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In mathematics, a
function Function or functionality may refer to: Computing * Function key, a type of key on computer keyboards * Function model, a structured representation of processes in a system * Function object or functor or functionoid, a concept of object-oriente ...
is said to vanish at infinity if its values approach 0 as the input grows without bounds. There are two different ways to define this with one definition applying to functions defined on normed vector spaces and the other applying to functions defined on
locally compact space In topology and related branches of mathematics, a topological space is called locally compact if, roughly speaking, each small portion of the space looks like a small portion of a compact space. More precisely, it is a topological space in which e ...
s. Aside from this difference, both of these notions correspond to the intuitive notion of adding a point at infinity, and requiring the values of the function to get arbitrarily close to zero as one approaches it. This definition can be formalized in many cases by adding an (actual) point at infinity.


Definitions

A function on a normed vector space is said to if the function approaches 0 as the input grows without bounds (that is, f(x) \to 0 as \, x\, \to \infty). Or, :\lim_ f(x) = \lim_ f(x) = 0. in the specific case of functions on the real line. For example, the function :f(x) = \frac defined on the
real line In elementary mathematics, a number line is a picture of a graduated straight line that serves as visual representation of the real numbers. Every point of a number line is assumed to correspond to a real number, and every real number to a poin ...
vanishes at infinity. Alternatively, a function f on a
locally compact space In topology and related branches of mathematics, a topological space is called locally compact if, roughly speaking, each small portion of the space looks like a small portion of a compact space. More precisely, it is a topological space in which e ...
, if given any positive number , there exists a
compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a type of colonial rule utilized in Britis ...
subset K such that :\, f(x)\, < \varepsilon whenever the point x lies outside of K. In other words, for each positive number the set \left\ has compact closure. For a given locally compact space \Omega the
set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...
of such functions :f : \Omega \to \mathbb valued in \mathbb, which is either \R or \C, forms a \mathbb- vector space with respect to
pointwise In mathematics, the qualifier pointwise is used to indicate that a certain property is defined by considering each value f(x) of some function f. An important class of pointwise concepts are the ''pointwise operations'', that is, operations defined ...
scalar multiplication and
addition Addition (usually signified by the plus symbol ) is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic, the other three being subtraction, multiplication and division. The addition of two whole numbers results in the total amount or '' sum'' of ...
, which is often denoted C_0(\Omega). As an example, the function :h(x, y) = \frac where x and y are reals greater or equal 1 and correspond to the point (x, y) on \R_^2 vanishes at infinity. A
normed space In mathematics, a normed vector space or normed space is a vector space over the real or complex numbers, on which a norm is defined. A norm is the formalization and the generalization to real vector spaces of the intuitive notion of "length ...
is locally compact if and only if it is finite-dimensional so in this particular case, there are two different definitions of a function "vanishing at infinity". The two definitions could be inconsistent with each other: if f(x) = \, x\, ^ in an infinite dimensional
Banach space In mathematics, more specifically in functional analysis, a Banach space (pronounced ) is a complete normed vector space. Thus, a Banach space is a vector space with a metric that allows the computation of vector length and distance between vect ...
, then f vanishes at infinity by the \, f(x)\, \to 0 definition, but not by the compact set definition.


Rapidly decreasing

Refining the concept, one can look more closely to the of functions at infinity. One of the basic intuitions of
mathematical analysis Analysis is the branch of mathematics dealing with continuous functions, limits, and related theories, such as differentiation, integration, measure, infinite sequences, series, and analytic functions. These theories are usually studied ...
is that the Fourier transform interchanges smoothness conditions with rate conditions on vanishing at infinity. The test functions of tempered distribution theory are smooth functions that are :O\left(, x, ^\right) for all N, as , x, \to \infty, and such that all their partial derivatives satisfy the same condition too. This condition is set up so as to be self-dual under Fourier transform, so that the corresponding distribution theory of will have the same property.


See also

* * *


Citations


References

* {{cite book, author= Hewitt, E and Stromberg, K, year=1963, title=Real and abstract analysis, publisher=Springer-Verlag Mathematical analysis