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Is there a Real valued function with image of every open interval the whole real line [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Function with range equal to whole reals on every open set Hello, My problem is the following "Is there a Real valued function with image of every open interval the whole ...
D G's user avatar
  • 201
26 votes
2 answers
5k views

Does Arzelà-Ascoli require choice?

Inspired by a recent Math.SE question entitled Where do we need the axiom of choice in Riemannian geometry?, I was thinking of the Arzelà--Ascoli theorem. Let's state a very simple version: ...
Nate Eldredge's user avatar
78 votes
5 answers
8k views

Does pointwise convergence imply uniform convergence on a large subset?

Suppose $f_n$ is a sequence of real valued functions on $[0,1]$ which converges pointwise to zero. Is there an uncountable subset $A$ of $[0,1]$ so that $f_n$ converges uniformly on $A$? Is there a ...
Bill Johnson's user avatar
  • 31.5k
9 votes
3 answers
934 views

local behavior of a finite Borel measure

Let $\mu$ be a finite Borel measure on $\mathbb{R}^n$. I am interested in how does $\mu(B(x,r))$ behave, where $B(x,r)$ is the open ball of radius $r$ centered at $x$. For instance, as far as I recall,...
gondolier's user avatar
  • 1,839
3 votes
1 answer
591 views

Rank-1 decomposition conjecture for matrix with linear function elements

Can Anyone prove the following conjecture? Consider $k$ rational function vectors $V_1(x_1,\cdots,x_n),\cdots,V_k(x_1,\cdots,x_n)$. They are called \textbf{linearly dependent} if there exists ...
Seyong's user avatar
  • 57
46 votes
2 answers
8k views

"Closed-form" functions with half-exponential growth

Let's call a function f:N→N half-exponential if there exist constants 1<c<d such that for all sufficiently large n, cn < f(f(n)) < dn. Then my question is this: can we prove that no ...
Scott Aaronson's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
724 views

Sturm chain analogue for exponential polynomials?

I'm going to define an exponential polynomial of degree $k$ as a function $f$ of the form $f(x) = \sum_{i=1}^k c_ie^{\alpha_ix}$ ($\alpha_i$s real). My first question is: is there an algorithm for ...
zeb's user avatar
  • 8,688
9 votes
2 answers
616 views

construction of a random measure with a given mean

Let me first pose a trivial question. Given a Borel probability measure $\mu$ on the real line, is it possible to construct a purely atomic random measure $M$ whose mean is $\mu$? The answer is ...
gondolier's user avatar
  • 1,839
2 votes
1 answer
465 views

What is the regularity of the argument of a complex function?

Let $\psi=f+ig=\rho e^{i\theta}$ be a complex function on some open subset of $\mathbb{R}^n$, where $f,g,\rho$ and $\theta$ are real-valued. I happened to find that the identity of differentiation for ...
Liren Lin's user avatar
  • 305
8 votes
0 answers
221 views

Standard polynomials applied to matrices (bis)

The standard polynomial in $r$ non-commuting indeterminates $x_1,\ldots,x_r$ is defined by $${\mathcal S}_r(x_1,\ldots,x_r):=\sum_{\sigma\in S_r}\epsilon(\sigma)x_{\sigma(1)}x_{\sigma(2)}\cdots x_{\...
Denis Serre's user avatar
  • 52.3k
7 votes
4 answers
1k views

The non-convergence of f(f(x))=exp(x)-1 and labeled rooted trees

This question is closely related to MO f(f(x))=exp(x)-1 and other functions “just in the middle” between linear and exponential. Consider $e^{e^x-1}$, this is the generating function of the Bell ...
user avatar
26 votes
3 answers
7k views

Dual of bounded uniformly continuous functions

Let $(X,d)$ be a metric space, and let $C_u(X)$ be the Banach space of bounded uniformly continuous functions on $X$ (with the uniform norm). How can I characterize its dual space $C_u(X)^*$? I ...
Nate Eldredge's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
845 views

$H^{-1}$ conservative gradient flow and $L^2$ projection

Consider Cahn-Hilliard (see this) equation hich is known as the $H^{-1}$ gradient flow of Cahn-Hilliard energy functional, also it is easy to verify that this equation is mass preserving i.e. measure ...
Jean-Marie's user avatar
16 votes
4 answers
3k views

How many minors I need to check to conclude all minors will vanish ?

Given a $m \times n$ matrix $n>m$, I was trying to check if all its $m \times m$ minor vanish. I remember hearing that one really does not need to check all possible minors in order to conclude ...
Vagabond's user avatar
  • 1,795
1 vote
2 answers
641 views

Sharp upper bounds for sums of the form $\sum_{p \mid k} \frac{1}{p+1}$

Are there known sharp upper bounds (in terms of $k$ or $\omega(k)$, the number of distinct prime divisors of $k$) for sums of the form $\sum_{p \mid k} \frac{1}{p+1}$ for $k > 1$ subject to the ...
user02138's user avatar
  • 595
20 votes
3 answers
2k views

Do convex and decreasing functions preserve the semimartingale property?

Some time ago I spent a lot of effort trying to show that the semimartingale property is preserved by certain functions. Specifically, that a convex function of a semimartingale and decreasing ...
George Lowther's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
952 views

Geometrical structure of critical points of harmonic functions

For a harmonic function $\Phi$ on a simply connected subset $\Gamma$ of $\mathbb{R}^3$, define a guide curve $\gamma: I \mapsto \Gamma$ of $\Phi$ as a simple regular $C^1$ curve such that all point ...
Janus Wesenberg's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
917 views

Is the inclusion of Lebesgue spaces compact?

[Disclaimer: this may be a very trivial question; it certainly looks like it ought to have been studied and understood. I started thinking about it this morning when writing some notes for Rellich-...
Willie Wong's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
470 views

Can any antidifference (indefinite sum) of a function be expressed in elementary functions and generalized polygamma function if its integral can be expressed in elementary functions?

If the integral or multiplicative integral of a function can be expressed with elementary functions, does it mean its indefinite sum (antidifference) or indefinite product respectively can be ...
Anixx's user avatar
  • 10.1k
22 votes
2 answers
2k views

Is a real power series that maps rationals to rationals defined by a rational function?

Suppose that the function $p(x)$ is defined on an open subset $U$ of $\mathbb{R}$ by a power series with real coefficients. Suppose, further, that $p$ maps rationals to rationals. Must $p$ be defined ...
Sidney Raffer's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
3k views

How to resolve a wedge product of vector bundles

Let $X$ be an algebraic variety. Consider an exact sequence $$0\to A\to B\to C\to 0$$ of vector bundles on $X$. I have seen in different papers the following type resolution of wedge product of $C$ (...
Fei YE's user avatar
  • 2,444
4 votes
3 answers
794 views

Monotone injection of an ordinal into $[0,1]$

This is related to my recent question and would provide a natural positive answer to Question 2. I am sure this must be known to experts. Question: Is there a monotone injection $(\omega_1,<) \...
Andreas Thom's user avatar
  • 25.5k
4 votes
0 answers
939 views

Proofs of Baire category theorem

I would like to have a list of proofs of the fact that the real line is not meager (also very useful would be a reference to such a list, if it already exists somewhere). My motivation is the ...
Antongiulio's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
767 views

Possible subsets of reals that equal the set of continuity of a function

This should be an easy question, but I don't quite know how to approach it. It may be somewhat related to the concepts mentioned in the context of this past question, though it was motivated mainly by ...
Vipul Naik's user avatar
  • 7,320
4 votes
2 answers
442 views

A mapping from a lattice to itself

Consider $\mathbb{Z}^{n}$ for $n = 2^r$ where $r \geq 1$ . Look at the iterates of the following function $T$ from $\mathbb{Z}^n$ to itself. $T((a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_n)) = (|a_1 - a_n|, |a_2 - a_1|, |...
debapriyay's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
156 views

How to study the behavior of a particular function on a Vector Space.

Let, $V$ be a vector space over a field $K.$ Let, $T$ be a function from $V$ to $V$ such that $T(kX) = kT(X)$ for all $k \in K$ and for all $X \in V$ and also $T(k + X) = T(X)$ for all $k \in K$ ...
debapriyay's user avatar
114 votes
34 answers
86k views

Why do we teach calculus students the derivative as a limit?

I'm not teaching calculus right now, but I talk to someone who does, and the question that came up is why emphasize the $h \to 0$ definition of a derivative to calculus students? Something a teacher ...
4 votes
2 answers
3k views

Power series with non-integer exponents

Motivation: For the sake of concreteness, I'll state a very particular context, but my question is a little more general. I'm trying to find a function $\gamma\colon [0,\delta) \to [0,\delta')$ that ...
Vaughn Climenhaga's user avatar
6 votes
0 answers
267 views

Is there a straightforward way to solve unmixed, homogeneous systems of polynomials?

I came across this problem in my research. It might just be an easy algebraic geometry question, but I don't know much algebraic geometry. Suppose we have a system of $k\leq n$ polynomials in $\...
Jeffrey Doker's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
3k views

Gluing two diffeomorphisms together

A fundamental construction in a first course on manifolds is to build a smooth function $\psi\colon \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R}$ with the property that for some $0<\delta<\epsilon$ we have $\psi(...
Vaughn Climenhaga's user avatar
11 votes
3 answers
1k views

Can there be two continuous real-valued functions such that at least one has rational values for all x?

Of course, no continuous real valued non-constant function can attain only rational or irrational values, but can there be a pair of nowhere-constant continuous functions f and g such that for all x, ...
mathahada's user avatar
  • 656
1 vote
2 answers
360 views

Inf of a mutivariate function

Let $f(x_1,\ldots , x_n) = \frac{x_1}{x_2+x_3} + \frac{x_2}{x_3+x_4} + \cdots + \frac{x_n}{x_1+x_2}$, defined for $x_i>0$. Is there $(x_1, \ldots ,x_n)\in {\mathbb{R}^*_+}^n$ such that $f(x_1,\...
Portland's user avatar
  • 2,829
4 votes
2 answers
4k views

Embedding of $BV$ and $L^p$ spaces

An elementary question about Sobolev spaces: Is there some explicit theorem about embedding relation between spaces $BV(\Omega)$ and $L^p(\Omega)$? Formulated otherwise: is $BV$ a subset of $L^2$ (i....
Jean-Marie's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
1k views

Rank of a linear combination of quadratic forms

Suppose we have a set of quadratic forms $Q_i (x_1, \dots, x_n)$ for $1 \leq i \leq k$ in $n$ variables, defined over $\mathbb{R}$. We suppose these are 'collectively nondegenerate' in the sense that ...
sobe86's user avatar
  • 375
10 votes
4 answers
3k views

Measure 0 sets on the line with Hausdorff dimension 1

I use $\dim_H(E)$ to denote the Hausdorff dimension of a set $E \subseteq \mathbb{R}$ and $|E|$ to denote its Lebesgue measure. It is easy to see from the definition of Hausdorff dimension that if $\...
Vince's user avatar
  • 505
35 votes
19 answers
9k views

Interesting applications (in pure mathematics) of first-year calculus

What interesting applications are there for theorems or other results studied in first-year calculus courses? A good example for such an application would be using a calculus theorem to prove a ...
3 votes
1 answer
362 views

Cartesian product of test function spaces

Mini introduction Suppose $U \subset \mathbb R^n, V \subset \mathbb R^m$ are two open sets. If we take http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributions_space#Test_function_space">test functions $f_i \in \...
Kirill Shmakov's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
367 views

A differential inclusion relating to the slope of a convex function

This question is concerned with a possible lemma which would be very useful in one of my current research projects, but which I am currently unable to prove. The project as a whole relates to the ...
Ian Morris's user avatar
  • 6,206
26 votes
2 answers
2k views

Analogues of Luzin's theorem

If $X$ is a compact metric space and $\mu$ is a Borel probability measure on $X$, then the space $C(X)$ of continuous real-valued functions on $X$ is a closed nowhere dense subset of $L^\infty(X,\mu)$,...
Vaughn Climenhaga's user avatar
34 votes
2 answers
4k views

Symmetric powers and duals of vector bundles in char p

Suppose that $X$ is a smooth projective variety (eg $P^n$) and $E$ is a vector bundle (eg the tangent bundle). If the characteristic is zero, then taking symmetric powers "commutes" with taking duals: ...
David Eisenbud's user avatar
238 votes
10 answers
43k views

If $f$ is infinitely differentiable then $f$ coincides with a polynomial

Let $f$ be an infinitely differentiable function on $[0,1]$ and suppose that for each $x \in [0,1]$ there is an integer $n \in \mathbb{N}$ such that $f^{(n)}(x)=0$. Then does $f$ coincide on $[0,1]$ ...
C.S.'s user avatar
  • 4,795
51 votes
4 answers
17k views

Function satisfying $f^{-1} =f'$

How many functions are there which are differentiable on $(0,\infty)$ and that satisfy the relation $f^{-1}=f'$?
C.S.'s user avatar
  • 4,795
6 votes
2 answers
1k views

Proving equality of varieties by dimension counting

For finite sets $A$ and $B$, it is clear that $A \subseteq B$ and $|A| \geq |B|$ implies $A = B$. While an obvious fact, it can sometimes be a nice shortcut in proofs. Analogously, if $V$ and $W$ are ...
Per Vognsen's user avatar
  • 2,071
6 votes
1 answer
369 views

Denominators in the solution to Hilbert's XVII

Hilbert's seventeenth problem asks to prove that every positive semidefinite form can be written as the sum of squares of rational functions. Currently we don't seem to have a good understanding of ...
Gjergji Zaimi's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
503 views

A Jordan arc in the unit disk

Let $D$ be the open unit disk, and $J$ a Jordan arc (that is, a homeomorphic copy of $[0, 1]$) that lies in $D$, except $J(0)$ lies on the boundary of $D$, say $J(0)=1$. I would like to see that $D\...
Jeff's user avatar
  • 95
239 votes
14 answers
76k views

Have any long-suspected irrational numbers turned out to be rational?

The history of proving numbers irrational is full of interesting stories, from the ancient proofs for $\sqrt{2}$, to Lambert's irrationality proof for $\pi$, to Roger Apéry's surprise demonstration ...
13 votes
2 answers
3k views

Left and right eigenvalues

A quaternionic matrix $A$ gives rise to a function $\mathbb{H}^n \to \mathbb{H}^n$ given by $x \mapsto A \cdot x$. This is real linear, but not complex- or quaternionic-linear (in general) if we ...
Jeff Strom's user avatar
  • 12.5k
25 votes
9 answers
6k views

Function with range equal to whole reals on every open set

There is an example of a function that is unbounded on every open set. Just take $f(n/m) = m$ for coprime $n$ and $m$ and $f(irrational) = 0$. I want to generalize this in a way to get a function ...
falagar's user avatar
  • 2,821
13 votes
3 answers
2k views

Set of real numbers with positive measure containing no midpoints

Does there exists a subset E of R with positive measure and without containing any midpoints (i.e. x,y distinct in E, (x+y)/2 not in E)?
Lieven's user avatar
  • 133
12 votes
1 answer
5k views

Points of continuity of Baire class one functions

This is an idle question motivated by two comments I made to a previous MO question (which I just searched for, unsuccessfully). That question asked if the characteristic function of the rationals is ...
Pete L. Clark's user avatar