Real Analysis
Nick Schandler
June 2017
1 Real and Complex Number Systems
Definition 1.1. Let S be a set. An order on S is a relation, denoted by <,
with the following two properties:
1. If x ∈ S and y ∈ S then one and only one of the statements,
x < y, x = y, y < x
is true. (Law of trichotomy)
2. If x, y, z ∈ S, if x < y and y < z, then x < z.
Definition 1.2. An ordered set is a set S in which an order is defined.
Definition 1.3. A field is a set F with two operations, called addition and mul-
tiplication, which satisfy the following so-called ”field axioms” (A), (M), and (D):
(A) Axioms for addition
(A1) If x ∈ F and y ∈ F , then their sum x + y is in F .
(A2) Addition is commutative: x + y = y + x for all x, y ∈ F .
(A3) Addition is associative: (x + y) + z = x + (y + z) for all x, y, z ∈ F .
(A4) F contains an element 0 such that 0 + x = x for every x ∈ F .
(A5) To every x ∈ F corresponds an element −x ∈ F such that
x + (−x) = 0 .
(M) Axioms for multiplication
(M1) If x ∈ F and y ∈ F , then their product xy is in F .
(M2) Multiplication is commutative: xy = yx for all x, y ∈ F .
(M3) Multiplication is associative: (xy)z = x(yz) for all x, y, z ∈ F .
(M4) F contains an element 1 6= 0 such that 1x = x for every x ∈ F .
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(M5) To every x ∈ F corresponds an element 1/x ∈ F such that
x · (1/x) = 1 .
(D) The distributive law
x(y + z) = xy + xz
holds for all x, y, z ∈ F .
Definition 1.4. An ordered field is a field F which is also an ordered set, such
that
(i) x + y < x + z if x, y, z ∈ F and y < z,
(ii) xy > 0 if x ∈ F, y ∈ F, x > 0, and y > 0.
If x > 0, we call x positive; if x < 0, we call x negative.
That is, an ordered field is a field which is ordered, and where the field operations
preserve ordering.
Definition 1.5. A binary relation R is a subset of A × B. We write (a, b) ∈ R
as aRb.
Definition 1.6. An equivalence relation ∼ on set S is a binary relation on S ×S
such that
(i) a ∼ a. (Reflexivity)
(ii) If a ∼ b, then b ∼ a. (Symmetry)
(iii) If a ∼ b and b ∼ c, then a ∼ c (Transitivity)
1.1 Rational Numbers
We now assume knowledge of the integers Z, their operations, and their order,
and use this knowledge to construct the set of rational numbers, denoted Q.
Definition 1.7. The set of rational numbers Q are defined as
m
Q= : m, n ∈ Z, n 6= 0,
n
where m
n is the equivalence class of (m, n), with the relation: (p, q) ∼ (m, n) if
pn = qm and q, n 6= 0.
Properties of Rational Numbers
• The above equivalence classes satisfy the three conditions of equivalence
relations (reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity).
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a c
• Addition of two rational numbers b and d is defined as:
a c ad + bc
+ = .
b d bd
a c
• Multiplication of two rational numbers b and d is defined as:
a c ac
· = .
b d bd
a
• A rational number b is positive if and only if ab > 0.
• Order in Q is given by:
a c c a
< if − is positive.
b d d b
• Q extends Z, with an integer z ∈ Z corresponding to (z, 1) ∈ Q. By
”extending Z we mean that every z ∈ Z corresponds to exactly one m
n ∈ Q,
addition and multiplication in Q correspond to the same operations in Z,
and that these operations preserve the order of Z.
• Q is a field, whereas Z is not. However, it is still incomplete, in that it
has
√ ”holes.” For example, there is no rational number corresponding to
2 (i.e., no rational number m
n such that m m
n · n = 2)
1.2 Real Numbers
We can construct the real numbers R from Q, using the idea of a ”Dedekind
cut.” Specifically, each member of R is defined as any set α ⊂ Q with the
following three properties:
1. α is not empty, and is not Q
2. If p ∈ α, q ∈ Q, and q < p, then q ∈ α
3. If p ∈ α, then p < r for some r ∈ α
We can show that using this definition, along with some natural definitions of
order, addition, multiplication, and zero and one elements, R is an ordered field
with the least-upper-bound property.
Q can be regarded as a subfield of R. This means that Q ⊂ R and that the
operations of addition and multiplication in R, when applied to members of
Q, coincide with the usual operations on rational numbers; also, the positive
rational numbers are positive elements of R.
Two useful properties of the real number system are stated in the following
theorem:
Theorem 1.1.
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(a) If x ∈ R, y ∈ R, and x > 0, then there is a positive integer n such that
nx > y.
(b) If x ∈ R, y ∈ R, and x < y, then there exists a p ∈ Q such that x < p < y.
Part (a) is usually referred to as the Archimedian property of R. Part (b) may
be stated by saying that Q is dense in R: between any two real numbers is a
rational one.
The following theorem shows that the ”holes” that exist in Q are filled in R:
Theorem 1.2. For every real x > 0 and every integer n > 0, there is one and
only one positive y such that y n = x.
1.3 The Extended Real Number System
The extended real number system consists of the real field R and two symbols,
+∞ and −∞. We preserve the original order in R, and define:
−∞ < x < +∞
for every x ∈ R.
Note that the extended real number system does not form a field.
1.4 The Complex Field
Definition 1.1. A complex number is an ordered pair (a, b) of real numbers.
Let x = (a, b), y = (c, d) be two complex numbers. We write x = y if and only
if a = c and b = d. We define
x + y = (a + c, b + d)
xy = (ac − bd, ad + bc)
By verifying the field axioms, we can show that the above definitions of addition
and multiplication turn the set of all complex numbers into a field, with (0, 0)
and (1, 0) in the role of 0 and 1.
Further, because (a, 0) + (b, 0) = (a + b, 0) and (a, 0)(b, 0) = (ab, 0), complex
numbers of the form (a, 0) have the same arithmetic properties as the corre-
sponding real number a. We therefore identify (a, 0) with a and can regard the
real field as a subfied of the complex field.
We now define i = (0, 1). We see that i2 = (0, 1)(0, 1) = (−1, 0) = −1.
Definition 1.2. If a, b are real and z = a + bi, then the complex number
z̄ = a − bi is called the conjugate of z. The numbers a and b are the real part
and the imaginary part of z, respectively.
Definition 1.3. If z is a complex number, its absolute value |z| is the nonneg-
ative square root of z z̄; that is, |z| = (z z̄)1/2
Theorem 1.3. Let z and w be complex numbers. Then
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(a) |z| > 0 unless z = 0, |0| = 0
(b) |z̄| = |z|
(c) |zw| = |z||w|
(d) |Re z| ≤ |z|
(e) |z + w| ≤ |z| + |w|
2 Topology
