All Questions
1,591 questions
11
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Non-trivial convergent sequence in Stone-Čech compactification of $\mathbb{N}$
Why are there only trivial convergent sequences in the Stone-Čech compactification of $\mathbb{N}$?
- 147
10
votes
2
answers
925
views
Isomorphisms between spaces of test functions and sequence spaces
I am in the process of writing some self-contained notes on probability theory in spaces of distributions, for the purposes of statistical mechanics and quantum field theory. Perhaps the simplest ...
10
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Harmonic oscillator discrete spectrum
Let us act intentionally stupid and assume we do not know that we can solve for the spectrum of the harmonic oscillator
$$-\frac{d^2}{dx^2}+x^2$$
explicitly.
Is there an abstract argument why the ...
- 501
5
votes
1
answer
699
views
Can $L^1_{loc}$ be represented as colimit?
Let $L^1_{loc}$ denote the set of all functions from $\mathbb{R}$ to itself which are locally integrable. For every infinite compact subset $K\subseteq \mathbb{R}$, let $L^1_{m_K}$ denote the space ...
- 5,405
5
votes
2
answers
321
views
If the Hausforff dimension of the graph of a function $u$ is $N$ and $\tilde u = u$ a.e. then $\dim_H \mathrm{graph} \, \tilde u = N$ too
Let $\Omega$ be an open (non empty) set and $u:\Omega \subset \mathbb{R}^N \to \mathbb{R}^M$ be a function such that the Hausdorff dimension of its graph is $N$.
Let $\tilde u = u$ a.e. Is it true ...
- 839
4
votes
1
answer
597
views
Meaning of Alberti rank-one theorem
Heuristically what does Alberti's rank-one theorem imply about the structure of a $\mathrm{BV}$ vector field $\boldsymbol{b}$?
Is it rigorously fair to say that the level lines of $\boldsymbol{b}$ ...
user123457
231
votes
4
answers
16k
views
Is $\mathbb R^3$ the square of some topological space?
The other day, I was idly considering when a topological space has a square root. That is, what spaces are homeomorphic to $X \times X$ for some space $X$. $\mathbb{R}$ is not such a space: If $X \...
- 5,275
184
votes
8
answers
12k
views
Two commuting mappings in the disk
Suppose that $f$ and $g$ are two commuting continuous mappings from the closed unit disk (or, if you prefer, the closed unit ball in $R^n$) to itself. Does there always exist a point $x$ such that $f(...
- 61.9k
140
votes
7
answers
34k
views
Is the boundary $\partial S$ analogous to a derivative?
Without prethought, I mentioned in class once that the reason the symbol $\partial$
is used to represent the boundary operator in topology is
that its behavior is akin to a derivative.
But after ...
- 151k
135
votes
5
answers
31k
views
Does the inverse function theorem hold for everywhere differentiable maps?
(This question was posed to me by a colleague; I was unable to answer it, so am posing it here instead.)
Let $f: {\bf R}^n \to {\bf R}^n$ be an everywhere differentiable map, and suppose that at each ...
- 114k
76
votes
9
answers
15k
views
understanding Steenrod squares
There is a function on $\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z}$-cohomology called Steenrod squaring: $Sq^i:H^k(X,\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z}) \to H^{k+i}(X,\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z})$. (Coefficient group suppressed from ...
- 6,069
72
votes
9
answers
9k
views
What is a continuous path?
I would like some help, because I am getting mad trying to answer the following
Question: Let $X$ be a topological space, what is a continuous path in $X$?
Well, maybe you're already getting ...
- 6,034
67
votes
11
answers
11k
views
How should one think about non-Hausdorff topologies?
In most basic courses on general topology, one studies mainly Hausdorff spaces and finds that they fit quite well with our geometric intuition and generally, things work "as they should" (sequences/...
67
votes
22
answers
10k
views
When has discrete understanding preceded continuous?
From my limited perspective, it appears that the understanding
of a mathematical phenomenon has usually been achieved,
historically, in a continuous setting
before it was fully explored in a discrete ...
61
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Every real function has a dense set on which its restriction is continuous
The title says it all: if $f\colon \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R}$ is any real function, there exists a dense subset $D$ of $\mathbb{R}$ such that $f|_D$ is continuous.
Or so I'm told, but this leaves me ...
- 32.5k
53
votes
3
answers
13k
views
Pullback measures
Why do all measure theory textbooks present the concept of push-forward measure, but never the concept of pull-back measure? Doesn't the latter exist?
It's true that the naive treatment of such a ...
- 5,407
51
votes
5
answers
9k
views
Fundamental group as topological group
Background
Let $(X,x)$ be a pointed topological space. Then the fundamental group $\pi_1(X,x)$ becomes a topological space: Endow the set of maps $S^1 \to X$ with the compact-open topology, endow the ...
- 63.1k
49
votes
3
answers
8k
views
Thurston's 24 questions: All settled?
Thurston's 1982 article on three-dimensional manifolds1 ends with $24$ "open questions":
$\cdots$
Two naive questions from an outsider:
(1) Have all $24$ now been resolved?
(2)...
- 151k
48
votes
3
answers
13k
views
When is a Homology Class Represented by a Submanifold? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Cohomology and fundamental classes
Given an oriented manifold $M$ and an oriented submanifold $\phi:N\to M$ we can obtain a homology class $\phi_*[N]\in H_*(M)$ ...
- 2,283
44
votes
10
answers
47k
views
Is square of Delta function defined somewhere?
I am wondering whether anyone knows if the square of Dirac Delta function is defined somewhere.
In the beginning, this question might look strange. But by restricting the space of the test functions, ...
41
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Topological Characterisation of the real line.
What is a purely topological characterisation of the real line( standard topology)?
- 521
33
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Reference request for translating from Top to C*-alg
Some recent questions on MO (for example, Do subalgebras of C(X) admit a description in terms of the compact Hausdorff space X?) have been about Gelfand duality — namely, that the categories of ...
- 18.7k
32
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Does the Brouwer fixed point theorem admit a constructive proof?
Wikipedia and a few websites (and a few mathoverflow answers) say there is a constructive proof of the Brouwer fixed point theorem, some others say no. The argument for a constructive proof is always ...
- 18.7k
31
votes
17
answers
14k
views
Applications of Brouwer's fixed point theorem
I'm presenting Brouwer's fixed point theorem to an audience that knows some point-set topology. Does anyone have any zippy / enlightening / cool applications or consequences of it? So far, I have:
...
30
votes
4
answers
2k
views
is f a polynomial provided that it is "partially" smooth?
Let $f$ be a $C^\infty$ function on $(c,d)$ ,and
let $O=\cup_{n\in \mathbb{Z}^+} (a_n,b_n)$ where $(a_n,b_n)$ are disjoint open interval in $(c,d)$ and $O$ is dense in $(c,d)$.
Suppose for each $n\in ...
- 407
27
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Criteria for boundedness of power series
Consider a power series $\sum_{n=0}^{\infty} a_n x^n$ that is convergent for all real
x, thus defining a function $f: \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R}$.
Can one give necessary and sufficient criteria the ...
- 4,014
27
votes
2
answers
8k
views
Compact embeddings of Sobolev spaces: a counterexample showing the Rellich-Kondrachov theorem is sharp
Let $U$ be an open bounded subset of $\mathbb{R}^n$ with $C^{1}$ boundary. Let $1 \leq p < n$ and $p^{\ast} = pn/(n-p)$. Then the Sobolev space $W^{1,p}(U)$ is contained $L^{p^{\ast}}(U)$ and ...
- 309
23
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Are proper linear subspaces of Banach spaces always meager?
Let X be a Banach space, and let Y be a proper non-meager linear subspace of X. If Y is not dense in X, then it is easy to see that the closure of Y has empty interior, contradicting Y being non-...
- 353
23
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Which Fréchet spaces have a dual that is a Fréchet space?
I've read the claim that Fréchet spaces that are not Banach spaces never have a dual that is a Fréchet space, but have not been able to find a proof of this statement. Is it trivial or does someone ...
- 1,544
23
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Which $\ast$-algebras are $C^\ast$-algebras?
It's well-known that the norm on a $C^\ast$-algebra is uniquely determined by the underlying $\ast$-algebra by the spectral radius formula. Therefore there should be a way to axiomatize $C^\ast$-...
- 63.9k
23
votes
5
answers
6k
views
Hahn-Banach without Choice
The standard proof of the Hahn-Banach theorem makes use of Zorn's lemma. I hear that, however, Hahn-Banach is strictly weaker than Choice. A quick search leads to many sources stating that Hahn-Banach ...
- 1,202
22
votes
6
answers
5k
views
Topological characterization of the closed interval $[0,1]$
This question is related to question 92206 "What properties make $[0, 1]$ a good candidate for defining fundamental groups?" but is not exactly equivalent in my opinion. It is even suggested in one ...
21
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Which complete Boolean algebras arise as the algebras of projections of commutative von Neumann algebras?
Projections in an arbitrary commutative von Neumann algebra form a complete Boolean algebra.
Moreover, a morphism of commutative von Neumann algebras induces
a continuous morphism of the corresponding ...
- 37.8k
20
votes
6
answers
7k
views
Does the derivative of log have a Dirac delta term?
Dirac writes down the following formula on page 61 of his "Principles of quantum mechanics":
$\frac{d}{dx}\log x = \frac{1}{x} -i\pi\delta(x)$, see http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1947pqm..book.....D ...
- 16.6k
20
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Ideals of the ring of smooth functions
The ring $C^\infty(M)$ of smooth functions on a smooth manifold $M$ is a topological ring with respect to the Whitney topology and the usual ring operations. Is it possible to describe, maybe under ...
- 101
19
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Can we take a supremum over all Hilbert spaces?
In my paper On the optimal error bound for the first step in the method of cyclic alternating projections, I defined functions $f_n:[0,1]\to\mathbb{R}$,
$n\geqslant 2$, by
$$
f_n(c)=\sup\{\|P_n\dotsm ...
- 935
19
votes
2
answers
804
views
Existence of a *really* nice topology on the powerset of a topological space
TL;DR. Given a topological space $X$, is there a natural way to "induce" a topology on $\mathcal{P}(X)$ from the topology of $X$ in such a way that 1) all the basic operations of set theory (...
- 11.8k
18
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Does Riemann map depend continuously on the domain?
I've always taken this for granted until recently:
In the simplest case, given Jordan curve $C \subseteq \mathbb{C}$ containing a neighborhood of $\bar{0}$ in its interior. Given parametrizations $\...
- 375
16
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What (classes of) Banach spaces are known to have Schauder basis?
Motivation:
I am trying to see for what class of Banach spaces the following result is true:
There exists an increasing sequence of finite dimensional subspace {$V_n$} of a Banach space X (with ...
- 365
16
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Measure theory treatment geared toward the Riesz representation theorem
I'm looking for recommendations for books (or lecture notes) that develop measure theory in sufficient detail to state and prove the Riesz representation theorem (which is the characterization of the ...
- 21.5k
16
votes
12
answers
5k
views
Examples of $G_\delta$ sets
Recall that a subset $A$ of a metric space $X$ is a $G_\delta$ subset if it can be written as a countable intersection of open sets. This notion is related to the Baire category theorem. Here are ...
- 18.7k
16
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Is there a maximum to the amount of disjoint non-measurable subsets of the unit interval with full outer measure?
This question arose a few years back when I was an assistant teacher on a course of basic (Lebesgue) measure theory, but I didn't find an answer or anyone able to solve the problem. The setting of the ...
- 588
16
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Is Stone-Čech compactification of 0-dimensional space also 0-dimensional?
What is an example of a 0-dimensional locally compact Hausdorff space $X$ for which the Stone-Čech compactification $\beta(X)$ is not 0-dimensional?
It is known that if $X$ is a 0-dimensional locally ...
- 1,704
15
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Universal $C^*$-algebra with generators and relations
We say that the $C^*$-algebra $A$ generated by $a_1,...,a_n$ is universal subject to relations $R_1,...,R_m$ if for every $C^*$-algebra $B$ with elements $b_1,...,b_n$ satisfying relations $R_1,...,...
- 9,330
15
votes
3
answers
717
views
Does every set $X$ have a topology for which the only continuous self-surjection is the identity map?
This question is a special case of Dominic van der Zypen's question Reconstructing relations with the image relation of a topology, as discussed in the comments, particularly the comment of Eric ...
- 236k
14
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Infinite tensor product of states
Tensor products of finite number of different objects are always well described in the literature. However, the situation of infinite tensor products seems to be much tougher.
Even in the simplest ...
- 143
14
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Hausdorff spaces with trivial automorphism group
Is the singleton space the only Hausdorff space $X$ such that the set of automorphisms $\varphi: X\to X$ equals $\{\textrm{id}_X\}$?
- 48.9k
13
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Map from simplex to itself that preserves sub-simplices
I believe this may be a standard algebraic topology problem, so I apologize in advance if this belongs in stackexchange (it's not a homework problem, however, and came about in a research context). I'...
- 645
13
votes
4
answers
1k
views
nonhausdorff dimension
if $X$ is a topological space, a first step in making $X$ hausdorff is taking the quotient $H(X)=X/\sim$, where $\sim$ is the equivalence relation generated by: if $x,y$ cannot be seperated by ...
- 63.1k
13
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Calkin Algebra and the embedding
Let $H$ be a separable, infinite dimensional Hilbert Space and $Calk(H):=B(H)/K(H)$ denotes
the Calkin algebra. There is obvious surjection $\pi: B(H) \to Calk(H)$ but I'm interested
in somehow ...
- 9,330