Completeness Of The Real Numbers
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Completeness Of The Real Numbers
Completeness is a property of the real numbers that, intuitively, implies that there are no "gaps" (in Dedekind's terminology) or "missing points" in the real number line. This contrasts with the rational numbers, whose corresponding number line has a "gap" at each irrational value. In the decimal number system, completeness is equivalent to the statement that any infinite string of decimal digits is actually a decimal representation for some real number. Depending on the construction of the real numbers used, completeness may take the form of an axiom (the completeness axiom), or may be a theorem proven from the construction. There are many equivalent forms of completeness, the most prominent being Dedekind completeness and Cauchy completeness ( completeness as a metric space). Forms of completeness The real numbers can be defined synthetically as an ordered field satisfying some version of the ''completeness axiom''. Different versions of this axiom are all equivalent i ...
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Real Numbers
In mathematics, a real number is a number that can be used to measure a ''continuous'' one-dimensional quantity such as a distance, duration or temperature. Here, ''continuous'' means that values can have arbitrarily small variations. Every real number can be almost uniquely represented by an infinite decimal expansion. The real numbers are fundamental in calculus (and more generally in all mathematics), in particular by their role in the classical definitions of limits, continuity and derivatives. The set of real numbers is denoted or \mathbb and is sometimes called "the reals". The adjective ''real'' in this context was introduced in the 17th century by René Descartes to distinguish real numbers, associated with physical reality, from imaginary numbers (such as the square roots of ), which seemed like a theoretical contrivance unrelated to physical reality. The real numbers include the rational numbers, such as the integer and the fraction . The rest of the real numbers ...
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Least Upper Bound
In mathematics, the infimum (abbreviated inf; plural infima) of a subset S of a partially ordered set P is a greatest element in P that is less than or equal to each element of S, if such an element exists. Consequently, the term ''greatest lower bound'' (abbreviated as ) is also commonly used. The supremum (abbreviated sup; plural suprema) of a subset S of a partially ordered set P is the least element in P that is greater than or equal to each element of S, if such an element exists. Consequently, the supremum is also referred to as the ''least upper bound'' (or ). The infimum is in a precise sense dual to the concept of a supremum. Infima and suprema of real numbers are common special cases that are important in analysis, and especially in Lebesgue integration. However, the general definitions remain valid in the more abstract setting of order theory where arbitrary partially ordered sets are considered. The concepts of infimum and supremum are close to minimum and maxim ...
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Bolzano–Weierstrass Theorem
In mathematics, specifically in real analysis, the Bolzano–Weierstrass theorem, named after Bernard Bolzano and Karl Weierstrass, is a fundamental result about convergence in a finite-dimensional Euclidean space \R^n. The theorem states that each infinite bounded sequence in \R^n has a limit of a sequence, convergent subsequence. An equivalent formulation is that a subset of \R^n is Sequentially compact space, sequentially compact if and only if it is closed set, closed and bounded set, bounded. The theorem is sometimes called the sequential compactness theorem. History and significance The Bolzano–Weierstrass theorem is named after mathematicians Bernard Bolzano and Karl Weierstrass. It was actually first proved by Bolzano in 1817 as a Lemma (mathematics), lemma in the proof of the intermediate value theorem. Some fifty years later the result was identified as significant in its own right, and proved again by Weierstrass. It has since become an essential theorem of Real ana ...
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Monotone Convergence Theorem
In the mathematical field of real analysis, the monotone convergence theorem is any of a number of related theorems proving the convergence of monotonic sequences (sequences that are non-decreasing or non-increasing) that are also bounded. Informally, the theorems state that if a sequence is increasing and bounded above by a supremum, then the sequence will converge to the supremum; in the same way, if a sequence is decreasing and is bounded below by an infimum, it will converge to the infimum. Convergence of a monotone sequence of real numbers Lemma 1 If a sequence of real numbers is increasing and bounded above, then its supremum is the limit. Proof Let (a_n)_ be such a sequence, and let \ be the set of terms of (a_n)_ . By assumption, \ is non-empty and bounded above. By the least-upper-bound property of real numbers, c = \sup_n \ exists and is finite. Now, for every \varepsilon > 0, there exists N such that a_N > c - \varepsilon , since otherwise c - \varepsilon is an ...
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Intersection (set Theory)
In set theory, the intersection of two sets A and B, denoted by A \cap B, is the set containing all elements of A that also belong to B or equivalently, all elements of B that also belong to A. Notation and terminology Intersection is written using the symbol "\cap" between the terms; that is, in infix notation. For example: \\cap\=\ \\cap\=\varnothing \Z\cap\N=\N \\cap\N=\ The intersection of more than two sets (generalized intersection) can be written as: \bigcap_^n A_i which is similar to capital-sigma notation. For an explanation of the symbols used in this article, refer to the table of mathematical symbols. Definition The intersection of two sets A and B, denoted by A \cap B, is the set of all objects that are members of both the sets A and B. In symbols: A \cap B = \. That is, x is an element of the intersection A \cap B if and only if x is both an element of A and an element of B. For example: * The intersection of the sets and is . * The number 9 is in t ...
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Interval (mathematics)
In mathematics, a (real) interval is a set of real numbers that contains all real numbers lying between any two numbers of the set. For example, the set of numbers satisfying is an interval which contains , , and all numbers in between. Other examples of intervals are the set of numbers such that , the set of all real numbers \R, the set of nonnegative real numbers, the set of positive real numbers, the empty set, and any singleton (set of one element). Real intervals play an important role in the theory of integration, because they are the simplest sets whose "length" (or "measure" or "size") is easy to define. The concept of measure can then be extended to more complicated sets of real numbers, leading to the Borel measure and eventually to the Lebesgue measure. Intervals are central to interval arithmetic, a general numerical computing technique that automatically provides guaranteed enclosures for arbitrary formulas, even in the presence of uncertainties, mathematic ...
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Complete Metric Space
In mathematical analysis, a metric space is called complete (or a Cauchy space) if every Cauchy sequence of points in has a limit that is also in . Intuitively, a space is complete if there are no "points missing" from it (inside or at the boundary). For instance, the set of rational numbers is not complete, because e.g. \sqrt is "missing" from it, even though one can construct a Cauchy sequence of rational numbers that converges to it (see further examples below). It is always possible to "fill all the holes", leading to the ''completion'' of a given space, as explained below. Definition Cauchy sequence A sequence x_1, x_2, x_3, \ldots in a metric space (X, d) is called Cauchy if for every positive real number r > 0 there is a positive integer N such that for all positive integers m, n > N, d\left(x_m, x_n\right) < r. Complete space A metric space (X, d) is complete if any of the following equivalent conditions are satisfied: :#Every

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Metric Space
In mathematics, a metric space is a set together with a notion of ''distance'' between its elements, usually called points. The distance is measured by a function called a metric or distance function. Metric spaces are the most general setting for studying many of the concepts of mathematical analysis and geometry. The most familiar example of a metric space is 3-dimensional Euclidean space with its usual notion of distance. Other well-known examples are a sphere equipped with the angular distance and the hyperbolic plane. A metric may correspond to a metaphorical, rather than physical, notion of distance: for example, the set of 100-character Unicode strings can be equipped with the Hamming distance, which measures the number of characters that need to be changed to get from one string to another. Since they are very general, metric spaces are a tool used in many different branches of mathematics. Many types of mathematical objects have a natural notion of distance and t ...
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Mathematical Analysis
Analysis is the branch of mathematics dealing with continuous functions, limit (mathematics), limits, and related theories, such as Derivative, differentiation, Integral, integration, measure (mathematics), measure, infinite sequences, series (mathematics), series, and analytic functions. These theories are usually studied in the context of Real number, real and Complex number, complex numbers and Function (mathematics), functions. Analysis evolved from calculus, which involves the elementary concepts and techniques of analysis. Analysis may be distinguished from geometry; however, it can be applied to any Space (mathematics), space of mathematical objects that has a definition of nearness (a topological space) or specific distances between objects (a metric space). History Ancient Mathematical analysis formally developed in the 17th century during the Scientific Revolution, but many of its ideas can be traced back to earlier mathematicians. Early results in analysis were i ...
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Convergent Sequences
In functional analysis and related areas of mathematics, a sequence space is a vector space whose elements are infinite sequences of real or complex numbers. Equivalently, it is a function space whose elements are functions from the natural numbers to the field ''K'' of real or complex numbers. The set of all such functions is naturally identified with the set of all possible infinite sequences with elements in ''K'', and can be turned into a vector space under the operations of pointwise addition of functions and pointwise scalar multiplication. All sequence spaces are linear subspaces of this space. Sequence spaces are typically equipped with a norm, or at least the structure of a topological vector space. The most important sequence spaces in analysis are the spaces, consisting of the -power summable sequences, with the ''p''-norm. These are special cases of L''p'' spaces for the counting measure on the set of natural numbers. Other important classes of sequences like ...
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Cauchy Sequence
In mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ..., a Cauchy sequence (; ), named after Augustin-Louis Cauchy, is a sequence whose Element (mathematics), elements become arbitrarily close to each other as the sequence progresses. More precisely, given any small positive distance, all but a finite number of elements of the sequence are less than that given distance from each other. It is not sufficient for each term to become arbitrarily close to the term. For instance, in the sequence of square roots of natural numbers: a_n=\sqrt n, the consecutive terms become arbitrarily close to each other: a_-a_n = \sqrt-\sqrt = \frac d. (Actually, any m > \left(\sqrt + d\right)^2 suffices.) As a result, despite how far one goes, the remaining terms of the sequence never get c ...
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Dedekind Cut
In mathematics, Dedekind cuts, named after German mathematician Richard Dedekind but previously considered by Joseph Bertrand, are а method of construction of the real numbers from the rational numbers. A Dedekind cut is a partition of the rational numbers into two sets ''A'' and ''B'', such that all elements of ''A'' are less than all elements of ''B'', and ''A'' contains no greatest element. The set ''B'' may or may not have a smallest element among the rationals. If ''B'' has a smallest element among the rationals, the cut corresponds to that rational. Otherwise, that cut defines a unique irrational number which, loosely speaking, fills the "gap" between ''A'' and ''B''. In other words, ''A'' contains every rational number less than the cut, and ''B'' contains every rational number greater than or equal to the cut. An irrational cut is equated to an irrational number which is in neither set. Every real number, rational or not, is equated to one and only one cut of rati ...
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