Functional Analysis Exercise Class

Week 2 November – 6 November

Deadline to hand in the homeworks: your exercise class on week 9 November – 13 November

Exercises

(1) Let X be the following space of piecewise continuous functions from [0, 1] to K:

X := f ∈ K[0,1] : f is piecewise continuous, right continuous



at every x ∈ [0, 1], and continuous at 1 .

Define
Z
kf k1 := |f (t)| dt, f ∈ X.
[0,1]

a) Show that k k1 is a norm on X.

b) Show that C([0, 1], K) is not closed in X w.r.t. k k1 , and conclude that
(C([0, 1], K) is not complete with the norm k k1 .
(Hint: Construct a sequence of continuous functions in X that converges
to a discontinuous function w.r.t. k k1 .)
c) Recall the definition of the uniform norm kf k∞ := supt∈[0,1] |f (t)|. Show
that

k k 1 ≤ k k∞ ,

but k k1 is not equivalent to k k∞ . Contrast this with what you have learned
about norms on finite-dimensional vector spaces.

Solution:

a) We have
Z Z
kλf k1 = |λf (t)| dt = |λ| |f (t)| dt = |λ| kf k1 .
[0,1] [0,1]

1
 Since |f (t) + g(t)| ≤ |f (t)| + |g(t)|, t ∈ [0, 1], we get
Z Z Z
kf + gk1 = |f (t) + g(t)| dt ≤ |f (t)| dt + |g(t)| dt
[0,1] [0,1] [0,1]

= kf k1 + kgk1 ,

i.e., the triangle inequality holds. Obviously, kf k1 ≥ 0 for every f ∈ X.

Finally, if f 6= 0 then there exists an x0 ∈ [0, 1) such that |f (x0 )| > 0. By
piecewise continuity and right continuity, there exists a δ > 0 such that for
all x ∈ [x0 , x0 + δ], |f (x)| ≥ |f (x0 )|/2, so that
Z
kf k1 ≥ |f (t)| dt ≥ δ|f (x0 )|/2 > 0.
[x0 ,x0 +δ]

b) Consider f ∈ X \ C([0, 1], K) given by


0 0 ≤ x < 1/2
f (x) =
1 1/2 ≤ x ≤ 1.

For every n ∈ N let fn be a continuons "smooth-over" of function f ,


 0, 0 ≤ x < 1/2 − 1/n
n
fn (x) = 2
x + 2 − 4 , 21 − n1 ≤ x ≤ 21 + n1
1 n

1, 1/2 + 1/n ≤ x ≤ 1.


Then fn ∈ C([0, 1], K), and

Z 1
1
kfn − f k1 = |fn (x) − f (x)|dx = → 0 as n → ∞,
0 n
i.e., (fn )n∈N converges to f in the norm k k1 . Thus, (fn )n∈N is a sequence
in C([0, 1], K) whose limit is not in C([0, 1], K), and therefore C([0, 1], K)
is not closed in (X, k k1 ). Since every complete subspace of a metric space
is closed, this shows that C([0, 1], K) is not complete w.r.t. the norm k k1 .
c) Obviously, |f (t)| ≤ maxx∈[0,1] |f (x)| = kf k∞ for every t ∈ [0, 1], and hence
Z Z
kf k1 = |f (t)| dt ≤ kf k∞ dt = kf k∞ .
[0,1] [0,1]

Equivalence of k k1 and k k∞ would mean the existence of a positive con-

stant c such that kf k∞ ≤ c kf k1 for all f ∈ X. In particular, this would im-
ply that if a sequence (fn )n∈N ⊆ X converges to some f ∈ X w.r.t. k k1 then
it also converges to f w.r.t. k k∞ . Consider, however, the function f and the

2
 sequence (fn )n∈N constructed in the previous point. Then kfn − f k1 → 0
as n → +∞, but for all n ∈ N,

kfn − f k∞ = sup |fn (t) − f (t)| = 1/2,

t∈[0,1]

and hence fn does not converge to f w.r.t. k k∞ . This shows that there
cannot exist a positive constant c such that kf k∞ ≤ c kf k1 for all f ∈ X,
and hence k k1 and k k∞ are not equivalent.
This is in contrast with the situation in finite-dimensional normed spaces,
where any two norms are equivalent to each other.
Alternative solution for the inequivalence: We know that C([0, 1], K) is
complete w.r.t. k k∞ , and hence it is closed in X w.r.t. k k∞ . In the previous
point we have seen that it is not closed in X w.r.t. k k1 , and hence the two
norms cannot be equivalent (because otherwise they would generate the
same topology, and would have the same closed sets).

(2) Consider the space of real-valued continuously differentiable functions C 1 ([0, 1], R)
with the C 1 -norm

kf kC 1 := kf k∞ + kf 0 k∞ = sup |f (x)| + sup |f 0 (x)|.

0≤x≤1 0≤x≤1

Prove that this is indeed a norm, and with this norm C 1 ([0, 1], R) is a Banach
space.
Solution: It is obvious that k · kC 1 is a seminorm, and since k k∞ is strictly
positive, and k kC 1 ≥ k k∞ , we see that k kC 1 is strictly positive, too.
Now, suppose that (fn )n∈N ⊆ C 1 ([0, 1], R) is a Cauchy sequence. Then

kfn − fm kC 1 → 0 as n, m → ∞,

and hence

kfn − fm k∞ → 0, kfn0 − fm
0
k∞ → 0, as n, m → ∞.
 
That is, the sequences (fn )n∈N and (fn0 )n∈N are Cauchy sequences in C([0, 1], R), k k∞ .
Since this space is complete, both sequences have limits in this space, de-
note these limits by f and g, i.e. kfn − f k∞ → 0, and kfn0 − gk∞ → 0 as
n → ∞. The proof will be complete if we can show that f ∈ C 1 ([0, 1], R) and
limn→+∞ kfn − f kC 1 = 0.

3
 Note that for every n ∈ N,
Z x
fn (x) = fn (0) + fn0 (t) dt, x ∈ [0, 1].
0

Define
Z x
f˜(x) := f (0) + g(t) dt, x ∈ [0, 1].
0

Then


f
n − ˜
f

= sup |fn (x) − f˜(x)|
∞ x∈[0,1]
Z x
≤ |fn (0) − f (0)| + sup |fn0 (t) − g(t)| dt
x∈[0,1] 0

≤ kfn − f k∞ + kfn0 − gk∞ −−−−→ 0,

n→+∞

i.e., fn converges to f˜ in the uniform norm. Since the limit of a sequence

in a normed space is unique, we obtain that f˜ = f . By construction, f˜ is
differentiable, and hence we see that f is differentiable. Finally,

kfn − f kC 1 = kfn − f k∞ + kfn0 − f 0 k∞ = kfn − f k∞ + kfn0 − gk∞ → 0

as n → +∞, by the definition of f and g.

(3) a) Let (M, d) be a metric space and let K ⊂ M be compact. Show that every
sequence in K has at least one accumulation point in K.
2 1/2
P+∞

b) Recall the definition of the 2-norm kxk2 := i=1 |x(i)| on KN , and
the definition

l2 (N, K) := x ∈ KN : kxk2 < ∞ .

Show that in the space (l2 (N, K), k k2 ), the closed unit ball B 1 (0) = {x ∈
l2 (C) : kxk2 ≤ 1} is not compact. Thus, closed and bounded sets need not
be compact in an infinite-dimensional space. Contrast this with what you
have learned about finite-dimensional normed spaces.
(Hint: Consider the sequence e1 = (1, 0, 0, 0, ...), e2 = (0, 1, 0, 0, ...), e3 =
(0, 0, 1, 0, ...), ... .)
Solution:

4
 a) Assume on the contrary that there is a sequence (xn )n∈N in K that has
no accumulation point. Then, for every y ∈ K, there is an y > 0 such
S By (y) contains only finitely many points of (xn )n∈N . Since K =
that
y∈K By (y), the By (y) cover K. Since K is compact, there is a finite
subcover. But since every By (y) contains only finitely many points of
(xn )n∈N , we conclude that the sequence (xn )n∈N is finite, a contradiction.
b) The sequence
√ (en )n∈N given in the Hint is in B 1 (0). We find that ken −
em k2 = 2 for all n, m ∈ N with n 6= m, and hence (en )n∈N has no accumu-
lation point. By the previous point, this shows that B 1 (0) is not compact.
Hence, B 1 (0) is a closed and bounded set that is not compact. This is in
contrast with the case of finite-dimensional normed spaces where a set is
compact if and only if it is closed and bounded.

(4) a) Show that if W is a proper subspace in a normed space (i.e., it is not the
whole space) then its interior is empty.
b) Show that the algebraic dimension of any Banach space is either finite
or uncountably infinite, i.e., there exists no countably infinite-dimensional
Banach space.
(Hint: Use the previous point and Baire’s category theorem.)
c) Let X be the set of polynomial functions on [0, 1]. Show that there exists
no norm which would make X a Banach space.
Solution:

a) Let X be a normed space and W be a proper subspace. Let w ∈ W ; we

have to show that for every ε > 0, Bε (y) is not contained in W . Since W is
not the whole space, there exists some x ∈ X \ W . For any given ε > 0, let
ε
xε := v + 2kxk x. Then xε is also outside of W ; indeed, if it was an element
of W then so would 2kxk
ε
(xε − v) = x be, a contradiction. On the other
hand, kxε − vk = ε/2, i.e., xε ∈ Bε (v). Hence, Bε (v) is not contained in
W.
b) Assume that X is a Banach space with an algebraic basis {en }n∈N . For
every N ∈ N, let WN be the subspace spanned by the first N basis vectors.
Then WN is finite-dimensional, and hence closed, as it was shown in the
lecture. By definition, any x ∈ X can be expanded in this Pbasis, i.e., there
r
exist n1 < . . . < nr and c1 , . . . , cr ∈ K such that x = i=1 ci eni . Thus,
x ∈ Wnr . This shows that X = ∪N ∈N WN . However, by the previous
point, each WN is closed and nowhere dense, and therefore we obtained a
contradiction with Baire’s category theorem.

5
c) It is easy to see that (fn (x) := xn )n∈N forms a basis in the set of polynomial
functions, and therefore this space is countably infinite dimensional. By the
previous point, it cannot be a Banach space with any norm.

6
 Homework with solutions

(1) Recall that


C0 (R) := {f : R → R f continuous, lim f (x) = lim f (x) = 0}
x→−∞ x→−∞

denotes the space of real-valued continuous functions on R that vanish at infinity,

and

Cc (R) := {f : R → R f continuous, ∃a > 0 s.t. f (x) = 0 if |x| > a}
denotes the space of real-valued continuous, compactly supported functions on
R.
a) Prove that the closure of the space Cc (R) with respect to the uniform norm
kf k∞ = supx∈R |f (x)| is the space C0 (R).
b) Is the space Cc (R) with the uniform norm complete? If not, give a concrete
completion of it.
Solution:
a) It is clear that Cc (R) ⊆ C0 (R), so what we have to show is that any ε-
ball around a function f ∈ C0 (R) contains a function from Cc (R). By the
definition of C0 (R), there exists a tε > 0 such that |f (t)| < ε/3 for all
t ∈ R \ [−tε , tε ]. Define


 f (t), |t| ≤ tε ,

(1 − p)f (t ),
ε t = tε + p, 0 < p ≤ 1,
fε (t) :=


 (1 − p)f (−tε ), t = −tε − p, 0 < p ≤ 1,

0, otherwise.
Then it is easy to see that f˜ ∈ Cc (R), and
sup |f (t) − fε (t)| = 0,
t∈[−tε ,tε ]

sup |f (t) − fε (t)| ≤ |f (−tε )| + sup |f (t)| ≤ 2ε/3,

t∈[−tε −1,−tε ] t∈[−tε −1,−tε ]

sup |f (t) − fε (t)| ≤ |f (tε )| + sup |f (t)| ≤ 2ε/3,

t∈[tε ,tε +1] t∈[tε ,tε +1]

sup |f (t) − fε (t)| = sup |f (t)| ≤ ε/3,

t∈R\[−tε ,tε ] t∈R\[−tε ,tε ]

and hence
kf − fε k∞ = sup |f (t) − fε (t)| < ε.
t∈R

7
 b) The previous part shows that Cc (R) is not closed. Since every complete
subspace of a metric space is closed (see lecture), Cc (R) is not complete. On
the other hand, the previous point also shows that C0 (R) with the identical
embedding is a completion of Cc (R).
(2) For a finite n ∈ N, consider Kn with the p-norms
n
!1/p
X
kxkp := |x(i)|p , 1 ≤ p < +∞, kxk∞ := max |x(i)|.
1≤i≤n
i=1

For every 1 ≤ p ≤ q ≤ +∞, find constants cp,q , dp,q > 0 such that
cp,q kxkq ≤ kxkp ≤ dp,q kxkq , x ∈ Kn .

Solution: By Exercise 6, week 2, we have

k k q ≤ k kp , p ≤ q,
and hence we can choose cp,q := 1. Note that this cp,q is optimal, as the inequality
is saturated for any of the canonical basis vectors ei . When p = q, we can also
choose dp,q := 1, and hence for the rest we assume p < q. When q < +∞, we
can find an 1 < r < +∞ such that
1 1 q
+ = 1; explicitly, r= .
q/p r q−p
Now we can apply Hölder’s inequality with q/p and r in the following form:
n
X n
X
|x(i)|p = 1 · |x(i)|p = k1|x|p k1 ≤ k1kr k|x|p kq/p
i=1 i=1
n
!1/r n
!p/q
X X
= 1r (|x(i)|p )q/p = n1/r kxkpq . (0.1)
i=1 i=1

Taking the p-th root, we get

q−p
kxkp ≤ n qp kxkq .
1
Taking the limit q → +∞ (cf. sheet 2, Exercise 6/b), we get kxkp ≤ n p kxk∞ .
q−p 1
Hence, we can choose dp,q := n qp for q < +∞ and dp,q := n p for p = +∞. This
dp,q is actually optimal. Indeed, by taking the constant 1 vector x(i) = 1, i ∈ [n],
we have
q−p q−p
kxkp = n1/p = n qp n1/q = n qp kxkq ,

8
 1 1
and similarly, kxkp = n p = n p kxk∞ .
Scores: finding cp,q : 2 points, finding dpq for q < +∞: 5 points, finding dp,∞ : 1
point.

Remarks:

1. One has to consider the q = +∞ case separately, since it is otherwise

difficult to make sense of the expression (|x(i)|p )q/p in (0.1).
2. There is a somewhat easier derivation by comparing k kp to k k∞ , that goes
like this:
n
!1/p
X 1/p 1
kxk∞ = max |x(i)| ≤ kxkp = |x(i)|p ≤ (n kxkp∞ ) = n p kxk∞ .
1≤i≤n
i=1

1
This gives cp,+∞ = 1, dp,+∞ = n p , and for q < +∞ we get
1 1 1 1
kxkp ≤ n p kxk∞ ≤ n p kxkq , kxkq ≤ n q kxk∞ ≤ n q kxkp ,
1 1
giving cp,q = n− q , dp,q = n p . Note, however, that these constants are not
optimal for q < +∞.