All Questions
10,049 questions
17
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Which sigma-ideals in a sigma-algebra are ideals of null sets?
My question is motivated, to be somewhat vague, by an attempt to see how much a measure space is defined by the set of null sets. In other words, assume we are not given a concrete measure on a space ...
17
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Why is multiplication on the space of smooth functions with compact support continuous?
I asked the question
Why is multiplication on the space of smooth functions with compact support continuous? on M.SE
sometime ago but I didn't receive a satisfactory answer.
I was reading this ...
- 394
17
votes
1
answer
986
views
Uncountably many subsets of the natural numbers with certain natural density condition
Are there uncountably many $A_\alpha $ of subsets of $\mathbb{N}$ with the following two properties:
Each $A_\alpha$ has positive upper natural density
$A_\alpha \cap A_\beta$ is a finite set for $\...
- 356
17
votes
1
answer
861
views
Extreme points of convex compact sets
Preparing to a lecture on Krein--Milman theorem I read in W. Rudin's Functional analysis textbook (1973) that it is unknown whether any convex compact set in any topological vector space has an ...
- 109k
17
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How many values determine a norm?
It is well known that for a bilinear form over an n-dimensional vector space, $n^2$ values (on all pairs of basis-vectors) determine it uniquely.
How many values do we need to specify in order to ...
- 6,741
17
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Are "most" operators on an infinite-dimensional complex Banach space "diagonalizable"?
This is true for finite-dimensional spaces: the diagonal operators on a finite dimensional complex vector space form contain a dense open set and the nondiagonalizable operators have measure 0.
To be ...
- 63.9k
17
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Realisation of the noncommutative torus as a universal $ C^{*} $-algebra
One of the most basic examples in noncommutative geometry is the so-called noncommutative torus, denoted here by $ \mathbb{T}_{\theta} $. As far as I know, there are several equivalent constructions ...
- 9,330
17
votes
3
answers
905
views
Existence of translation-invariant basis on $C_c(\mathbb R)$
Consider the space $C_c(\mathbb R)$ of complex-valued continuous functions of compact support. This is a vector space over $\mathbb C$, and I am not considering any topology, so the question is ...
- 2,071
17
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Banach-Mazur applied to a Hilbert space
The Banach-Mazur theorem says that every separable Banach space is isometric to a subspace of $C^0([0;1],R)$, the space of continuous real valued functions on the interval $[0;1]$, with the sup norm.
...
- 6,924
17
votes
4
answers
4k
views
How much does the absolute value of an operator behave like an absolute value?
Recall that the absolute value of a bounded operator $T$ on a Hilbert space $H$ is the unique positive operator $|T|$ such that $$\||T|x\|=\|Tx\|$$ for all $x\in H$. It can be defined using the ...
- 3,115
17
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Conditional probabilities are measurable functions - when are they continuous?
Let $\Omega$ be a Banach space; for the sake of this post, we will take $\Omega = {\mathbb R}^2$, but I am more interested in the infinite dimensional setting. Take $\mathcal F$ to be the Borel $\...
- 8,512
17
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Which Fréchet manifolds have a smooth partition of unity?
A classical theorem is saying that every smooth, finite-dimensional manifold has a smooth partition of unity. My question is:
Which Fréchet manifolds have a smooth partition of unity?
How is the ...
- 4,519
17
votes
1
answer
569
views
Does a completely metrizable space admit a compatible metric where all intersections of nested closed balls are non-empty?
(cross-posted from this math.SE question)
It is well-known that given a metric space $(X,d)$, the metric is complete if and only if every intersection of nested (i.e. decreasing with respect to ...
- 775
17
votes
1
answer
807
views
Operator Valued Kadison--Singer Problem
The Paving Conjecture, which is equivalent to the famous Kadison--Singer Problem, was spectacularly settled in the affirmative by Marcus--Spielman--Srivastava (arxiv:1306.3969). Let $E$ denote the ...
- 10.1k
17
votes
1
answer
912
views
$(1+\epsilon)$-injective Banach spaces, complex scalars
It is well known that a real Banach space which is $(1+\epsilon)$-injective for every $\epsilon >0$ is already 1-injective (Lindenstrauss Memoirs AMS, 1964, download here). Using common ...
- 1,704
17
votes
1
answer
759
views
Classification of non-Hausdorff topological vector spaces
It is well-known that up to topological isomorphism there is exactly one Hausdorff topological vector space (say, over $\mathbb{C}$) of a given dimension $n$, namely $\mathbb{C}^n$ with the euclidean ...
- 5,482
17
votes
2
answers
953
views
Convexity of spectral radius of Markov operators, Random walks on non-amenable groups
Let $P_1,P_2$ denote stochastic transition matrices on a countable set $I$.
Consider $P_1,P_2$ as operators on $\ell^2(I)$ given by multiplication.
Question
Under which conditions can we show that ...
- 171
17
votes
3
answers
770
views
Does a spectral gap lift to covering spaces?
Let $M$ be a complete Riemannian manifold. Denote $\Delta_M\ge0$ the unique self-adjoint extension of the Laplace-Beltrami operator in $L^2(M)$ and $\sigma(\Delta_M)\subset [0,\infty)$ its spectrum. ...
- 779
17
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Invariant definition of the space of symbols on a vector bundle (pseudo-differential operators)
Normally, in the context of pseudo-differential operators, a symbol on a vector bundle $E$ is defined as a smooth function on $E$ which in each trivializing chart fulfills the usual symbol estimates
\...
- 5,824
17
votes
0
answers
677
views
Are dualizable topological vector spaces finite-dimensional?
Consider the symmetric monoidal category TVS of complete Hausdorff topological vector spaces equipped with the completed projective, injective, or inductive tensor product.
Every finite-dimensional ...
- 37.8k
17
votes
0
answers
488
views
Large almost equilateral sets in finite-dimensional Banach spaces
Question: Does there exist a function $C:~(0,1)\to
(0,\infty)$ such that for each $\varepsilon\in(0,1)$ every Banach space
$X$ of dimension $\ge C(\varepsilon)\log n$ contains an $n$-point
set $\{x_i\...
- 4,878
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
1k
views
How to generalize the various vector calculus theorems to distributions?
Here is a list of vector calculus identities; in the proof of these identities, we all assume that these functions are $𝐶^𝑘$ in an open set, and we usually use these identities to calculate ...
- 415
16
votes
4
answers
7k
views
Good book for measure theory and functional analysis
I have taken advanced courses both in measure theory and also in functional analysis (Banach and Hilbert spaces, spectral theory of bounded and unbounded operators, etc.)
The connections between the ...
16
votes
3
answers
951
views
What are the 'wonderful consequences' following from the existence of a minimal dense subspace?
In Peddechio & Tholens Categorical Foundations they quote PT Johnstone in their chapter on Frames & Locales:
...the single most important fact which distinguishes locales from spaces: the ...
- 2,369
16
votes
3
answers
708
views
An inequality for two independent identically distributed random vectors in a normed space
Suppose that $X$ and $Y$ are independent identically distributed random vectors in a separable Banach space $B$. Does it always follow that $E\|X-Y\|\le E\|X+Y\|$?
Some background information on ...
- 128k
16
votes
2
answers
996
views
Perturbation of unbounded self-adjoint operators
In the paper "A CRITERION FOR THE NORMALITY OF UNBOUNDED OPERATORS AND APPLICATIONS TO SELF-ADJOINTNESS" by M. H MORTAD (http://arxiv.org/pdf/1301.0241.pdf), the author states the following theorem
...
- 163
16
votes
3
answers
1k
views
A natural center of a convex weakly compact set in Banach space
Question: Let $S$ be a convex weakly compact set in Banach space $H$. Propose a natural way to define the unique center $O \in S$.
Motivation: A lot! For example, in game theory $S$ can be a set of ...
- 161
16
votes
3
answers
852
views
Quantum Hamiltonian for an Inverse Cube Force Law
If you have a nonrelativistic quantum particle in $\mathbb{R}^3$ in an attractive inverse cube force, its Hamiltonian is
$$ H = -\nabla^2 - \frac{c}{r^2} $$
where I'm keeping things simple by ...
- 22.3k
16
votes
6
answers
2k
views
Finding closed subspaces whose sum isn't closed
Let $V_0$ be a closed infinite-dimensional subspace of a Banach space $V$ such that the quotient $V/V_0$ is also infinite-dimensional. Is it always possible to find a closed subspace of $V$ whose sum ...
- 42.8k
16
votes
1
answer
970
views
Pedagogically intuitive reformulation of Zorn's Lemma for functional analysis
While teaching an applied functional analysis class, I’ve noticed that students often struggle to develop an intuitive understanding of Zorn’s lemma. It’s relatively straightforward to explain why ...
- 5,824
16
votes
2
answers
682
views
Ultraweak topology on B(X): Is the map X\otimes X* -> B(X)* isometric?
Let $X$ be a Banach space. Consider the map
$$
\alpha\colon X\hat{\otimes} X^* \to B(X)^*,
$$
defined one simple tensors as
$$
\alpha(\xi\otimes\eta)(a) = \eta(a(\xi)).\quad (\xi\in X, \eta\in X^*, a\...
- 3,497
16
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Integration of differential forms using measure theory?
Setup: Let $(M,g)$ be a (possibly non-compact) Riemannian manifold with volume density $d_gV$. Then one may think of $(M,g)$ as a measure space $(\Omega,\mathcal{A},\mu)$, where $\Omega:=M$, $\mathcal{...
- 408
16
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Usefulness of Frechet versus Gateaux differentiability or something in between.
If you have a function $V: L \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$, where $L$ is an infinite dimensional topological vector space, there are multiple notions of differentiability. For $x,u \in L$, $V$ is Gateaux ...
- 943
16
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Examples of Banach manifolds with function spaces as tangent spaces
I have recently been learning the theory of Banach manifolds through Serge Lang's book on Differential Manifolds. So far the objects seem rather interesting but my intuition always comes from the ...
- 161
16
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Challenge: Non-Gaussian quartic integral and path integral in Quantum field theory
(1) It is well-known that we can get a Gaussian integral of this type, where $x$ is in $\mathbb{R}$:
$$
\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} dx e^{-ax^2}=\sqrt{(2\pi)/a}. \tag{i}
$$
We can generalize this ...
- 2,147
16
votes
1
answer
727
views
Integrating a family of vector spaces
Let $X$ be a measure space, or even a subspace of $\mathbb{R}^n$, and suppose I have a family of finite-dimensional vector spaces $\{V_x\}_{x\in X}$ indexed by $X$. Is there any way to "integrate" ...
- 66.8k
16
votes
3
answers
918
views
What is the minimal $C_k$, such that every $f\colon \{-1,1\}^n\to \mathbb{R}$ of degree at most $k$ satisfies $\|f\|_2\le C_k\|f\|_1$
Every $f\colon\{-1,1\}^n\to \mathbb{R}$ can be repsenented as a multilinean polynomial of the form $$f(x_1,x_2,\ldots ,x_n)=\sum _{S\subseteq [n]} \hat{f}(S)\prod_{i\in S} x_i $$ The degree of the ...
- 311
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
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
2
answers
731
views
A reference to a characterization of metric spaces admitting an isometric embedding into a Hilbert space
I am looking for a reference to the bipartite version of the Schoenberg's criterion of embeddability into a Hilbert space. The Schoenberg criterion is formulated as Proposition 8.5(ii) of the book &...
- 41.9k
16
votes
3
answers
791
views
Random products of projections: bounds on convergence rate?
The von Neumann-Halperin [vN,H] theorem shows that iterating a fixed product of projection operators converges to the projector onto the intersection subspace of the individual projectors. A good ...
- 181
16
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Kaplansky's conjecture and Martin's axiom
Recall Kaplansky's conjecture which states that every algebra homomorphism from the Banach algebra C(X) (where X is a compact Hausdorff topological space) into any other Banach algebra, is ...
- 32.1k
16
votes
1
answer
537
views
Balls in Hilbert space
I recently noticed an interesting fact which leads to a perhaps difficult question. If $n$ is a natural number, let $k_n$ be the smallest number $k$ such that an open ball of radius $k$ in a real ...
- 2,049
16
votes
1
answer
691
views
Unbalancing lights in higher dimensions
In ''The Probabilistic Method'' by Alon and Spencer, the following unbalancing lights problem is discussed. Given an $n \times n$ matrix $A = (a_{ij})$, where $a_{ij} = \pm 1$, we want to maximise the ...
- 878
16
votes
1
answer
526
views
Equivariant Fredholm operators classify equivariant K-theory
Let $\mathcal{F}$ be the space of Fredholm operators on a separable Hilbert space $H$ with the topology induced by the operator norm.
If $X$ is compact,
Atiyah-Jänich proved that
$$[X,\mathcal{F}]\...
- 673
16
votes
1
answer
656
views
Approximate eigenvectors for a set of non-commuting self-adjoint operators
This problem is motivated by finding the right mathematical setting for expressing the compatibility of classical physics with quantum mechanics.
Let $\mathcal H$ be a Hilbert space and $S$ a ...
- 161
16
votes
0
answers
542
views
$C^*$-algebra generated by those operators that are bounded on every $\ell_p$
Suppose $T: c_{00} \to c_{00}$ is a linear map such that, when regarded as an infinite matrix, there is a uniform bound on the $\ell_1$-norms of its columns, and a uniform bound on the $\ell_1$-norms ...
- 25.8k
16
votes
0
answers
1k
views
Finite Rank Commutators
My former student Detelin Dosev and I are interested in classifying the commutators in $L(X)$, the bounded linear operators on the Banach space $X$ (see our joint paper on my home page or the ArXiv ...
- 31.5k
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