How would I prove that an isometry is one to one?

  • Thread starter Thread starter wurth_skidder_23
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Isometry
Click For Summary

Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around proving that an isometry is one-to-one within the context of inner product spaces. The original poster seeks clarification on the necessary conditions for an isometry, defined through an inner product, to maintain this property.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore the relationship between distances in inner product spaces and the one-to-one nature of isometries. Questions arise regarding the mathematical demonstration of this relationship, including the use of adjoints and the implications of distance preservation.

Discussion Status

Some participants have provided insights into the properties of distances in inner product spaces and the axioms of inner products. There is an acknowledgment of the need to verify these properties to establish the one-to-one condition, but no consensus has been reached on a definitive approach.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes references to specific definitions and properties of inner product spaces, as well as the linearity of transformations involved. There is an emphasis on the need to consider both directions of the proof regarding isometries.

wurth_skidder_23
Messages
39
Reaction score
0
How would I prove that an isometry is one to one?

General definition of isometry, A:

<Ax,Ay> = <x,y>

Where < , > is an inner product (scalar product, dot product, etc.)

How do I prove A has to be one to one for this to work?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Note the distance between the images of two points will be the same as the distance between the points. So if two points map to the same image...
 
Is there a way to show that mathematically using the adjoint or something similar?
 
To show what, that distances are preserved? What is distance in an inner product space?
 
distance between two vectors x, y in an inner product space is ||x-y||
 
Yes, and [tex]||x-y||^2[/tex] has an expression in terms of the inner product.
 
Okay, maybe I should state the whole problem:

Let X and Y be inner product spaces in R with inner products < , >_X and < , >_Y Suppose that T is in L(X,Y). Show that <x,y> = <Tx,Ty>_Y is an inner product on X if and only if T is one to one.
 
The <- direction should be pretty easy, you just need to verify all the axioms of an inner product, and you'll need to use the linearity of T. I'm assuming your original question comes from proving the -> direction. It's been pretty much spelled out for you. Just use the definition of distance to show d(x,y)=d(Tx,Ty).
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
11K
  • · Replies 23 ·
Replies
23
Views
2K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
1K
Replies
2
Views
3K
Replies
1
Views
3K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
1K