5.2. Inner Product Spaces 1 5.2
5.2. Inner Product Spaces 1 5.2. Inner Product Spaces Note. In this section, we introduce an inner product on a vector space. This will allow us to bring much of the geometry of Rn into the infinite dimensional setting. Definition 5.2.1. A vector space with complex scalars hV, Ci is an inner product space (also called a Euclidean Space or a Pre-Hilbert Space) if there is a function h·, ·i : V × V → C such that for all u, v, w ∈ V and a ∈ C we have: (a) hv, vi ∈ R and hv, vi ≥ 0 with hv, vi = 0 if and only if v = 0, (b) hu, v + wi = hu, vi + hu, wi, (c) hu, avi = ahu, vi, and (d) hu, vi = hv, ui where the overline represents the operation of complex conju- gation. The function h·, ·i is called an inner product. Note. Notice that properties (b), (c), and (d) of Definition 5.2.1 combine to imply that hu, av + bwi = ahu, vi + bhu, wi and hau + bv, wi = ahu, wi + bhu, wi for all relevant vectors and scalars. That is, h·, ·i is linear in the second positions and “conjugate-linear” in the first position. 5.2. Inner Product Spaces 2 Note. We can also define an inner product on a vector space with real scalars by requiring that h·, ·i : V × V → R and by replacing property (d) in Definition 5.2.1 with the requirement that the inner product is symmetric: hu, vi = hv, ui. Then Rn with the usual dot product is an example of a real inner product space.
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