[Math] Is every Cauchy sequence in a non-complete metric space convergent

cauchy-sequencesconvergence-divergencelimitsreal-analysis

A metric space $X$ is called complete if every Cauchy sequence in $X$ has a limit in $X$.

For a non-complete metric space $X$, can we say that every Cauchy sequence is convergent? (even though the limit is not in $X$)

In other word, is every Cauchy sequence convergent?

Best Answer

A sequence is convergent if and only if it has a limit, so no, Cauchy sequences are not necessarily convergent in non-complete spaces. However, there is the notion of a completion. Given a metric space $X$ a completion of $X$ is a complete metric space $\hat X$ in which $X$ is densely and isometrically imbedded. It turns out every metric space has a unique (up to isometric bijection) completion. So in this sense, a non-convergent Cauchy sequence in $X$ will converge in $\hat X$. This is non-trivial however and you are best not to use phrases such as "converges but in another space".

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