pith. sign in
theorem

continuous_no_isolated_zero_defect

proved
show as:
module
IndisputableMonolith.Foundation.DiscretenessForcing
domain
Foundation
line
326 · github
papers citing
5 papers (below)

plain-language theorem explainer

If a positive real has zero defect, every neighborhood contains another point with arbitrarily small defect. Researchers deriving discreteness from cost landscapes cite this to show continuous spaces lack isolated J-minima. The proof reduces to the unit point via the zero-defect characterization, then explicitly constructs a nearby point and bounds its quadratic J-cost below epsilon by case split on the size of epsilon.

Claim. Let $J(x) = (x + x^{-1})/2 - 1$. For every real $x > 0$, if the defect of $x$ is zero then for every $ε > 0$ there exists real $z ≠ x$ with $|z - x| < ε$ and defect of $z$ less than $ε$.

background

The DiscretenessForcing module establishes that continuous configuration spaces admit no stable J-minima because any point can be perturbed by an arbitrarily small amount at arbitrarily small cost. The defect functional equals J on positive reals, and the upstream LawOfExistence theorem defect_zero_iff_one states that defect(x) = 0 if and only if x = 1 for x > 0. The module document records that J possesses a unique minimum at unity and that infinitesimal perturbations therefore produce infinitesimal defect.

proof idea

The tactic proof applies defect_zero_iff_one to obtain x = 1. It sets t = min(ε/2, 1/2), takes z = 1 + t, verifies the distance bound by direct comparison, and rewrites defect(z) as t²/(2(1+t)). The bound t²/(2(1+t)) < ε is obtained by first comparing to t²/2, then splitting into cases ε ≤ 1 (where the quadratic is at most ε²/8) and ε > 1 (where it is at most 1/8) using linarith, sq_le_sq', and norm_num.

why it matters

This result supplies one direction of the discreteness argument recorded in the module document: continuous spaces yield no stable configurations, while discrete spaces permit them. It instantiates the J-uniqueness property from the forcing chain (T5) inside the concrete setting of the real line. The theorem therefore contributes to the larger claim that RS existence requires a discrete configuration space.

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