Pointwise => uniform convergence when?

In summary, it is not clear to me how pointwise convergence implies uniform convergence. There may be some cases where it does, but it is not always the case.
  • #1
St41n
32
0
If we have that:
[tex]f_T \left( x \right) \to f\left( x \right)[/tex] for each x (pointwise convergence)
and also that:
[tex]f_T[/tex] and [tex]f[/tex] are bounded or/and uniformly continuous functions then can we show that there is also uniform convergence?
If no why not? Can you show it with an example?

In general, are there any cases where pointwise convergence implies uniform convergence? I can't find any proof on that. Can you guide me on this?

Thanks in advance
 
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  • #2
Having functions bounded doesn't help with uniform convergence at least.

It is not clear to me what you mean by uniform continuity. Do you mean that each [itex]f_T[/itex], with fixed T, is uniformly continuous so that the choice of [itex]\delta[/itex], with given [itex]\epsilon[/itex], doesn't depend on the point [itex]x[/itex]? If so, it doesn't help with the uniform convergence.

If you instead meant that the collection of all [itex]f_T[/itex] is uniformly continuous so that the choice of [itex]\delta[/itex] doesn't depend on T, then I'm not sure right now.
 
  • #3
I actually meant the first thing you said.
So, there is no known way where pointwise implies uniform convergence?
 
  • #4
First consider this example:

[tex]
f_N:[0,1]\to\mathbb{R}, \quad f_N(x) = \left\{\begin{array}{ll}
1,\quad &\frac{1}{N^2} \leq x \leq \frac{1}{N}\\
0,\quad &0\leq x < \frac{1}{N^2}\;\textrm{or}\;\frac{1}{N} < x \leq 1\\
\end{array}\right.
[/tex]

Now [tex]\lim_{N\to \infty}f_N(x)\to 0[/tex] for all [tex]x\in [0,1][/tex], but [tex]f_N[/tex] do not converge to zero uniformly.

This was not an example with continuous functions, but it is easy to see that you can smoothen these functions a little bit so that each of them alone becomes uniformly continuous, and still the main effect remains the same. This way you get a sequence of continuous, and uniformly bounded functions, which converge towards a continuous function, but still the convergence is not uniform.
 
  • #5
It could be that this kind of claim is right:

Let [tex]f_N:X\to Y[/tex] be a sequence of continuous functions between two metric spaces, of which [tex]X[/tex] is compact. If [tex]f_N\to f[/tex] pointwisely, and if the sequence is uniformly continuous so that for all [tex]\epsilon > 0[/tex] there exists a [tex]\delta > 0 [/tex] such that

[tex]
f_N(B(x,\delta))\subset B(f_N(x),\epsilon)\quad\forall x\in X,\; \forall N\in\mathbb{N},
[/tex]

then also [tex]f[/tex] is continuous, and [tex]f_N\to f[/tex] uniformly.

(If that's not right, then it could be that something similar looking is still right)
 
  • #6
jostpuur said:
First consider this example:

[tex]
f_N:[0,1]\to\mathbb{R}, \quad f_N(x) = \left\{\begin{array}{ll}
1,\quad &\frac{1}{N^2} \leq x \leq \frac{1}{N}\\
0,\quad &0\leq x < \frac{1}{N^2}\;\textrm{or}\;\frac{1}{N} < x \leq 1\\
\end{array}\right.
[/tex]

Now [tex]\lim_{N\to \infty}f_N(x)\to 0[/tex] for all [tex]x\in [0,1][/tex], but [tex]f_N[/tex] do not converge to zero uniformly.

This was not an example with continuous functions, but it is easy to see that you can smoothen these functions a little bit so that each of them alone becomes uniformly continuous, and still the main effect remains the same. This way you get a sequence of continuous, and uniformly bounded functions, which converge towards a continuous function, but still the convergence is not uniform.

That's a nice example thank you, I see what you mean


jostpuur said:
It could be that this kind of claim is right:

Let [tex]f_N:X\to Y[/tex] be a sequence of continuous functions between two metric spaces, of which [tex]X[/tex] is compact. If [tex]f_N\to f[/tex] pointwisely, and if the sequence is uniformly continuous so that for all [tex]\epsilon > 0[/tex] there exists a [tex]\delta > 0 [/tex] such that

[tex]
f_N(B(x,\delta))\subset B(f_N(x),\epsilon)\quad\forall x\in X,\; \forall N\in\mathbb{N},
[/tex]

then also [tex]f[/tex] is continuous, and [tex]f_N\to f[/tex] uniformly.

(If that's not right, then it could be that something similar looking is still right)

I will take a closer look at this and try to see if I can use it in my case and post any any questions I might have.
Thanks again
 

1. What is the definition of pointwise convergence?

Pointwise convergence refers to the behavior of a sequence of functions as the input variable approaches a specific value. It means that for every input value, the function values in the sequence get closer and closer to the limit function value at that point.

2. How is pointwise convergence different from uniform convergence?

The main difference between pointwise and uniform convergence is that in pointwise convergence, the behavior is observed at individual points, whereas in uniform convergence, the behavior is observed across the entire domain of the function.

3. When does a sequence of continuous functions converge uniformly?

A sequence of continuous functions converges uniformly if and only if the limit function is continuous and the convergence is uniform at every point in the domain.

4. Can a sequence of functions converge pointwise but not uniformly?

Yes, it is possible for a sequence of functions to converge pointwise but not uniformly. This happens when the convergence is not uniform at every point in the domain, meaning that the behavior of the functions may differ at certain points.

5. How can we prove uniform convergence of a sequence of functions?

In order to prove uniform convergence of a sequence of functions, we can use the Cauchy criterion, which states that a sequence of functions converges uniformly if and only if for every positive real number ε, there exists a natural number N such that for all n > N and for all x in the domain, the difference between the nth function and the limit function is less than ε.

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