Every bounded operator is Lipschitz continuous at 0. {\displaystyle 0.}
A linear operator between normed spaces is bounded if and only if it is continuous.
Suppose that L {\displaystyle L} is bounded. Then, for all vectors x , h ∈ X {\displaystyle x,h\in X} with h {\displaystyle h} nonzero we have ‖ L ( x + h ) − L ( x ) ‖ = ‖ L ( h ) ‖ ≤ M ‖ h ‖ . {\displaystyle \|L(x+h)-L(x)\|=\|L(h)\|\leq M\|h\|.} Letting h {\displaystyle h} go to zero shows that L {\displaystyle L} is continuous at x . {\displaystyle x.} Moreover, since the constant M {\displaystyle M} does not depend on x , {\displaystyle x,} this shows that in fact L {\displaystyle L} is uniformly continuous, and even Lipschitz continuous.
Conversely, it follows from the continuity at the zero vector that there exists a ε > 0 {\displaystyle \varepsilon >0} such that ‖ L ( h ) ‖ = ‖ L ( h ) − L ( 0 ) ‖ ≤ 1 {\displaystyle \|L(h)\|=\|L(h)-L(0)\|\leq 1} for all vectors h ∈ X {\displaystyle h\in X} with ‖ h ‖ ≤ ε . {\displaystyle \|h\|\leq \varepsilon .} Thus, for all non-zero x ∈ X , {\displaystyle x\in X,} one has ‖ L x ‖ = ‖ ‖ x ‖ ε L ( ε x ‖ x ‖ ) ‖ = ‖ x ‖ ε ‖ L ( ε x ‖ x ‖ ) ‖ ≤ ‖ x ‖ ε ⋅ 1 = 1 ε ‖ x ‖ . {\displaystyle \|Lx\|=\left\Vert {\|x\| \over \varepsilon }L\left(\varepsilon {x \over \|x\|}\right)\right\Vert ={\|x\| \over \varepsilon }\left\Vert L\left(\varepsilon {x \over \|x\|}\right)\right\Vert \leq {\|x\| \over \varepsilon }\cdot 1={1 \over \varepsilon }\|x\|.} This proves that L {\displaystyle L} is bounded. Q.E.D.
A linear operator F : X → Y {\displaystyle F:X\to Y} between two topological vector spaces (TVSs) is called a bounded linear operator or just bounded if whenever B ⊆ X {\displaystyle B\subseteq X} is bounded in X {\displaystyle X} then F ( B ) {\displaystyle F(B)} is bounded in Y . {\displaystyle Y.} A subset of a TVS is called bounded (or more precisely, von Neumann bounded) if every neighborhood of the origin absorbs it. In a normed space (and even in a seminormed space), a subset is von Neumann bounded if and only if it is norm bounded. Hence, for normed spaces, the notion of a von Neumann bounded set is identical to the usual notion of a norm-bounded subset.
Every sequentially continuous linear operator between TVS is a bounded operator.1 This implies that every continuous linear operator between metrizable TVS is bounded. However, in general, a bounded linear operator between two TVSs need not be continuous.
This formulation allows one to define bounded operators between general topological vector spaces as an operator which takes bounded sets to bounded sets. In this context, it is still true that every continuous map is bounded, however the converse fails; a bounded operator need not be continuous. This also means that boundedness is no longer equivalent to Lipschitz continuity in this context.
If the domain is a bornological space (for example, a pseudometrizable TVS, a Fréchet space, a normed space) then a linear operators into any other locally convex spaces is bounded if and only if it is continuous. For LF spaces, a weaker converse holds; any bounded linear map from an LF space is sequentially continuous.
If F : X → Y {\displaystyle F:X\to Y} is a linear operator between two topological vector spaces and if there exists a neighborhood U {\displaystyle U} of the origin in X {\displaystyle X} such that F ( U ) {\displaystyle F(U)} is a bounded subset of Y , {\displaystyle Y,} then F {\displaystyle F} is continuous.2 This fact is often summarized by saying that a linear operator that is bounded on some neighborhood of the origin is necessarily continuous. In particular, any linear functional that is bounded on some neighborhood of the origin is continuous (even if its domain is not a normed space).
Main article: Bornological space
Bornological spaces are exactly those locally convex spaces for which every bounded linear operator into another locally convex space is necessarily continuous. That is, a locally convex TVS X {\displaystyle X} is a bornological space if and only if for every locally convex TVS Y , {\displaystyle Y,} a linear operator F : X → Y {\displaystyle F:X\to Y} is continuous if and only if it is bounded.3
Every normed space is bornological.
Let F : X → Y {\displaystyle F:X\to Y} be a linear operator between topological vector spaces (not necessarily Hausdorff). The following are equivalent:
if X {\displaystyle X} and Y {\displaystyle Y} are locally convex then the following may be add to this list:
if X {\displaystyle X} is a bornological space and Y {\displaystyle Y} is locally convex then the following may be added to this list:
Let X {\displaystyle X} be the space of all trigonometric polynomials on [ − π , π ] , {\displaystyle [-\pi ,\pi ],} with the norm
‖ P ‖ = ∫ − π π | P ( x ) | d x . {\displaystyle \|P\|=\int _{-\pi }^{\pi }\!|P(x)|\,dx.}
The operator L : X → X {\displaystyle L:X\to X} that maps a polynomial to its derivative is not bounded. Indeed, for v n = e i n x {\displaystyle v_{n}=e^{inx}} with n = 1 , 2 , … , {\displaystyle n=1,2,\ldots ,} we have ‖ v n ‖ = 2 π , {\displaystyle \|v_{n}\|=2\pi ,} while ‖ L ( v n ) ‖ = 2 π n → ∞ {\displaystyle \|L(v_{n})\|=2\pi n\to \infty } as n → ∞ , {\displaystyle n\to \infty ,} so L {\displaystyle L} is not bounded.
The space of all bounded linear operators from X {\displaystyle X} to Y {\displaystyle Y} is denoted by B ( X , Y ) {\displaystyle B(X,Y)} .
Wilansky 2013, pp. 47–50. - Wilansky, Albert (2013). Modern Methods in Topological Vector Spaces. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc. ISBN 978-0-486-49353-4. OCLC 849801114. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/849801114 ↩
Narici & Beckenstein 2011, pp. 156–175. - Narici, Lawrence; Beckenstein, Edward (2011). Topological Vector Spaces. Pure and applied mathematics (Second ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. ISBN 978-1584888666. OCLC 144216834. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/144216834 ↩
Narici & Beckenstein 2011, pp. 441–457. - Narici, Lawrence; Beckenstein, Edward (2011). Topological Vector Spaces. Pure and applied mathematics (Second ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. ISBN 978-1584888666. OCLC 144216834. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/144216834 ↩
Proof: Assume for the sake of contradiction that x ∙ = ( x i ) i = 1 ∞ {\displaystyle x_{\bullet }=\left(x_{i}\right)_{i=1}^{\infty }} converges to 0 {\displaystyle 0} but F ( x ∙ ) = ( F ( x i ) ) i = 1 ∞ {\displaystyle F\left(x_{\bullet }\right)=\left(F\left(x_{i}\right)\right)_{i=1}^{\infty }} is not bounded in Y . {\displaystyle Y.} Pick an open balanced neighborhood V {\displaystyle V} of the origin in Y {\displaystyle Y} such that V {\displaystyle V} does not absorb the sequence F ( x ∙ ) . {\displaystyle F\left(x_{\bullet }\right).} Replacing x ∙ {\displaystyle x_{\bullet }} with a subsequence if necessary, it may be assumed without loss of generality that F ( x i ) ∉ i 2 V {\displaystyle F\left(x_{i}\right)\not \in i^{2}V} for every positive integer i . {\displaystyle i.} The sequence z ∙ := ( x i / i ) i = 1 ∞ {\displaystyle z_{\bullet }:=\left(x_{i}/i\right)_{i=1}^{\infty }} is Mackey convergent to the origin (since ( i z i ) i = 1 ∞ = ( x i ) i = 1 ∞ → 0 {\displaystyle \left(iz_{i}\right)_{i=1}^{\infty }=\left(x_{i}\right)_{i=1}^{\infty }\to 0} is bounded in X {\displaystyle X} ) so by assumption, F ( z ∙ ) = ( F ( z i ) ) i = 1 ∞ {\displaystyle F\left(z_{\bullet }\right)=\left(F\left(z_{i}\right)\right)_{i=1}^{\infty }} is bounded in Y . {\displaystyle Y.} So pick a real r > 1 {\displaystyle r>1} such that F ( z i ) ∈ r V {\displaystyle F\left(z_{i}\right)\in rV} for every integer i . {\displaystyle i.} If i > r {\displaystyle i>r} is an integer then since V {\displaystyle V} is balanced, F ( x i ) ∈ r i V ⊆ i 2 V , {\displaystyle F\left(x_{i}\right)\in riV\subseteq i^{2}V,} which is a contradiction. Q.E.D. This proof readily generalizes to give even stronger characterizations of " F {\displaystyle F} is bounded." For example, the word "such that ( r i x i ) i = 1 ∞ {\displaystyle \left(r_{i}x_{i}\right)_{i=1}^{\infty }} is a bounded subset of X . {\displaystyle X.} " in the definition of "Mackey convergent to the origin" can be replaced with "such that ( r i x i ) i = 1 ∞ → 0 {\displaystyle \left(r_{i}x_{i}\right)_{i=1}^{\infty }\to 0} in X . {\displaystyle X.} " /wiki/Balanced_set ↩
Narici & Beckenstein 2011, p. 444. - Narici, Lawrence; Beckenstein, Edward (2011). Topological Vector Spaces. Pure and applied mathematics (Second ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. ISBN 978-1584888666. OCLC 144216834. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/144216834 ↩
Narici & Beckenstein 2011, pp. 451–457. - Narici, Lawrence; Beckenstein, Edward (2011). Topological Vector Spaces. Pure and applied mathematics (Second ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. ISBN 978-1584888666. OCLC 144216834. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/144216834 ↩