Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2002/ib/paper-2/10e/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 ib Paper 2 10E b Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The strict distance inequality implies for all points, so is Lipschitz continuous. Henceis a continuous function, since . On the nonempty compact metric space, attains its minimum at some .
If , the strict distance inequality applied to givesa contradiction. Thus . If were different fixed points, then , again impossible. There is exactly one fixed point. This proves strict distance decrease on a compact metric space without assuming a uniform contraction constant.
New to topics? Read the docs here!