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4.1 - de Nition of Vector Spaces - Mathematics LibreTexts
4.1 - de Nition of Vector Spaces - Mathematics LibreTexts
a vector v ∈ V to a new vector av ∈ V . (More information on these kinds of functions, also known as binary
operations, can be found in Appendix C. It is when we place the right conditions on these operations that we turn
V into a vector space.
Definition 4.1.1. A vector space over F is a set V together with the operations of addition V ×V → V and scalar
multiplication F × V → V satisfying each of the following properties.
1. Commutativity: u + v = v + u for all u, v ∈ V ;
2. Associativity: (u + v) + w = u + (v + w) and (ab)v = a(bv) for all u, v, w ∈ V and a, b ∈ F ;
3. Additive identity: There exists an element 0 ∈ V such that 0 + v = v for all v ∈ V ;
4. Additive inverse: For every v ∈ V , there exists an element w ∈ V such that v + w = 0 ;
5. Multiplicative identity: 1v = v for all v ∈ V ;
6. Distributivity: a(u + v) = au + av and (a + b)u = au + bu for all u, v ∈ V and a, b ∈ F .
A vector space over R is usually called a real vector space, and a vector space over C is similarly called a
complex vector space. The elements v ∈ V of a vector space are called vectors.
Even though Definition 4.1.1 may appear to be an extremely abstract definition, vector spaces are fundamental
objects in mathematics because there are countless examples of them. You should expect to see many examples of
vector spaces throughout your mathematical life.
Example 4.1.2. Consider the set F of all n -tuples with elements in F. This is a vector space with addition and
n
n
∈ F
define
u+v = (u1 + v1 , u2 + v2 , … , un + vn ),
It is easy to check that each property of Definition 4.1.1 is satisfied. In particular, the additive identity
0 = (0, 0, … , 0) , and the additive inverse of u is −u = (−u , −u , … , −u ) .
1 2 n
An important case of Example 4.1.2 is R , especially when n = 2 or n = 3 . We have already seen in Chapter 1 that
n
there is a geometric interpretation for elements of R and R as points in the Euclidean plane and Euclidean space,
2 3
respectively.
Example 4.1.3. Let F ∞
be the set of all sequences over F, i.e.,
∞
F = {(u1 , u2 , …) ∣ uj ∈ F f or j = {1, 2, …} (4.1.1)
}.
n n−1
p(z) = an z + an−1 z + ⋯ + a1 z + a0 . (4.1.1)
Addition and scalar multiplication on F[z] are defined pointwise as
(ap)(z) = ap(z),
It can be easily verified that, under these operations, F[z] forms a vector space over F. The additive identity in this
case is the zero polynomial, for which all coefficients are equal to zero, and the additive inverse of p(z) in Equation
(4.1.1) is −p(z) = −a z − a z
n
n
n−1
n−1
−⋯−a z−a1 .
0
Example 4.1.6. Extending Example 4.1.5, let D ⊂ R be a subset of R, and let C(D) denote the set of all continuous
functions with domain D and codomain R. Then, under the same operations of pointwise addition and scalar
multiplication, one can show that C(D)also forms a vector space.
Contributors
Isaiah Lankham, Mathematics Department at UC Davis
Bruno Nachtergaele, Mathematics Department at UC Davis
Anne Schilling, Mathematics Department at UC Davis
Both hardbound and softbound versions of this textbook are available online at WorldScientific.com.