Compactness of (0,1) when that is the whole metric space

In summary: Maybe one of the books I'm looking at is different?In summary, the book says that any closed bounded subset of E^n is compact, but it does not mention complete in the original condition.
  • #1
deckoff9
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Hello. In my analysis book, it says that "Any closed bounded subset of E^n is compact" where E is an arbitrary metric space. I looked over the proof and it used that fact that E^n was complete, but it does not say that in the original condition so I was wondering if the book made a mistake in not adding that.

For my counter example, consider the metric space (0,1), with the usual distance metric. The subset of itself is closed by definition, and it is bounded. However, it is not compact, since (1/n, 1-1/n) covers it as n→∞. Is there something wrong with my logic or did the book screw up by not mentioning complete in the conditional?
 
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  • #2
Your analysis book is wrong (or you misinterpreted it). Which book are you using? Can you quote the statement.

The only thing we can say that any closed and bounded subset of [itex]\mathbb{R}^n[/itex] is compact. It does NOT hold for arbitrary metric spaces!
Indeed, ]0,1[ is closed and bounded in itself but not compact!

In arbitrary metric spaces, we got the statement: any complete and totally bounded set is compact.
 
  • #3
Thanks for the quick answer micromass. Yeah that's what I thought. The book I'm using is Introduction to Analysis by Rosenlicht. The statement is exactly what I wrote, "Any closed bounded subset of E^n is compact." and the notation has been E is an arbitrary metric space.
 
  • #4
Then I guess you need to change the book. Rudin I believe wrote a good book on real analysis.
 
  • #5
deckoff9 said:
..."Any closed bounded subset of E^n is compact." and the notation has been E is an arbitrary metric space.

Are you sure about this notation? In my topology text, [itex] \mathbb{E} [/itex] denotes the real numbers with the topology induced by the Euclidean norm.
 
  • #6
deckoff9 said:
Hello. In my analysis book, it says that "Any closed bounded subset of E^n is compact" where E is an arbitrary metric space. I looked over the proof and it used that fact that E^n was complete, but it does not say that in the original condition so I was wondering if the book made a mistake in not adding that.

For my counter example, consider the metric space (0,1), with the usual distance metric. The subset of itself is closed by definition, and it is bounded. However, it is not compact, since (1/n, 1-1/n) covers it as n→∞. Is there something wrong with my logic or did the book screw up by not mentioning complete in the conditional?

(),1) is closed in itself but no closed in R. Any topological space is closed in itself.
 
  • #7
Since he used the fact E^n was complete in the proof I guess I'll give the benefit of the doubt and say maybe I misunderstood the notation. Anyways thanks for the helps~
 
  • #8
Use Marsden Elementary Classical Analysis.

But it is strange, I don't think any author would do that big of a mistake.
 

What is the definition of compactness in a metric space?

Compactness in a metric space means that every open cover of the space has a finite subcover. In other words, there exists a finite number of open sets that cover the entire space.

How does compactness differ from completeness?

Completeness in a metric space means that every Cauchy sequence in the space converges to a point in the space. Compactness, on the other hand, guarantees the existence of a finite subcover for any open cover of the space. While completeness is a property of individual sequences, compactness is a property of the entire space.

Is (0,1) a compact metric space?

Yes, (0,1) is a compact metric space. This is because every open cover of (0,1) can be reduced to a finite subcover, since there are no isolated points in the space and every open set contains infinitely many points.

How does the compactness of (0,1) relate to the Heine-Borel theorem?

The Heine-Borel theorem states that a subset of Euclidean space is compact if and only if it is closed and bounded. Since (0,1) is both closed and bounded, it is compact in Euclidean space. However, this does not necessarily mean that (0,1) is compact in other metric spaces.

What are some applications of compactness in mathematics?

Compactness is a fundamental concept in mathematics, with applications in many areas such as topology, analysis, and algebra. It is particularly useful in proving the existence of solutions to equations and in compactifying infinite objects, such as the real numbers.

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