Metric spaces

MaRDI QIDQ5691954zbMATH OpenFDO

Authors Satish Shirali, Harkrishan L. Vasudeva

Publication date 27 September 2005

analysis Arzelà-Ascoli theorem Baire's category theorem Banach's fixed-point theorem Cantor set Cauchy sequences compactness continuous functions convergence differential equations metric spaces pseudometric real and complex-valued functions Tietze extension theorem

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Introductory exposition (textbooks, tutorial papers, etc.) pertaining to general topology (54-01) Metric spaces, metrizability (54E35)

Review text

This book on metric spaces was written by authors whose main field is analysis. Therefore its focus lies on those parts of the theory of metric spaces which are mainly used in (functional) analysis. Its first Chapter 0 on Preliminaries consists of 11 sections (22 pages). It introduces sets, functions, relations, the axioms of the real number system (sections 0.1 to 0.3), and continues to recall some facts from calculus concerning sequences of real numbers, limits of functions, continuous functions, sequences of functions, compact sets in \(\mathbb{R}\), the derivative, and the Riemann integral (sections 0.4 to 0.8). Since the reader is assumed to have a thorough knowledge of calculus, almost all facts are mentioned without proof. The exception is a sketch of a proof of the Weierstrass approximation theorem. Section 0.9 contains a sketch of Cantor's construction of \(\mathbb{R}\) from \(\mathbb{Q}\). Based on it, the addition, multiplication and the order in \(\mathbb{R}\) are defined, and the completeness of \(\mathbb{R}\) is proved (sections 0.10 and 0.11). Chapter 1 on Basic Concepts (40 pages) starts with a section on inequalities (1.1). It contains proofs of Hölder's inequality (with the Cauchy-Schwarz-inequality as a special case), Minkowski's inequality and Minkowski's inequality for infinite sums. Metric spaces are introduced in section 1.2 on page 27. The concept is illustrated by 16 (standard) examples of metric spaces whose metric properties are proved in detail (e.g., the discrete metric, the Euclidean metric on \(\mathbb{R}^n\), the space \(l^\infty\), the spaces \(l^p\), the space \(C[a,b]\) of continuous real-valued functions, the extended complex plane). Pseudometric spaces are also introduced, and it is shown that the space consisting of all Riemann integrable functions on \([a,b]\) with the distance defined by \(d(f,g)=\int_a^b|f(x)-g(x)|dx\) is a pseudometric space which is not metric. Sections 1.3 and 1.4 are devoted to convergence in metric spaces and to Cauchy sequences. Again the concepts are illustrated in detail by the various examples introduced before. In section 1.5 the completion of a metric space is constructed. The final section 1.6 of this chapter consists of 17 exercises in which more examples of metric spaces are introduced. In Chapter 2 the Topology of a Metric Space is considered (38 pages). Open and closed sets are introduced in 2.1 and subspaces in 2.2. First countability, second countability, separability, and the Lindelöf property are treated in 2.3. Section 2.4 contains proofs of Baire's category theorem and some of its well-known applications in analysis (e.g., the existence of continuous functions which are nowhere differentiable). Again the final section 2.5 of this chapter consists of exercises. Chapter 3 is devoted to Continuity (52 pages). Continuous mappings between metric spaces are introduced in section 3.1 on page 103, and uniformly continuous mappings are considered in 3.4. Homeomorphisms, equivalent metrics, and isometries are briefly discussed in section 3.5. The other sections of this chapter witness that the main emphasis of this book is on applications in analysis. Section 3.3 is on real and complex-valued functions, 3.2 contains an elementary extension theorem, and section 3.6 on uniform convergence of sequences of functions culminates with a proof of the Tietze extension theorem for metric spaces. Section 3.7 contains Banach's fixed-point theorem and proofs of some of its well-known applications in analysis (e.g., the existence and uniqueness of solutions of systems of linear equations in \(\mathbb{C}\), and Picard's theorem on the existence of unique solutions of differential equations of the form \(\frac{dy}{dx}= f(x,y))\). Section 3.8 consists of 30 exercises with more applications to analysis. In sections 4.1 to 4.3 of Chapter 4 on Connected Spaces only basic facts concerning connectedness, local connectedness, and arcwise connectedness are mentioned (13 pages). Section 4.4 contains 8 exercises. Chapter 5 covers Compact spaces (30 pages). It contains some well-known characterizations of compactness in metric spaces (5.1 and 5.2) and a section on continuous functions on compact spaces (5.3). Locally compact metric spaces are briefly considered in section 5.4. But the main interest lies on compact sets in special metric spaces (5.5). This section contains a proof of the Arzelà-Ascoli theorem and a characterization of the totally bounded subsets of \(l^p\). In section 5.6, 25 exercises on compactness are provided, again mainly applications to analysis. The final Chapter 6 is on Product Spaces (17 pages). In 6.1 to 6.3 finite and infinite products of metric spaces are introduced, and in 6.4 the Cantor set is shown to be homeomorphic to \(2^\omega\). Section 6.5 contains 10 elementary exercises on products. Altogether this is an interesting book for those who will continue their studies in analysis. However, for those who are interested in topology it is not as well suited. In fact, except for the heading of chapter 2 the term topology is not mentioned at all.

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