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Pointwise convergence
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In mathematics, pointwise convergence is one of various senses in which a sequence of functions can
converge to a particular function. It is weaker than uniform convergence, to which it is often compared.[1][2]

Contents

Definition

Properties

Topology

Almost everywhere convergence

See also

References

Definition

Suppose that is a set and is a topological space, such as the real or complex numbers or a metric
space, for example. A net or sequence of functions all having the same domain and codomain is
said to converge pointwise to a given function often written as

if (and only if)

The function is said to be the pointwise limit function of the

Sometimes, authors use the term bounded pointwise convergence when there is a constant such that
.[3]

Properties

This concept is often contrasted with uniform convergence. To say that

means that

where is the common domain of and , and stands for the supremum. That is a stronger
statement than the assertion of pointwise convergence: every uniformly convergent sequence is pointwise
convergent, to the same limiting function, but some pointwise convergent sequences are not uniformly
convergent. For example, if is a sequence of functions defined by then
pointwise on the interval but not uniformly.

The pointwise limit of a sequence of continuous functions may be a discontinuous function, but only if the
convergence is not uniform. For example,

takes the value when is an integer and when is not an integer, and so is discontinuous at every
integer.

The values of the functions need not be real numbers, but may be in any topological space, in order that
the concept of pointwise convergence make sense. Uniform convergence, on the other hand, does not
make sense for functions taking values in topological spaces generally, but makes sense for functions
taking values in metric spaces, and, more generally, in uniform spaces.

Topology

See also: Characterizations of the category of topological spaces

Let denote the set of all functions from some given set into some topological space As described
in the article on characterizations of the category of topological spaces, if certain conditions are met then it
is possible to define a unique topology on a set in terms of what nets do and do not converge. The definition
of pointwise convergence meets these conditions and so it induces a topology, called the topology of
pointwise convergence, on the set of all functions of the form A net in converges in this
topology if and only if it converges pointwise.

The topology of pointwise convergence is the same as convergence in the product topology on the space
where is the domain and is the codomain. Explicitly, if is a set of functions from some
set into some topological space then the topology of pointwise convergence on is equal to the
subspace topology that it inherits from the product space when is identified as a subset of this

Cartesian product via the canonical inclusion map defined by

If the codomain is compact, then by Tychonoff's theorem, the space is also compact.

Almost everywhere convergence

In measure theory, one talks about almost everywhere convergence of a sequence of measurable functions
defined on a measurable space. That means pointwise convergence almost everywhere, that is, on a subset
of the domain whose complement has measure zero. Egorov's theorem states that pointwise convergence
almost everywhere on a set of finite measure implies uniform convergence on a slightly smaller set.

Almost everywhere pointwise convergence on the space of functions on a measure space does not define
the structure of a topology on the space of measurable functions on a measure space (although it is a
convergence structure). For in a topological space, when every subsequence of a sequence has itself a
subsequence with the same subsequential limit, the sequence itself must converge to that limit.

But consider the sequence of so-called "galloping rectangles" functions, which are defined using the floor
function: let and mod and let

Then any subsequence of the sequence has a sub-subsequence which itself converges almost
everywhere to zero, for example, the subsequence of functions which do not vanish at But at no
point does the original sequence converge pointwise to zero. Hence, unlike convergence in measure and
convergence, pointwise convergence almost everywhere is not the convergence of any topology on the
space of functions.

See also

Box topology

Convergence space – Generalization of the notion of convergence that is found in general topology

Cylinder set – natural basic set in product spaces

List of topologies – List of concrete topologies and topological spaces

Modes of convergence (annotated index) – Annotated index of various modes of convergence

Topologies on spaces of linear maps

Weak topology – Mathematical term

Weak-* topology – Mathematical term

References

1. ^ Rudin, Walter (1976). Principles of Mathematical Analysis . McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-054235-X.

2. ^ Munkres, James R. (2000). Topology (2nd ed.). Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-181629-2.

3. ^ Li, Zenghu (2011). Measure-Valued Branching Markov Processes. Springer. ISBN 978-3-642-15003-6.

Last edited on 28 December 2023, at 14:42

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