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This document discusses pointwise and uniformly Cauchy sequences of functions. It defines pointwise and uniformly Cauchy sequences and proves that a uniformly Cauchy sequence is also pointwise Cauchy. It then shows that a sequence of functions is pointwise Cauchy if and only if the sequence of values at each point is Cauchy. Similarly, it characterizes uniformly Cauchy sequences in terms of the supremum of the differences of functions. Finally, it proves that a sequence of functions is pointwise (uniformly) convergent if and only if it is pointwise (uniformly) Cauchy, and provides two examples of uniformly Cauchy sequences.

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Notes

This document discusses pointwise and uniformly Cauchy sequences of functions. It defines pointwise and uniformly Cauchy sequences and proves that a uniformly Cauchy sequence is also pointwise Cauchy. It then shows that a sequence of functions is pointwise Cauchy if and only if the sequence of values at each point is Cauchy. Similarly, it characterizes uniformly Cauchy sequences in terms of the supremum of the differences of functions. Finally, it proves that a sequence of functions is pointwise (uniformly) convergent if and only if it is pointwise (uniformly) Cauchy, and provides two examples of uniformly Cauchy sequences.

Uploaded by

mosesms252
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© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Math 316, Intro to Analysis

Pointwise Cauchy, Uniform Cauchy.


Just as in sequences of number, given a sequence of functions it is important to have a
means of saying that a sequence has a (uniform or pointwise) limit without knowing what
the limit should be.
We will give the definition in each case:
Definition 1. A sequence of functions fn : U → R is call pointwise Cauchy if for all x ∈ U
and all  > 0 there is an N such that for all m, n > N
Similarly to pointwise versus uniform convergence we can define a uniform (over x ∈ U )
by only allowing N to depend on .
Definition 2. A sequence of functions fn : U → R is call uniformly Cauchy if for all  > 0
there is an N such that for all x ∈ U and all m, n > N
Just like last time the uniform condition implies the pointwise condition
Proposition 3. Let fn : U → R be a sequence of functions. If (fn ) is uniformly Cauchy
then (fn ) is pointwise Cauchy.
Proof. Consider any  > 0. Since (fn ) is uniformly Cauchy there is an N0 such that for all
n, m > N , and all x ∈ R .
Now consider any x ∈ R. Let N = so for all m, n > N we see .
Thus (fn ) is pointwise Cauchy. 
The following propositions reveal that there are alternative definitions:
Proposition 4. Let fn : U → R be a sequence of functions. Then (fn ) is pointwise Cauchy
if and only if for all x ∈ U , the sequence [fn (x)] is Cauchy.
Proof. Let fn : U → R be a sequence of functions. We will write both directions of the proof
at once.
The statement “for all x ∈ U the sequence fn (x) is Cauchy” means that

Notice that this is the exact same as as the definition of pointwise Cauchy 
Proposition 5. Let fn : U → R be a sequence of functions. Then (fn ) is uniformly Cauchy
if and only if for all  > 0 there is an N such that for all n, m > N , sup{|fn (x) − fm (x)|} < 
Proof. Let fn : U → R
(=⇒) Assume that (fn ) is uniformly Cauchy. Consider any  > 0, then there exists an N
such that for all m, n > N and all x .

But then  is an upper bound on { }, so that sup{ } < ,


as desired.
(⇐=) Suppose that for all  > 0 there is an N such that for all m, n > N

sup{ }< .
Consider any x ∈ U . Since the supremum is an upper bound,

|fn (x) − fm (x)| ≤.



1
2

Now on the the whole point

Theorem 6. Let fn : U → R be a sequence of functions. The fn is pointwise convergent if


and only if it is pointwise Cauchy.

Proof. The proof is based on the fact that a sequence of numbers (an ) is Cauchy if and only
if it conerges
Let (fn ) be a sequence of functions.
Suppose (fn ) is pointwise Cauchy so that according to proposition 4 for all x ∈ U

Thus, since Cauchy sequences of numbers converge, for all x ∈ U

For any x ∈ U Let f (x) be the limit of the sequence [fn (x)].
Notice that for all x ∈ U , fn (x) → . Yesterday we proved that this means that

.
Now suppose that f is the pointwise limit of fn . Let x ∈ U . Consider any  > 0. Then
there is an N such that for all n > N

|fn (x) − f (x)| <


Now consider any m, n > N then

|fn (x) − fm (x)| =

So that (fn ) is pointwise Cauchy. 

Theorem 7. Let fn : U → R be a sequence of functions. The fn is uniformly convergent if


and only if it is uniformly Cauchy.

Proof. Suppose that (fn ) is uniformly convergent. Let f be its uniform limit. Consider any
 > 0. Since f is the uniform limit there exists an N such that

Now let m, n > N and consider any x ∈ U then


|fn (x) − fm (x)| =
So that (fn ) is uniformly Cauchy.
Now suppose that (fn ) is uniformly Cauchy. By Proposition 4 then (fn ) is pointwise
Cauchy and by Theorem 6 is pointwise convergent. Let f : U → R be its pointwise limit. A
good candidate to be the uniform limit then is

Consider any  > 0, since (fn ) is uniformly Cauchy then there exists an N such that for
all m, n > N and all x ∈ U
3

But then we see that for all m, n > N

< fn (x) <


Recall that fn (x) converges to f (x) by definition. Passing to the limit (only for the middle
term)

≤ f (x) ≤

Thus, | |≤
Notice that N was indepent of x. So that f is the uniform limit. 
We close with some application as a warm up towards the theory of power series.
n
X xn
(1) Let a > 0. Let fn (x) = . Prove that (fn ) is uniformly Cauchy on [−a, a]. (The
n!
k=1
Real Definition of ex is as the limit.)
n
X xn
(2) Let fn (x) = . Prove that (fn ) is uniformly Cauchy on [−1, 1].
2n
k=1
Since these are homework perhaps (time permitting) I will discuss instead the proof that
n
X xn
is uniformly Cauchy on −1 , 12 .
 
the sequence fn (x) = 2
n
k=1

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