[Math] How to show that a set has no infimum

real-analysissupremum-and-infimum

I know that a set must have atleast a lower bound $s \in \mathbb{R} \forall m \in M: m \ge s$ to have a infimum.

This is quite easy to show, if there is one. But what can I do if there is none? How can I show that a set has no lower bounds?

For example: How can I show that the set $M :=\{2-x : x \in \mathbb{R} : x \ge 0\} $ has no lower bound and therefore no infimum?

Best Answer

To show that a set has no infimum you must show that for each candidate $i $ for infimum, there is a smaller number in the set.

For your example, suppose $i $ is the infimum. Consider the number $-i + 3 $. $-i + 3 \in \Bbb {R} $ and thus $2 - (-i+3) = 2 + i - 3 = i - 1 < i $ is in the set and $i $ is not the infimum.

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