Verify the completion of continuous compactly supported functions

  • Context: Undergrad 
  • Thread starter Thread starter psie
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Topology
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the verification of the completion of continuous compactly supported functions in the context of the metric space ##L^p(\Omega)##. Participants explore the properties of isometries and the density of subsets within this space, focusing on the implications of equivalence classes of functions.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes that ##L^p(\Omega)## is a Banach space and that ##C_c(\Omega)## is a dense subset, but expresses uncertainty about constructing an isometry and ensuring its image is dense.
  • Another participant suggests that the triangle inequality can be used to show that the mapping from functions to equivalence classes is an isometry, provided certain conditions are met.
  • There is a clarification about the meaning of the notation ##[f]##, indicating it refers to a representative function of an equivalence class.
  • A participant asserts that the definition of isometry requires the preservation of distances between the metric spaces involved, specifically in the context of ##\lVert\cdot\rVert_p##.
  • Further discussion emphasizes that the distance between equivalence classes is independent of the choice of representatives, reinforcing the notion of isometry in this context.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the properties of isometries and the role of equivalence classes, but there remains uncertainty regarding the construction of a specific isometry and the verification of all aspects of the definition.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight the need for clarity on the definitions and properties of equivalence classes, as well as the implications of using different representatives in the context of metric spaces.

psie
Messages
315
Reaction score
40
TL;DR
Let ##\Omega\subset\mathbb R^n##. Consider the space ##C_c(\Omega)## of continuous, compactly supported functions equipped with the ##L^p## norm. Then in my lecture notes it is claimed the completion of this space is ##L^p(\Omega)##. I'm trying to verify to myself that this is indeed the case by the definition given below.
Consider the attached definition of completion of a metric space.

iso.PNG


It has already been stated in my notes that ##L^p(\Omega)## equipped with ##\lVert\cdot\rVert_p## is a Banach space, hence complete. So (c) is satisfied. Also, there is a theorem that states that ##C_c(\Omega)## is a dense subset of ##L^p(\Omega)##. But I'm still having trouble verifying (a) and (b) in the definition. How could I construct a function between these metric spaces such that it is an isometry and its image is dense? What troubles me is that ##L^p(\Omega)## is a set of equivalence classes of functions, and hence the inclusion map ##i:C_c(\Omega)\to L^p(\Omega)## defined by ##f\mapsto f## would maybe not work.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
You can show by the triangle inequality that f_1 \sim f_2 \mbox{ and } g_1 \sim g_2 \quad\Rightarrow\quad \|f_1 - g_1\| \leq \|f_2 - g_2 \| \mbox{ and } \|f_2 - g_2\| \leq \|f_1 - g_1 \| and therefore \|f_1 - g_1\| = \|f_2 - g_2\| so that f \mapsto [f] is an isometry. (Use <br /> \|a - b\| = \|a - c + c - d + d - b\| \leq \|a - c\| + \|c - d\| + \|d - b\|.)

EDIT: If we don't have this result, we can't define L_p as a space of equivalence classes; the distance between two classes would depend on which representatives we choose.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: psie
pasmith said:
You can show by the triangle inequality that f_1 \sim f_2 \mbox{ and } g_1 \sim g_2 \quad\Rightarrow\quad \|f_1 - g_1\| \leq \|f_2 - g_2 \| \mbox{ and } \|f_2 - g_2\| \leq \|f_1 - g_1 \| and therefore \|f_1 - g_1\| = \|f_2 - g_2\| so that f \mapsto [f] is an isometry. (Use <br /> \|a - b\| = \|a - c + c - d + d - b\| \leq \|a - c\| + \|c - d\| + \|d - b\|.)

EDIT: If we don't have this result, we can't define L_p as a space of equivalence classes; the distance between two classes would depend on which representatives we choose.
This makes sense, but just to be certain. When you consider the function ##f\mapsto [f]##, by ##[f]## you mean a representative function of the equivalence class, right?

The reason I'm asking is because the definition of isometry requires that it is a function ##i:X\to Y## between two metric spaces ##X,Y## which satisfies $$d_Y(i(x_1),i(x_2))=d_X(x_1,x_2)$$ for all ##x_1,x_2\in X##. In this case, ##d_Y=d_X=\lVert\cdot\rVert_p##.
 
pasmith said:
You can show by the triangle inequality that f_1 \sim f_2 \mbox{ and } g_1 \sim g_2 \quad\Rightarrow\quad \|f_1 - g_1\| \leq \|f_2 - g_2 \| \mbox{ and } \|f_2 - g_2\| \leq \|f_1 - g_1 \| and therefore \|f_1 - g_1\| = \|f_2 - g_2\| so that f \mapsto [f] is an isometry. (Use <br /> \|a - b\| = \|a - c + c - d + d - b\| \leq \|a - c\| + \|c - d\| + \|d - b\|.)

EDIT: If we don't have this result, we can't define L_p as a space of equivalence classes; the distance between two classes would depend on which representatives we choose.
I think I understand it now. We can define ##\lVert [f]\rVert_{L^p}=\lVert f\rVert_{L^p}## for some representative ##f## of ##[f]##. This is well-defined, since for any other representative ##g\in [f]##, we have ##f=g## a.e., which implies ##\lVert f\rVert_{L^p}=\lVert g\rVert_{L^p}##.
 
By [f] I mean the equivalence class of f.

In this case the isometry is obvious, since the distance between two equivalence classes does not depend on which representatives of each class one uses to measure it; it is by definition the case that \|[f] - [g]\|_p = \|f - g\|_p.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
3K
  • · Replies 0 ·
Replies
0
Views
2K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
1K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
Replies
9
Views
3K
  • · Replies 28 ·
Replies
28
Views
19K