Automorphisms of algebras of smooth functions and equivalent functions (Q417655)

Let \(C^{\infty}(X)\) denote the algebra of all real-valued smooth functions on a finite-dimensional, second-countable smooth manifold \(X\) with boundary. The author gives a short proof that the group of automorphisms of the function algebra \(C^{\infty}(X)\) is \textsl{reflexive} in the space of all linear maps of \(C^{\infty}(X)\) into itself. A more direct formulation of this surprising result is that a linear endomorphism \(T\) of the vector space \(C^{\infty}(X)\) is actually an automorphism \(S\) of the function algebra \(C^{\infty}(X)\) if for every function \(f \in C^{\infty}(X)\) the linear map \(T\) agrees with an automorphism \(S\) depending on the given function \(f\).