What does this set notation mean?

In summary, the notation A \oplus B is not a standard notation for sets, but it is commonly used to represent the direct sum of two subspaces of a vector space, as explained on page 137 of the book "Quantum Theory for Mathematicians" by Brian Hall. The direct sum is the smallest subspace that contains all the vectors in both A and B, and can also be constructed by combining the bases of A and B and reducing to a set of independent vectors.
  • #1
pellman
684
5
$$
A \oplus B
$$

where A and B are sets
 
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  • #2
That is not a standard notation for sets. It can mean a direct sum for sets with sum kind of "sum" defined, such as vector spaces. Is that what you mean?
 
  • #3
HallsofIvy said:
That is not a standard notation for sets. It can mean a direct sum for sets with sum kind of "sum" defined, such as vector spaces. Is that what you mean?
Actually, yes, in the context it was used the sets in question are subspaces of a vector space.

The context is page 137 here http://perso.crans.org/lecomtev/articles/Brian_Hall_Quantum_Theory_for_Mathematicians_2013.pdf
 
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  • #4
pellman said:
Actually, yes, in the context it was used the sets in question are subspaces of a vector space.

The context is page 137 here http://perso.crans.org/lecomtev/articles/Brian_Hall_Quantum_Theory_for_Mathematicians_2013.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilbert_space#Direct_sums
 
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  • #6
The "direct sum" of two vector spaces, A and B, (both subspaces of some vector space, V) is the smallest subspace that contains all the vectors in both A and B. Another way of doing that is to construct bases for both A and B, combining them and then reducing to a set of independent vectors to get a basis for [itex]A\oplus B[/itex].
 
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Related to What does this set notation mean?

1. What does the notation A ∈ B mean?

The notation A ∈ B means that A is an element of the set B. This means that A is one of the objects or values included in the set B.

2. What is the difference between A ∈ B and A ⊆ B?

The notation A ∈ B means that A is an element of the set B, while A ⊆ B means that A is a subset of the set B. This means that A is a part of the set B, and may include other elements in addition to those explicitly listed.

3. What does the notation A ∩ B mean?

The notation A ∩ B represents the intersection of the sets A and B. This means that the resulting set will contain only the elements that are common to both A and B.

4. What does the notation A ∪ B mean?

The notation A ∪ B represents the union of the sets A and B. This means that the resulting set will contain all elements that are in either A or B, or both.

5. What does the notation A ⊃ B mean?

The notation A ⊃ B means that A is a superset of B. This means that A contains all the elements of B, as well as potentially additional elements.

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