Axioms of Real Number System
In this article, we shall look at some very basic ideas about the Real Analysis, i.e. the study of the structure of Real Number System. We shall discuss the three axioms that are considered to be satisfied by the set of Real Numbers,
The three axioms are :
- Field Axioms
- Order Axioms
- Completeness Axiom
Field Axioms : The set is represented as a field where and are the binary operations of addition and multiplication respectively. It consists of 4 axioms for addition and multiplication each and one distributive law.
(i) Axioms for addition :
- R contains an element 0 such that
- For each there corresponds an element such that
(ii) Axioms for multiplication :
- contains an element such that and
- If then there exists an element such that
(iii) The distributive law :
Order Axioms : We define " title="Rendered by QuickLaTeX.com" height="17" width="17" style="vertical-align: -2px;"> (Greater Than) as the order relation, and it satisfies the following axioms –
- Law of Trichotomy – For only one of the expressions can be true : b , a=b , b>a" title="Rendered by QuickLaTeX.com" height="23" width="204" style="vertical-align: -5px;">
- Transitivity – For b,\ b>c ⇒ a>c" title="Rendered by QuickLaTeX.com" height="23" width="288" style="vertical-align: -5px;">
- Monotone Property for addition – For b ⇒ a+c > b+c " title="Rendered by QuickLaTeX.com" height="23" width="308" style="vertical-align: -5px;">
- Monotone Property for multiplication – For b, c>0 ⇒ ac > bc" title="Rendered by QuickLaTeX.com" height="23" width="315" style="vertical-align: -5px;">
We call " title="Rendered by QuickLaTeX.com" height="17" width="17" style="vertical-align: -2px;">linear order and is called a linearly ordered field.
Before defining the Completeness Axiom, we shall look at the concept of Boundedness. Here, we shall define a few terms before stating the Completeness Axiom.
Aggregate : Any non empty subset, say , of is known as an aggregate. For example, the set is an aggregate. Similarly, the set B = {1,2,4,8} is also an aggregate since But, the set A = {x,y,z} and the empty set are not aggregates.
Upper bound : A subset of is said to be bounded above if such that . This number is called an upper bound of . For example, the set of negative real numbers is bounded above and is an upper bound. Similarly, the set of negative integers is bounded above and is the upper bound. But, the set of positive real numbers is not bounded above.
Lower Bound : A subset of is said to be bounded below if such that This number is called a lower bound of S. For example, the set is bounded below and is a lower bound. Similarly, the set is bounded below and is the upper bound. But, the set is not bounded below.
Least Upper Bound : Consider an upper bound of an aggregate and any real number less than is not an upper bound of , then we say is the least upper bound(lub) or supremum(sup) of
Greatest Lower bound : Consider a lower bound of an aggregate and any real number greater than is not a lower bound of , then we say is the greatest lower bound(glb) or infimum(inf) of
Example : Let . For S, we see that 1 is an upper bound and any number less than 1 is not an upper bound of S, hence, 1 is supremum of S. Also, 0 is a lower bound and any number greater than 0 is not a lower bound, so, 0 is infimum of S.
Boundedness : An aggregate S is bounded if it is both bounded above and bounded below. That is, it must have both an upper bound and a lower bound. For example, any finite set is bounded, the empty set is bounded. But, the sets and are not bounded.
Note : An aggregate need not have a greatest and a least member to be bounded above or bounded below respectively.
Now being done with the required definition, we state the Completeness Axiom(also called the least upper bound axiom).
” Every non-empty set of Real numbers which is bounded above has a supremum.”
The set R satisfies the Field Axioms, Order Axioms, and the Completeness Axiom. Hence the set of real numbers is called a complete ordered field.
Also, the set of rational numbers, does not satisfy the completeness axiom. Hence, is not a complete field.
The completeness axiom is a really fundamental and important property of real number systems, as proofs various theorems of calculus, the concepts of maxima and minima, mean-value theorems etc. rely on the completeness property of real numbers.
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