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6 votes
1 answer
778 views

Inverse function theorem for DC-functions

I would like to have an inverse (or/and) implicite function theorem for DC-functions. It seems that I have right definitions, but I fail to prove it... Definitions: Let $h:\mathbb R^n\to\mathbb R$ ...
Anton Petrunin's user avatar
-3 votes
1 answer
590 views

A problem regarding definition of p-norm [closed]

Let ${\bf x}=(x_1,...,x_n)$, the p-norm of x is $(|x_1|^p+...+|x_n|^p)^{1/p}$. If one of the components of x is 0, there will be exponential of the form $0^p$. If p is an irrational, $x^p$ is only ...
zzzhhh's user avatar
  • 764
13 votes
7 answers
35k views

Real analysis has no applications?

I'm teaching an undergrad course in real analysis this Fall and we are using the text "Real Mathematical Analysis" by Charles Pugh. On the back it states that real analysis involves no "applications ...
17 votes
12 answers
5k views

Looking for an interesting problem/riddle involving triple integrals.

Does anyone know some good problem in real analysis, the solution of which involves triple integrals, and which is suitable for second semester Analysis students? Thanks!
Pandora's user avatar
  • 459
4 votes
2 answers
734 views

Analyzing the solution to a second-order, non-linear ODE

Let $\psi : [0,\infty] \to \mathbb R$ be a strictly positive, continuously differentiable function, and consider the non-linear ODE $$\ddot x = - \frac{1}{4} \frac{\psi'(x)}{\psi(x)} \left( \dot x^2 - ...
Tom LaGatta's user avatar
  • 8,512
3 votes
2 answers
2k views

Examples of deterministic processes of quadratic variation which are of unbounded variation

In [Föllmer 81] (English translation to be found here) writes: "The class of processes of quadratic variation is clearly larger than the class of semimartingales: Just consider a deterministic process ...
vonjd's user avatar
  • 5,935
7 votes
2 answers
505 views

The set of non-smooth points of a convex function is (m - 1)-rectifiable

I am looking for a reference to the following result. Let $f:\mathbb R^m\to\mathbb R$ be a convex function. Then $f$ is differentiable at all points of outside of a countable union of $(m-1)$-...
Anton Petrunin's user avatar
87 votes
8 answers
16k views

Why is Lebesgue integration taught using positive and negative parts of functions?

Background: When I first took measure theory/integration, I was bothered by the idea that the integral of a real-valued function w.r.t. a measure was defined first for nonnegative functions and only ...
KConrad's user avatar
  • 50.6k
7 votes
4 answers
6k views

The characteristic (indicator) function of a set is not in the Sobolev space H¹

Is it true that the characteristic (indicator) function of a subset of Euclidean space with finite positive measure is never in the Sobolev space $H^1 = W^{1,2}$? And if so, what is the best/easiest/...
Spencer's user avatar
  • 1,771
9 votes
3 answers
4k views

Are there sigma-algebras of cardinality $\kappa>2^{\aleph_0}$ with countable cofinality?

A standard homework in measure theory textbooks asks the student to prove that there are not countably infinite $\sigma$-algebras. The only proof that I know is via a contradiction argument which ...
user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
1k views

Is the absolutely continuous image of a nowhere dense set is also nowhere dense?

Let $f: [a, b] \subseteq \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R}$ be an absolutely continuous map. Does $f$ map a nowhere dense subset of $[a, b]$ to a nowhere dense set? Remarks: The answer is "no" if $f$ is ...
pinaki's user avatar
  • 5,339
39 votes
8 answers
13k views

Can Cantor set be the zero set of a continuous function?

More generally, can the zero set $V(f)$ of a continuous function $f : \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R}$ be nowhere dense and uncountable? What if $f$ is smooth? Some days ago I discovered that in this proof ...
pinaki's user avatar
  • 5,339
9 votes
2 answers
804 views

Partition of R into midpoint convex sets

We say that a subset $X$ of $\mathbb{R}$ is midpoint convex if for any two points $a,b\in X$ the midpoint $\frac{a+b}{2}$ also lies in $X$. My question is: is it possible to partition $\mathbb{R}$ ...
filipm's user avatar
  • 1,359
2 votes
0 answers
354 views

What is this effect in Fourier/additive synthesis called?

Hi, I have re-synthesized a cyclic function additively, and I added a fixed offset to the frequency of each partial. So if the function was $\sum a_{n} sin(2 \pi x * n)$ and its frequencies were $n*f_{...
cheater's user avatar
  • 165
14 votes
6 answers
3k views

What's a natural candidate for an analytic function that interpolates the tower function?

I know that there are analytic functions whose composition with itself is the exponential function, the so-called functional square root of the exponential function, with the additional property that ...
John Jiang's user avatar
  • 4,466
5 votes
0 answers
558 views

continuous selection of a multivalued function?

The title is probably a bit too broad. I frequently encountered the following situation: suppose I need to select a solution to a linear equation from a compact set. Can I make this selection ...
gondolier's user avatar
  • 1,839
32 votes
4 answers
18k views

About the Riemann integrability of composite functions

When I was teaching calculus recently, a freshman asked me the conditions of the Riemann integrability of composite functions. For the composite function $f \circ g$, He presented three cases: 1) ...
X.M. Du's user avatar
  • 627
10 votes
2 answers
3k views

Continuous function from $[0,1]$ to $[0,1]$

Does there exist a continuous function $f:[0,1]\rightarrow [0,1]$ such that $f$ takes every value in $[0,1]$ an infinite number of times?
Cristos A. Ruiz's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
359 views

a unique solution ? iteration involving conditional distributions

consider the following mappings, G and T, $y(s) = Gx(s)=\exp\left[\sum_{s'}p(s'|s)\log x(s') \right]$ $z(s) = Ty(s)=\sum_{s'}q(s'|s)y(s')e^{-r(s')}$ where $0< x(s)\leq 1$ ,$r(s)<0$ , $s,s'\in ...
rubin's user avatar
  • 1
7 votes
1 answer
1k views

Can a continuous, nowhere differentiable function have specified "shape" at every point?

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that: a) This is a rather unmotivated question. b) I can't remember whether or not I've asked this before, but searching doesn't seem to turn anything up so ... ...
Mike Hall's user avatar
  • 793
6 votes
6 answers
4k views

existence of antiderivatives of nasty but elementary functions

In discussing with my honors calculus class the fact that some continuous elementary functions do not have an elementary antiderivative, I realized I was unsure whether every discontinuous elementary ...
James Propp's user avatar
  • 19.7k
2 votes
1 answer
896 views

Text/structure for an analysis course for students with pre-existing understanding of some applied aspects of analysis

Greetings, I'm teaching a one-off course (perhaps never to be repeated) in a curriculum that's in transition, and I'm looking for advice on a textbook, or stories from people who have taught similar ...
107 votes
9 answers
36k views

solving $f(f(x))=g(x)$

This question is of course inspired by the question How to solve f(f(x))=cosx and Joel David Hamkins' answer, which somehow gives a formal trick for solving equations of the form $f(f(x))=g(x)$ on a ...
Kevin Buzzard's user avatar
6 votes
7 answers
5k views

Best way to teach concept of real numbers using a hands-on activity?

I know a middle school math teacher looking for some suggestions for hands-on activities to teach the concept of real numbers. I'm new to this site, so this may be a little off topic.
mshafrir's user avatar
  • 163
7 votes
4 answers
3k views

completeness axiom for the real numbers

Do any treatises on real analysis take the following as the basic completeness axiom for the reals? "Let $A$ and $B$ be set of real numbers such that (a) every real number is either in $A$ or in $B$; ...
James Propp's user avatar
  • 19.7k
13 votes
1 answer
2k views

Hausdorff Dimension and Hölder Continuity

Suppose we have a curve γ : [0,1] -> ℝn. It is well known that if this curve is Hölder continuous for some exponent α then the Hausdorff dimension of γ[0,1] is bounded above ...
Brent Werness's user avatar
13 votes
1 answer
1k views

Which functions are Wiener-integrable?

I'm looking for either a few precise mathematical statements about Wiener integrals, or a reference where I can find them. Background The Wiener integral is an analytic tool to define certain "...
Theo Johnson-Freyd's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
340 views

Embeddings of Weighted Banach Spaces

Let be $d$ a positive integer, $\Omega=\mathbb{R}^{\mathbb{Z}^d}$ and fix $R\geq 2$. We define weighted Banach spaces $$ \Omega_p:=\left\{ x\in \Omega\left| \left[\sum_{i\in\mathbb{Z}^d}\frac{|x_i|^...
Leandro's user avatar
  • 2,044
3 votes
1 answer
363 views

"exchange" of real analyticity and integration

Sorry for the impreciseness of the title. It is merely meant for an analogy. Exchange of limiting operations and integrations are basically derived from Lebesgue's dominated convergence theorem. For ...
gondolier's user avatar
  • 1,839
2 votes
0 answers
517 views

When deRham curve is bijection?

Motivation: Suppose we have deRham curve. From wikipedia: Consider some metric space $(M,d)$ (generally $R^2$ with the usual euclidean distance), and a pair of contraction mappings on M: $d_0:\ M \...
kakaz's user avatar
  • 1,626
10 votes
0 answers
439 views

Evaluating Shintani cone zeta functions

Hi everyone I am trying the evaluate sums of the form $$ \sum_{n_1>0,n_2>0,\ldots,n_m>0} \frac{1}{\big((a_{1,1}n_1 +\ldots +a_{1,m}n_m)^k \ldots (a_{m,1}n_1+ \ldots +a_{m,m}n_m)^k\big)}$$ ...
user3628's user avatar
  • 265
6 votes
3 answers
1k views

Dependence of error on mesh for Riemann sums

Suppose $f$ is continuous on $[a,b]$ with $I = \int_a^b f(x)\: dx$, and for every $\epsilon > 0$ let $\delta(\epsilon)$ be the largest $\delta > 0$ such that every Riemann sum arising from a ...
James Propp's user avatar
  • 19.7k
6 votes
1 answer
802 views

Approximation of a Sobolev function that has vanishing trace on the reduced boundary of a Caccioppoli (i.e. finite perimeter) set

For $\Omega\subset\mathbb{R}^N$ open and bounded, let $W^{1,p}(\Omega)$ denote the usual Sobolev space of $L^p(\Omega)$ functions with weak partial derivatives in $L^p(\Omega)$ and $W_0^{1,p}(\Omega)$ ...
Elgrimm's user avatar
  • 143
7 votes
4 answers
639 views

Explicit bounds for the asymptotics of oscillatory integrals

Recall the following theorem (c.f. LC Evans, M Zworski, "Lectures on semiclassical analysis", Theorem 3.15, depending on the version): Theorem: Let $\varphi: \mathbb R^n \to \mathbb R$ be smooth and ...
Theo Johnson-Freyd's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
1k views

Why is this generality in Vitali's Lemma useful?

In Vitali's Lemma it uses outer measure rather than measure. What are some results that depend on it this theorem applying to sets with only outer measure rather than measurable sets? Vitali's Lemma: ...
S. Donovan's user avatar
28 votes
7 answers
5k views

Rolle's theorem in n dimensions

This looks like a statement from a calculus textbook, which perhaps it should be. "Rolle's theorem". Let $F\colon [a,b]\to\mathbb R^n$ be a continuous function such that $F(a)=F(b)$ and $F'(t)$ ...
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

How can we use the bounded convergence theorem in this proof of the Riesz Representation Theorem?

I'm studying the proof of the Riesz Representation Theorem as it appears in Ch. 6 of Royden's Real Analysis. When I looked on the web I noted there are a few different theorems that go by the name "...
S. Donovan's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
317 views

Bibliography for topologies defined by a family of seminorms

Hello I am trying to learn more about Fréchet spaces (in order to study the theory of distributions) and was wondering what people thought was the best resource. Thank you very much.
Learner's user avatar
  • 143
12 votes
2 answers
812 views

Inequality in Gaussian space -- possibly provable by rearrangement?

The following problem arose for my collaborators and me when studying the computational complexity of the Maximum-Cut problem. Let $f : \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R}$ be an odd function. Let $\rho \in [...
Ryan O'Donnell's user avatar
5 votes
5 answers
2k views

Cardinality of Equivalence Classes of Cauchy Sequences

What's the cardinality of a single equivalence class of Cauchy sequences in ℚ? To clarify, I'm not asking for the cardinality of the real numbers, but for the cardinality of the set of Cauchy ...
SLaks's user avatar
  • 153
2 votes
3 answers
946 views

How can I measure the Morse index in infinite dimensions?

Let $V$ be a vector space over $\mathbb R$, and $a: V\otimes V\to \mathbb R$ a symmetric bilinear pairing. Recall that the Morse index of $a$ is the maximal dimension of any subspace $V_- \subseteq V$...
Theo Johnson-Freyd's user avatar
2 votes
4 answers
3k views

Splitting a space into positive and negative parts

Let $V$ be a vector space over $\mathbb R$. A symmetric bilinear pairing on $V$ is a linear map $a: V\otimes V \to \mathbb R$. Because $\mathbb R$ is characteristic not-two, I will freely confuse ...
Theo Johnson-Freyd's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
730 views

Decomposition of Hölder continuous functions

Let $\alpha\in(0,1)$ and $\eta\in\Lambda_0^\alpha(\mathbb{R})$ be a compactly supported Hölder continuous function of order $\alpha$. I would like to show that, for any $n\in\mathbb{N}$, it is ...
user17240's user avatar
  • 852
23 votes
4 answers
2k views

Which is the correct ring of functions for a topological space?

There is a fact that I should have learned a long time ago, but never did; I was reminded that I did not know the answer by Qiaochu's excellent series of posts, the most recent of which is this one. ...
Theo Johnson-Freyd's user avatar
51 votes
5 answers
18k views

Integrability of derivatives

Is there a (preferably simple) example of a function $f:(a,b)\to \mathbb{R}$ which is everywhere differentiable, such that $f'$ is not Riemann integrable? I ask for pedagogical reasons. Results in ...
Mark Meckes's user avatar
  • 11.4k
3 votes
1 answer
263 views

Asymptotically multiplicative functions and matrices

Hi, Let $\mathbb{N}_{cop}^2$ denote the set of all pairs of coprime natural numbers. A function $f:\mathbb{C}\rightarrow\mathbb{C}$ is called asymptotically multiplicative, iff $\epsilon_{m,n}:=f(mn)...
M.G.'s user avatar
  • 7,127
8 votes
1 answer
638 views

Composite residues with determinant denominators

I am looking for a good reference on composite residues of multi-variable contour integrals (something better and more explicit than Griffiths and Harris or Tsikh). This means I want to evaluate $\...
Jared Kaplan's user avatar
74 votes
15 answers
18k views

$f(f(x))=\exp(x)-1$ and other functions "just in the middle" between linear and exponential

The question is about the function $f(x)$ so that $f(f(x))=\exp (x)-1$. The question is open ended and it was discussed quite recently in the comment thread in Aaronson's blog here http://...
Gil Kalai's user avatar
  • 24.7k
38 votes
26 answers
57k views

Text for an introductory Real Analysis course.

Any suggestions on a good text to use for teaching an introductory Real Analysis course? Specifically what have you found to be useful about the approach taken in specific texts?
26 votes
2 answers
9k views

Maximal ideals in the ring of continuous real-valued functions on ℝ

For a compact space $K$, the maximal ideals in the ring $C(K)$ of continuous real-valued functions on $K$ are easily identified with the points of $K$ (a point defines the maximal ideal of functions ...
Alon Amit's user avatar
  • 6,734