Choice function

A choice function (selector, selection) is a mathematical function f that is defined on some collection X of nonempty sets and assigns some element of each set S in that collection to S by f(S); f(S) maps S to some element of S. In other words, f is a choice function for X if and only if it belongs to the direct product of X.

An example

Let X = { {1,4,7}, {9}, {2,7} }. Then the function that assigns 7 to the set {1,4,7}, 9 to {9}, and 2 to {2,7} is a choice function on X.

History and importance

Ernst Zermelo (1904) introduced choice functions as well as the axiom of choice (AC) and proved the well-ordering theorem,[1] which states that every set can be well-ordered. AC states that every set of nonempty sets has a choice function. A weaker form of AC, the axiom of countable choice (ACω) states that every countable set of nonempty sets has a choice function. However, in the absence of either AC or ACω, some sets can still be shown to have a choice function.

  • If is a finite set of nonempty sets, then one can construct a choice function for by picking one element from each member of This requires only finitely many choices, so neither AC or ACω is needed.
  • If every member of is a nonempty set, and the union is well-ordered, then one may choose the least element of each member of . In this case, it was possible to simultaneously well-order every member of by making just one choice of a well-order of the union, so neither AC nor ACω was needed. (This example shows that the well-ordering theorem implies AC. The converse is also true, but less trivial.)

Choice function of a multivalued map

Given two sets X and Y, let F be a multivalued map from X to Y (equivalently, is a function from X to the power set of Y).

A function is said to be a selection of F, if:

The existence of more regular choice functions, namely continuous or measurable selections is important in the theory of differential inclusions, optimal control, and mathematical economics.[2] See Selection theorem.

Bourbaki tau function

Nicolas Bourbaki used epsilon calculus for their foundations that had a symbol that could be interpreted as choosing an object (if one existed) that satisfies a given proposition. So if is a predicate, then is one particular object that satisfies (if one exists, otherwise it returns an arbitrary object). Hence we may obtain quantifiers from the choice function, for example was equivalent to .[3]

However, Bourbaki's choice operator is stronger than usual: it's a global choice operator. That is, it implies the axiom of global choice.[4] Hilbert realized this when introducing epsilon calculus.[5]

See also

Notes

  1. Zermelo, Ernst (1904). "Beweis, dass jede Menge wohlgeordnet werden kann". Mathematische Annalen. 59 (4): 514–16. doi:10.1007/BF01445300.
  2. Border, Kim C. (1989). Fixed Point Theorems with Applications to Economics and Game Theory. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-26564-9.
  3. Bourbaki, Nicolas. Elements of Mathematics: Theory of Sets. ISBN 0-201-00634-0.
  4. John Harrison, "The Bourbaki View" eprint.
  5. "Here, moreover, we come upon a very remarkable circumstance, namely, that all of these transfinite axioms are derivable from a single axiom, one that also contains the core of one of the most attacked axioms in the literature of mathematics, namely, the axiom of choice: , where is the transfinite logical choice function." Hilbert (1925), “On the Infinite”, excerpted in Jean van Heijenoort, From Frege to Gödel, p. 382. From nCatLab.

References

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