What are the Constants c and C for Infinity and One Norms Inequality?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around determining constants \( c \) and \( C \) for the inequalities involving the infinity norm and one norm of vectors and matrices. The original poster seeks to understand the relationship between these norms and how to express them in terms of constants that depend on the dimension of the vector or matrix.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore the definition of the infinity norm and its implications for the one norm. There are attempts to clarify the meaning of the maximum value in the context of the infinity norm. Questions arise about the validity of initial guesses for constants \( c \) and \( C \), and participants discuss specific examples to illustrate their reasoning.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants providing hints and exploring various interpretations of the norms. Some guidance has been offered regarding the relationship between the norms, but there is no explicit consensus on the values of \( c \) and \( C \). Participants are actively questioning assumptions and considering different cases.

Contextual Notes

There is a focus on the dimensionality of the vectors and matrices involved, with participants noting that the constants should not depend on the entries of the vectors or matrices but may depend on their dimensions. The discussion also highlights the non-negativity of norms and the implications of choosing certain values for \( c \) and \( C \).

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Homework Statement



Determine constants c and C that do not depend on vector x but may depend on the dimension n of x, such that

c ||x||_{∞} ≤ ||x||_{1} ≤ C||x||_{∞}

Use this result and the definition of matrix norms to find k and K that don't depend on the entries of matrix A (but depend on dimension n of A) such that

k ||A||_{∞} ≤ ||A||_{1} ≤ K||A||_{∞}

The Attempt at a Solution



Firstly I'm still trying to wrap my head around what an infinity norm actually is. According to my lecture notes,

||x||_{∞} \equiv 1 ≤ k ≤ n, max|x_{k}|

Does this mean the infinity norm is just the largest absolute value in x? There is no summation sign so my best guess is that "max" refers to the highest possible value contained in x.

So in other words i need to figure out constants which satisfy the inequality. My first guess would be to take c=0 and C=1, assuming that infinity norms are always greater than one-norms.
 
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twoski said:

Homework Statement



Determine constants c and C that do not depend on vector x but may depend on the dimension n of x, such that

c ||x||_{∞} ≤ ||x||_{1} ≤ C||x||_{∞}

Use this result and the definition of matrix norms to find k and K that don't depend on the entries of matrix A (but depend on dimension n of A) such that

k ||A||_{∞} ≤ ||A||_{1} ≤ K||A||_{∞}

The Attempt at a Solution



Firstly I'm still trying to wrap my head around what an infinity norm actually is. According to my lecture notes,

||x||_{∞} \equiv 1 ≤ k ≤ n, max|x_{k}|

Does this mean the infinity norm is just the largest absolute value in x?
Sort of. It's the largest component xkof a vector x.
twoski said:
There is no summation sign so my best guess is that "max" refers to the highest possible value contained in x.

So in other words i need to figure out constants which satisfy the inequality. My first guess would be to take c=0 and C=1, assuming that infinity norms are always greater than one-norms.
 
twoski said:

Homework Statement



Determine constants c and C that do not depend on vector x but may depend on the dimension n of x, such that

c ||x||_{∞} ≤ ||x||_{1} ≤ C||x||_{∞}

Use this result and the definition of matrix norms to find k and K that don't depend on the entries of matrix A (but depend on dimension n of A) such that

k ||A||_{∞} ≤ ||A||_{1} ≤ K||A||_{∞}

The Attempt at a Solution



Firstly I'm still trying to wrap my head around what an infinity norm actually is. According to my lecture notes,

||x||_{∞} \equiv 1 ≤ k ≤ n, max|x_{k}|

Does this mean the infinity norm is just the largest absolute value in x? There is no summation sign so my best guess is that "max" refers to the highest possible value contained in x.

So in other words i need to figure out constants which satisfy the inequality. My first guess would be to take c=0 and C=1, assuming that infinity norms are always greater than one-norms.

If x = (1,1), what are \|x\|_1 and \|x\|_{\infty}?

Taking c = 0 doesn't tell you anything; norms are non-negative by definition.

Hint for C: given that \|x\|_1 = \sum_{i=1}^n {|x_i|}, what happens if you replace each summand with \|x\|_\infty = \max\{|x_j| : j = 1, \dots, n\}?
 
pasmith said:
If x = (1,1), what are \|x\|_1 and \|x\|_{\infty}?

Taking c = 0 doesn't tell you anything; norms are non-negative by definition.

Hint for C: given that \|x\|_1 = \sum_{i=1}^n {|x_i|}, what happens if you replace each summand with \|x\|_\infty = \max\{|x_j| : j = 1, \dots, n\}?

\|x\|_1 would be 2 since you're just summing the absolute values contained in x (right?) and \|x\|_{\infty} would be 1, i think.

I'm not sure i follow your second bit about C. If i were to replace every instance of |X|i with |X|∞ then, say for example, if i had x={1,2,3) I would be doing 3+3+3 instead of 1+2+3.
 
twoski said:
\|x\|_1 would be 2 since you're just summing the absolute values contained in x (right?) and \|x\|_{\infty} would be 1, i think.

I'm not sure i follow your second bit about C. If i were to replace every instance of |X|i with |X|∞ then, say for example, if i had x={1,2,3) I would be doing 3+3+3 instead of 1+2+3.

And is 3 + 3 + 3 = 3\|(1,2,3)\|_{\infty} greater than or less than 1 + 2 + 3 = \|(1,2,3)\|_1?
 
The left hand side evaluates to 9 and the right hand side evaluates to 6. I find the question confusing because you could hypothetically find any 2 values of C and c which satisfy the question if you know what x contains. If x=(1,2,3) then you just need to pick C = 3, c = 1.

I assumed picking c=0 would make sense because the left hand side would always be zero if you're multiplying the infinity norm by zero. That would satisfy the left hand side, and the right hand side would just require a sufficiently large value for C to be greater than the one norm.
 
Suppose that my vector x = (M,x2,...,xn) where M is larger than all the other entries (so is the infinity norm of x). Then:
||x||_1 = |M| + |x_2| + ... + |x_n| \leq ?

The ? should be writeable in terms of only M and the dimension of the space. Think about doing the same kind of procedure to this sum as you did with that (1,2,3) vector.

That is the harder direction. The easier one (I think) is to figure out
? \leq |M| + |x_2| + ... + |x_n|
where again ? is something that depends only on M and the dimension of the space
 
Office_Shredder said:
Suppose that my vector x = (M,x2,...,xn) where M is larger than all the other entries (so is the infinity norm of x). Then:
||x||_1 = |M| + |x_2| + ... + |x_n| \leq ?

The ? should be writeable in terms of only M and the dimension of the space. Think about doing the same kind of procedure to this sum as you did with that (1,2,3) vector.

That is the harder direction. The easier one (I think) is to figure out
? \leq |M| + |x_2| + ... + |x_n|
where again ? is something that depends only on M and the dimension of the space

In terms of n (where n is the size of x), would this be correct for the first part?

||x||_1 = |M| + |x_2| + ... + |x_n| \leq n * |M|

For the second part, would i simply use

|M| * n-1 \leq |M| + |x_2| + ... + |x_n|
 
twoski said:
In terms of n (where n is the size of x), would this be correct for the first part?

||x||_1 = |M| + |x_2| + ... + |x_n| \leq n * |M|

This looks good (and should tell you what C is in the first part)

For the second part, would i simply use

|M| * n-1 \leq |M| + |x_2| + ... + |x_n|

What if M = 1, x2 = x3 = 0 and n=3? You just told me that 3-1 = 2 < 1+0+0
 
  • #10
Hmmm, so if C=n then could c just be 1? There isn't much that the infinity norm could be multiplied by that would make it less than the one norm, right?
 
Last edited:

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