PMTH431 (2016) (Due: Monday, 23rd May)

PROJECT

THE COMPLETION OF A METRIC SPACE

1. Introduction

The aim of this projectt is a construction of the completion of metric space. The construc-
tion is important for functional analysis and the theory of differential equations.
The most commonly encountered approach to the construction begins by defining an equiv-
alence relation on the set of all Cauchy sequences in a metric space. A metric is then defined
on the set of all equivalence classes of Cauchy sequences in such a way that the function,
ι, which assigns to each element of the original metric space the equivalence class of the
Cauchy sequence each of whose terms is the given element of the metric space, preserves
the metric. The next step is to show that every Cauchy sequence of equivalence classes of
Cauchy sequences in the original metric space converges to an equivalence class of Cauchy
sequences. The closure of the image of ι is then the completion of the original metric space.
We take a different, conceptually simpler approach, requiring less computation, more in
tune with modern functional analysis. The construction, its essential properties and the
most familiar example are achieved by solving Problems 1 to 6 in §3 below. §1 and §2
provide an introduction, revise the background material and examples in preparation for
the construction in §3.

2. Background

Elementary calculus uses — often without proof — the fact that the function f : R −→ R
is continuous at a ∈ R if and

only if for every sequence (xn )n∈N of real numbers converging
to a, the sequence f (xn ) n∈N converges to f (a).
More generally, continuity of a function f : X −→ Y is meaningful if and only if both X
and Y are topological spaces and convergence of sequences can be defined in any topological
space.
Specifically, let (X, T ) and (Y, U) be topological spaces.
(1) The function f : X −→ Y is continuous at a ∈ X if and only if given an open
subset, H, of Y with f (a) ∈ H, there is an open subset, G, of X with a ∈ G such
that f (x) ∈ H whenever x ∈ G.
(2) The sequence (xn )n∈N in X converges to a ∈ X if and only if given any open subset
G of X with a ∈ G, all but finitely many terms of the sequence lie in G, that is,
there is a K ∈ N such that for all n ≥ K, xn ∈ G.
2

The relationship between continuous functions and convergent sequences familiar from
calculus fails to hold for arbitrary topological spaces. This is not surprising in light of the
fact that, unlike sequences of real numbers, sequences of elements in a topological space
can have more than one limit.
Example 1. Take the set of all real numbers, R, with its Zariski topology, so that the
non-empty subset, G, of R is open if and only if its complement, R \ G, is finite.
Then the sequence (xn )n∈N given by putting xn = n, converges to every x ∈ R.
To see this, take a real number, x, and let G be a (Zariski) open subset of R with x ∈ G.
As G 6= ∅, the complement of G is finite. Hence, in particular, the complement of G
contains only finitely many natural numbers.
Sequences in a topological space can have more than one limit only when the topological
space is not a Hausdorff space — that is, when it does not satisfy the “T2 ” separation
condition.
Metric spaces are amongst the most important topological spaces used in applications.
Fortunately, as all metric spaces are Hausdorff topological spaces, sequences in metric
spaces cannot have more than one limit.
Moreover, in the case of metric spaces the relationship between continuous functions and
convergent sequences familiar from calculus continues to hold, a feature of great practical
importance.

3. Continuity and Convergent Sequences in Metric Spaces

3.1. Continuity.
Definition 1. Given metric spaces (X, %), (Y, σ) and a ∈ X, the function
f : X −→ Y


is continuous at a if and only if given ε > 0, there is a δ > 0 with σ f (x), f (a) < ε
whenever %(x, a) < δ.
f is continuous if and only if f is continuous at every a ∈ X.
f is uniformly continuous if and only if given ε > 0, there is a δ > 0 with σ f (x), f (x0 ) < ε


whenever %(x, x0 ) < δ.
3.2. Convergent Sequences.
Definition 2. The sequence (xn )n∈N in the metric space (X, %) converges to or has limit
a ∈ X if and only if given ε > 0, all but finitely many terms of the sequence lie within ε
of a, that is, given ε > 0, there is a K ∈ N such that %(xn , a) < ε whenever n ≥ K.
This is written as
lim xn = a or xn → a as n → ∞
n→∞
 3. CONTINUITY AND CONVERGENT SEQUENCES IN METRIC SPACES 3

Convergent sequences can be used to characterise continuity in the case of metric spaces.
Lemma 1. Given metric spaces (X, %), (Y, σ), f : X −→ Y is continuous at a ∈ X if and
only if lim f (xn ) = f (a) whenever lim xn = a.
n→∞ n→∞

The importance of convergent sequences, for both theoretical and practical purposes, makes
it desirable to have a criterion for determining when a sequence converges without first
identifying its limit.
Definition 3 (Cauchy Sequences). The sequence (xn )n∈N in the metric space (X, %) is
a Cauchy sequence or satisfies Cauchy’s criterion if and only if given ε > 0, all but finitely
many terms of the sequence lie within ε of each other, that is, given ε > 0, there is a K ∈ N
with %(xm , xn ) < ε whenever m, n ≥ K.

Whereas convergent sequences are naturally associated with continuous functions, Cauchy
sequences are naturally associated with uniformly continuous functions.
Lemma 2. A continuous function maps convergent sequences to convergent sequences.
A uniformly continuous function maps Cauchy sequences to Cauchy sequences.

3.2.1. Properties of Cauchy Sequences.

Lemma 3. Every convergent sequence is a Cauchy sequence.

The converse is not true.

√
Example 2. Let rn be the decimal expansion of 2 to n decimal places, so that we have
r0 = 1, r1 = 1·4, r2 = 1·41, . . .
Plainly, (rn )n∈N is a Cauchy sequence in the metric space (Q, e), where is the Euclidean
metric on Q, given by e(x, y) = |x − y| for rational numbers x, y.
√
However (rn )n∈N does not converge in (Q, e), since its only possible limit, 2 , is not a
rational number.
Lemma 4. If a function maps Cauchy sequences to Cauchy sequences, then it is continuous.

The converse is not true.

Example 3. Take R+ = {r ∈ R | r > 0} with its Euclidean metric.
Then the function
1
f : R+ −→ R+ , x 7−→
x
1


is continuous, but the image of the Cauchy sequence n+1 n∈N
is not a Cauchy sequence.
Definition 4. The metric space (X, %) is (Cauchy) complete if and only if every Cauchy
sequence in (X, %) converges in X.
4

Example 4. The set of all real numbers, R, with its Euclidean metric is a complete metric
space.
Example 2 shows that the set of all rational numbers, Q, with its Euclidean metric is not
a complete metric space.
Observation 1. If we regard the sequence (rn )n∈N of Example 2 as a sequence of real
numbers (with its Euclidean metric), then the Cauchy sequence (rn )n∈N does converge.
It is the purpose of our investigations here to show that this is typical, not exceptional:
Every metric space can be regarded as a dense subspace of a complete metric space.

4. The Completion of a Metric Space

Definition 5. A completion of the metric space (X, %) consist of a complete metric space
b %b) and a metric preserving function i : X 7−→ X,
(X, b with i(X) dense in X.
b

We show that every metric space has a completion, which, moreover, is unique up to unique
isometry, so that we may speak of the completion of a metric space, and regard it as a
subspace of its completion.

4.1. Constructing the Completion of a Metric Space. Given the metric space
(X, %), let B(X) := {f : X −→ R | f is bounded} be the set of bounded real valued
functions defined on X.
Define
d∞ : B(X) × B(X) −→ R, (f, g) 7−→ sup{|f (x) − g(x)|}
x∈X

PROBLEM 1. Show that d∞ is a metric on B(X).

PROBLEM 2. Show that (B(X), d∞ ) is a complete metric space.

Fix ξ ∈ X. Define


iξ : X −→ B(X), x 7−→ iξ,x : X −→ R ,
where
iξ,x : X −→ R, y 7−→ %(x, y) − %(y, ξ).

PROBLEM 3. Show that iξ preserves the metric.

 4. THE COMPLETION OF A METRIC SPACE 5

b be the closure of iξ (X) in B(X) and %b the restriction of d∞ to X.

Let X b
Define
i : X −→ X,
b x 7−→ iξ,x
so that i is obtained from iξ by restricting its co-domain.
b %b) together with i : X −→ X,
The metric space (X, b is the completion of (X, %).

4.2. Properties of the Completion of a Metric Space. A completion of a metric

spaces enjoys a universal property.
PROBLEM 4. Show that given any complete metric space (Y, σ) and any uniformly
continuous function g : X −→ Y , there is a unique uniformly continuous function gb : X
b −→
Y with g = gb ◦ i.
PROBLEM 5. Show that if X occurs as a subspace of a complete metric space, then
there is a natural isometry between X and X
b and that hence there is a natural isometry
between any complete metric space which contains X as a dense subset and X.
b

PROBLEM 6. Show that the completion of (X, %) is uniquely determined up to unique

isometry.
PROBLEM 7. Show that R is the completion of Q.