A number of examples of these notions occur in this chapter. The algebra of bounded linear operators on a normed vector space is a normed algebra, with respect to the corresponding operator norm. Even if there is not a norm available, there are various ways in which algebras of bounded or continuous linear operators on a topological vector space can be topological algebras.

## Chapter 4 Examples, 2

If $`f(x)`$ is a real or complex-valued continuous function on a topological space, like $`𝐑^n`$, then the *support* of $`f`$, denoted $`suppf`$, is defined to be the closure of the set of $`x𝐑^n`$ such that $`f(x)0`$.

### 4.1 Continuous functions with compact support on $`𝐑^n`$

As before, we write $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ for the spaces of real and complex-valued continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$ with compact support, respectively. Let us also write $`𝒞_0(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_0(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ for the spaces of real and complex-valued continuous functions $`f(x)`$ on $`𝐑^n`$ which “vanish at infinity”, in the sense that for every $`ϵ>0`$ there is a compact subset $`K`$ of $`𝐑^n`$ such that

(4.1)
$$|f(x)|<ϵ\text{ for all }x𝐑^n\backslash K.$$

These are all clearly real and complex vector spaces with respect to the usual operations of addition and scalar multiplication of functions, and

(4.2)
$$𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐑)𝒞_0(𝐑^n,𝐑),𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐑)𝒞_0(𝐑^n,𝐂).$$

Functions in $`𝒞_0(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_0(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ are bounded in particular, and thus we may define their supremum norms as usual by

(4.3)
$$f_{sup}=sup\{|f(x)|:x𝐑^n\}.$$

The spaces $`𝒞_0(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_0(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ are complete with respect to the supremum norm. In other words, suppose that $`\{f_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a Cauchy sequence in one of these spaces, so that for every $`ϵ>0`$ there is a positive integer $`L`$ such that

(4.4)
$$f_jf_l_{sup}<ϵ\text{ for all }j,lL.$$

This implies that for each $`x𝐑^n`$ the sequence $`\{f_j(x)\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a Cauchy sequence of real or complex numbers, and hence converges. If we denote the limit $`f(x)`$, then one can show that $`f(x)`$ is continuous function on $`𝐑^n`$ which vanishes at infinity, and that $`\{f_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to $`f`$ uniformly on $`𝐑^n`$. Thus $`\{f_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to $`f`$ in $`𝒞_0(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$ or $`𝒞_0(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, as appropriate.

The linear subspaces $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ are dense in $`𝒞_0(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, respectively. To see this, for each positive integer $`j`$, choose a real-valued continuous function $`\varphi _j(x)`$ on $`𝐑^n`$ such that $`\varphi _j(x)=1`$ when $`|x|j`$, $`\varphi _j(x)=0`$ when $`|x|j+1`$, and $`0\varphi _j(x)1`$ for all $`x𝐑^n`$. If $`f(x)`$ is a function in $`𝒞_0(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$ or $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, then the sequence $`\{\varphi _jf\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to $`f`$ in the supremum norm, and of course $`\varphi _j(x)f(x)`$ is a continuous function on $`𝐑^n`$ with compact support for each $`j`$ too.

On the other hand, we can be interested in some kind of topological structure on $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ so that they are already complete, i.e., a “finer” topological structure. Here are three basic features of such a structure. First, a subset $`E`$ of $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ would be bounded if and only if there is a compact subset $`K`$ of $`𝐑^n`$ such that each function $`f`$ in $`E`$ has support contained in $`E`$, and the collection of supremum norms of functions $`f`$ in $`E`$ is a bounded set of real numbers. Second, a sequence of functions $`\{f_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ in $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ would be considered to converge to a function $`f`$ in the same space if there is a compact subset $`K`$ of $`𝐑^n`$ such that the support of each $`f_j`$ and o $`f`$ is contained in $`K`$, and if $`\{f_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to $`f`$ uniformly. Third, a sequence $`\{f_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ in $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ would be considered a Cauchy sequence if there is a compact subset $`K`$ of $`𝐑^n`$ such that the support of each $`f_j`$ is contained in $`K`$ and if $`\{f_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ satisfies the usual Cauchy sequence condition with respect to the supremum norm, in which case it follows that $`\{f_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges in the sense mentioned before.

In fact, the idea of bounded or continuous linear functionals on $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ behaves well and is quite interesting. Namely, a linear functional $`\lambda `$ on one of these spaces is considered to be bounded if for each compact subset $`K`$ of $`𝐑^n`$ there is a nonnegative real number $`C_K`$ such that

(4.5)
$$|\lambda (f)|C_Kf_{sup}$$

whenever $`f`$ is a continuous function with support in $`K`$. We consider $`\lambda `$ to be continuous if

(4.6)
$$\underset{j\mathrm{}}{lim}\lambda (f_j)=\lambda (f)$$

whenever $`\{f_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to $`f`$ in the sense described in the previous paragraph. This is equivalent to saying that for each compact subset $`K`$ of $`𝐑^n`$, $`\lambda `$ is continuous on the normed vector space of continuous functions with support contained in $`K`$ with respect to the supremum norm, and it is also equivalent to the boundedness condition above.

Suppose that $`\lambda `$ is a bounded linear functional on $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$ or $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$. For each nonempty compact subset $`K`$ of $`𝐑^n`$, define $`N_K(\lambda )`$ to be the supremum of $`|\lambda (f)|`$ over all real or complex-valued continuous functions $`f`$ on $`𝐑^n`$, as appropriate, with

(4.7)
$$suppfK\text{ and }f_{sup}1.$$

The boundedness of $`\lambda `$ implies that $`N_K(\lambda )`$ is finite for all compact subsets $`K`$ of $`𝐑^n`$. This gives a nice family of seminorms on the duals of $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, and in fact the countable family $`N_{\overline{B}(0,j)}`$, $`j𝐙_+`$ is sufficient, for defining topologies on the duals of $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$. It is not difficult to see that these dual spaces are complete, and hence are Fréchet spaces.

There is a natural way in which to define topologies on $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ so that they become locally convex topological vector spaces with the kind of properties described above. These are basic examples of *inductive limit spaces*. This is a bit tricky, and we shall not pursue this here.

### 4.2 Bounded continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$

Let $`𝒞_b(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_b(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ denote the real and complex vector spaces of real and complex-valued bounded continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$, respectively. Because the functions are assumed to be bounded, the supremum norm is defined on $`𝒞_b(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_b(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ as before, so that these spaces become normed vector spaces. Also, $`𝒞_b(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_b(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ are complete with respect to the supremum norm, so that they are Banach spaces.

Of course

(4.8)
$$𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐑)𝒞_0(𝐑^n,𝐑)𝒞_b(𝐑^n,𝐑)𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)$$

and

(4.9)
$$𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐂)𝒞_0(𝐑^n,𝐂)𝒞_b(𝐑^n,𝐂)𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂),$$

and these inclusions are all continuous. For each nonempty compact subset $`K`$ of $`𝐑^n`$, we also have the continuous linear mapping of restriction of continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$ to continuous functions on $`K`$, and we have mentioned before that for each compact subset $`K_1`$ of $`𝐑^n`$ such that $`K`$ is contained in the interior of $`K_1`$ there are continuous linear extension operators from continuous functions on $`K`$ to continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$ with support contained in $`K_1`$. Actually, we have also discussed rapidly decreasing continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$, which include continuous functions with compact support and which are included among continuous functions which tend to $`0`$ at infinity in $`𝐑^n`$, and in the next section we shall discuss continuous functions of polynomial growth, which include bounded continuous functions and are included in the space of continuous functions in general.

Let us consider another way to think about topology and so forth on the spaces of real and complex-valued bounded continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$. Let $`E`$ be a collection of such functions, and let us assume that $`E`$ is bounded in the usual sense, so that

(4.10)
$$\{f_{sup}:fE\}$$

is a bounded set of real numbers. On this set, let us use the topology from the space of continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$ in general, rather than the topology induced by the supremum norm.

Notice that $`𝒞_b(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_b(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ are dense subspaces of $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, respectively, and are not closed subspaces in particular. However, for each positive real number $`r`$, the collections

(4.11)
$$\{f𝒞_b(𝐑^n,𝐑):f_{sup}r\}$$

and

(4.12)
$$\{f𝒞_b(𝐑^n,𝐂):f_{sup}r\}$$

are closed subsets of $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, respectively. This is not difficult to verify.

Suppose that $`\lambda `$ is a linear functional on $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$ or $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ which is bounded with respect to the supremum norm. This means that there is a nonnegative real number $`L`$ such that

(4.13)
$$|\lambda (f)|Lf_{sup}$$

for all $`f`$ in $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$ or $`𝒞_{00}(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, as appropriate. This is equivalent to saying that $`\lambda `$ extends to a continuous linear functional on $`𝒞_0(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$ or $`𝒞_0(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, as appropriate.

Let us assume that $`L`$ is the smallest nonnegative real number for which the inequality above holds. This is the same as saying that $`L`$ is the supremum of $`|\lambda (f)|`$ for all real or complex-valued continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$, as appropriate, which have compact support and satisfy $`f_{sup}1`$. Thus, for each $`ϵ>0`$, there is a continuous function $`h_ϵ`$ on $`𝐑^n`$ with compact support $`K_ϵ`$ such that $`h_ϵ_{sup}1`$ and $`|\lambda (h_ϵ)|Lϵ`$.

Using these properties of $`h_ϵ`$ it follows that if $`f`$ is a continuous function on $`𝐑^n`$ such that $`f(x)=0`$ for all $`xK_ϵ`$ and $`f_{sup}1`$, then

(4.14)
$$|\lambda (f)|ϵ.$$

Indeed, if $`\alpha `$, $`\beta `$ are scalars such that

(4.15)
$$|\alpha |,|\beta |1,$$

then $`\alpha f+\beta h_ϵ`$ is a continuous function on $`𝐑^n`$ with compact support such that

(4.16)
$$\alpha f+\beta h_ϵ_{sup}1.$$

Hence

(4.17)
$$|\alpha \lambda (f)+\beta \lambda (h)|L,$$

and one can use this to bound $`|\lambda (f)|`$.

From here it is not too hard to show that for each positive real number $`r`$ the restriction of $`\lambda `$ to the collection of real or complex-valued continuous functions $`f`$ on $`𝐑^n`$ with compact support and $`f_{sup}r`$ is continuous with respect to the topology of $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$ or $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, as appropriate. This topology is less restrictive than the one associated to the supremum norm. In other words, this is a stronger continuity property than the one that was explicitly assumed at the beginning.

As a result, one can show that $`\lambda `$ extends to a linear functional on $`𝒞_b(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$ or $`𝒞_b(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ which is also continuous on each bounded subset with respect to the topology of $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, as appropriate. We still have that

(4.18)
$$|\lambda (f)|Lf_{sup}$$

for all bounded continuous functions $`f`$ now, i.e., with the same choice of $`L`$ as before. This extension of $`\lambda `$ to bounded continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$ is unique, basically because every bounded continuous function $`f`$ on $`𝐑^n`$ is the limit of a sequence $`\{f_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ of countinuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$ with compact support such that the supremum norms $`f_j_{sup}`$ are uniformly bounded and the convergence is uniform on bounded subsets of $`𝐑^n`$.

If $`f_1`$, $`f_2`$ are bounded continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$, then the product $`f_1f_2`$ is also a bounded continuous function on $`𝐑^n`$, and

(4.19)
$$f_1f_2_{sup}f_1_{sup}f_2_{sup}.$$

Thus $`𝒞_b(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_b(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ are normed algebras. The product operation also behaves well in terms of continuity with respect to the less restrictive topologies from $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$.

### 4.3 Continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$ of polynomial growth

Let us define $`𝒫𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒫𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ to be the real and complex vector spaces of real and complex-valued continuous functions $`f(x)`$ on $`𝐑^n`$, respectively, which have *polynomial growth*, which is to say that there is a nonnegative real number $`C`$ and a positive integer $`j`$ such that

(4.20)
$$|f(x)|C(1+|x|)^j$$

for all $`x𝐑^n`$. Instead of defining topologies on $`𝒫𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒫𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, let us make the conventions that a subset $`E`$ of one of these spaces is bounded if there are choices of $`C,j`$ so that each $`fE`$ satisfies the inequality above, a sequence $`\{f_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ in one of these spaces converges to a function $`f`$ in the same space if the sequence is contained in a bounded subset and the $`f_j`$’s converge to $`f`$ uniformly on compact subsets of $`𝐑^n`$, and that a sequence $`\{f_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ in one of these spaces is a Cauchy sequence if it is contained in a bounded subset of the space and it satisfies the usual Cauchy condition with respect to the supremum norm on any compact subset of $`𝐑^n`$. By standard reasoning each such Cauchy sequence converges uniformly on compact subsets of $`𝐑^n`$ to a continuous function on $`𝐑^n`$ of polynomial growth, so that each Cauchy sequence converges.

In other words, on each bounded subset of $`𝒫𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒫𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, we are using the same topology as for $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$. Notice that for each nonnegative real number $`C`$ and each positive integer $`j`$, the set of real or complex-valued continuous functions $`f(x)`$ on $`𝐑^n`$ such that $`|f(x)|`$ is bounded by $`C(1+|x|)^j`$ on $`𝐑^n`$ is a closed subset of $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$, respectively. Also, convergence of a sequence in such a set uniformly on compact subsets of $`𝐑^n`$ is equivalent to convergence with respect to the norm

(4.21)
$$sup\{|f(x)|(1+|x|)^{j+1}:x𝐑^n\}.$$

Sums and products of continuous functions of polynomial growth on $`𝐑^n`$ are continuous functions with polynomial growth, and these operations behave well in terms of bounded collections of functions and convergence of sequences of functions in the senses described above. One can also think of multiplication as defining binary operations

(4.22) $`𝒫𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)\times 𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$ $``$ $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐑),`$
(4.23) $`𝒫𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)\times 𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ $``$ $`𝒞(𝐑^n,𝐂),`$
and these operations behave well in terms of bounded sets and convergent sequences in these spaces too. Ordinary polynomials on $`𝐑^n`$ are continuous functions with polynomial growth, and standard considerations for them fit in a nice way with the spaces of general continuous functions of polynomial growth, e.g., a collection of polynomials is bounded in the sense discussed here if their degrees and coefficients are bounded.

### 4.4 More on spaces of sequences

Let $`1p,q\mathrm{}`$ be conjugate exponents, so that

(4.24)
$$\frac{1}{p}+\frac{1}{q}=1.$$

If $`w=\{w_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is an element of $`\mathrm{}^q(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^q(𝐂)`$, then

(4.25)
$$\lambda _w(x)=\underset{j=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}x_jw_j,x=\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}},$$

defines a bounded linear functional on $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$, respectively. This uses Hölder’s inequality to say that the sum converges, and also that

(4.26)
$$|\lambda _w(x)|w_qx_p.$$

We can turn this around a bit and say that for each $`w`$ in $`\mathrm{}^q(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^q(𝐂)`$, the linear functional $`\lambda _w`$ leads to a seminorm

(4.27)
$$|\lambda _w(x)|$$

on $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$, and that the family of these seminorms defines a topology on $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$, $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$ which gives the structure of a locally convex topological vector space. This topology is less restrictive than the one associated to the norm $`x_p`$. In the case of $`p=1`$, there is a variant of this where one only uses the family of seminorms corresponding to $`w`$ in $`c_0(𝐑)`$, $`c_0(𝐂)`$, respectively, and this version is nicer in several respects.

Let $`r`$ be a positive real number, and consider the subset of $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$ or $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$ consisting of $`x=\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ such that

(4.28)
$$x_pr.$$

Of course this is a convex set which is closed with respect to the topology associated to the norm $`x_p`$. One can also check that this set is closed with respect to the topology coming from linear functionals as in the previous paragraph, using either $`c_0`$ or $`\mathrm{}^{\mathrm{}}`$ when $`p=1`$.

Let $`E`$ be a dense subset of $`\mathrm{}^q(𝐑)`$ or $`\mathrm{}^q(𝐂)`$, as appropriate, or of $`c_0(𝐑)`$, $`c_0(𝐂)`$ when $`p=1`$. Actually, it is enough to choose $`E`$ so that its span is dense for the present purposes. When $`1q<\mathrm{}`$, or if one uses $`c_0`$ instead of $`\mathrm{}^{\mathrm{}}`$ when $`p=1`$ and $`q=\mathrm{}`$, one can take $`E`$ to be a countable set, which is a nice thing to do.

On the set of $`x=\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ in $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐑)`$ or $`\mathrm{}^p(𝐂)`$, as appropriate, such that $`x_pr`$, the topology that one gets from the seminorms $`|\lambda _w(y)|`$, $`wE`$, is the same as the topology that one gets from using the seminorms corresponding to all $`w`$ in $`\mathrm{}^q`$ or $`c_0`$, as appropriate. This is not too difficult to verify, and it would not work on the whole $`\mathrm{}^p`$ space instead of just this bounded part of it. This uses the fact that if $`w_1`$, $`w_2`$ are close in $`\mathrm{}^q`$ or $`c_0`$, then

(4.29)
$$\lambda _{w_1}\lambda _{w_2}=\lambda _{w_1w_2}$$

is uniformly small on this bounded subset of $`\mathrm{}^p`$.

Let us consider some other spaces of sequences, namely, $`r\mathrm{}(𝐑)`$, $`r\mathrm{}(𝐂)`$, consisting of sequences which decay rapidly, and $`p\mathrm{}(𝐑)`$, $`r\mathrm{}(𝐂)`$, consisting of sequences with polynomial growth. To be more precise, $`r\mathrm{}(𝐑)`$, $`r\mathrm{}(𝐂)`$ are the real and complex vector spaces of real and complex sequences $`x=\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$, respectively, such that for each positive integer $`k`$ there is a nonnegative real number $`C(k)`$ so that

(4.30)
$$|x_j|C(k)j^k$$

for all $`j𝐙_+`$. Also, $`p\mathrm{}(𝐑)`$, $`p\mathrm{}(𝐂)`$ are the real and complex vector spaces of real and complex sequences $`x=\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ for which there is a positive integer $`l`$ and a nonnegative real number $`C`$ such that

(4.31)
$$|x_j|Cj^k$$

for all $`j𝐙_+`$.

On $`r\mathrm{}(𝐑)`$, $`r\mathrm{}(𝐂)`$, we have for each positive integer $`k`$ the seminorm defined by

(4.32)
$$sup\{j^k|x_j|:j𝐙_k\},$$

and this family of seminorms defines topologies on $`r\mathrm{}(𝐑)`$, $`r\mathrm{}(𝐂)`$, so that they become locally convex topological vector spaces. A subset $`E`$ of $`r\mathrm{}(𝐑)`$, $`r\mathrm{}(𝐂)`$ is bounded if and only if for each positive integer $`k`$ there is a nonnegative real number $`C(k)`$ such that $`|x_j|C(k)j^k`$ for all $`xE`$ and $`j𝐙_+`$. As usual, one can check that $`r\mathrm{}(𝐑)`$, $`r\mathrm{}(𝐂)`$ are complete, so that they are actually Fréchet spaces.

In $`p\mathrm{}(𝐑)`$, $`p\mathrm{}(𝐂)`$, we can make the convention that a subset $`E`$ is bounded if and only if there is a positive integer $`l`$ and a nonnegative real number $`C`$ such that

(4.33)
$$|x_j|Cj^l$$

for all $`x=\{x_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ in $`E`$ and all $`j𝐙_+`$. We can make the convention that a sequence of elements of $`p\mathrm{}(𝐑)`$ or $`p\mathrm{}(𝐂)`$ converges to another element in the same space if the sequence is contained in a bounded subset as in the previous sentence and one has pointwise convergence. We can also make the convention that a sequence of elements of $`p\mathrm{}(𝐑)`$ or $`p\mathrm{}(𝐂)`$ is a Cauchy sequence when it is contained in a bounded set and one has Cauchy sequences pointwise, so that Cauchy sequences always converge in these spaces.

### 4.5 Weak topologies and bilinear forms

Let $`V`$ be a topological vector space, and let $`\lambda `$ be a linear functional on $`V`$. If $`\lambda `$ is continuous, then there is an open subset $`U`$ of $`V`$ such that $`0U`$ and

(4.34)
$$|\lambda (v)|<1$$

for all $`vU`$. The converse is also true, which is to say that if there is such an open subset $`U`$ of $`V`$, then $`\lambda `$ is continuous, as one can check using the linearity of $`\lambda `$.

Now suppose that $`V`$ is a vector space and that $``$ is a nonempty family of seminorms on $`V`$. In the topology on $`V`$ generated by $``$, the sets

(4.35)
$$\{vV:N(v)<r\},$$

where $`N`$ is a seminorm on $`V`$ in the family $``$ and $`r`$ is a positive real number, are open subsets of $`V`$, and in fact form a sub-basis for the topology of $`V`$ at $`0`$. In other words, if $`U`$ is an open subset of $`V`$ in this topology such that $`0U`$, then there are seminorms $`N_1,\mathrm{},N_l`$ in the family $``$ and positive real numbers $`r_1,\mathrm{},r_l`$ such that

(4.36)
$$_{i=1}^l\{vV:N_i(v)<r_i\}U.$$

Let $`\lambda `$ be a linear functional on $`V`$ again. It follows that $`\lambda `$ is continuous if and only if there are seminorms $`N_1,\mathrm{},N_l`$ in the family $``$ and positive real numbers $`r_1,\mathrm{},r_l`$ such that $`|\lambda (v)|<1`$ for all $`vV`$ such that $`N_i(v)<r_i`$, $`1il`$. This is equivalent to saying that there are seminorms $`N_1,\mathrm{},N_l`$ in the family $``$ and nonnegative real numbers $`C_1,\mathrm{},C_l`$ such that

(4.37)
$$|\lambda (v)|\mathrm{max}\{C_iN_i(v):1il\}$$

for all $`vV`$.

Assume now that $`V`$ and $`W`$ are vector spaces, both real or both complex, and that $`B(v,w)`$ is a bilinear form on $`V\times W`$. This means that $`B(v,w)`$ is a function from $`V\times W`$ to the real or complex numbers, whichever are being used as scalars, such that $`vB(v,w)`$ is a linear functional on $`V`$ for each $`wW`$ and $`wB(v,w)`$ is a linear functional on $`W`$ for each $`vV`$. Let us also assume that $`B(v,w)`$ satisfies the nondegeneracy property that for each $`vV`$ with $`v0`$ there is a $`wW`$ such that

(4.38)
$$B(v,w)0.$$

We can associate to $`B`$ the family $`(B)`$ of seminorms on $`V`$ given by $`|B(v,w)|`$, $`wW`$, and this defines a topology on $`V`$ which makes $`V`$ into a topological vector space. By construction, each linear functional on $`V`$ of the form $`B(v,w)`$ for some $`wW`$ is a continuous linear functional with respect to the topology just defined. Conversely, one can check that every continuous linear functional on $`V`$ with respect to this topology is of this form.

## Chapter 5 Examples, 3

### 5.1 Power series and spaces of sequences

In this section we use complex numbers as scalars. A *power series* is a series of the form

(5.1)
$$\underset{n=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}a_nz^n,$$

where the coefficients $`a_n`$ are complex numbers and $`z`$ is a complex variable. One can add power series, multiply them by complex numbers, or even multiply two power series to get another one.

A power series as above converges at some $`z_0`$ in $`𝐂`$ if the infinite series of scalars

(5.2)
$$\underset{n=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}a_nz_0^n$$

converges in the usual sense, and the power series converges absolutely at $`z_0`$ if this series converges absolutely in the usual sense, which is to say that

(5.3)
$$\underset{n=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}|a_n||z_0|^n$$

converges. A well-known fact states that a power series which converges for some $`z_0𝐂`$ converges absolutely for all $`z𝐂`$ such that $`|z|<|z_0|`$. It follows that there is a radius $`R`$, $`0R\mathrm{}`$, called the *radius of convergence* of the power series, such that the power series converges absolutely when $`|z|<R`$ and does not converge when $`|z|>R`$, with the behavior for $`|z|=R`$ depending on the situation.

Another basic fact is that on $`\{z𝐂:|z|<R\}`$, the partial sums of the power series converges uniformly on compact subsets, and hence the power series defines a continuous function $`f(z)`$ on this region. Moreover, $`f(z)`$ is holomorphic, which means that

(5.4)
$$f^{}(z)=\underset{h0}{lim}\frac{f(z+h)f(z)}{h}$$

exists for all $`z𝐂`$ with $`|z|<R`$. In fact, the formal power series for $`f^{}(z)`$, given by

(5.5)
$$\underset{n=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}nz^{n1},$$

has the same radius of convergence as the one for $`f(z)`$, and is equal to $`f^{}(z)`$ for $`z𝐂`$, $`|z|<R`$.

If $`0<t\mathrm{}`$, let us define $`𝒜_t`$ to be the complex vector space of power series $`_{n=0}^{\mathrm{}}a_nz^n`$ which converge for $`|z|<t`$, which is the same as saying that the radius of convergence is at least $`t`$. For each positive real number $`r<t`$ and power series $`_{n=0}^{\mathrm{}}a_n`$ in $`𝒜_r`$, consider the expression

(5.6)
$$sup\{|a_n|r^n:n0\}.$$

This is finite since $`_{n=0}^{\mathrm{}}a_nz^n`$ is assumed to converge when $`|z|=r`$, and conversely $`_{n=0}^{\mathrm{}}a_nz^n`$ converges for $`z𝐂`$ with $`|z|<t`$ when these quantities are finite for each $`r(0,t)`$.

The expression (5.6) defines a seminorm on $`𝒜_t`$ for each $`r(0,t)`$, and this family of seminorms determines a topology on $`𝒜_t`$ which makes it into a locally convex topological vector space. It suffices to consider $`r`$’s in an increasing sequence that tends to $`t`$, so that in fact one only needs a countable family of seminorms here. It is not difficult to verify that $`𝒜_t`$ is complete, so that it is actually a Fréchet space.

Every power series in $`𝒜_t`$ defines a holomorphic function on $`\{z𝐂:|z|<t\}`$, and basic results in complex analysis imply that every holomorphic function on this region can be represented by a power series. If $`f(z)`$ is a holomorphic function defined for $`z𝐂`$, $`|z|<t`$, and if $`s`$ is a positive real number with $`s<t`$, then one can consider the quantity

(5.7)
$$sup\{|f(z)|:z𝐂,|z|s\}.$$

This is another family of seminorms on holomorphic functions on the region $`\{z𝐂:|z|<t\}`$, and one can show that it is equivalent to the earlier family of seminorms, in the sense that they define the same topology on $`𝒜_t`$.

The product of two holomorphic functions on $`\{z𝐂:|z|<t\}`$ is also a holomorphic function on this region. At the level of power series, we have

(5.8)
$$\left(\underset{j=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}a_jz^j\right)\left(\underset{k=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}b_kz^k\right)=\underset{n=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}c_mz^m$$

with

(5.9)
$$c_m=\underset{l=0}{\overset{m}{}}a_lb_{ml},$$

and $`_{m=0}^{\mathrm{}}c_mz^m`$ converges when $`|z|<t`$ if $`_{j=0}^{\mathrm{}}a_jz^j`$, $`_{k=0}^{\mathrm{}}b_kz^k`$ converge when $`|z|<t`$. Multiplication is continuous on $`𝒜_t`$, so that $`𝒜_t`$ defines a topological algebra.

### 5.2 Absolutely convergent Fourier series

In this section we again restrict ourselves to complex numbers as scalars. Let us write $`𝒜𝒞`$ for the complex vector space of *absolutely convergent Fourier series*, by which we mean series of the form

(5.10)
$$\underset{n=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}a_nz^n,$$

where we think of $`z`$ as a variable taking values in the unit circle

(5.11)
$$𝐓=\{z𝐂:|z|=1\},$$

and where the series

(5.12)
$$\underset{n=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}|a_n|$$

converges. Thus (5.10) converges absolutely for each $`z𝐓`$, and the partial sums converge uniformly to a continuous function on $`𝐓`$.

On the unit circle the series (5.10) is equal to

(5.13)
$$\underset{n=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}a_n\overline{z}^n+\underset{n=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}a_nz^n,$$

where $`\overline{z}`$ denotes the complex conjugate of $`z`$. Under the assumption that $`_{n=\mathrm{}}^{\mathrm{}}|a_n|`$ converges, the series in (5.13) converge uniformly and absolutely on the closed unit disk, which is the set of $`z𝐂`$ such that $`|z|1`$. The sum defines a continuous function $`f(z)`$ on the closed unit disk which is smooth and harmonic in the interior, i.e., $`\mathrm{\Delta }f(z)=0`$ when $`|z|<1`$, where $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ is the Laplace operator $`^2/x^2+^2/y^2`$, $`z=x+yi`$.

On $`𝒜𝒞`$ we have a natural norm, namely, $`_{n=\mathrm{}}^{\mathrm{}}|a_n|`$. This is basically the same as $`\mathrm{}^1(𝐂)`$ as a normed vector space. In particular, $`𝒜𝒞`$ is complete with respect to this norm, and thus becomes a Banach space.

We can also multiply these series, i.e.,

(5.14)
$$\left(\underset{j=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}a_jz^j\right)\left(\underset{k=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}b_kz^k\right)=\underset{m=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}c_mz^m,$$

where

(5.15)
$$c_m=\underset{l=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}a_lb_{ml}.$$

Assuming that

(5.16)
$$\underset{j=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}|a_j|,\underset{k=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}|b_k|$$

converge, one can check that the series defining $`c_m`$ converges, and that

(5.17)
$$\underset{m=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}|c_m|\left(\underset{j=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}|a_j|\right)\left(\underset{k=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}|b_k|\right).$$

In other words, $`𝒜𝒞`$ is a normed algebra with respect to multiplication of series.

Multiplication of series in this way corresponds exactly to multiplying the functions on the unit circle defined by the series. This does not work for the extensions to the closed unit disk described above, although that is compatible with addition and scalar multiplication. Alternatively, under suitable conditions on the coefficients $`a_n`$, the series (5.10) can converge on an annular region around the unit circle, defining a holomorphic function on that region, and products of these “Laurent” series correspond to products of the holomorphic functions that they define.

### 5.3 Spaces of smooth functions

For each positive integer $`k`$, let $`𝒞^k(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞^k(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ denote the real and complex vector spaces of real and complex-valued functions $`f(x)`$ on $`𝐑^n`$, respectively, which are continuously differentiable of order $`k`$, i.e., which are continuous and for which the partial derivatives of $`f(x)`$ up to and including order $`k`$ exist at each point in $`𝐑^n`$ and are continuous functions. We also allow $`k=\mathrm{}`$ here, for the spaces of continuous functions for which partial derivatives of all orders exist and are continuous. For $`1k\mathrm{}`$ we write $`𝒞_{00}^k(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_{00}^k(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ for the vector spaces of continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$ with compact support which are continuously differentiable of order $`k`$.

By a *multi-index* we mean an $`n`$-tuple $`\alpha =(\alpha _1,\mathrm{},\alpha _n)`$ of nonnegative integers, and we write $`|\alpha |`$ for $`|\alpha _1|+\mathrm{}+|\alpha _n|`$. For each such multi-index $`\alpha `$, we have the corresponding partial derivative of order $`|\alpha |`$ defined by

(5.18)
$$^\alpha =\frac{^|\alpha |}{x_1^{\alpha _1}\mathrm{}x_n^{\alpha _n}}.$$

When $`|\alpha |=0`$ this is interpreted as being the identity operator, so that $`^\alpha f(x)=f(x)`$.

Suppose that $`1k\mathrm{}`$, $`l`$ is a positive integer, and $`\alpha `$ is a multi-index such that $`|\alpha |k`$. If $`f(x)`$ is a real or complex-valued function on $`𝐑^n`$ which is continuously differentiable of order $`k`$, consider the quantity

(5.19)
$$sup\{|^\alpha f(x)|:x𝐑^n,|x|l\}.$$

This defines a seminorm on $`𝒞^k(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞^k(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$.

With this family of seminorms, $`𝒞^k(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞^k(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ become topological vector spaces. As usual, it is not too difficult to show that these spaces are complete, so that they are in fact Fréchet spaces. Also, the product of two functions which are continuously differentiable of order $`k`$ is also continuously differentiable of order $`k`$, and these spaces are topological algebras with respect to ordinary multiplication.

The spaces $`𝒞_{00}^k(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_{00}^k(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ have natural topologies in which they are inductive limit spaces. Two main points are that bounded subsets of these spaces consist of functions with support contained in a fixed compact subset of $`𝐑^n`$, and that when one restricts to a subspace of functions with support contained in a fixed compact subset of $`𝐑^n`$, the topology is determined by seminorms as above, with $`l`$ chosen large enough so that the supports are contained in the closed ball in $`𝐑^n`$ with center $`0`$ and radius $`l`$. Continuous linear functionals on $`𝒞_{00}^{\mathrm{}}(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒞_{00}^{\mathrm{}}(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$ are often called *distributions* or *generalized functions*.

Now let us define the *Schwartz classes* $`𝒮(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒮(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ of rapidly decreasing smooth functions on $`𝐑^n`$. Namely, a real or complex-valued function $`f(x)`$ on $`𝐑^n`$ is in the Schwartz class if $`f(x)`$ is infinitely-differentiable and if for each multi-index $`\alpha `$ the function $`^\alpha f(x)`$ is rapidly decreasing on $`𝐑^n`$. This is equivalent to saying that for each pair of multi-indices $`\alpha `$, $`\beta `$, the function $`x^\beta ^\alpha f(x)`$ is bounded on $`𝐑^n`$, where

(5.20)
$$x^\beta =x_1^{\beta _1}\mathrm{}x_n^{\beta _n},$$

and this is interpreted as being equal to $`1`$ when $`|\beta |=0`$.

Thus we have a natural family of seminorms on the Schwartz classes, given by

(5.21)
$$sup\{|x^\beta ^\alpha f(x)|:x𝐑^n\},$$

where $`\alpha `$, $`\beta `$ run through all multi-indices. This family of seminorms define topologies on the Schwartz classes, so that they become locally convex topological vector spaces. One can check that these spaces are complete, and hence are Fréchet spaces.

It is easy to see that the product of two functions in $`𝒮(𝐑^n,𝐑)`$, $`𝒮(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ lies in the same space, and in fact that the Schwartz classes are topological algebras. This is not really the whole picture, since for instance the product of a function in the Schwartz class and a polynomial lies in the Schwartz class. Also, derivatives of functions in the Schwartz class lie in the Schwartz class.

Continuous linear functionals on the Schwartz classes are called *tempered distributions*. In the case of complex-valued functions, a key point about the Schwartz class is that the Fourier transform takes $`𝒮(𝐑^n,𝐂)`$ to itself. This leads to a nice theory of Fourier transforms of tempered distributions.

If $`\varphi (x)`$, $`f(x)`$ are functions on $`𝐑^n`$, then the *convolution* is denoted $`\varphi f(x)`$ and is basically defined by

(5.22)
$$\varphi f(x)=_{𝐑^n}\varphi (y)f(xy)𝑑y.$$

Depending on the circumstances, one should perhaps be careful about the integral. For instance, this makes sense if both $`\varphi `$, $`f`$ are continuous and one of them has compact support, or if one of them lies in the class of rapidly decreasing continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$ and the other lies in the class of continuous functions with polynomial growth.

More precisely, if $`\varphi `$ is a continuous function on $`𝐑^n`$ with compact support, then

(5.23)
$$f\varphi f$$

defines a continuous linear mapping from the vector space of continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$ to itself. One can take $`\varphi `$, $`f`$ to both be real-valued or complex-valued here. If both $`\varphi `$ and $`f`$ have compact support, then so does $`\varphi f`$.

Similarly, if $`\varphi `$, $`f`$ are rapidly decreasing continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$, then $`\varphi f`$ is also a rapidly decreasing continuous function on $`𝐑^n`$. If $`\varphi `$ is a rapidly-decreasing continuous function on $`𝐑^n`$ and $`f`$ is a bounded continuous function on $`𝐑^n`$, then $`\varphi f`$ is a bounded continuous function on $`𝐑^n`$. If $`\varphi `$ is a rapidly-decreasing continuous function on $`𝐑^n`$ and $`f`$ is a continuous function on $`𝐑^n`$ with polynomial growth, then $`\varphi f`$ is a continuous function on $`𝐑^n`$ with polynomial growth.

The operation of convolution is a nice commutative and associative operation, a kind of product. For instance, if $`\varphi _1`$, $`\varphi _2`$, $`\varphi _3`$ are rapidly-decreasing continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$, then

(5.24)
$$\varphi _1\varphi _2=\varphi _2\varphi _1$$

and

(5.25)
$$\varphi _1(\varphi _2\varphi _3)=(\varphi _1\varphi _2)\varphi _3.$$

The spaces of rapidly-decreasing real or complex-valued continuous functions on $`𝐑^n`$ are topological algebras with respect to convolution, as well as with respect to ordinary multiplication.

Convolutions also behave well in terms of differentiation, in the sense that

(5.26)
$$^{\alpha +\beta }(\varphi f)=(^\alpha \varphi )(^\beta f)$$

under suitable conditions on $`\varphi `$, $`f`$. For instance, this holds when $`\varphi `$ is continuously-differentiable of order $`l`$, $`f`$ is continuously-differentiable of order $`m`$, $`|\alpha |l`$, $`|\beta |m`$, and at least one of $`\varphi `$, $`f`$ has compact support. In particular, $`\varphi f`$ is continuously differentiable of order $`l+m`$ in this case.

### 5.4 Banach algebras

Let $`𝒜`$ be a real or complex normed algebra, with norm $`a`$, which is complete as a normed vector space. In this case we say that $`𝒜`$ is a *Banach algebra*. We shall make the standing assumption that $`𝒜`$ contains a nonzero multiplicative identity element, denoted $`1`$, with norm equal to the real number $`1`$.

A basic class of Banach algebras consists of the algebras of bounded linear operators on a Banach space. We shall discuss this case further in the next section. A basic class of commutative Banach algebras consists of the algebras of real or complex-valued continuous functions on compact Hausdorff topological spaces, using the supremum norm.

An element $`a`$ of $`𝒜`$ is said to be *invertible* if there is a $`b𝒜`$ such that

(5.27)
$$ba=ab=1.$$

Such an element $`b`$ is unique if it exists, and is denoted $`a^1`$. If $`a_1`$, $`a_2`$ are invertible elements of $`𝒜`$, then the product $`a_1a_2`$ is invertible, and

(5.28)
$$(a_1a_2)^1=a_2^1a_1^1.$$

A basic result about Banach algebras is that if $`a𝒜`$ and $`a<1`$, then $`1a`$ is an invertible element of $`𝒜`$. Indeed, we can use the usual formula

(5.29)
$$(1a)^1=\underset{j=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}a^j,$$

where $`a^0`$ is taken to be $`1`$. Because $`𝒜`$ is a Banach algebra,

(5.30)
$$a^ja^j,$$

and this implies that the series above converges when $`a<1`$, and that

(5.31)
$$(1a)^1\frac{1}{1a}.$$

More generally, if $`x`$ is an invertible element of $`𝒜`$, and if $`a`$ is an element of $`𝒜`$ such that

(5.32)
$$a<x^1^1,$$

then $`xa`$ is an invertible element of $`𝒜`$, and

(5.33)
$$(xa)^1\frac{x^1}{1x^1a}.$$

Indeed, $`xa=x(1x^1a)`$, which is then the product of two invertible elements of $`𝒜`$. Thus the group of invertible elements of $`𝒜`$, under multiplication, is an open subset of $`𝒜`$.

Let us restrict our attention for the rest of the section to the situation where complex numbers are used as scalars. If $`\lambda `$ is a complex number, then we can also view $`\lambda `$ as an element of $`𝒜`$, namely, as a multiple of the multiplicative identity element. As is well known, even if one starts with real scalars, often complex numbers are in the vicinity and play an important role anyway.

For each element $`a`$ of $`𝒜`$, the resolvent set associated to $`a`$ is the set of complex numbers $`\lambda `$ such that $`\lambda a`$ is invertible in $`𝒜`$. The spectrum of $`a`$ is the complement of this set in $`𝐂`$, which is to say the set of complex numbers $`\lambda `$ such that $`\lambda a`$ is not invertible. By the earlier remarks, the resolvent set is always an open subset of $`𝐂`$, and the spectrum is always a compact subset of $`𝐂`$.

A famous result states that the spectrum of $`a`$, $`a𝒜`$, always contains at least one element. The basic idea of the proof is that if the spectrum of $`a`$ were empty, then $`(\lambda a)^1`$ would define a holomorphic function on all of $`𝒞`$, with values in $`𝒜`$. Because we can analyze $`(\lambda a)^1`$ easily when $`|\lambda |`$ is large, we see that $`(\lambda a)^1`$ should in fact be bounded, and behave like $`1/\lambda `$ when $`\lambda `$ is large, while a bounded holomorphic function should be constant.

In any case, $`(\lambda a)^1`$ defines a holomorphic function on the resolvent of $`a`$ with values in $`𝒜`$. These expressions can be used to define $`f(a)`$ whenever $`f(z)`$ is a holomorphic complex-valued function defined on a neighborhood of the spectrum of $`a`$. Namely, one can use the Cauchy integral formula applied to a family of curves in the resolvent of $`a`$ which also lie in the domain of $`f`$ and surround the spectrum of $`a`$.

If $`n`$ is a positive integer and $`\lambda `$ is a complex number such that

(5.34)
$$|\lambda |^n>a^n,$$

then $`\lambda `$ lies in the resolvent set of $`a`$. When $`n=1`$ this follows from the remarks near the beginning of the section. In general, one first applies those remarks to obtain that $`\lambda ^na^n`$ is invertible, and then it follows that $`\lambda a`$ is invertible, since

(5.35)
$$\lambda ^na^n=(\lambda a)(\lambda ^{n1}+\lambda ^{n2}a+\mathrm{}+a^{n1}).$$

The spectral radius of $`a`$, $`a𝒜`$, is defined to be the maximum of $`|\lambda |`$, where $`\lambda `$ runs through the spectrum of $`a`$. Thus the spectral radius of $`a`$ is less than or equal to the norm of $`a`$, and in fact the spectral radius of $`a`$ is less than or equal to

(5.36)
$$a^n^{1/n}$$

for every positive integer $`n`$, by the remarks of the previous paragraph. A famous result states that the spectral radius of $`a`$ is equal to

(5.37)
$$\underset{n\mathrm{}}{lim}a^n^{1/n}.$$

To prove this one can again use complex analysis. Let $`\rho `$ denote the spectral radius of $`a`$, and let $`r`$ be any real number such that $`r>\rho `$. Consider the holomorphic function $`(\lambda a)^1`$ again, on the region $`\{z𝐂:|z|>\rho \}`$, and which we know also behaves well at the point at infinity.

For reasons of compactness and continuity, $`(\lambda a)^1`$ is bounded on the set of $`\lambda 𝐂`$ such that $`|\lambda |=r`$. Using complex analysis, we can express $`a^n`$ in terms of integrals of $`(\lambda a)^1`$ on the circle where $`|\lambda |=r`$. This leads to bounds for $`a^n`$ in terms of $`r^n`$, as desired.

A fundamental case occurs when $`M`$ is a compact Hausdorff topological space, and $`𝒜`$ is the Banach algebra of continuous complex-valued functions on $`M`$, using the supremum norm

(5.38)
$$f_{sup}=sup\{|f(x)|:xM\}.$$

It is easy to see that a complex number $`\lambda `$ lies in the spectrum of a complex-valued continuous function $`f`$ on $`M`$ if and only if $`\lambda `$ lies in the image of $`f`$. As a result, the spectral radius of $`f`$ is equal to the norm of $`f`$ in this situation.

Another very interesting case occurs when we consider the Banach algebra of complex-valued continuous functions $`f(z)`$ on the closed unit disk $`\{z𝐂:|z|1\}`$ which are holomorphic inside the unit disk. In other words, we assume that there is a power series

(5.39)
$$\underset{n=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}a_nz^n$$

which converges for every $`z𝐂`$ with $`|z|<1`$, and that the function $`f(z)`$ on the open unit disk that it defines extends to a continuous function on the closed unit disk. It follows from standard results that sums and products of such functions are again of the same type.

For the norm we use the supremum norm, and in fact by the maximum principle for holomorphic functions the supremum of $`|f(z)|`$ for such a function $`f`$ over the $`z𝐂`$ with $`|z|1`$ is the same as the supremum over the $`z𝐂`$ such that $`|z|=1`$. Also, the coefficients $`a_n`$ of the power series expansion of $`f`$ on the open unit disk can be given through well-known formulae as integrals of $`f`$ on the unit circle. In short, the functions on the closed unit disk in this algebra are determined by their restrictions to the unit circle, and we can think of this as a closed subalgebra of the algebra of complex-valued continuous functions on the unit circle.

In this case again the spectrum of a function $`f(z)`$ in the algebra is given by the image of $`f(z)`$ as a function on the closed unit disk. This is rather striking when we think of the algebra as a closed subalgebra of the complex-valued continuous functions on the unit circle. The spectral radius of a function in the algebra is equal to the norm of the function.

As a third example, let us consider the algebra $`𝒜𝒞`$ of series of the form

(5.40)
$$\underset{n=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}a_nz^n,$$

where we think of the variable $`z`$ as taking values in the unit circle

(5.41)
$$\{z𝐂:|z|=1\},$$

and where the coefficients $`a_n`$ are assumed to be absolutely summable, so that

(5.42)
$$\underset{n=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}|a_n|$$

converges. Basically our series is then the Fourier series of a continuous function on the unit circle, and the coefficients $`a_n`$ can be given in terms of integrals of the function on the circle. We define the norm in this case to be the sum of the moduli of the coefficients $`a_n`$, and this is automatically greater than or equal to the supremum norm of the corresponding function on the unit circle.

In general this norm is strictly larger than the supremum norm of the corresponding function $`f(z)`$ on the unit circle. Also, although one can define the Fourier coefficients $`a_n`$ of any continuous function $`f(z)`$ on the unit circle, in general they may not converge absolutely, as for elements of $`𝒜𝒞`$. However, under modest additional regularity assumptions on $`f(z)`$, one can show that the Fourier coefficients do converge absolutely, and that the Fourier series converges to $`f(z)`$ everywhere on the unit circle.

In this example it is a famous result that the spectrum of an element of $`𝒜𝒞`$ is equal to the image of the corresponding continuous function on the unit circle, and hence that the spectral radius is equal to the supremum norm of the function. In other words, when a continuous function on the unit circle which has an absolutely convergent Fourier series is invertible as a simply a continuous function, then the inverse also has absolutely convergent Fourier series. In this connection, let us note more broadly that for many regularity conditions for a function, if one has a continuous function which satisfies that regularity condition and which is invertible as a continuous function, then the inverse also satisfies the same regularity condition.

### 5.5 Bounded linear operators on Banach spaces

Let $`V`$ be a real or complex Banach space, with norm $`v`$. If $`T`$ is a bounded linear operator on $`V`$, then the operator norm of $`T`$ is denoted $`T_{op}`$ and defined by

(5.43)
$$T_{op}=sup\{T(v):vV,v1\}.$$

Of course the identity operator $`I`$ on $`V`$ is a bounded linear operator with norm equal to $`1`$.

Using composition of linear operators as multiplication, the bounded linear operators on $`V`$ becomes a Banach algebra. It is easy to see that the operator norm automatically satisfies the required conditions, and one has completeness for the space of bounded linear operators on $`V`$ because of completeness for $`V`$ itself. A bounded linear operator on $`V`$ is invertible as an element of this algebra if and only if it is invertible in the usual sense, as a linear operator on $`V`$, where the inverse is also bounded.

If $`T`$ is a bounded linear operator on $`V`$, then $`T`$ is invertible if and only if (i) the kernel of $`T`$, which is the linear subspace of $`V`$ consisting of vectors $`v`$ such that $`T(v)=0`$, is the trivial subspace $`\{0\}`$, (ii) there is a positive real number $`c`$ such that

(5.44)
$$T(v)cv$$

for all $`vV`$, and (iii) the image of $`T`$ is dense in $`V`$. Condition (i) is of course implied by (ii), but it is simpler and convenient to state separately. In some cases (iii) can be derived from (i), and we shall say more about this soon.

More precisely, under condition (ii) above, the image of $`T`$ is a closed linear subspace of $`V`$. Indeed, let $`\{w_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ be any sequence in the image of $`T`$ which converges to some $`wV`$. We can write $`w_j`$ as $`T(v_j)`$, where $`\{v_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a Cauchy sequence in $`V`$, because of condition (ii), and therefore $`\{v_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges to some $`vV`$, and $`w=T(v)`$, as desired.

Because the image of $`T`$ is a closed subspace of $`V`$ and is also dense, by condition (iii), we have that the image of $`T`$ maps $`V`$ onto $`V`$. Of course condition (i) states that $`T`$ is one-to-one, so that $`T`$ is invertible as a linear mapping of $`V`$ onto $`V`$. Condition (ii) implies that the inverse of $`T`$ is bounded, with norm less than or equal to $`c^1`$.

There is a general result in the theory of Banach spaces, called the open mapping theorem, which implies that a bounded linear mapping $`T`$ of $`V`$ onto $`V`$ with trivial kernel has bounded inverse. In the proof, one first uses the Baire category theorem to show that the image of the closed unit ball in $`V`$ under $`T`$ contains a neighborhood of the origin, and then one shows that in fact the image of the open unit ball in $`V`$ under $`T`$ contains a neighborhood of the origin. The first step does not give quantitative information, and for that matter the hypotheses are not very quantitative anyway.

One should not necessarily take this result too seriously, although it is interesting that the continuity of the inverse is connected to surjectivity in principle in this manner. In practice, one often derives an estimate anyway. It is not so easy to show that a mapping is surjective, and a common way to do this is to establish the appropriate bound and show that the image is dense.

Another general result, called the closed graph theorem, says that a linear mapping $`T`$ from the Banach space $`V`$ to itself is continuous if its graph, as a linear subspace of $`V\times V`$, is closed. To be more explicit, the graph of $`T`$ is closed if for every sequence $`\{v_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ in $`V`$ which converges to $`0`$ and has the property that $`\{T(v_j)\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ converges in $`V`$, we have that $`lim_j\mathrm{}T(v_j)=0`$. One can derive the closed graph theorem from the open mapping theorem, because the mapping $`(v,T(v))v`$ defines a continuous linear mapping from the graph of $`T`$ onto $`V`$, and the assumption that the graph of $`T`$ is closed implies that it is a Banach space, so that the inverse mapping $`v(v,T(v))`$ from $`V`$ to the graph of $`T`$ is then continuous too.

Again, one should not necessarily take this result too seriously, although it is interesting again that in principle the continuity of $`T`$ is implied by apparently quite mild conditions. Of course having $`T`$ be defined everywhere on the Banach space, and in some reasonable manner, is already a pretty strong condition. As before, in practice this is often because one derives an estimate anyway, on a dense subspace of $`V`$, and then extends the operator to all of $`V`$ by continuity.

Let us specialize for the moment to the case where $`V`$ is a *Hilbert space*. This means that there is an *inner product* $`v,w`$ on $`V`$ which determines the norm on $`V`$, and that $`V`$ is complete with respect to this norm. More precisely, the inner product $`v,w`$ is a function from $`V\times V`$ to the real or complex numbers, as appropriate, such that

(5.45)
$$vv,w$$

is a linear functional on $`V`$ for each $`vV`$, the symmetry condition

(5.46)
$$w,v=v,w$$

in the real case and

(5.47)
$$w,v=\overline{v,w}$$

in the complex case holds for all $`v,wV`$, and

(5.48)
$$v,v$$

is a nonnegative real number for all $`vV`$ which is equal to $`0`$ if and only if $`v=0`$.

When one has such an inner product $`v,w`$, one can define the associated norm on $`V`$ by

(5.49)
$$v=v,v^{1/2}.$$

As is well-known, one has the Cauchy–Schwarz inequality

(5.50)
$$|v,w|vw$$

for all $`v,wV`$. This inequality can be used to verify the triangle inequality for $`v`$, so that $`v`$ is indeed a norm.

Two elements $`v_1`$, $`v_2`$ of $`V`$ are said to be *orthogonal* if

(5.51)
$$v_1,v_2=0,$$

in which case we write $`v_1v_2`$. If $`v_1v_2`$, then

(5.52)
$$v_1+v_2^2=v_1^2+v_2^2.$$

For any two elements $`v_1`$, $`v_2`$ of $`V`$, whether or not they are orthogonal, we have the *parallelogram identity*

(5.53)
$$v_1+v_2^2+v_1v_2^2=2v_1^2+2v_2^2.$$

Let $`W`$ be a linear subspace of $`V`$. The *orthogonal complement* of $`W`$ in $`V`$ is denoted $`W^{}`$ and defined to be the set of $`zV`$ such that $`zw`$ for all $`wW`$. It is easy to see that $`W^{}`$ is automatically a closed subspace of $`W`$, and that

(5.54)
$$WW^{}=\{0\}.$$

Suppose that $`W`$ is a linear subspace of $`V`$, that $`v`$ is an element of $`V`$, and that $`w`$ is an element of $`W`$ such that $`vwW^{}`$. Such an element $`w`$ of $`W`$ is uniquely determined by $`v`$, since if $`w^{}W`$ also satisfies $`vw^{}W^{}`$, then $`ww^{}W`$ and $`ww^{}=(wv)+(vw^{})W^{}`$. Also, if $`u`$ is any element of $`W`$, then

$`vu^2=vu,vu`$
$`=vw,vw+wu,wu=vw^2+wu^2,`$
and hence $`w`$ is the unique element of $`W`$ whose distance to $`v`$ is as small as possible.

Conversely, suppose that $`W`$ is a closed linear subspace of $`V`$ and that $`v`$ is an element of $`V`$, and let us show that there is a $`wW`$ such that $`vw,u=0`$ for all $`uW`$. We do this by looking for an element of $`W`$ whose distance to $`v`$ is as small as possible. If

(5.56)
$$dist(v,W)=inf\{vz:zW\}$$

is equal to $`0`$, then $`vW`$, because $`W`$ is assumed to be closed, and we can simply take $`w=v`$.

For each positive integer $`j`$, choose $`w_jW`$ so that

(5.57)
$$vw_jdist(v,W)+\frac{1}{j}.$$

If $`j`$ and $`l`$ are positive integers, then the parallelogram identity applied to $`vw_j`$, $`vw_l`$ yields

(5.58)
$$2vw_jw_l^2+w_jw_l^2=2vw_j^2+2vw_l^2.$$

Because

(5.59)
$$2vw_jw_l=2v\frac{w_j+w_l}{2}2dist(v,W),$$

we get that

(5.60)
$$w_jw_l^24dist(v,W)\left(\frac{1}{j}+\frac{1}{l}\right)+\frac{2}{j^2}+\frac{2}{l^2}.$$

This shows that $`\{w_j\}_{j=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ is a Cauchy sequence in $`V`$. The assumption that $`V`$ is complete implies that this sequence converges to a point $`wW`$, since $`W`$ is supposed to be a closed subspace of $`V`$. Thus

(5.61)
$$vw=dist(v,W),$$

and it is not difficult to derive from this that $`vwW^{}`$.

Let us write $`P_W(v)`$ for the unique element $`w`$ of $`W`$ such that $`vwW^{}`$. It is easy to see that $`P_W`$ is a linear mapping from $`V`$ to $`W`$ such that $`P_W(w)=w`$ when $`wW`$, $`P_W(u)=0`$ when $`uW^{}`$, and

(5.62)
$$v^2=P_W(v)^2+vP_W(v)^2.$$

Thus $`P_W`$ is a bounded linear operator on $`V`$ with norm equal to $`1`$, except in the trivial case where $`W=\{0\}`$, when $`P_W`$ is the zero operator.

This operator $`P_W`$ is called the *orthogonal projection* of $`V`$ onto $`W`$. Notice that for all $`v_1,v_2V`$ we have that

(5.63)
$$P_W(v_1),v_2=P_W(v_1),P_W(v_2)=v_1,P_W(v_2).$$

Also, if $`W`$ is a closed linear subspace of $`V`$ which is not equal to $`V`$, it follows that there are nonzero elements of $`V`$ in $`W^{}`$.

In general a bounded linear operator $`A`$ on $`V`$ is said to be *self-adjoint* if

(5.64)
$$A(v),w=v,A(w)$$

for all $`v,wV`$. Observe that the sum of two self-adjoint bounded linear operators on a Hilbert space is also self-adjoint, and a real number times a self-adjoint operator is again self-adjoint. The restriction to real multiples is important when $`V`$ is a complex Hilbert space.

Suppose that $`A`$ is a self-adjoint bounded linear operator on $`V`$. If $`v`$ is any vector in $`V`$, then $`A(v)=0`$ if and only if

(5.65)
$$A(v),w=0$$

for every $`wV`$, and this holds if and only if

(5.66)
$$v,A(w)=0,$$

which is to say that $`v`$ is orthogonal to the image of $`A`$. Thus $`A`$ has trivial kernel if and only if the image of $`A`$ is dense in $`V`$.

Thus, a self-adjoint bounded linear operator $`A`$ on $`V`$ is invertible if and only if there is a positive real number $`c`$ such that

(5.67)
$$A(v)cv$$

for all $`vV`$. In particular a self-adjoint bounded linear operator $`A`$ is invertible if it satisfies the positivity condition that there is a positive real number $`\alpha `$ such that

(5.68)
$$A(v),v\alpha v^2$$

for all $`vV`$. Let us note that if $`B`$ is a self-adjoint bounded linear operator on $`V`$ which is invertible, then $`A=B^2`$ satisfies the kind of positivity condition just mentioned.

Now let us return to the setting of a general Banach space $`V`$. We would like to consider operators of the form $`T+A`$, where $`T`$ is a bounded linear operator on $`V`$ which is invertible and $`A`$ is a bounded linear operator which is in the closure of the space of finite-rank bounded linear operators on $`V`$, with respect to the operator norm. Recall that a linear mapping between vector spaces has *finite rank* if its image is finite-dimensional.

Here is a basic situation. Let $`V`$ be the space of real or complex-valued continuous functions on the unit interval, and suppose that $`a(x,y)`$ is a real or complex-valued continuous function on the unit square $`[0,1]\times [0,1]`$, as appropriate. One can show that the integral operator on $`V`$ defined by

(5.69)
$$A(f)(x)=_0^1a(x,y)f(y)𝑑y$$

is a bounded linear operator which can be approximated in the operator norm by bounded finite-rank linear operators on $`V`$, using the fact that $`a(x,y)`$ is uniformly continuous on $`[0,1]\times [0,1]`$.

If $`T`$ is a bounded linear operator on $`V`$ which is invertible and $`A`$ can be approximated in the operator norm by finite rank operators, then we can write $`T+A`$ as $`T_1+A_1`$, where $`T_1`$ is also a bounded linear operator on $`V`$ which is invertible, and $`A_1`$ is a bounded linear operator on $`V`$ with finite rank. That is, one can subtract a small part from $`A`$ and add it to $`T`$ to rewrite $`T+A`$ in this way. A basic fact about operators of this form is that they are invertible exactly when their kernels are trivial.

Assuming that $`V`$ is a complex Banach space, the spectrum of a bounded linear operator $`R`$ is defined to be the set of complex numbers $`\lambda `$ such that $`\lambda IR`$ is not invertible. If $`V`$ is a complex Hilbert space and $`R`$ is self-adjoint, then one can check that the spectrum of $`R`$ consists of real numbers. On a complex Banach space in general, if $`R`$ can be approximated in the operator norm by finite rank operators, then a nonzero complex number $`\lambda `$ lies in the spectrum of $`R`$ if and only if $`\lambda `$ is an eigenvalue of $`R`$, which is to say that there is a nonzero vector $`vV`$ such $`R(v)=\lambda v`$.

## Index

* absolute value of a complex number §1.1
* absolute value of a real number §1.1
* absolutely convergent Fourier series §5.2
* algebra §3.5
    + normed §3.5
    + topological §3.5
* Banach algebra §5.4
* Banach space §2.4
* basis for the topology of a topological space §1.4
* bounded dual of a topological vector space §2.5
* bounded linear mappings between topological vector spaces §2.5
* bounded subsets of topological vector spaces §2.3
* Cauchy sequence in a topological vector space §2.4
* Cauchy–Schwarz inequality §5.5
* circular subset of a complex vector space §1.2
* closed subset of a topological space §1.3
* closure of a subset of a topological space §1.3
* compact subsets of a topological space §1.5
* complete topological vector space satisfying the first axiom of countability §2.4
* complex conjugate of a complex number §1.1
* continuity at a point for a mapping between topological spaces §1.3
* continuous differentiability of order $`k`$ §5.3
* continuous dual of a topological vector space §2.5
* continuous linear functionals on a topological vector space §4.5, §4.5
* continuous linear mappings between topological vector spaces §2.5
* continuous mappings between topological spaces §1.3
* convergence of a sequence in a topological space §1.4
* convex function on a convex subset of a vector space §1.2
* convex hull of a subset of a vector space §1.2
* convex subset of a vector space §1.2
* convolution of functions on $`𝐑^n`$ §5.3
* countably compact subset of a topological space §1.5
* dense subset of a topological space §1.3
* direct sum of vector spaces §1.2
* distributions on $`𝐑^n`$ §5.3
* dual of a vector space §1.2
* family of subsets of a given set §1.3
* finite rank linear mappings between vector spaces §5.5
* first axiom of countability at a point in a topological space §1.4
* first axiom of countability for a topological space §1.4
* Fréchet space §2.4
* generalized functions on $`𝐑^n`$ §5.3
* greatest lower bound for a set of real numbers §1.1
* Hausdorff topological spaces §1.3
* Hilbert spaces §5.5
* homeomorphism from one topological space onto another §1.3
* inductive limit spaces §4.1
* infimum of a set of real numbers §1.1
* inner products §5.5
* integers §1.1
* interior of a subset of a topological space §1.3
* intervals of real numbers §1.1
* isomorphism between vector spaces §1.2
* least upper bound of a set of real numbers §1.1
* limit point of a subset of a topological space §1.3
* limit point property for a subset of a topological space §1.5
* linear functional on a vector space §1.2
* linear mappings between vector spaces §1.2
* linear subspace of a vector space §1.2
* local basis for the topology of a topological space at a point §1.4
* local sub-basis for the topology of a space at a point §1.4
* locally convex topological vector space §2.2
* lower bound for a set of real numbers §1.1
* metric on a set §1.3
* modulus of a complex number §1.1
* multi-indices §5.3
* normed algebra §3.5
* normed vector space §2.2
* norms on vector spaces §2.2
* open covering of a subset of a topological space §1.5
* open subsets of a topological space §1.3
* orthogonal complement of a linear subspace in a Hilbert space §5.5
* orthogonal elements in a Hilbert space §5.5
* orthogonal projection onto a subspace of Hilbert space §5.5
* parallelogram identity §5.5
* plurisubharmonicity §3.2
* polynomial growth of a real or complex-valued function on $`𝐑^n`$ §4.3
* power series §5.1
* pseudoconvexity §3.2
* radius of convergence of a power series §5.1
* rapidly decreasing functions on $`𝐑^n`$ §3.4
* real numbers §1.1
* Schwartz classes of rapidly decreasing smooth functions on $`𝐑^n`$ §5.3
* second axiom of countability for a topological space §1.4
* self-adjoint bounded linear operators on a Hilbert space §5.5
* semimetric on a set §1.3
* seminorms on vector spaces §2.2, §4.5
* separable topological space §1.4
* sequentially compact subset of a topological space §1.5
* starlike subset of a vector space around $`0`$ §1.2
* sub-basis for the topology of a space §1.4
* support of a real or complex-valued function Chapter 4
* supremum of a set of real numbers §1.1
* symmetric subset of a vector space §1.2
* tempered distributions on $`𝐑^n`$ §5.3
* topological algebra §3.5
* topological vector space §2.1
* topology on a set §1.3
* unit circle §5.2
* upper bound for a set of real numbers §1.1