Darboux property of Gâteaux derivatives of functions on \({\mathbb R}^n\) (Q949880)

The paper starts with the proof of an unpublished result of D. Preiss that the graph of the derivative \(\nabla f\) of a continuous, Gâteaux differentiable function \(f:\mathbb{R}^2\to\mathbb{R}\) is a connected subset of \(\mathbb{R}^4\). This implies in particular that the range of \(\nabla f\) is a connected subset of \(\mathbb{R}\). Next, the authors show that the analogous result is not true in higher dimensions: they construct an example of a continuous, Gâteaux differentiable function \(\mathbb{R}^3\to\mathbb{R}\) for which the range of \(\nabla f\) is disconnected. In the last part of the article, the authors give an example of an approximately differentiable continuous function \(f:\mathbb{R}^2\to\mathbb{R}\) such that the range of its gradient mapping is disconnected. However, if the approximate derivative of \(f\) is locally bounded, then the function is locally Lipschitz, and consequently, for such functions, the range of the derivative is always connected.