examples of continuous functions on the extended real numbers
Within this entry, ˉℝ will be used to refer to the extended real numbers.
Examples of continuous functions on ˉℝ include:
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Polynomial functions: Let f∈ℝ[x] with f(x)=n∑j=0anxn for some n∈ℕ and a0,…,an∈ℝ with an≠0 if n≠0. Then ˉf is defined in the following manner:
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(a)
If n=0, then ˉf(x)=a0 for all x∈ˉℝ.
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(b)
If n is odd and an>0, then ˉf(x)={f(x) if x∈ℝx if x∉ℝ.
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(c)
If n is odd and an<0, then ˉf(x)={f(x) if x∈ℝ-x if x∉ℝ.
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(d)
If n≠0 is even and an>0, then ˉf(x)={f(x) if x∈ℝ∞ if x∉ℝ.
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(e)
If n≠0 is even and an<0, then ˉf(x)={f(x) if x∈ℝ-∞ if x∉ℝ.
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(a)
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Exponential functions
: Let f(x)=ax for some a∈ℝ with a>0 and a≠1. Then ˉf is defined in the following manner:
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(a)
If a<1, then ˉf(x)={f(x) if x∈ℝ0 if x=∞∞ if x=-∞.
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(b)
If a>1, then ˉf(x)={f(x) if x∈ℝ∞ if x=∞0 if x=-∞.
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(a)
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Miscellaneous
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(a)
Let f(x)=arctanx. Then ˉf is defined by ˉf(x)={f(x) if x∈ℝπ2 if x=∞-π2 if x=-∞.
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(b)
Let f(x)=tanhx. Then ˉf is defined by ˉf(x)={f(x) if x∈ℝ1 if x=∞-1 if x=-∞.
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(a)
Of course, not every function f that is continuous on ℝ extends to a continuous function on ˉℝ. Common examples of these include the real functions x↦sinx and x↦cosx. (It is proven that these are continuous on ℝ in the entry continuity of sine and cosine.)
On the other hand, there are some continuous functions ˉf:ˉℝ→ˉℝ that have no analogous function f:ℝ→ℝ. For example, consider
ˉf(x)={1x2 if x∈ℝ∖{0}∞ if x=00 if x=±∞.
Title | examples of continuous functions on the extended real numbers |
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Canonical name | ExamplesOfContinuousFunctionsOnTheExtendedRealNumbers |
Date of creation | 2013-03-22 16:59:34 |
Last modified on | 2013-03-22 16:59:34 |
Owner | Wkbj79 (1863) |
Last modified by | Wkbj79 (1863) |
Numerical id | 9 |
Author | Wkbj79 (1863) |
Entry type | Example |
Classification | msc 12D99 |
Classification | msc 28-00 |