Riemann integrability criterion

A bounded function is Riemann integrable exactly when for every $\epsilon >0$ some partition $P$ satisfies $U(f,P)-L(f,P)<\epsilon$.

If $f$ is Riemann integrable and $g$ is Lipschitz on an interval containing the range of $f$, then $g\circ f$ is Riemann integrable. With Lipschitz constant $K$, the oscillation on each partition cell satisfies $\mathrm{osc}(g\circ f)\le K\mathrm{osc}(f)$, and hence the gap between Darboux sums is multiplied by at most $K$. A continuously differentiable $g$ is Lipschitz on each closed bounded interval by the mean value theorem and the extreme value theorem applied to $g^{\prime }$.

A bounded function on $[0,1]$ is Riemann integrable if and only if its upper Darboux sum minus its lower Darboux sum on the equal-length partition $D_n$ tends to zero. Sufficiency follows directly from the Riemann integrability criterion. Necessity follows by comparing with a fixed partition whose gap is small and using the finite bad-cell estimate for Darboux sums. The equal-length partitions need not be nested.

Let $|f|\le M$ on $[0,1]$ and let $P$ have $r$ interior division points. At most $r$ cells of the equal-length partition $D_n$ have one of those points in their interior. Their total length is at most $r/n$, and their oscillation is at most $2M$. Every other cell lies in a single cell of $P$. ThereforeThis comparison of Darboux sums avoids the incorrect assumption that $D_n$ refines $P$ for all large $n$.

A bounded function on a closed interval is Riemann-integrable when its upper and lower Darboux integrals agree.

A left-continuous cumulative function of an atomic measure with positive masses at a dense countable set has dense discontinuities. Nevertheless it is bounded and monotone on a compact interval, hence a Riemann-integrable function. Finite step-function sums approximate it uniformly because the positive masses are summable. Thus dense discontinuities do not imply failure of the Riemann integral.

A continuous function on a compact interval is uniformly continuous. A partition with sufficiently small mesh then makes the oscillation on every subinterval small, so its upper and lower Darboux sums can be made arbitrarily close.