The space of test functions has the locally convex inductive-limit topology of the spaces of smooth functions supported in a fixed compact set . Each uses seminorms . Sequential convergence means a common compact support and uniform convergence of every derivative. A linear functional on this space is a distribution exactly when its restriction to each satisfies a finite order of a distribution estimate; the order and constant may depend on .
Zero-boundary Sobolev space Created 2026-09-28 Updated 2026-10-06
The zero-boundary Sobolev space is the closure of the space of test functions in . Under standard regularity assumptions its elements have zero boundary trace.