Past exam of the fixed point methods for nonlinear partial differential equations course of the University of Oxford / 2008 / 1 / c / Solution

The Brouwer fixed-point theorem says that every continuous map $T:{\overline{B}}_R(0)\to {\overline{B}}_R(0)$ has a fixed point. To use the supplied outward vector field zero theorem, first extend the construction to all of ${\mathbb{R}}^n$. LetThe radial retraction onto a closed ball $P_R$ is continuous, so $g$ is a continuous vector field on the required whole space. On $|x|=R$, the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality givesThe supplied theorem gives $g(x_0)=0$ with $|x_0|\le R$. There $P_R(x_0)=x_0$, hence $\boxed{T(x_0)=x_0}$. This explicit extension avoids presuming that the original map $T$ was defined outside the ball.