Constant sequence Created 2026-10-14 Updated 2026-10-20
A constant sequence has the same value at every index. It converges to by convergence of a sequence in a topological space.
Past exam of the logic and set theory course of the University of Oxford 2008 B 7 4 Solution 2026-10-31
Constant sequences give an injection . For the opposite bound fix an enumeration of the rational numbers and encode a sequence byDistinct sequences differ at some coordinate ; density of the rational numbers then makes their encoded sets differ at a pair . Thus is injective. The Cartesian product is countable; for example the Cantor pairing functionis a bijection with . Consequently is equinumerous with , already equinumerous with . Apply Cantor-Schröder-Bernstein theorem to obtain
Sequence convergence in the cofinite topology Created 2026-10-14 Updated 2026-10-31
By convergence of a sequence in a topological space, means that every open neighbourhood of contains all sufficiently late terms. In the cofinite topology, this is equivalent to the condition that, for every , the value occurs only finitely often. Necessity uses the open neighbourhood ; sufficiency chooses an index beyond every last occurrence of the finitely many points excluded by a given open neighbourhood.
Consequently a sequence with distinct terms converges to every point of . For the original choice on , take the two open neighbourhoodsAll terms with lie in and all terms with lie in . More generally, each finite excluded set has a last visit, so and , and in fact for every . No numerical distance is tending to zero here; the open sets specify the meaning of convergence.
The same sequence eventually stays in neighbourhoods of two different limits
. Original sequence in the cofinite topology. Two sample neighbourhoods have different finite exclusions and different last-visit indices. Their memberships illustrate the general finite-exclusion argument; testing just these two neighbourhoods would not by itself prove convergence. Details.Distinct terms are sufficient, not necessary. The sequence also converges to every point, since each value occurs only twice. By contrast, the constant sequence converges only to : an open neighbourhood of any can exclude . The alternating sequence converges to no point, since some value different from any proposed limit occurs infinitely often.
