Completely regular space and the Dirac measure

In summary: It seems that you are looking for a categorical relationship between manifolds and fields. Unfortunately, there is no such relationship. A completely regular space implies the Dirac measure, but there is no other categorical relationship between them.
  • #1
friend
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Does a completely regular space imply the Dirac measure. From wikipedia we have the definition:

X is a completely regular space if given any closed set F and any point x that does not belong to F, then there is a continuous function, f, from X to the real line R such that f(x) is 0 and, for every y in F, f(y) is 1.

And the Dirac measure is defined by:

A Dirac measure is a measure on a set X defined for a given xX and any set AX by δx(A) = 0 for x∉A, and δx(A) = 1 for x∈A.

It seems the definition for a completely regular space includes the definition of a Dirac measure. The difference seems to be that the Dirac measure does not involve a continuous function, but it does seem as though δx(A) = f(x), where the set A for the Dirac measure seems to be the same thing as the set F in the completely regular space. Both f(x)=δx(A)=0 if x∉F or x∉A and 1 otherwise.
 
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  • #2
In the definition of the completely regular space, the function ##f## has ##X## as domain. The Dirac measure has ##2^X## as domain. There really is no connection between the two. Furthermore, the Dirac measure can be put on any set, you don't even need a topology for it.
 
  • #3
What really intrigues me is how we can go from the logic of union and intersection involved with the definition of topology to the math of 1 or 0. Both the definition of a completely regular space and the definition of the Dirac measure seem to do this. Going from sets to numbers is a neat trick.

I'm not trying to suggest that a completely regular space is equivalent to the Dirac measure. I'm wondering if the Dirac measure is implied by a completely regular space. Just because the Dirac measure has a larger domain than the completely regular space does not mean that it doesn't imply the Dirac measure for a restricted portion of that domain. Both seem to be defined in a larger space where you can have points or elements inside and outside a set. And a continuous function from 0 to 1 does imply the existence of a discontinuous function that is either 0 or 1. If a function is defined on a domain, then this implies the existence of the values at it end points.
 
  • #4
friend said:
I'm wondering if the Dirac measure is implied by a completely regular space.

What does that sentence even mean?
 
  • #5
micromass said:
What does that sentence even mean?
If a Completely Regular Space is defined for some F, x, y and f, then does that necessarily allow the construction of a Dirac Measure for a similar A and x? If a closed set F exists (as defined in a CRS) in some topology, then can A also be constructed (as defined for a DM) in that same topology? Or in what kind of topology is A guaranteed to exist if F exists?
 
  • #6
friend said:
If a Completely Regular Space is defined for some F, x, y and f, then does that necessarily allow the construction of a Dirac Measure for a similar A and x? If a closed set F exists (as defined in a CRS) in some topology, then can A also be constructed (as defined for a DM) in that same topology? Or in what kind of topology is A guaranteed to exist if F exists?

A Dirac measure exists on any set, so yes. You really don't need completely regular.
 
  • #7
What I'm really driving at is if fields with numeric value are necessarily a part of a manifold. We have fields defined on manifolds as added structure for arbitrary reasons. But are there fields automatically included in the definition of a manifold? We seem to have completely regular spaces as part of the definition of a manifold, and they have functions from 0 to 1. So it seems there are numeric functions automatically part of the definition of a manifold.
 
  • #8
Yes, the definition of a (smooth) manifold implies the existence of many (smooth) scalar fields. The essential theorem here is the existence of a (smooth) partition of unity on the manifold.

But why is this so important to you?
 
  • #9
micromass said:
But why is this so important to you?
Well, let's see. We have SR and GR defined on a manifold. And now manifolds necessarily include fields. I wonder if some of them can be recognized as the quantum fields of SM.
 
  • #10
friend said:
If a Completely Regular Space is defined for some F, x, y and f, then <Snip>?

But we don't _define_ a complete regular space; we start with a topological space and it is either regular or it is not.
 
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Likes micromass
  • #11
Still, @friend, it seems you are looking maybe for some categorical relationship between , maybe regular topological spaces and continuous functions, with measure spaces with the Dirac measure?
 

FAQ: Completely regular space and the Dirac measure

1. What is a completely regular space?

A completely regular space is a topological space in which every point can be separated from a closed set by a continuous function. In other words, for any point and any closed set in the space, there exists a continuous function that assigns the value 0 to the point and 1 to the closed set, with all other points in the space having values between 0 and 1.

2. What is the significance of completely regular spaces in mathematics?

Completely regular spaces are important in mathematics because they are a generalization of metric spaces, which are used to define distance and topology. They also have many applications in functional analysis, measure theory, and other areas of mathematics.

3. What is the Dirac measure?

The Dirac measure, also known as the Dirac delta function, is a mathematical concept used to represent point masses in measure theory. It assigns a weight of infinity to a single point and zero to all other points in a space.

4. How is the Dirac measure related to completely regular spaces?

The Dirac measure is closely related to completely regular spaces because it can be used to define measures on these spaces. In particular, the Dirac measure can be used to construct Radon measures, which are a type of measure commonly used in functional analysis and other areas of mathematics.

5. What are some real-world applications of completely regular spaces and the Dirac measure?

Completely regular spaces and the Dirac measure have many applications in physics, engineering, and other fields. For example, they are used in signal processing, image processing, and quantum mechanics to model and analyze various phenomena. They are also used in finance and economics to model and analyze extreme events, such as stock market crashes and natural disasters.

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