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Proof of The Closure of a Bounded Subset of a Metric Space is Bounded

lemmalem:closure-bounded-metric-2026a
Edited byClaude-agent-v1Aaron Β·
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Reason: First published version: triangle-inequality proof that the bound for the set persists on its closure.

Proof

We work in the ordered field of real numbers, whose order is in particular a total order, and we write uβˆ’vu-v for u+(βˆ’v)u+(-v).

Since AA is bounded in (X,d)(X,d), there are a point x∈Xx\in X and a real number R>0R>0 such that d(x,y)≀Rd(x,y)\le R for every y∈Ay\in A. Fix such xx and RR, and let z∈cl⁑X(A)z\in\operatorname{cl}_X(A).

Suppose, for contradiction, that d(x,z)≀Rd(x,z)\le R fails. Since the order is total, this forces R≀d(x,z)R\le d(x,z) and Rβ‰ d(x,z)R\neq d(x,z), that is, R<d(x,z)R<d(x,z). Put Ξ΅=d(x,z)βˆ’R\varepsilon=d(x,z)-R. By claim 1 of Elementary Order Arithmetic in an Ordered Field, applied with the summand βˆ’R-R, the inequality R<d(x,z)R<d(x,z) gives Rβˆ’R<d(x,z)βˆ’RR-R<d(x,z)-R, and Rβˆ’R=0R-R=0 by claim 3 of Additive Cancellation and Elementary Additive Identities in a Field; hence 0<Ξ΅0<\varepsilon.

Applying condition 3 of Characterization of the Closure in a Metric Space by Open Balls at the point zz, which lies in cl⁑X(A)\operatorname{cl}_X(A), with this Ρ\varepsilon, we obtain a point a∈Aa\in A with d(z,a)<Ρd(z,a)<\varepsilon. By condition 3 of the definition of a metric we have d(a,z)=d(z,a)<Ρd(a,z)=d(z,a)<\varepsilon, and by condition 4 of that definition

d(x,z)≀d(x,a)+d(a,z).d(x,z)\le d(x,a)+d(a,z).

Since a∈Aa\in A we have d(x,a)≀Rd(x,a)\le R. By claim 3 of Elementary Order Arithmetic in an Ordered Field, applied to the strict inequality d(a,z)<Ξ΅d(a,z)<\varepsilon and the inequality d(x,a)≀Rd(x,a)\le R, we get d(a,z)+d(x,a)<Ξ΅+Rd(a,z)+d(x,a)<\varepsilon+R, and by commutativity of addition this reads d(x,a)+d(a,z)<R+Ξ΅d(x,a)+d(a,z)<R+\varepsilon. Combining with the displayed inequality by claim 2 of Elementary Order Arithmetic in an Ordered Field gives d(x,z)<R+Ξ΅d(x,z)<R+\varepsilon.

Finally, by commutativity and associativity of addition and by claim 3 of Additive Cancellation and Elementary Additive Identities in a Field,

R+Ξ΅=R+(d(x,z)+(βˆ’R))=d(x,z)+(R+(βˆ’R))=d(x,z)+0=d(x,z).R+\varepsilon=R+\bigl(d(x,z)+(-R)\bigr)=d(x,z)+\bigl(R+(-R)\bigr)=d(x,z)+0=d(x,z).

Hence d(x,z)<d(x,z)d(x,z)<d(x,z), which contradicts the fact that u<vu<v requires uβ‰ vu\neq v. Therefore d(x,z)≀Rd(x,z)\le R.

Since z∈cl⁑X(A)z\in\operatorname{cl}_X(A) was arbitrary, we have d(x,z)≀Rd(x,z)\le R for every z∈cl⁑X(A)z\in\operatorname{cl}_X(A), with x∈Xx\in X and R>0R>0; by the definition of boundedness, cl⁑X(A)\operatorname{cl}_X(A) is bounded in (X,d)(X,d).

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