Real Analysis – Lower Semi-Continuity of One Dimensional Hausdorff Measure

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Let $\mathcal H^1$ be the one-dimensional Hausdorff measure on $
\mathbb R^n$, and let $d_H$ be the Hausdorff metric on compact subsets of $\mathbb R^n$. If $K_n$ is connected for all $n \in \mathbb N$, and $d(K_n,K) \to 0$, I would like to know if
$$\mathcal H^1 (K) \leq \liminf\limits_{n \to \infty} \mathcal H^1(K_n).$$

If $K_n$ is not connected, this is not true. One can take $K_n = \bigcup\limits_{i=0}^{2^n-1} [{i \over 2^n}, {i + 1/2 \over 2^n}]$. Then $\mathcal H^1(K_n) = 1/2$, but $K_n \to [0,1]$. Also, for $\mathcal H^k$, $k$ an integer greater than one, this fails spectacularly. See this picture from Frank Morgan's book: enter image description here

The thing that I am trying to prove is used implicitly in Peter Jones's paper on the analyst's traveling salesman problem, I believe.

Best Answer

This is called Golab's Theorem. Two different proofs can be found in

  1. The Geometry of Fractal Sets by K. J. Falconer, Theorem 3.18.
  2. Topics on Analysis in Metric Spaces by L. Ambrosio and P. Tilli, Theorem 4.4.17

I'll sketch the proof following Falconer.

Step 1: $K$ is connected. Indeed, if $K$ is partitioned into two nonempty compact sets, then their disjoint neighborhoods form a separation of $K_n$ for $n$ large enough.

Step 2: If $\liminf$ is infinite, there is nothing to prove. Otherwise, we may assume $\mathcal H^1(K_n)\le C<\infty$, by passing to a subsequence.

Step 3: Replace each $K_n$ with a topological tree $T_n\subset K_n$ such that $T_n$ still converges to $ K$. To this end, pick a finite $1/n$-net in $K_n$ and join its points by arcs, one at a time, without creating loops. This uses the fact that a continuum of finite $\mathcal H^1$ measure is arcwise connected (Lemma 3.12 in Falconer's book).

Step 4: Fix $\delta>0$ and decompose each $T_n$ into the union $\bigcup_{j=1}^k T_{nj}$ of continua with diameter at most $\delta$ such that $\sum_{j=1}^k \mathcal H(T_{nj}) = \mathcal H^1(T_n)$. This takes another lemma, proved by repeatedly truncating the longest branches of the tree. It's important that $k$ can be chosen independently of $n$; it depends only on $\delta$ and $\sup_n\operatorname{diam}T_n$.

Step 5: Using the Blaschke selection theorem (a sequence of compact sets within a bounded set has a convergent subsequence), and taking some subsequences, we can arrange that $T_{nj}\to E_j$ as $n\to\infty$, for each $j$.

Step 6: Since $K=\bigcup_{j=1}^k E_j$ and $\operatorname{diam}E_j\le \delta$ for each $j$, it follows that $$\mathcal H^1_\delta(K)\le \sum_{j=1}^k \operatorname{diam}E_j = \lim_{n\to\infty} \sum_{j=1}^k \operatorname{diam}T_{nj} \le \liminf_{n\to\infty} \sum_{j=1}^k \mathcal H^1 (T_{nj}) \\ \le \liminf_{n\to\infty} \mathcal H^1 (T_{n}) \le \liminf_{n\to\infty} \mathcal H^1 (K_{n}) $$ as claimed. This uses the continuity of diameter with respect to the Hausdorff metric.

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