Limit (mathematics)In mathematics, a limit is the value that a function (or sequence) approaches as the input (or index) approaches some value. Limits are essential to calculus and mathematical analysis, and are used to define continuity, derivatives, and integrals. The concept of a limit of a sequence is further generalized to the concept of a limit of a topological net, and is closely related to and direct limit in . In formulas, a limit of a function is usually written as (although a few authors use "Lt" instead of "lim") and is read as "the limit of f of x as x approaches c equals L".
Domain theoryDomain theory is a branch of mathematics that studies special kinds of partially ordered sets (posets) commonly called domains. Consequently, domain theory can be considered as a branch of order theory. The field has major applications in computer science, where it is used to specify denotational semantics, especially for functional programming languages. Domain theory formalizes the intuitive ideas of approximation and convergence in a very general way and is closely related to topology.
Neighbourhood systemIn topology and related areas of mathematics, the neighbourhood system, complete system of neighbourhoods, or neighbourhood filter for a point in a topological space is the collection of all neighbourhoods of Neighbourhood of a point or set An of a point (or subset) in a topological space is any open subset of that contains A is any subset that contains open neighbourhood of ; explicitly, is a neighbourhood of in if and only if there exists some open subset with . Equivalently, a neighborhood of is any set that contains in its topological interior.
Upper setIn mathematics, an upper set (also called an upward closed set, an upset, or an isotone set in X) of a partially ordered set is a subset with the following property: if s is in S and if x in X is larger than s (that is, if ), then x is in S. In other words, this means that any x element of X that is to some element of S is necessarily also an element of S. The term lower set (also called a downward closed set, down set, decreasing set, initial segment, or semi-ideal) is defined similarly as being a subset S of X with the property that any element x of X that is to some element of S is necessarily also an element of S.
Maximal and minimal elementsIn mathematics, especially in order theory, a maximal element of a subset S of some preordered set is an element of S that is not smaller than any other element in S. A minimal element of a subset S of some preordered set is defined dually as an element of S that is not greater than any other element in S. The notions of maximal and minimal elements are weaker than those of greatest element and least element which are also known, respectively, as maximum and minimum.
Join and meetIn mathematics, specifically order theory, the join of a subset of a partially ordered set is the supremum (least upper bound) of denoted and similarly, the meet of is the infimum (greatest lower bound), denoted In general, the join and meet of a subset of a partially ordered set need not exist. Join and meet are dual to one another with respect to order inversion. A partially ordered set in which all pairs have a join is a join-semilattice. Dually, a partially ordered set in which all pairs have a meet is a meet-semilattice.
Topological vector spaceIn mathematics, a topological vector space (also called a linear topological space and commonly abbreviated TVS or t.v.s.) is one of the basic structures investigated in functional analysis. A topological vector space is a vector space that is also a topological space with the property that the vector space operations (vector addition and scalar multiplication) are also continuous functions. Such a topology is called a and every topological vector space has a uniform topological structure, allowing a notion of uniform convergence and completeness.
Greatest element and least elementIn mathematics, especially in order theory, the greatest element of a subset of a partially ordered set (poset) is an element of that is greater than every other element of . The term least element is defined dually, that is, it is an element of that is smaller than every other element of Let be a preordered set and let An element is said to be if and if it also satisfies: for all By switching the side of the relation that is on in the above definition, the definition of a least element of is obtained.
Norm (mathematics)In mathematics, a norm is a function from a real or complex vector space to the non-negative real numbers that behaves in certain ways like the distance from the origin: it commutes with scaling, obeys a form of the triangle inequality, and is zero only at the origin. In particular, the Euclidean distance in a Euclidean space is defined by a norm on the associated Euclidean vector space, called the Euclidean norm, the 2-norm, or, sometimes, the magnitude of the vector.
Infimum and supremumIn mathematics, the infimum (abbreviated inf; plural infima) of a subset of a partially ordered set is the greatest element in that is less than or equal to each element of if such an element exists. In other words, it is the greatest element of that is lower or equal to the lowest element of . Consequently, the term greatest lower bound (abbreviated as ) is also commonly used. The supremum (abbreviated sup; plural suprema) of a subset of a partially ordered set is the least element in that is greater than or equal to each element of if such an element exists.