Topological vector space explained

In mathematics, a topological vector space (also called a linear topological space and commonly abbreviated TVS or t.v.s.) is one of the basic structures investigated in functional analysis.A topological vector space is a vector space that is also a topological space with the property that the vector space operations (vector addition and scalar multiplication) are also continuous functions. Such a topology is called a and every topological vector space has a uniform topological structure, allowing a notion of uniform convergence and completeness. Some authors also require that the space is a Hausdorff space (although this article does not). One of the most widely studied categories of TVSs are locally convex topological vector spaces. This article focuses on TVSs that are not necessarily locally convex. Other well-known examples of TVSs include Banach spaces, Hilbert spaces and Sobolev spaces.

Many topological vector spaces are spaces of functions, or linear operators acting on topological vector spaces, and the topology is often defined so as to capture a particular notion of convergence of sequences of functions.

In this article, the scalar field of a topological vector space will be assumed to be either the complex numbers

\Complex

or the real numbers

\R,

unless clearly stated otherwise.

Motivation

Normed spaces

Every normed vector space has a natural topological structure: the norm induces a metric and the metric induces a topology.This is a topological vector space because:

  1. The vector addition map

+ ⋅  :X x X\toX

defined by

(x,y)\mapstox+y

is (jointly) continuous with respect to this topology. This follows directly from the triangle inequality obeyed by the norm.
  1. The scalar multiplication map

:K x X\toX

defined by

(s,x)\mapstosx,

where

K

is the underlying scalar field of

X,

is (jointly) continuous. This follows from the triangle inequality and homogeneity of the norm.

Thus all Banach spaces and Hilbert spaces are examples of topological vector spaces.

Non-normed spaces

There are topological vector spaces whose topology is not induced by a norm, but are still of interest in analysis. Examples of such spaces are spaces of holomorphic functions on an open domain, spaces of infinitely differentiable functions, the Schwartz spaces, and spaces of test functions and the spaces of distributions on them. These are all examples of Montel spaces. An infinite-dimensional Montel space is never normable. The existence of a norm for a given topological vector space is characterized by Kolmogorov's normability criterion.

A topological field is a topological vector space over each of its subfields.

Definition

A topological vector space (TVS)

X

is a vector space over a topological field

K

(most often the real or complex numbers with their standard topologies) that is endowed with a topology such that vector addition

+ ⋅  :X x X\toX

and scalar multiplication

:K x X\toX

are continuous functions (where the domains of these functions are endowed with product topologies). Such a topology is called a or a on

X.

Every topological vector space is also a commutative topological group under addition.

Hausdorff assumption

Many authors (for example, Walter Rudin), but not this page, require the topology on

X

to be T1; it then follows that the space is Hausdorff, and even Tychonoff. A topological vector space is said to be if it is Hausdorff; importantly, "separated" does not mean separable. The topological and linear algebraic structures can be tied together even more closely with additional assumptions, the most common of which are listed below.

Category and morphisms

The category of topological vector spaces over a given topological field

K

is commonly denoted

TVSK

or

TVectK.

The objects are the topological vector spaces over

K

and the morphisms are the continuous

K

-linear map
s from one object to another.

u:X\toY

between topological vector spaces (TVSs) such that the induced map

u:X\to\operatorname{Im}u

is an open mapping when

\operatorname{Im}u:=u(X),

which is the range or image of

u,

is given the subspace topology induced by

Y.

A (abbreviated), also called a, is an injective topological homomorphism. Equivalently, a TVS-embedding is a linear map that is also a topological embedding.

A (abbreviated), also called a or an, is a bijective linear homeomorphism. Equivalently, it is a surjective TVS embedding

Many properties of TVSs that are studied, such as local convexity, metrizability, completeness, and normability, are invariant under TVS isomorphisms.

A necessary condition for a vector topology

A collection

l{N}

of subsets of a vector space is called if for every

N\inl{N},

there exists some

U\inl{N}

such that

U+U\subseteqN.

All of the above conditions are consequently a necessity for a topology to form a vector topology.

Defining topologies using neighborhoods of the origin

Since every vector topology is translation invariant (which means that for all

x0\inX,

the map

X\toX

defined by

x\mapstox0+x

is a homeomorphism), to define a vector topology it suffices to define a neighborhood basis (or subbasis) for it at the origin.

In general, the set of all balanced and absorbing subsets of a vector space does not satisfy the conditions of this theorem and does not form a neighborhood basis at the origin for any vector topology.

Defining topologies using strings

Let

X

be a vector space and let

U\bull=\left(Ui\right)

infty
i=1
be a sequence of subsets of

X.

Each set in the sequence

U\bull

is called a of

U\bull

and for every index

i,

Ui

is called the

i

-th knot
of

U\bull.

The set

U1

is called the beginning of

U\bull.

The sequence

U\bull

is/is a:

Ui+1+Ui+1\subseteqUi

for every index

i.

Ui.

U\bull

is summative, absorbing, and balanced.

X

if

U\bull

is a string and each of its knots is a neighborhood of the origin in

X.

If

U

is an absorbing disk in a vector space

X

then the sequence defined by

Ui:=21-iU

forms a string beginning with

U1=U.

This is called the natural string of

U

Moreover, if a vector space

X

has countable dimension then every string contains an absolutely convex string.

Summative sequences of sets have the particularly nice property that they define non-negative continuous real-valued subadditive functions. These functions can then be used to prove many of the basic properties of topological vector spaces.

A proof of the above theorem is given in the article on metrizable topological vector spaces.

If

U\bull=\left(Ui\right)i

and

V\bull=\left(Vi\right)i

are two collections of subsets of a vector space

X

and if

s

is a scalar, then by definition:

V\bull

contains

U\bull

:

U\bull\subseteqV\bull

if and only if

Ui\subseteqVi

for every index

i.

\operatorname{Knots}U\bull:=\left\{Ui:i\in\N\right\}.

sU\bull:=\left(sUi\right)i.

U\bull+V\bull:=\left(Ui+Vi\right)i.

U\bull\capV\bull:=\left(Ui\capVi\right)i.

If

S

is a collection sequences of subsets of

X,

then

S

is said to be directed (downwards) under inclusion or simply directed downward if

S

is not empty and for all

U\bull,V\bull\inS,

there exists some

W\bull\inS

such that

W\bull\subseteqU\bull

and

W\bull\subseteqV\bull

(said differently, if and only if

S

is a prefilter with respect to the containment

\subseteq

defined above).

Notation: Let \operatorname \mathbb := \bigcup_ \operatorname U_ be the set of all knots of all strings in

S.

Defining vector topologies using collections of strings is particularly useful for defining classes of TVSs that are not necessarily locally convex.

If

S

is the set of all topological strings in a TVS

(X,\tau)

then

\tauS=\tau.

A Hausdorff TVS is metrizable if and only if its topology can be induced by a single topological string.

Topological structure

A vector space is an abelian group with respect to the operation of addition, and in a topological vector space the inverse operation is always continuous (since it is the same as multiplication by

-1

). Hence, every topological vector space is an abelian topological group. Every TVS is completely regular but a TVS need not be normal.

Let

X

be a topological vector space. Given a subspace

M\subseteqX,

the quotient space

X/M

with the usual quotient topology is a Hausdorff topological vector space if and only if

M

is closed.[2] This permits the following construction: given a topological vector space

X

(that is probably not Hausdorff), form the quotient space

X/M

where

M

is the closure of

\{0\}.

X/M

is then a Hausdorff topological vector space that can be studied instead of

X.

Invariance of vector topologies

One of the most used properties of vector topologies is that every vector topology is :

for all

x0\inX,

the map

X\toX

defined by

x\mapstox0+x

is a homeomorphism, but if

x00

then it is not linear and so not a TVS-isomorphism.Scalar multiplication by a non-zero scalar is a TVS-isomorphism. This means that if

s0

then the linear map

X\toX

defined by

x\mapstosx

is a homeomorphism. Using

s=-1

produces the negation map

X\toX

defined by

x\mapsto-x,

which is consequently a linear homeomorphism and thus a TVS-isomorphism.

If

x\inX

and any subset

S\subseteqX,

then

\operatorname{cl}X(x+S)=x+\operatorname{cl}XS

and moreover, if

0\inS

then

x+S

is a neighborhood (resp. open neighborhood, closed neighborhood) of

x

in

X

if and only if the same is true of

S

at the origin.

Local notions

A subset

E

of a vector space

X

is said to be

X

): if for every

x\inX,

there exists a real

r>0

such that

cx\inE

for any scalar

c

satisfying

|c|\leqr.

tE\subseteqE

for every scalar

|t|\leq1.

tE+(1-t)E\subseteqE

for every real

0\leqt\leq1.

E

is convex and balanced.

-E\subseteqE,

or equivalently, if

-E=E.

Every neighborhood of the origin is an absorbing set and contains an open balanced neighborhood of

0

so every topological vector space has a local base of absorbing and balanced sets. The origin even has a neighborhood basis consisting of closed balanced neighborhoods of

0;

if the space is locally convex then it also has a neighborhood basis consisting of closed convex balanced neighborhoods of the origin.

Bounded subsets

A subset

E

of a topological vector space

X

is bounded if for every neighborhood

V

of the origin there exists

t

such that

E\subseteqtV

.

The definition of boundedness can be weakened a bit;

E

is bounded if and only if every countable subset of it is bounded. A set is bounded if and only if each of its subsequences is a bounded set. Also,

E

is bounded if and only if for every balanced neighborhood

V

of the origin, there exists

t

such that

E\subseteqtV.

Moreover, when

X

is locally convex, the boundedness can be characterized by seminorms: the subset

E

is bounded if and only if every continuous seminorm

p

is bounded on

E.

Every totally bounded set is bounded. If

M

is a vector subspace of a TVS

X,

then a subset of

M

is bounded in

M

if and only if it is bounded in

X.

Metrizability

A TVS is pseudometrizable if and only if it has a countable neighborhood basis at the origin, or equivalent, if and only if its topology is generated by an F-seminorm. A TVS is metrizable if and only if it is Hausdorff and pseudometrizable.

More strongly: a topological vector space is said to be normable if its topology can be induced by a norm. A topological vector space is normable if and only if it is Hausdorff and has a convex bounded neighborhood of the origin.

Let

K

be a non-discrete locally compact topological field, for example the real or complex numbers. A Hausdorff topological vector space over

K

is locally compact if and only if it is finite-dimensional, that is, isomorphic to

Kn

for some natural number

n.

Completeness and uniform structure

See main article: Complete topological vector space.

The canonical uniformity on a TVS

(X,\tau)

is the unique translation-invariant uniformity that induces the topology

\tau

on

X.

Every TVS is assumed to be endowed with this canonical uniformity, which makes all TVSs into uniform spaces. This allows one to talk about related notions such as completeness, uniform convergence, Cauchy nets, and uniform continuity, etc., which are always assumed to be with respect to this uniformity (unless indicated other). This implies that every Hausdorff topological vector space is Tychonoff. A subset of a TVS is compact if and only if it is complete and totally bounded (for Hausdorff TVSs, a set being totally bounded is equivalent to it being precompact). But if the TVS is not Hausdorff then there exist compact subsets that are not closed. However, the closure of a compact subset of a non-Hausdorff TVS is again compact (so compact subsets are relatively compact).

With respect to this uniformity, a net (or sequence)

x\bull=\left(xi\right)i

is Cauchy if and only if for every neighborhood

V

of

0,

there exists some index

n

such that

xi-xj\inV

whenever

i\geqn

and

j\geqn.

Every Cauchy sequence is bounded, although Cauchy nets and Cauchy filters may not be bounded. A topological vector space where every Cauchy sequence converges is called sequentially complete; in general, it may not be complete (in the sense that all Cauchy filters converge).

The vector space operation of addition is uniformly continuous and an open map. Scalar multiplication is Cauchy continuous but in general, it is almost never uniformly continuous. Because of this, every topological vector space can be completed and is thus a dense linear subspace of a complete topological vector space.

C

is a complete subset of a TVS then any subset of

C

that is closed in

C

is complete.

X

is not necessarily relatively compact (that is, its closure in

X

is not necessarily compact).

x

then it converges to

x.

X

then

x\bull\to0

in

X.

Examples

Finest and coarsest vector topology

Let

X

be a real or complex vector space.

Trivial topology

The trivial topology or indiscrete topology

\{X,\varnothing\}

is always a TVS topology on any vector space

X

and it is the coarsest TVS topology possible. An important consequence of this is that the intersection of any collection of TVS topologies on

X

always contains a TVS topology. Any vector space (including those that are infinite dimensional) endowed with the trivial topology is a compact (and thus locally compact) complete pseudometrizable seminormable locally convex topological vector space. It is Hausdorff if and only if

\dimX=0.

Finest vector topology

There exists a TVS topology

\tauf

on

X,

called the on

X,

that is finer than every other TVS-topology on

X

(that is, any TVS-topology on

X

is necessarily a subset of

\tauf

).[4] Every linear map from

\left(X,\tauf\right)

into another TVS is necessarily continuous. If

X

has an uncountable Hamel basis then

\tauf

is locally convex and metrizable.

Cartesian products

A Cartesian product of a family of topological vector spaces, when endowed with the product topology, is a topological vector space. Consider for instance the set

X

of all functions

f:\R\to\R

where

\R

carries its usual Euclidean topology. This set

X

is a real vector space (where addition and scalar multiplication are defined pointwise, as usual) that can be identified with (and indeed, is often defined to be) the Cartesian product

\R\R,,

which carries the natural product topology. With this product topology,

X:=\R\R

becomes a topological vector space whose topology is called The reason for this name is the following: if

\left(fn\right)

infty
n=1
is a sequence (or more generally, a net) of elements in

X

and if

f\inX

then

fn

converges to

f

in

X

if and only if for every real number

x,

fn(x)

converges to

f(x)

in

\R.

This TVS is complete, Hausdorff, and locally convex but not metrizable and consequently not normable; indeed, every neighborhood of the origin in the product topology contains lines (that is, 1-dimensional vector subspaces, which are subsets of the form

\Rf:=\{rf:r\in\R\}

with

f0

).

Finite-dimensional spaces

By F. Riesz's theorem, a Hausdorff topological vector space is finite-dimensional if and only if it is locally compact, which happens if and only if it has a compact neighborhood of the origin.

Let

K

denote

\R

or

\Complex

and endow

K

with its usual Hausdorff normed Euclidean topology. Let

X

be a vector space over

K

of finite dimension

n:=\dimX

and so that

X

is vector space isomorphic to

Kn

(explicitly, this means that there exists a linear isomorphism between the vector spaces

X

and

Kn

). This finite-dimensional vector space

X

always has a unique vector topology, which makes it TVS-isomorphic to

Kn,

where

Kn

is endowed with the usual Euclidean topology (which is the same as the product topology). This Hausdorff vector topology is also the (unique) finest vector topology on

X.

X

has a unique vector topology if and only if

\dimX=0.

If

\dimX0

then although

X

does not have a unique vector topology, it does have a unique vector topology.

\dimX=0

then

X=\{0\}

has exactly one vector topology: the trivial topology, which in this case (and in this case) is Hausdorff. The trivial topology on a vector space is Hausdorff if and only if the vector space has dimension

0.

\dimX=1

then

X

has two vector topologies: the usual Euclidean topology and the (non-Hausdorff) trivial topology.

K

is itself a

1

-dimensional topological vector space over

K

and since it plays an important role in the definition of topological vector spaces, this dichotomy plays an important role in the definition of an absorbing set and has consequences that reverberate throughout functional analysis.

\dimX=n\geq2

then

X

has distinct vector topologies:

f

on

X,

which is vector space isomorphic to

Kn,

induces a seminorm

|f|:X\to\R

defined by

|f|(x)=|f(x)|

where

\kerf=\ker|f|.

Every seminorm induces a (pseudometrizable locally convex) vector topology on

X

and seminorms with distinct kernels induce distinct topologies so that in particular, seminorms on

X

that are induced by linear functionals with distinct kernels will induce distinct vector topologies on

X.

X

when

\dimX\geq2,

there are,, only

1+\dimX

vector topologies on

X.

For instance, if

n:=\dimX=2

then the vector topologies on

X

consist of the trivial topology, the Hausdorff Euclidean topology, and then the infinitely many remaining non-trivial non-Euclidean vector topologies on

X

are all TVS-isomorphic to one another.

Non-vector topologies

Discrete and cofinite topologies

If

X

is a non-trivial vector space (that is, of non-zero dimension) then the discrete topology on

X

(which is always metrizable) is a TVS topology because despite making addition and negation continuous (which makes it into a topological group under addition), it fails to make scalar multiplication continuous. The cofinite topology on

X

(where a subset is open if and only if its complement is finite) is also a TVS topology on

X.

Linear maps

A linear operator between two topological vector spaces which is continuous at one point is continuous on the whole domain. Moreover, a linear operator

f

is continuous if

f(X)

is bounded (as defined below) for some neighborhood

X

of the origin.

A hyperplane in a topological vector space

X

is either dense or closed. A linear functional

f

on a topological vector space

X

has either dense or closed kernel. Moreover,

f

is continuous if and only if its kernel is closed.

Types

Depending on the application additional constraints are usually enforced on the topological structure of the space. In fact, several principal results in functional analysis fail to hold in general for topological vector spaces: the closed graph theorem, the open mapping theorem, and the fact that the dual space of the space separates points in the space.

Below are some common topological vector spaces, roughly in order of increasing "niceness."

p>0.

Lp

spaces are locally convex (in fact, Banach spaces) for all

p\geq1,

but not for

0<p<1.

Cinfty(\R)

is a Fréchet space under the seminorms \|f\|_ = \sup_ |f^(x)|. A locally convex F-space is a Fréchet space.

Lp

spaces with

1\leqp\leqinfty,

the space

BV

of functions of bounded variation, and certain spaces of measures.

Linfty

but is strictly contained in the dual of

Linfty.

L2

spaces, the

L2

Sobolev spaces

W2,k,

and Hardy spaces.

\Rn

or

\Complexn

with the topology induced by the standard inner product. As pointed out in the preceding section, for a given finite

n,

there is only one

n

-dimensional topological vector space, up to isomorphism. It follows from this that any finite-dimensional subspace of a TVS is closed. A characterization of finite dimensionality is that a Hausdorff TVS is locally compact if and only if it is finite-dimensional (therefore isomorphic to some Euclidean space).

Dual space

See main article: Strong dual space.

Every topological vector space has a continuous dual space - the set

X'

of all continuous linear functionals, that is, continuous linear maps from the space into the base field

K.

A topology on the dual can be defined to be the coarsest topology such that the dual pairing each point evaluation

X'\toK

is continuous. This turns the dual into a locally convex topological vector space. This topology is called the weak-* topology. This may not be the only natural topology on the dual space; for instance, the dual of a normed space has a natural norm defined on it. However, it is very important in applications because of its compactness properties (see Banach–Alaoglu theorem). Caution: Whenever

X

is a non-normable locally convex space, then the pairing map

X' x X\toK

is never continuous, no matter which vector space topology one chooses on

X'.

A topological vector space has a non-trivial continuous dual space if and only if it has a proper convex neighborhood of the origin.

Properties

For any

S\subseteqX

of a TVS

X,

the convex (resp. balanced, disked, closed convex, closed balanced, closed disked) hull of

S

is the smallest subset of

X

that has this property and contains

S.

The closure (respectively, interior, convex hull, balanced hull, disked hull) of a set

S

is sometimes denoted by

\operatorname{cl}XS

(respectively,

\operatorname{Int}XS,

\operatorname{co}S,

\operatorname{bal}S,

\operatorname{cobal}S

).

\operatorname{co}S

of a subset

S

is equal to the set of all of elements in

S,

which are finite linear combinations of the form

t1s1++tnsn

where

n\geq1

is an integer,

s1,\ldots,sn\inS

and

t1,\ldots,tn\in[0,1]

sum to

1.

The intersection of any family of convex sets is convex and the convex hull of a subset is equal to the intersection of all convex sets that contain it.

Neighborhoods and open sets

Properties of neighborhoods and open sets

Every TVS is connected and locally connected and any connected open subset of a TVS is arcwise connected. If

S\subseteqX

and

U

is an open subset of

X

then

S+U

is an open set in

X

and if

S\subseteqX

has non-empty interior then

S-S

is a neighborhood of the origin.

The open convex subsets of a TVS

X

(not necessarily Hausdorff or locally convex) are exactly those that are of the form z + \ ~=~ \ for some

z\inX

and some positive continuous sublinear functional

p

on

X.

If

K

is an absorbing disk in a TVS

X

and if

p:=pK

is the Minkowski functional of

K

then \operatorname_X K ~\subseteq~ \ ~\subseteq~ K ~\subseteq~ \ ~\subseteq~ \operatorname_X K where importantly, it was assumed that

K

had any topological properties nor that

p

was continuous (which happens if and only if

K

is a neighborhood of the origin).

Let

\tau

and

\nu

be two vector topologies on

X.

Then

\tau\subseteq\nu

if and only if whenever a net

x\bull=\left(xi\right)i

in

X

converges

0

in

(X,\nu)

then

x\bull\to0

in

(X,\tau).

Let

l{N}

be a neighborhood basis of the origin in

X,

let

S\subseteqX,

and let

x\inX.

Then

x\in\operatorname{cl}XS

if and only if there exists a net

s\bull=\left(sN\right)N

} in

S

(indexed by

l{N}

) such that

s\bull\tox

in

X.

This shows, in particular, that it will often suffice to consider nets indexed by a neighborhood basis of the origin rather than nets on arbitrary directed sets.

If

X

is a TVS that is of the second category in itself (that is, a nonmeager space) then any closed convex absorbing subset of

X

is a neighborhood of the origin. This is no longer guaranteed if the set is not convex (a counter-example exists even in

X=\R2

) or if

X

is not of the second category in itself.

Interior

If

R,S\subseteqX

and

S

has non-empty interior then \operatorname_X S ~=~ \operatorname_X \left(\operatorname_X S\right)~ \text ~\operatorname_X S ~=~ \operatorname_X \left(\operatorname_X S\right)and\operatorname_X (R) + \operatorname_X (S) ~\subseteq~ R + \operatorname_X S \subseteq \operatorname_X (R + S).

The topological interior of a disk is not empty if and only if this interior contains the origin. More generally, if

S

is a balanced set with non-empty interior

\operatorname{Int}XS\varnothing

in a TVS

X

then

\{0\}\cup\operatorname{Int}XS

will necessarily be balanced; consequently,

\operatorname{Int}XS

will be balanced if and only if it contains the origin.[5] For this (i.e.

0\in\operatorname{Int}XS

) to be true, it suffices for

S

to also be convex (in addition to being balanced and having non-empty interior).; The conclusion

0\in\operatorname{Int}XS

could be false if

S

is not also convex; for example, in

X:=\R2,

the interior of the closed and balanced set

S:=\{(x,y):xy\geq0\}

is

\{(x,y):xy>0\}.

If

C

is convex and

0<t\leq1,

then

t\operatorname{Int}C+(1-t)\operatorname{cl}C~\subseteq~\operatorname{Int}C.

Explicitly, this means that if

C

is a convex subset of a TVS

X

(not necessarily Hausdorff or locally convex),

y\in\operatorname{int}XC,

and

x\in\operatorname{cl}XC

then the open line segment joining

x

and

y

belongs to the interior of

C;

that is,

\{tx+(1-t)y:0<t<1\}\subseteq\operatorname{int}XC.

[6]

If

N\subseteqX

is any balanced neighborhood of the origin in

X

then \operatorname_X N \subseteq B_1 N = \bigcup_ a N \subseteq N where

B1

is the set of all scalars

a

such that

|a|<1.

If

x

belongs to the interior of a convex set

S\subseteqX

and

y\in\operatorname{cl}XS,

then the half-open line segment [x, y) := \{t x + (1 - t) y : 0 < t \leq 1\} \subseteq \operatorname{Int}_X \text{ if } x \neq y</math> and{{sfn|Schaefer|Wolff|1999|p=38}} <math display=block>[x, x) = \varnothing \text{ if } x = y.</math> If <math>N</math> is a [[Balanced set|balanced]] neighborhood of

0

in

X

and

B1:=\{a\inK:|a|<1\},

then by considering intersections of the form

N\cap\Rx

(which are convex symmetric neighborhoods of

0

in the real TVS

\Rx

) it follows that:

\operatorname{Int}N=[0,1)\operatorname{Int}N=(-1,1)N=B1N,

and furthermore, if

x\in\operatorname{Int}Nandr:=\sup\{r>0:[0,r)x\subseteqN\}

then

r>1and[0,r)x\subseteq\operatorname{Int}N,

and if

rinfty

then

rx\in\operatorname{cl}N\setminus\operatorname{Int}N.

Non-Hausdorff spaces and the closure of the origin

A topological vector space

X

is Hausdorff if and only if

\{0\}

is a closed subset of

X,

or equivalently, if and only if

\{0\}=\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}.

Because

\{0\}

is a vector subspace of

X,

the same is true of its closure

\operatorname{cl}X\{0\},

which is referred to as in

X.

This vector space satisfies \operatorname_X \ = \bigcap_ N so that in particular, every neighborhood of the origin in

X

contains the vector space

\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}

as a subset. The subspace topology on

\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}

is always the trivial topology, which in particular implies that the topological vector space

\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}

a compact space (even if its dimension is non-zero or even infinite) and consequently also a bounded subset of

X.

In fact, a vector subspace of a TVS is bounded if and only if it is contained in the closure of

\{0\}.

Every subset of

\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}

also carries the trivial topology and so is itself a compact, and thus also complete, subspace (see footnote for a proof).[7] In particular, if

X

is not Hausdorff then there exist subsets that are both but in

X

; for instance, this will be true of any non-empty proper subset of

\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}.

If

S\subseteqX

is compact, then

\operatorname{cl}XS=S+\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}

and this set is compact. Thus the closure of a compact subset of a TVS is compact (said differently, all compact sets are relatively compact), which is not guaranteed for arbitrary non-Hausdorff topological spaces.[8]

For every subset

S\subseteqX,

S + \operatorname_X \ \subseteq \operatorname_X S and consequently, if

S\subseteqX

is open or closed in

X

then

S+\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}=S

[9] (so that this open closed subsets

S

can be described as a "tube" whose vertical side is the vector space

\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}

). For any subset

S\subseteqX

of this TVS

X,

the following are equivalent:

S

is totally bounded.

S+\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}

is totally bounded.

\operatorname{cl}XS

is totally bounded.

S

under the canonical quotient map

X\toX/\operatorname{cl}X(\{0\})

is totally bounded.

If

M

is a vector subspace of a TVS

X

then

X/M

is Hausdorff if and only if

M

is closed in

X.

Moreover, the quotient map

q:X\toX/\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}

is always a closed map onto the (necessarily) Hausdorff TVS.

Every vector subspace of

X

that is an algebraic complement of

\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}

(that is, a vector subspace

H

that satisfies

\{0\}=H\cap\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}

and

X=H+\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}

) is a topological complement of

\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}.

Consequently, if

H

is an algebraic complement of

\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}

in

X

then the addition map

H x \operatorname{cl}X\{0\}\toX,

defined by

(h,n)\mapstoh+n

is a TVS-isomorphism, where

H

is necessarily Hausdorff and

\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}

has the indiscrete topology. Moreover, if

C

is a Hausdorff completion of

H

then

C x \operatorname{cl}X\{0\}

is a completion of

X\congH x \operatorname{cl}X\{0\}.

Closed and compact sets

Compact and totally bounded sets

A subset of a TVS is compact if and only if it is complete and totally bounded. Thus, in a complete topological vector space, a closed and totally bounded subset is compact. A subset

S

of a TVS

X

is totally bounded if and only if

\operatorname{cl}XS

is totally bounded, if and only if its image under the canonical quotient map X \to X / \operatorname_X (\) is totally bounded.

Every relatively compact set is totally bounded and the closure of a totally bounded set is totally bounded. The image of a totally bounded set under a uniformly continuous map (such as a continuous linear map for instance) is totally bounded. If

S

is a subset of a TVS

X

such that every sequence in

S

has a cluster point in

S

then

S

is totally bounded.

If

K

is a compact subset of a TVS

X

and

U

is an open subset of

X

containing

K,

then there exists a neighborhood

N

of 0 such that

K+N\subseteqU.

Closure and closed set

The closure of any convex (respectively, any balanced, any absorbing) subset of any TVS has this same property. In particular, the closure of any convex, balanced, and absorbing subset is a barrel.

The closure of a vector subspace of a TVS is a vector subspace. Every finite dimensional vector subspace of a Hausdorff TVS is closed. The sum of a closed vector subspace and a finite-dimensional vector subspace is closed. If

M

is a vector subspace of

X

and

N

is a closed neighborhood of the origin in

X

such that

U\capN

is closed in

X

then

M

is closed in

X.

The sum of a compact set and a closed set is closed. However, the sum of two closed subsets may fail to be closed (see this footnote[10] for examples).

If

S\subseteqX

and

a

is a scalar then a \operatorname_X S \subseteq \operatorname_X (a S), where if

X

is Hausdorff,

a0,orS=\varnothing

then equality holds:

\operatorname{cl}X(aS)=a\operatorname{cl}XS.

In particular, every non-zero scalar multiple of a closed set is closed. If

S\subseteqX

and if

A

is a set of scalars such that neither

\operatorname{cl}Snor\operatorname{cl}A

contain zero then

\left(\operatorname{cl}A\right)\left(\operatorname{cl}XS\right)=\operatorname{cl}X(AS).

If

S\subseteqXandS+S\subseteq2\operatorname{cl}XS

then

\operatorname{cl}XS

is convex.

If

R,S\subseteqX

then \operatorname_X (R) + \operatorname_X (S) ~\subseteq~ \operatorname_X (R + S)~ \text ~\operatorname_X \left[\operatorname{cl}_X (R) + \operatorname{cl}_X (S) \right] ~=~ \operatorname_X (R + S) and so consequently, if

R+S

is closed then so is

\operatorname{cl}X(R)+\operatorname{cl}X(S).

If

X

is a real TVS and

S\subseteqX,

then \bigcap_ r S \subseteq \operatorname_X S where the left hand side is independent of the topology on

X;

moreover, if

S

is a convex neighborhood of the origin then equality holds.

For any subset

S\subseteqX,

\operatorname_X S ~=~ \bigcap_ (S + N) where

l{N}

is any neighborhood basis at the origin for

X.

However, \operatorname_X U ~\supseteq~ \bigcap \ and it is possible for this containment to be proper (for example, if

X=\R

and

S

is the rational numbers). It follows that

\operatorname{cl}XU\subseteqU+U

for every neighborhood

U

of the origin in

X.

Closed hulls

In a locally convex space, convex hulls of bounded sets are bounded. This is not true for TVSs in general.

\operatorname{cl}X(\operatorname{co}S).

\operatorname{cl}X(\operatorname{bal}S).

\operatorname{cl}X(\operatorname{cobal}S).

If

R,S\subseteqX

and the closed convex hull of one of the sets

S

or

R

is compact then \operatorname_X (\operatorname (R + S)) ~=~ \operatorname_X (\operatorname R) + \operatorname_X (\operatorname S). If

R,S\subseteqX

each have a closed convex hull that is compact (that is,

\operatorname{cl}X(\operatorname{co}R)

and

\operatorname{cl}X(\operatorname{co}S)

are compact) then \operatorname_X (\operatorname (R \cup S)) ~=~ \operatorname \left[\operatorname{cl}_X (\operatorname{co} R) \cup \operatorname{cl}_X (\operatorname{co} S) \right].

Hulls and compactness

In a general TVS, the closed convex hull of a compact set may to be compact. The balanced hull of a compact (respectively, totally bounded) set has that same property. The convex hull of a finite union of compact sets is again compact and convex.

Other properties

Meager, nowhere dense, and Baire

A disk in a TVS is not nowhere dense if and only if its closure is a neighborhood of the origin. A vector subspace of a TVS that is closed but not open is nowhere dense.

Suppose

X

is a TVS that does not carry the indiscrete topology. Then

X

is a Baire space if and only if

X

has no balanced absorbing nowhere dense subset.

A TVS

X

is a Baire space if and only if

X

is nonmeager, which happens if and only if there does not exist a nowhere dense set

D

such that X = \bigcup_ n D. Every nonmeager locally convex TVS is a barrelled space.

Important algebraic facts and common misconceptions

If

S\subseteqX

then

2S\subseteqS+S

; if

S

is convex then equality holds. For an example where equality does hold, let

x

be non-zero and set

S=\{-x,x\};

S=\{x,2x\}

also works.

A subset

C

is convex if and only if

(s+t)C=sC+tC

for all positive real

s>0andt>0,

or equivalently, if and only if

tC+(1-t)C\subseteqC

for all

0\leqt\leq1.

The convex balanced hull of a set

S\subseteqX

is equal to the convex hull of the balanced hull of

S;

that is, it is equal to

\operatorname{co}(\operatorname{bal}S).

But in general, \operatorname (\operatorname S) ~\subseteq~ \operatorname S ~=~ \operatorname (\operatorname S), where the inclusion might be strict since the balanced hull of a convex set need not be convex (counter-examples exist even in

\R2

).

If

R,S\subseteqX

and

a

is a scalar then a(R + S) = aR + a S,~ \text ~\operatorname (R + S) = \operatorname R + \operatorname S,~ \text ~\operatorname (a S) = a \operatorname S. If

R,S\subseteqX

are convex non-empty disjoint sets and

x\not\inR\cupS,

then

S\cap\operatorname{co}(R\cup\{x\})=\varnothing

or

R\cap\operatorname{co}(S\cup\{x\})=\varnothing.

In any non-trivial vector space

X,

there exist two disjoint non-empty convex subsets whose union is

X.

Other properties

Every TVS topology can be generated by a of F-seminorms.

If

P(x)

is some unary predicate (a true or false statement dependent on

x\inX

) then for any

z\inX,

z+\{x\inX:P(x)\}=\{x\inX:P(x-z)\}.

[11] So for example, if

P(x)

denotes "

\|x\|<1

" then for any

z\inX,

z+\{x\inX:\|x\|<1\}=\{x\inX:\|x-z\|<1\}.

Similarly, if

s0

is a scalar then

s\{x\inX:P(x)\}=\left\{x\inX:P\left(\tfrac{1}{s}x\right)\right\}.

The elements

x\inX

of these sets must range over a vector space (that is, over

X

) rather than not just a subset or else these equalities are no longer guaranteed; similarly,

z

must belong to this vector space (that is,

z\inX

).

Properties preserved by set operators

The following table, the color of each cell indicates whether or not a given property of subsets of

X

(indicated by the column name, "convex" for instance) is preserved under the set operator (indicated by the row's name, "closure" for instance). If in every TVS, a property is preserved under the indicated set operator then that cell will be colored green; otherwise, it will be colored red.

So for instance, since the union of two absorbing sets is again absorbing, the cell in row "

R\cupS

" and column "Absorbing" is colored green. But since the arbitrary intersection of absorbing sets need not be absorbing, the cell in row "Arbitrary intersections (of at least 1 set)" and column "Absorbing" is colored red. If a cell is not colored then that information has yet to be filled in.
Operation!colspan="100"
Property of

R,

S,

and any other subsets of

X

that is considered
AbsorbingBalancedConvexSymmetricConvex
Balanced
Vector
subspace
OpenNeighborhood
of 0
ClosedClosed
Balanced
Closed
Convex
Closed
Convex
Balanced
BarrelClosed
Vector
subspace
Totally
bounded
CompactCompact
Convex
Relatively compactCompleteSequentially
Complete
Banach
disk
BoundedBornivorousInfrabornivorousNowhere
dense
(in

X

)
MeagerSeparablePseudometrizableOperation

R\cupS

<--Barrel--><--Complete--><--Banach disk-->

R\cupS

 increasing nonempty chain<--Banach disk--><--Separable--><--Pseudometrizable--> increasing nonempty chain
Arbitrary unions (of at least 1 set)<--Banach disk--><--Separable--><--Pseudometrizable-->Arbitrary unions (of at least 1 set)

R\capS

<--Relatively compact--><--Complete--><--Banach disk--><--Bornivorous--><--Infrabornivorous--><--Separable-->

R\capS

 decreasing nonempty chain<--Compact--><--Compact convex--><--Relatively compact--><--Complete--><--Sequentially complete--><--Banach disk--><--Bornivorous--><--Infrabornivorous--><--Meager--><--Separable--> decreasing nonempty chain
Arbitrary intersections (of at least 1 set)<--Compact--><--Compact convex--><--Relatively compact--><--Complete--><--Sequentially complete--><--Banach disk--><--Bornivorous--><--Infrabornivorous--><--Meager--><--Separable-->Arbitrary intersections (of at least 1 set)

R+S

<--Closed Balanced--><--Closed Convex Balanced--><--Barrel--><--Closed Vector subspace--><--Totally bounded--><--Relatively compact--><--Complete--><--Sequentially complete--><--Banach disk--><--Bornivorous--><--Infrabornivorous--><--Nowhere dense--><--Meager--><--Separable--><--Pseudometrizable-->

R+S

Scalar multiple<--Banach disk-->Scalar multiple
Non-0 scalar multipleNon-0 scalar multiple
Positive scalar multiple<--Relatively compact--><--Banach disk-->Positive scalar multiple
Closure<--Complete--><--Sequentially complete--><--Banach disk--><--Meager--><--Separable--><--Pseudometrizable-->Closure
Interior<--Convex Balanced--><--Totally bounded--><--Relatively compact--><--Complete--><--Sequentially complete--><--Banach disk--><--Bornivorous--><--Infrabornivorous--><--Separable--><--Pseudometrizable-->Interior
Balanced core<--Compact--><--Compact convex--><--Relatively compact--><--Complete--><--Sequentially complete--><--Banach disk--><--Bornivorous--><--Infrabornivorous--><--Separable--><--Pseudometrizable-->Balanced core
Balanced hull<--Closed Convex--><--Relatively compact--><--Complete--><--Sequentially complete--><--Separable--><--Pseudometrizable-->Balanced hull
Convex hull<--Closed Balanced--><--Totally bounded--><--Compact--><--Relatively compact--><--Complete--><--Sequentially complete--><--Separable--><--Pseudometrizable-->Convex hull
Convex balanced hull<--Closed Convex--><--Totally bounded--><--Compact--><--Compact convex--><--Relatively compact--><--Complete--><--Sequentially complete--><--Separable--><--Pseudometrizable-->Convex balanced hull
Closed balanced hull<--Totally bounded--><--Compact--><--Compact convex--><--Relatively compact--><--Complete--><--Sequentially complete--><--Banach disk--><--Separable--><--Pseudometrizable-->Closed balanced hull
Closed convex hull<--Totally bounded--><--Compact--><--Compact convex--><--Relatively compact--><--Complete--><--Sequentially complete--><--Banach disk--><--Separable--><--Pseudometrizable-->Closed convex hull
Closed convex balanced hull<--Totally bounded--><--Compact--><--Compact convex--><--Relatively compact--><--Complete--><--Sequentially complete--><--Banach disk--><--Separable--><--Pseudometrizable-->Closed convex balanced hull
Linear span<--Closed--><--Closed Balanced--><--Closed Convex--><--Closed Convex Balanced--><--Complete--><--Sequentially complete--><--Separable--><--Pseudometrizable-->Linear span
Pre-image under a continuous linear map<--Complete--><--Sequentially complete--><--Banach disk--><--Bornivorous--><--Infrabornivorous--><--Nowhere dense--><--Meager-->Pre-image under a continuous linear map
Image under a continuous linear map<--Relatively compact--><--Complete--><--Sequentially complete--><--Banach disk--><--Bornivorous--><--Infrabornivorous--><--Meager--><--Pseudometrizable-->Image under a continuous linear map
Image under a continuous linear surjection<--Open--><--Neighborhood of 0--><--Closed--><--Closed Balanced--><--Closed Convex--><--Closed Convex Balanced--><--Barrel--><--Closed Vector subspace--><--Relatively compact--><--Complete--><--Sequentially complete--><--Banach disk--><--Bornivorous--><--Infrabornivorous--><--Meager--><--Pseudometrizable-->Image under a continuous linear surjection
Non-empty subset of

R

<--Relatively compact--><--Banach disk--><--Separable-->Non-empty subset of

R

OperationAbsorbingBalancedConvexSymmetricConvex
Balanced
Vector
subspace
OpenNeighborhood
of 0
ClosedClosed
Balanced
Closed
Convex
Closed
Convex
Balanced
BarrelClosed
Vector
subspace
Totally
bounded
CompactCompact
Convex
Relatively compactCompleteSequentially
Complete
Banach
disk
BoundedBornivorousInfrabornivorousNowhere
dense
(in

X

)
MeagerSeparablePseudometrizableOperation

Notes

Proofs

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. The topological properties of course also require that

    X

    be a TVS.
  2. In particular,

    X

    is Hausdorff if and only if the set

    \{0\}

    is closed (that is,

    X

    is a T1 space).
  3. A series \sum_^ x_i is said to converge in a TVS

    X

    if the sequence of partial sums converges.
  4. Web site: 2016-04-22. A quick application of the closed graph theorem. 2020-10-07. What's new. en.
  5. This is because every non-empty balanced set must contain the origin and because

    0\in\operatorname{Int}XS

    if and only if

    \operatorname{Int}XS=\{0\}\cup\operatorname{Int}XS.

  6. Fix

    0<r<1

    so it remains to show that

    w0~\stackrel{\scriptscriptstyledef

    }~ r x + (1 - r) y belongs to

    \operatorname{int}XC.

    By replacing

    C,x,y

    with

    C-w0,x-w0,y-w0

    if necessary, we may assume without loss of generality that

    rx+(1-r)y=0,

    and so it remains to show that

    C

    is a neighborhood of the origin. Let

    s~\stackrel{\scriptscriptstyledef

    }~ \tfrac < 0 so that

    y=\tfrac{r}{r-1}x=sx.

    Since scalar multiplication by

    s0

    is a linear homeomorphism

    X\toX,

    \operatorname{cl}X\left(\tfrac{1}{s}C\right)=\tfrac{1}{s}\operatorname{cl}XC.

    Since

    x\in\operatorname{int}C

    and

    y\in\operatorname{cl}C,

    it follows that

    x=\tfrac{1}{s}y\in\operatorname{cl}\left(\tfrac{1}{s}C\right)\cap\operatorname{int}C

    where because

    \operatorname{int}C

    is open, there exists some

    c0\in\left(\tfrac{1}{s}C\right)\cap\operatorname{int}C,

    which satisfies

    sc0\inC.

    Define

    h:X\toX

    by

    x\mapstorx+(1-r)sc0=rx-rc0,

    which is a homeomorphism because

    0<r<1.

    The set

    h\left(\operatorname{int}C\right)

    is thus an open subset of

    X

    that moreover contains h(c_0) = r c_0 - r c_0 = 0. If

    c\in\operatorname{int}C

    then h(c) = r c + (1 - r) s c_0 \in C since

    C

    is convex,

    0<r<1,

    and

    sc0,c\inC,

    which proves that

    h\left(\operatorname{int}C\right)\subseteqC.

    Thus

    h\left(\operatorname{int}C\right)

    is an open subset of

    X

    that contains the origin and is contained in

    C.

    Q.E.D.
  7. Since

    \operatorname{cl}X\{0\}

    has the trivial topology, so does each of its subsets, which makes them all compact. It is known that a subset of any uniform space is compact if and only if it is complete and totally bounded.
  8. In general topology, the closure of a compact subset of a non-Hausdorff space may fail to be compact (for example, the particular point topology on an infinite set). This result shows that this does not happen in non-Hausdorff TVSs.

    S+\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}

    is compact because it is the image of the compact set

    S x \operatorname{cl}X\{0\}

    under the continuous addition map

    + ⋅  :X x X\toX.

    Recall also that the sum of a compact set (that is,

    S

    ) and a closed set is closed so

    S+\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}

    is closed in

    X.

  9. If

    s\inS

    then

    s+\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}=\operatorname{cl}X(s+\{0\})=\operatorname{cl}X\{s\}\subseteq\operatorname{cl}XS.

    Because

    S\subseteqS+\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}\subseteq\operatorname{cl}XS,

    if

    S

    is closed then equality holds. Using the fact that

    \operatorname{cl}X\{0\}

    is a vector space, it is readily verified that the complement in

    X

    of any set

    S

    satisfying the equality

    S+\operatorname{cl}X\{0\}=S

    must also satisfy this equality (when

    X\setminusS

    is substituted for

    S

    ).
  10. In

    \R2,

    the sum of the

    y

    -axis and the graph of

    y=

    1
    x

    ,

    which is the complement of the

    y

    -axis, is open in

    \R2.

    In

    \R,

    the Minkowski sum

    \Z+\sqrt{2}\Z

    is a countable dense subset of

    \R

    so not closed in

    \R.

  11. z + \ = \ = \ and so using

    y=z+x

    and the fact that

    z+X=X,

    this is equal to \ = \ = \. Q.E.D.

    \blacksquare