Net (mathematics) - Limits of Nets

Limits of Nets

If (x_α) is a net from a directed set A into X, and if Y is a subset of X, then we say that (x_α) is eventually in Y (or residually in Y) if there exists an α in A so that for every β in A with β ≥ α, the point x_β lies in Y.

If (x_α) is a net in the topological space X, and x is an element of X, we say that the net converges towards x or has limit x and write

lim x_α = x

if and only if

for every neighborhood U of x, (x_α) is eventually in U.

Intuitively, this means that the values x_α come and stay as close as we want to x for large enough α.

Note that the example net given above on the neighborhood system of a point x does indeed converge to x according to this definition.

Given a base for the topology, in order to prove convergence of a net it is necessary and sufficient to prove that there exists some point x, such that (x_α) is eventually in all members of the base containing this putative limit.