Range of dense sets for unbounded linear operators

functional-analysislinear-transformationsoperator-theory

Let $\mathcal{H}$ be an Hilbert space, and $T:\mathcal{H}\to\mathcal{H}$ be a (possibly unbounded) linear operator, with bounded inverse. Assume also that $X\subset\mathcal{D}(T)$ is a dense subset of $\mathcal{H}$.

Is it true that $T(X)$ is dense in $\mathcal{H}$?

Best Answer

No. For example, consider the Laplacian with Dirichlet boundary conditions on $(0,1)$. This operator has a bounded inverse by Poincaré's inequality and $X=C_c^\infty(0,1)$ is contained in $D(T)$ and dense in $L^2(0,1)$. However, if $f\in C_c^\infty(0,1)$, then $$ \int_0^1 \Delta f\,dx=f'(1)-f'(0)=0, $$ so that constant functions are orthogonal to $T(X)$. Hence $T(X)$ cannot be dense in $L^2(0,1)$.

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