Compactness in Metric Spaces

Compact Sets in a Metric Space

If Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle (M, d)} is a metric space and $S\subseteq M$ then a cover or covering of $S$ is a collection of subsets ${\mathcal {F}}$ in $M$ such that:

${\begin{aligned}\quad S\subseteq \bigcup _{A\in {\mathcal {F}}}A\end{aligned}}$

Furthermore, we said that an open cover (or open covering) is simply a cover that contains only open sets.

We also said that a subset ${\mathcal {S}}\subseteq {\mathcal {F}}$ is a subcover/subcovering (or open subcover/subcovering if ${\mathcal {F}}$ is an open covering) if ${\mathcal {S}}$ is also a cover of $S$, that is:

${\begin{aligned}\quad S\subseteq \bigcup _{A\in {\mathcal {S}}}A\quad {\text{ where }}{\mathcal {S}}\subseteq {\mathcal {F}}\end{aligned}}$

We can now define the concept of a compact set using the definitions above.

Definition: Let $(M,d)$ be a metric space. The subset $S\subseteq M$ is said to be Compact if every open covering ${\mathcal {F}}$ of $S$ has a finite subcovering of $S$.

In general, it may be more difficult to show that a subset of a metric space is compact than to show a subset of a metric space is not compact. So, let's look at an example of a subset of a metric space that is not compact.

Consider the metric space $(\mathbb {R} ,d)$ where $d$ is the Euclidean metric and consider the set $S=[0,1)\subseteq \mathbb {R}$. We claim that this set is not compact. To show that $S$ is not compact, we need to find an open covering ${\mathcal {F}}$ of $S$ that does not have a finite subcovering. Consider the following open covering:

${\begin{aligned}\quad {\mathcal {F}}=\left\{\left((0,1-{\frac {1}{n}}\right):n\in \mathbb {Z} ,n\geq 1\right\}=\left\{\left(0,{\frac {1}{2}},\right),\left(0,{\frac {2}{3}}\right),\left(0,{\frac {3}{4}}\right),...\right\}\end{aligned}}$

Clearly ${\mathcal {F}}$ is an infinite subcovering of $(0,1)$ and furthermore:

${\begin{aligned}\quad (0,1)\subseteq \bigcup _{k=2}^{\infty }\left(0,1-{\frac {1}{k}}\right)\end{aligned}}$

Let ${\mathcal {F}}^{*}$ be a finite subset of ${\mathcal {F}}$ containing $p$ elements. Then:

${\begin{aligned}\quad {\mathcal {F}}^{*}=\left\{\left(0,1-{\frac {1}{n_{1}}}\right),\left(0,1-{\frac {1}{n_{2}}}\right),...,\left(0,1-{\frac {1}{n_{p}}}\right)\right\}\end{aligned}}$

Let $n^{*}=\max\{n_{1},n_{2},...,n_{p}\}$. Then due to the nesting of the open covering ${\mathcal {F}}$, we see that:

${\begin{aligned}\quad \bigcup _{k=1}^{p}\left(0,1-{\frac {1}{n_{p}}}\right)=\left(0,1-{\frac {1}{n^{*}}}\right)\end{aligned}}$

But for $(0,1)\subseteq \left(0,1-{\frac {1}{n^{*}}}\right)$ we need Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 1 \leq 1 - \frac{1}{n^*}} . But Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle n^* \in \mathbb{N}} , so Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle n^* > 0} and Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \frac{1}{n^*} > 0} , so Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 1 - \frac{1}{n^*} < 1} . Therefore any finite subset Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathcal F^*} of Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathcal F} cannot cover Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle S = (0, 1)} . Hence, Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle (0, 1)} is not compact.

Boundedness of Compact Sets in a Metric Space

Recall that if Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle (M, d)} is a metric space then a subset Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle S \subseteq M} is said to be compact in Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle M} if for every open covering of Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle S} there exists a finite subcovering of Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle S} .

We will now look at a rather important theorem which will tell us that if Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle S} is a compact subset of Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle M} then we can further deduce that Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle S} is also a bounded subset.

Theorem 1: If $(M,d)$ be a metric space and $S\subseteq M$ is a compact subset of Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle M} then Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle S} is bounded.

<img src="http://mathonline.wdfiles.com/local--files/boundedness-of-compact-sets-in-a-metric-space/Screen%20Shot%202015-10-05%20at%209.56.39%20PM.png" alt="Screen%20Shot%202015-10-05%20at%209.56.39%20PM.png" class="image" />

• Proof: For a fixed Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x_0 \in S} and for Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle r > 0} , consider the ball centered at Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x_0} with radius Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle r} , i.e., Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle B(x_0, r)} . Let Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathcal F} denote the collection of balls centered at Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x_0} with varying radii Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle r > 0} :

Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \begin{align} \quad \mathcal F = \{ B(x_0, r) : r > 0 \} \end{align}}

• It should not be hard to see that Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathcal F} is an open covering of Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle S} , since for all Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle s \in S} we have that Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle d(x_0, s) = r_s > 0} , so Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle s \in B(x_0, r_s) \in \mathcal F} .

• Now since Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle S} is compact and since Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathcal F} is an open covering of Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle S} , there exists a finite open subcovering subset Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathcal F^* \subset \mathcal F} that covers Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle S} . Since Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathcal F^*} is finite, we have that:

Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \begin{align} \quad \mathcal F^* = \{ B(x_0, r_1), B(x_0, r_2), ..., B(x_0, r_p) \} \end{align}}

• And by definition Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathcal F^*} covers Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle S} so:

Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \begin{align} \quad S \subseteq \bigcup_{k=1}^{p} B(x_0, r_k) \end{align}}

• Each of the open balls in the open subcovering Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathcal F^*} is centered at Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x_0} with Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle r_1, r_2, ..., r_p > 0} . Since the set Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \{ r_1, r_2, ..., r_p \}} is a finite set, there exists a maximum value. Let:

Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \begin{align} \quad r_{\mathrm{max}} = \max \{ r_1, r_2, ..., r_p \} \end{align}}

• Then for all Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle k \in \{ 1, 2, ..., p \}} we have that Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle B(x_0, r_k) \subseteq B(x_0, r_{\mathrm{max}})} and therefore:

Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \begin{align} \quad S \subseteq \bigcup_{k=1}^{p} B(x_0, r_k) = B(x_0, r_{\mathrm{max}}) \end{align}}

• Hence Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle S} is bounded. Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \blacksquare}

Licensing

Content obtained and/or adapted from:

• Compact Sets in a Metric Space, mathonline.wikidot.com under a CC BY-SA license