Past exam of the distribution theory course of the University of Oxford / 2023 / 3 / a / i

Let $\Omega \subset {\mathbb{R}}^n$ be an open set and $(U_{\alpha }{)}_{\alpha \in A}$ an open cover of $\Omega$. There exist nonnegative smooth functions $({\chi }_j{)}_{j\in J}$ and choices $\alpha (j)$ such thatand the family of supports is locally finite: every point has a neighborhood meeting only finitely many of them. This is a smooth partition of unity subordinate to the cover, allowing a refinement of its indexing. In Euclidean open sets, one can choose $J$ countable and the individual supports compact in their assigned cover members. Local finiteness ensures that the sum is smooth and that only finitely many terms meet any given compact set.