Thursday, 16 October 2014

real analysis - Uniform limit of functions with intermediate value property has intermediate value property? Where is the error in this proof?



This is the question that I posed myself and set out to solve before I came to MSE:




Suppose that {fn} is a sequence of real-valued functions defined on [a,b] such that each function has the intermediate value property. Suppose there is another function f:[a,b]R such that the sequence {fn} approaches f uniformly.



Does it follow that f has the intermediate value property?





I then came to MSE and found this question and answer which is easily adapted to answer my problem in the negative---f need not have the IVP.



However, before I came here I thought I came up with a proof for the opposite; that is, I thought I proved that f must have the IVP. But, I cannot find the error in my reasoning. Could someone please find it?




Suppose that x and y are two elements of [a,b] such that $f(x)

Now choose N from N so large such that $f_n(x)

Since every function in the sequence {fn} has the IVP, there is a sequence {cn} that begins its indexing at N such that

$$x for every nN.



By Bolzano-Weierstrass there is a subsequence {cnk} and an element z of [x,y] such that cnkz as k tends to infinity.



Clearly, the subsequence {fnk(cnk)} approaches c. However, the subsequence {fnk(cnk)} also approaches f(z) since the convergence is uniform.



Therefore f(z)=c.



Answer




You seem to be invoking a property different from uniform convergence that also happens to imply that f is continuous. Some problem I did for fun:
enter image description here



Since none of the functions are assumed or otherwise known to be continuous for all we know we could just as well have fn(z)=f(y)+1>f(y) for all nN. In this hypothetical scenario, we would of course have that f(z)=f(y)+1c ( fnf uniformly).






I can't think of a counterexample right now but I will post in here if I come up with one.



So every counterexample that I have tried to cook up somehow fails. If there is a counterexample, then I want to say it is not obvious. The statement could always be undecidable which is not to say that I have considered trying to even prove the claim that you mention but merely just throwing this out there as a possibility.



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