Densely defined operator


In mathematics - specifically, in operator theory - a densely defined operator or partially defined operator is a type of partially defined function. In a topological sense, it is a linear operator that is defined "almost everywhere". Densely defined operators often arise in functional analysis as operations that one would like to apply to a larger class of objects than those for which they a priori "make sense".

Definition

A densely defined linear operator T from one topological vector space, X, to another one, Y, is a linear operator that is defined on a dense linear subspace dom of X and takes values in Y, written T : dom ⊆ XY. Sometimes this is abbreviated as T : XY when the context makes it clear that X might not be the set-theoretic domain of T.

Examples