# Weak closure points not attainable as limits of sequences

Where in this post we discover an uncanny property of the weak topology: the points of the weak closure of a set cannot always be attained as limits of elements of the set. Naturally, the w-closure of a set is weakly closed. The so-called weak sequential closure of a set, on the other hand, is the set of cluster points of sequences made with elements from that set. The new set is not, however, weakly sequentially closed, which means that there may arise new cluster points; we may, in fact, have to take the weak sequential closure trans-finitely many time to obtain a set which is weakly sequentially closed – still, this may not be weakly closed. Continue reading →

# Graphical convergence

Where in this post we wonder whether pointwise convergence makes sense for sequences of set-valued mappings. We present some essential limitations of the pointwise limit and we motivate the notion of graphical convergence. What is more, we use animated GIFs to better illustrate and understand these new notions. Continue reading →

# Pretty convexity result

Where here we discover some interesting facts about continuous convex functions.

We know that a function $f:\mathbb{R}^n\to\mathbb{R}$ is convex if

$f(\tau x + (1-\tau)y) \leq \tau f(x) + (1-\tau)f(y)$

for all $\tau \in [0,1]$ and $x,y\in \mathbb{R}^n$.

We see that if $f$ is a continuous function, then an equivalent condition for convexity is that either of the following inequalities holds

\begin{aligned} f\left(\frac{x+y}{2}\right) \leq \int_0^1 f(\theta x + (1-\theta)y)\mathrm{d}\theta \leq \frac{f(x)+f(y)}{2}\end{aligned} Continue reading →

# The Mittag-Leffler function

Mostly known as the man because of whom mathematicians are not entitled to the Nobel prize, the Swedish mathematician Gösta Mittag-Leffler, the man who – the legend has it – had an affair with Nobel’s wife, is little known for his namesake function (for the record, Nobel never had a wife). The Mittag-Leffler function arises in several applications in physics and mathematics, chiefly in the solution of fractional-order differential equations – a well-studied special type of integrodifferential equations [1]. The function is given in the form of an infinite convergent series. A straightforward way to compute then would be to sum up the terms of this series until, eventually, the sum does not change. This, however, would be neither fast not accurate. In this article we are discussing about numerical methods for the computation of the Mittag-Leffler function. Continue reading →

# Firmly nonexpansive but not contractive

Some notes on firm nonexpansiveness and contractiveness. We give an example of a firmly nonexpansive operator F so that IF is injective and F is not a contraction. Continue reading →

# Local boundedness of set-valued functions

Local boundedness is an important property of set-valued functions and it is the missing piece of the puzzle in the study of semicontinuity. A function is locally bounded at a point $x$ if the images of some neighbourhoods of this point are bounded sets. We see how the assumption of local boundedness leads to some very useful properties related to semicontinuity of $F$, of its inverse $F^{-1}$ and more. Continue reading →

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