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Smiley Reviewed work(s): Source: The American Mathematical Monthly, Vol. 71, No. 8 (Oct., 1964), pp. 890-891 Published by: Mathematical Association of America Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2312400 . Accessed: 08/04/2012 12:44
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890
MATHEMATICAL NOTES
[October
M. F.
In a recentnumberof this MONTHLY Dunkl and Williams [1 ] prove that if x and y are vectors in a normedlinear space, then (1)
(2)
Dunkl and Williams raise the question whether(2) characterizesinnerproduct spaces. E. R. Lorch [2 ] gave the following conditionon a normedlinearspace
X :
a. numbers
= (L) If x, yGX and l|xii lIyII thenlx+a-1x+yii ?IIx+yII all positivereal for
Lorch showed that (L) holds if X is an inner product space. Replacing x = and using |lxii lylfl easily verifies one and y by ax, -a'ly, respectively that (2) implies (L). Since Dunkl and Williams proved (2) in an inner product space, it is clear that (2) holds in a normed linear space X iffX is an inner product space. The question of equality in (1), (2) was also raised by Dunkl and Williams. of A slight rearrangement their proofshows that equality holds in (1) iffx = 0, y=O, or x=y. For
(3) (4)
(5)
I }X 1i - 11ilyll Ilyll - Yf+I I IIYII ffxjI flylix {iix I IIYII- IIXIII < IIX - YIIX
We easily see that equality holds in (1) iffequality holds in (3), (4), and (5); with 3=Jfx-yjj iIIYII I andililylix-lixiyl =1 yf0=f31xil -||x|
is clear. Finally, we note that equality holds in (2) iffx=0, y=0, l|xi I=IIyii, or = 0. This may be proved by the usual squaring process (cf. [31). xiIyi I+yIixIi From (3), (4), and (5) one may obtain slightlymore than (1), i.e.,
for x, +1 iyIIY I; which -lixil yields, nonzero y, lxi ly and x=y. The converse | I
(6)
an inequalitydue to J. L. Massera and J. J. Schaffer[Annals of Math. 67 (1958) p. 538]. One cannot replace the 2 of (6) by 1 even in an innerproduct space. In a letterto the editor,Professor observes that in an innerproduct space Schaffer it is possible to replace the 2 of (6) by anythinggreaterthan 1 foriix-Yii suffiand that this propertycharacterizesinner cientlysmall compared to |xi|I IyIf, product spaces of dimensionat least three. ProfessorSchafferplans to publish
1964]
MATHEMATICAL NOTES
891
1. Periods of measurable functions.A number T is called a period of a function definedfor - oo <t < oo iff(t+ T) =f(t) forall t. Obviously, the set of f all periods off is an additive subgroup of the reals and forany periodicfunction we have two possibilities:Either thereexists the smallest positive period To and all periods are of the formnTo with n = 0, ? 1, ? 2, * - * or the set of periods is dense. We have two typical examples of functionswith dense set of periods: the characteristicfunctionof the set of rationals and the function f(x) -(x) -4(1)x, where $ is any nonmeasurableHamel solution of the equation q(x+y) =4(x) +4(y); in both cases any rational numberis a period. Obviously, a continuous functionwith dense set of periods must be constant. There exist a nonconstant measurable functionwith an uncountable set of periods and a measurable functionwith Darboux propertyand a countable dense set of periods (cf. [4] pp. 833-836). theoremdue The purposeofthis note is to give a simpleproofofthe following to A. Lomnicki ([4], Theorem 5). THEOREM1. If a measurable functionhas a denseset ofperiods,thenit is constantalmosteverywhere. The proofis founded on the following well-known thenthelimit
LEMMA. If T is a
1 f2 lim_ f(t)dt X 2x