Monday, 17 October 2016

sequences and series - Error with the proof that all solutions to the Cauchy Functional Equation are linear



If f(x) is continuous, it is known that f(x+y)=f(x)+f(y) implies that f(x) is linear, and non-continuous solutions are discussed in these links. (1,
2,3, 4)



However, what is wrong with this proof that all solutions to the Cauchy Functional Equation are of the form f(x)=cx?



If x is rational, it is known that f(x)=cx for some fixed constant c, as seen here.



If x is irrational let us assume that x=n+α, where 0α<1.




f(x)=f(n+α)=f(n)+f(α).



Because of the upper result, f(n)=cn.



Let the decimal expansion of α be i=1ai10i



Note that ai10i is rational.



Then, f(α)=f(i=1ai10i)=i=1f(ai10i)=ci=1ai10i=cα




Therefore f(x)=cn+cα=cx. What did I do wrong?


Answer



The answer is in the comments:



How do you prove that f(i=1ai10i) equals i=1f(ai10i) without assuming f continuous?



Exactly. Let bn=nj=1aj10j. Then f(j=1aj10j)=j=1f(aj10j) is equivalent to f(lim. This assumes f is continuous at \alpha.


No comments:

Post a Comment

real analysis - How to find lim_{hrightarrow 0}frac{sin(ha)}{h}

How to find \lim_{h\rightarrow 0}\frac{\sin(ha)}{h} without lhopital rule? I know when I use lhopital I easy get $$ \lim_{h\rightarrow 0}...