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TheoremStatement: AI-adaptedProof: AI-adaptedPipeline-generatedjudge pass (gpt-5.6-terra)audited 2026-09-14
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Separable dual implies separable primal

Statement

Assume the Axiom of Countable Choice ACω and the relative Hahn–Banach principle HB. If the continuous dual X of a real or complex normed space X is norm separable, then X is norm separable.

Facts & Assumptions

Given: ACω, HB, a real or complex normed space X, and the hypothesis that X is separable in its norm topology.

[F1]

Separability means that an at most countable dense subset exists, and a nonempty at most countable set is the image of a sequence (Separability: the existence of an at most countable dense subset, A nonempty set is at most countable iff it is a surjective image of N).

[F2]

The dual norm is f=supx1f(x) (The dual space X^* of a normed space and its dual norm).

[F3]

Under HB, a point outside a nonempty closed convex set can be uniformly strictly separated from it by a nonzero continuous scalar-linear functional (Relative geometric Hahn–Banach with the exact open, closed, and compact hypotheses, The real dominated-extension principle as an additional hypothesis over ZF).

[F4]

The rationals are countable and dense in the reals. Products of two at most countable sets are at most countable, and under ACω a countable union of at most countable sets is at most countable (Q is countably infinite, The rationals embed densely in the reals, A product of two at most countable sets is at most countable, Countable unions of at most countable sets, assuming ACω, The Axiom of Countable Choice (ACω)).

Proof

technique · almost-norming sequence and annihilator separation
1.1

If X={0}, then {0} itself is a finite dense subset of X, so the conclusion holds. Henceforth suppose X{0}.

givenF1
1.2

By [F1], choose an at most countable norm-dense subset SX. Enlarge it by the zero functional, so it is nonempty and [F1] supplies a sequence (fn)n0 whose range is S. This sequence is norm dense in X.

givenF1construct
1.3

For each n, if fn=0 set Cn={0}; otherwise let Cn={xX:x1 and fn(x)>12fn}. The set Cn is nonempty by [F2]. Apply ACω to the family (Cn) and choose xnCn for every n. This is the only selection of an arbitrary countable family in the proof.

F2F4choose
2.1

Let K0=Q in the real case and K0=Q+iQ in the complex case, and let D be the K0-linear span of the sequence (xn). The field K0 is at most countable by [F4]. For each fixed number of summands, the coefficient-index tuples form a finite product of at most countable sets; the union over all finite lengths is at most countable by [F4]. Its image under evaluation is D, so D is at most countable. Density of Q in R shows that D is norm dense in the real or complex linear span of the xn.

step 1.3F4algebra
2.2

Let gX vanish on D. Then g(xn)=0 for every n. Given ε>0, norm density of (fn) gives an n with gfn<ε. By the definition of xn in step 1.3, 12fnfn(xn)=(fng)(xn)fng<ε, where the first inequality is also true when fn=0. Therefore ggfn+fn<3ε. Since this holds for every ε>0, g=0.

step 1.2step 1.3F2algebra
3.1

Suppose that the norm closure M=D were a proper subset of X. It is a nonempty closed real-linear subspace, and in the complex case it is complex-linear because K0 is dense in C. Choose zM. By [F3] there is a nonzero hX strictly separating z from M. Because M is a subspace and Reh is bounded on one side there, scaling forces Reh(m)=0 for every mM. In the complex case, applying this also to imM gives Imh(m)=0. Thus h vanishes on D, contradicting step 2.2. Consequently D=X.

F3step 2.1step 2.2assume-contracontradictiondischarge-contradiction
4.1

The at most countable set D is norm dense in X by steps 2.1 and 3.1, so X is separable by [F1]. The use of ACω is exactly the simultaneous choice in step 1.3 and the countable-union result in step 2.1; HB is used exactly in the separation step 3.1.

step 2.1step 3.1F1F3F4

Source notes

Brezis proves the real Banach-space case by the same almost-norming sequence and annihilator argument. The proof above observes that completeness is not used, handles X={0}, makes the countability and choice steps explicit, and uses Gaussian-rational coefficients to cover complex normed spaces.

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