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7 2 Continuity Criteria

This document discusses various criteria for determining continuity of functions between metric spaces, including: 1) The sequence criterion, which states a function is continuous if sequences converging to a point are mapped to convergent sequences. 2) The open set criterion, where a function is continuous if the preimage of every open set is open. 3) The closed set criterion, where a function is continuous if the preimage of every closed set is closed.

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Dmitri Zaitsev
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70 views7 pages

7 2 Continuity Criteria

This document discusses various criteria for determining continuity of functions between metric spaces, including: 1) The sequence criterion, which states a function is continuous if sequences converging to a point are mapped to convergent sequences. 2) The open set criterion, where a function is continuous if the preimage of every open set is open. 3) The closed set criterion, where a function is continuous if the preimage of every closed set is closed.

Uploaded by

Dmitri Zaitsev
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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7-2.

Continuity criteria - Sequences


MAU22200 - Advanced Analysis

https://www.maths.tcd.ie/∼zaitsev/Adv-2020
Dmitri Zaitsev [email protected]

Dmitri Zaitsev (Trinity College Dublin) 7-2. Continuity criteria - Sequences 1/7
Theorem (sequence criterion for continuity)
A map f : X → Y between metric spaces is continuous at x0 if and only if
for any sequence (xn ) in X , xn → x0 =⇒ f (xn ) → f (x0 ) as n → ∞.

Proof.
Fixing ε > 0, if f is continuous at x0 ,

∃δ > 0 ∀x d(x, x0 ) < δ =⇒ d(f (x), f (x0 )) < ε. (∗)

Assuming xn → x0 as n → ∞, we have ∃N ∀n ≥ N d(xn , x0 ) < δ, which


combined with (∗) yields d(f (xn ), f (x0 )) < ε showing f (xn ) → f (x0 ) as
n → ∞, since ε > 0 is arbitrary.
Vice versa, assume xn → x0 =⇒ f (xn ) → f (x0 ) for all sequences. If f
were not continuous at x0 , there would be ε > 0 such that ∀δ > 0
d(x, x0 ) < δ 6=⇒ d(f (x), f (x0 )) < ε. Then for every integer n ≥ 1 and
δ = 1/n, there exists xn ∈ X with d(xn , x0 ) < n1 , d(f (xn ), f (x0 )) ≥ ε.
Then xn → x0 but f (xn ) 6→ f (x0 ) contradicting our assumption. Hence by
contradiction, f must be continuous at x0 as desired.
Dmitri Zaitsev (Trinity College Dublin) 7-2. Continuity criteria - Sequences 2/7
Using the sequence criterion to disprove continuity

Disprove the continuity by finding a sequence violating the criterion.


Example
(
1 x =0
Let f : R2 → R be defined by f (x, y ) := .
0 x 6= 0
Taking the sequence (xn , yn ) = ( n1 , 0) ∈ R2 we have

1 1
d1 ((xn , yn ), (0, 0)) = − 0 + |0 − 0| = → 0,
n → ∞,
n n

hence (xn , yn ) → (0, 0) in (R2 , d1 ). On the other hand

f (xn , yn ) = 0 6→ 1 = f (0, 0) n → ∞,

hence f cannot be continuous at (0, 0) by the sequence criterion.

Dmitri Zaitsev (Trinity College Dublin) 7-2. Continuity criteria - Sequences 3/7
Continuity in terms of open sets
Recall that for every map f : X → Y and subset U ⊂ Y , its preimage is
defined by f −1 (U) = {x ∈ X : f (x) ∈ U} ⊂ X .
Theorem (open set criterion for continuity)
A map f : X → Y between metric spaces is continuous if and only if for
every open subset U ⊂ Y , its preimage f −1 (U) is open in X .

Proof. =⇒ Assume f is continuous, let U ⊂ Y be open and fix


x ∈ f −1 (U). By definition of preimage, f (x) ∈ U and since U is open,
there exists a ball Bε (f (x)) ⊂ U. But then the continuity of f implies
∃δ > 0 f (Bδ (x)) ⊂ Bε (f (x)) ⊂ U,
and hence Bδ (x) ⊂ f −1 (U) proving f −1 (U) is open.
⇐= Suppose U open implies f −1 (U) open, and fix x ∈ X and ε > 0.
Since every ball U = Bε (f (x)) is open (see below), its preimage
f −1 (Bε (f (x))) is also open by our assumption, hence contains a ball
Bδ (x), i.e. f (Bδ (x)) ⊂ Bε (f (x)) proving the continuity of f at x.
Dmitri Zaitsev (Trinity College Dublin) 7-2. Continuity criteria - Sequences 4/7
Openness of open balls

Lemma (open balls are open)


In any metric space, every open ball is an open subset.

Proof.
Let Br (x0 ) ⊂ X be an open ball with center x0 ∈ X and radius r > 0. We
need to prove that each point x ∈ Br (x0 ) is interior. Then d(x, x0 ) < r by
definition of the ball, hence

ε := r − d(x, x0 ) > 0

and for y ∈ Bε (x) we have

d(y , x) < ε =⇒ d(y , x0 ) ≤ d(y , x) + d(x, x0 ) < ε + (r − ε) = r

showing y ∈ Br (x0 ). Thus, for each x ∈ Br (x0 ), we have found ε > 0 with
Bε (x) ⊂ Br (x0 ), hence x is interior and the proof is complete.
Dmitri Zaitsev (Trinity College Dublin) 7-2. Continuity criteria - Sequences 5/7
Continuity in terms of closed sets
Corollary (closed set criterion for continuity)
A map f : X → Y between metric spaces is continuous if and only if for
every closed subset C ⊂ Y , its preimage f −1 (C ) is closed in X .

Proof.
The proof follows directly from the criterion in terms of open sets and the
following property of preimages of the complements:

f −1 (Y \ C ) = X \ f −1 (C ). (∗)

Indeed, if f −1 (U) is open whenever U ⊂ Y is open and C ⊂ Y is closed,


then U := Y \ C is open implying f −1 (Y \ C ) is open, hence f −1 (C ) is
closed by (∗) as desired.
Vice versa, if f −1 (C ) is closed whenever C ⊂ Y is closed and U ⊂ Y is
open, then C := Y \ U is closed implying f −1 (Y \ C ) is closed, hence
f −1 (U) = f −1 (X \ C ) is open by (∗) as desired.
Dmitri Zaitsev (Trinity College Dublin) 7-2. Continuity criteria - Sequences 6/7
Open and closed sets in spaces of functions

Example
We have shown that evaluation of functions

F : C [a, b] → R, f 7→ f (x0 ),

is continuous for each x0 ∈ [a, b] with respect to d∞ . Then for any A < B,

{f ∈ C [a, b] : A < f (x0 ) < B} = F −1 ((A, B))


{f ∈ C [a, b] : A ≤ f (x0 ) ≤ B} = F −1 ([A, B])

are preimages of the respective intervals. By the open and closed set
criteria, the first set is open and the second is closed in (C [a, b], d∞ ).

Dmitri Zaitsev (Trinity College Dublin) 7-2. Continuity criteria - Sequences 7/7

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