Positive linear functional

A linear functional $\Lambda$ on an ordered vector space of functions is positive when $f\ge 0$ implies $\Lambda (f)\ge 0$. Positivity implies monotonicity: $f\le g$ gives $\Lambda (f)\le \Lambda (g)$.

A real positive linear functional on a vector subspace of $C(K)$ containing $1$ extends positively to all of $C(K)$. Its norm is $\varphi (1)$ by order bounds. If this is positive, apply the Hahn-Banach theorem to obtain an extension of the same norm, normalize it to value one at $1$, and use the unital contraction positivity criterion. If $\varphi (1)=0$, the functional is zero and its zero extension suffices.

For a real positive linear functional on the space of continuous functions on a compact space, $-\Vert f{\Vert }_{\infty }1\le f\le \Vert f{\Vert }_{\infty }1$ gives $|\varphi (f)|\le \varphi (1)\Vert f{\Vert }_{\infty }$. Evaluation at $1$ gives equality of the operator norm and $\varphi (1)$. Thus positivity alone already implies continuity in the supremum norm.

A real-linear contraction on $C(X)$ that preserves $1$ is positive: for $0\le f\le 1$, $\Vert 1-Tf{\Vert }_{\infty }\le 1$ forces $Tf\ge 0$, then scale. In the complex case, a unital norm-one functional is real on real functions, since $|1+it\varphi (g)|\le \Vert 1+itg{\Vert }_{\infty }=1+O(t^2)$ for both signs of $t$. The same positivity argument applies pointwise to $\varphi (f)=Tf(x)$. This turns a unital contraction semigroup into a Feller semigroup.