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Assume $(X,\|\cdot\|)$ is a normed space with the following property: if $x \neq y \in X$ have norm 1 then $\|\frac{x+y}{2}\|<1$. (We then say that $X$ is strictly convex)

Prove that if $C$ is a convex (though not necessarily close) subset of $X$ and $x_0 \notin C$ and put $r=d(x_0,C)$ then $\{y\in X|\|y-x_0\|\leq r\}\cap C$ has at most one element.

As pointed out to me here I cannot simply use the methods posted in this link and that one since i cannot use the parallelogram law on a general normed space $X$. What would be then the correct approach for this?

havakok
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    Without writing out a solution for myself: note that the intersection of the closed unit ball $B={y\in X: |y-x_0|\leq r}$ with $\overline{C}$ is closed and convex. Now assume that there is more than one point in this intersection and find a contradiction. (Try translating and scaling so that $B$ is centred at $0$ and has radius $1$, this might help.) – SamM May 20 '16 at 08:25
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    Using a translation and a scale change, you can assume that $x_0=0$ and $r=1$. This should help you applying strict convexity. – Giuseppe Negro May 20 '16 at 08:27
  • @SamM I was playing a bit with your suggestion. first of all what do you mean when you denote $\bar{C}$? now i tried defining a ball centered in 0 with a radius r, but i dont know where should i go from here. can you kindly be a bit more specific? – havakok May 21 '16 at 08:27
  • Well you have to use the strict convexity, it isn't true without that. Note that any points in the intersection of the closed unit ball and $\overline C$ must have norm 1. – SamM May 21 '16 at 11:36
  • How come applying this for r=1 is valid here? Why does it holds for any r? – moshe May 22 '16 at 10:25

1 Answers1

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There are one or two things you have to check before the following proof. Since you don't assume $C$ to be closed, what happens if $x_0\in\overline{C}$. (What is a closed ball of radius $0$?) This is a special case which should be dealt with separately.

Edit: (A little note on balls of radius $0$.) Let $x\in X$, and let $r>0$. Denote the open ball of centre $x$ and radius $r$ by $B(x,r)$, and the corresponding closed ball by $\bar B(x,r)$. Then, since $X$ is a normed space, the closure $\overline{B(x,r)}$ is equal to $\bar B(x,r)$. There are two candidates for the closed ball at $x$ of radius $0$, namely $\{x\}$ and $\emptyset$. Now, certainly, the open ball at $x$ of radius $0$ should be empty; there are no elements $y$ of $X$ satisfying $\|y-x\|<0$. The closure of $\emptyset$ is $\emptyset$. One the other hand, there is exactly one element $y\in Y$ which satisfies $\|y-x\|\leq 0$, namely $y=x$. In terms of this question, it makes no difference which is used, since $\{x_0\}\cap C=\emptyset\cap C=\emptyset$, if $x_0\notin C$.

By some translation and scaling, we may assume that $x_0=0$ and $r=1$. Set $B=\{y\in X:\|y\|\leq 1\}$ (The closed unit ball of $X$). Now $E:=B\cap\overline{C}$ is a closed convex set in $X$. (If $E$ is empty then we don't have anything to prove so assume not.) $x_1,x_2\in E$. Assume, towards a contradiction that $x_1\neq x_2$. Then $y:=(x_1+x_2)/2\in E$ (why?). Now, we have $\|x_1\|=\|x_2\|=1$ (why?), and so, by strict convexity $\|y\|<1$. This is impossible, so we must have $x_1=x_2$. This shows that $E$ can contain at most one point. The result you seek follows from this.

I've deliberately left out one or two details to be filled in. You should also justify that it is indeed OK to translate and scale to the origin, this is a common trick in normed space theory, but it should be justified.

Interestingly enough, strict convexity is not enough for the intersection to be non-empty; see Least norm in convex set in Banach space.

SamM
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  • Ok. First of all thanks a lot. I have a couple of questions. What do you mean by $\overline{C}$? is that the complementary group to $C$? Why is $E$ a closed convex set in $x$? – havakok May 21 '16 at 13:23
  • As per the questions within the lines. a closed ball with a 0 radius is an empty group. $y:=\frac{x_1+x_2}{2} \in E$ becasue it is convex. I can not understand why $|x_1|=|x_2|=1$. Did i get the first 2? – havakok May 21 '16 at 13:29
  • First, one should be careful about using "group" to mean "set": group has a proper meaning which is not the same. By $\overline{C}$, I mean the closure of $C$ in $X$. (This is fairly standard notation, though some people prefer $\mathrm{cl},C$ or $\mathrm{clos},C$. The remaining problems are for you to fill in to convince yourself that this does indeed work. I have edited my answer to explain the ambiguity of closed balls of radius $0$. – SamM May 21 '16 at 13:38
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    And why is $|x_1|=|x_2|=1$? – havakok May 21 '16 at 14:20
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    Why is it correct to prove this for $\overline{C}$? is this because $C \subseteq \overline{C}$? – Maxim May 21 '16 at 14:45
  • The distance from a point to a set does not care whether the set is closed or not, so at worst there is no difference since $C\subseteq\overline C$. However, as I mentioned before the proof, you must deal with the case where $x_0$ lies in the closure of $C$. – SamM May 21 '16 at 16:55