Best proximity point theorems generalizing the contraction principle (Q640106)

Let \(A\) and \(B\) be non-void subsets of a metric space \((X,d)\) and \(d(A,B)= \text{inf}\{d(x,y): x\in A\) and \(y\in B\}\). An element \(x\in A\) is said to be a best proximity point of the mapping \(S: A\to B\) if \(d(x,Sx)= d(A,B)\). Given non-void closed subsets \(A\) and \(B\) of a complete metric space, a contraction non-self-mapping \(S: A\to B\) is improbable to have a fixed point. So, it is quite natural to seek an element \(x\) such that \(d(x,Sx)\) is minimal, which implies that \(x\) and \(Sx\) are in close proximity to each other. The fact that \(d(x,Sx)\) is at least \(d(A,B)\), best proximity point theorems guarantee the existence of an element \(x\) such that \(d(x,Sx)= d(A,B)\). The famous Banach contraction principle asserts that every contraction self-mapping on a complete metric space has a unique point. This article explores some interesting generalizations of the contraction principle to the case of non-self-mappings. The proposed extensions are presented as best proximity point theorems for non-self-proximal contractions.