Show that a path going from one vertex of the unit square (in C) to its opposite and a second path going between the other pair of opposite vertices must intersect. By path I mean continuous function f:[0,1]->C with f(0) one vertex and f(1) the other. [EDIT] Both are paths in the unit square (no going outside)

sunnypeach12

sunnypeach12

Answered question

2022-08-12

Show that a path going from one vertex of the unit square (in C ) to its opposite and a second path going between the other pair of opposite vertices must intersect. By path I mean continuous function f : [ 0 , 1 ] C with f ( 0 ) one vertex and f ( 1 ) the other. [EDIT] Both are paths in the unit square (no going outside)
I looked through other questions and didn't quite find an answer to this. I know that the intermediate value theorem says that Im ( ( f g ) ( t ) ) and Re ( ( f g ) ( t ) ) must be 0 at some point, but I'm not sure how to show that this must occur at the same point.

Answer & Explanation

Kasey Bird

Kasey Bird

Beginner2022-08-13Added 13 answers

Assume that such paths exist, for a contradiction. Let S be the unit square, and I ( f ) , I ( g ) be the images of the paths. Let v 1 , v 2 be the vertices of S which are end-points of I ( f ). Note that v 1 , v 2 I ( g ), since I ( g ) I ( f ) is empty.One can proceed by showing that v 1 , v 2 lie in different connected components of S I ( g ) by applying the intermediate value theorem "along the diagonal". Then one gets a contradiction since the existence of the path f shows that these connected components are the same.

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