233 P-Norm

A norm defined by a parameter on a set of sequences that is used to find the distance between elements of the set.

definition [d] (\(p\)-Norm) From Kreyszig 2.2-3: on the space \(\ell^{p}\) the norm is given by

  • \(\displaystyle \lVert x \rVert = \left( \sum_{j=1}^{\infty} |\xi_{j}|^{p} \right)^{1/p}\)

for \(x = (\xi_{j}) \in \ell^{p}\). This norm induces the metric of 1.2-3.

where

  • \(p \geq 1\) is a fixed real number.
  • \(x = (\xi_{j})\) is a sequence in \(\ell^{p}\).
  • \(\lVert x \rVert\) is the \(p\)-norm of \(x\).

233.1 Elementary Example

233.1.1 Simple

The \(p\)-norm of a finite sequence uses the power \(p\) and the outer root \(1/p\). Take \(p = 1\).

\[ x = (1,-2,3),\quad p = 1 \]

\[ \lVert x \rVert = |1| + |-2| + |3| = 6 \]

where

  • \(\lVert x \rVert\) is the \(p\)-norm of \(x\).
  • \(p\) is the fixed exponent.

233.1.2 General

For \(p = 2\) on a longer sequence, square each absolute value, sum, then take the square root.

\[ x = (1,0,-1,2),\quad p = 2 \]

\[ \lVert x \rVert = \bigl(1^{2} + 0^{2} + (-1)^{2} + 2^{2}\bigr)^{1/2} = \sqrt{6} \]

where

  • on \(\ell^{p}\) the same formula uses an infinite sum \(\sum_{j=1}^{\infty} |\xi_{j}|^{p}\).

233.2 References

  1. Kreyszig, E. Introductory Functional Analysis with Applications. Wiley, 1989. — 2.2-3: \(\lVert x \rVert = \bigl(\sum |\xi_{j}|^{p}\bigr)^{1/p}\) on \(\ell^{p}\).