Codomain in the context of Riemann sphere

In mathematics, a function from a set X to a set Y assigns to each element of X exactly one element of Y. The set X is called the domain of the function and the set Y is called the codomain of the function.

Functions were originally the idealization of how a varying quantity depends on another quantity. For example, the position of a planet is a function of time. Historically, the concept was elaborated with the infinitesimal calculus at the end of the 17th century, and, until the 19th century, the functions that were considered were differentiable (that is, they had a high degree of regularity). The concept of a function was formalized at the end of the 19th century in terms of set theory, and this greatly increased the possible applications of the concept.

In mathematical analysis, and applications in geometry, applied mathematics, engineering, and natural sciences, a function of a real variable is a function whose domain is the real numbers ${\displaystyle \mathbb {R} }$, or a subset of ${\displaystyle \mathbb {R} }$ that contains an interval of positive length. Most real functions that are considered and studied are differentiable in some interval. The most widely considered such functions are the real functions, which are the real-valued functions of a real variable, that is, the functions of a real variable whose codomain is the set of real numbers.

Nevertheless, the codomain of a function of a real variable may be any set. However, it is often assumed to have a structure of ${\displaystyle \mathbb {R} }$-vector space over the reals. That is, the codomain may be a Euclidean space, a coordinate vector, the set of matrices of real numbers of a given size, or an ${\displaystyle \mathbb {R} }$-algebra, such as the complex numbers or the quaternions. The structure ${\displaystyle \mathbb {R} }$-vector space of the codomain induces a structure of ${\displaystyle \mathbb {R} }$-vector space on the functions. If the codomain has a structure of ${\displaystyle \mathbb {R} }$-algebra, the same is true for the functions.

In mathematics, a real-valued function is a function whose values are real numbers. In other words, it is a function that assigns a real number to each member of its domain.

Real-valued functions of a real variable (commonly called real functions) and real-valued functions of several real variables are the main object of study of calculus and, more generally, real analysis. In particular, many function spaces consist of real-valued functions.

In mathematics, a function space is a set of functions between two fixed sets. Often, the domain and/or codomain will have additional structure which is inherited by the function space. For example, the set of functions from any set X into a vector space has a natural vector space structure given by pointwise addition and scalar multiplication. In other scenarios, the function space might inherit a topological or metric structure, hence the name function space. Often in mathematical jargon, especially in analysis or geometry, a function could refer to a map of the form ${\displaystyle X\to \mathbb {R} }$ or ${\displaystyle X\to \mathbb {C} }$ where ${\displaystyle X}$ is the space in question. Whilst other maps of the form ${\displaystyle X\to Y}$ between any two spaces are simply referred to as maps. Example of this can be the space of compactly supported functions on a topological space. However in a larger context a function space could just consist of a set of functions (set theoretically) equipped with possibly some extra structure.

In mathematics, a bijection, bijective function, or one-to-one correspondence is a function between two sets such that each element of the second set (the codomain) is the image of exactly one element of the first set (the domain). Equivalently, a bijection is a relation between two sets such that each element of either set is paired with exactly one element of the other set.

A function is bijective if it is invertible; that is, a function ${\displaystyle f:X\to Y}$ is bijective if and only if there is a function ${\displaystyle g:Y\to X,}$ the inverse of f, such that each of the two ways for composing the two functions produces an identity function: ${\displaystyle g(f(x))=x}$ for each ${\displaystyle x}$ in ${\displaystyle X}$ and ${\displaystyle f(g(y))=y}$ for each ${\displaystyle y}$ in ${\displaystyle Y.}$

In mathematics, more specifically in general topology and related branches, a net or Moore–Smith sequence is a function whose domain is a directed set. The codomain of this function is usually some topological space. Nets directly generalize the concept of a sequence in a metric space. Nets are primarily used in the fields of analysis and topology, where they are used to characterize many important topological properties that (in general), sequences are unable to characterize (this shortcoming of sequences motivated the study of sequential spaces and Fréchet–Urysohn spaces). Nets are in one-to-one correspondence with filters.

In mathematics, the arguments of the maxima (abbreviated arg max or argmax) and arguments of the minima (abbreviated arg min or argmin) are the input points at which a function output value is maximized and minimized, respectively. While the arguments are defined over the domain of a function, the output is part of its codomain.

In mathematics, the Riemann sphere, named after Bernhard Riemann, is a model of the extended complex plane (also called the closed complex plane): the complex plane plus one point at infinity. This extended plane represents the extended complex numbers, that is, the complex numbers plus a value ${\displaystyle \infty }$ for infinity. With the Riemann model, the point ${\displaystyle \infty }$ is near to very large numbers, just as the point ${\displaystyle 0}$ is near to very small numbers.

The extended complex numbers are useful in complex analysis because they allow for division by zero in some circumstances, in a way that makes expressions such as ${\displaystyle 1/0=\infty }$ well-behaved. For example, any rational function on the complex plane can be extended to a holomorphic function on the Riemann sphere, with the poles of the rational function mapping to infinity. More generally, any meromorphic function can be thought of as a holomorphic function whose codomain is the Riemann sphere.

In mathematics, for a function ${\displaystyle f:X\to Y}$, the image is a relation between inputs and outputs, used in three related ways:

1. The image of an input value ${\displaystyle x}$ is the single output value produced by ${\displaystyle f}$ when passed ${\displaystyle x}$. The preimage of an output value ${\displaystyle y}$ is the set of input values that produce ${\displaystyle y}$.
2. More generally, evaluating ${\displaystyle f}$ at each element of a given subset ${\displaystyle A}$ of its domain ${\displaystyle X}$ produces a set, called the "image of ${\displaystyle A}$ under (or through) ${\displaystyle f}$". Similarly, the inverse image (or preimage) of a given subset ${\displaystyle B}$ of the codomain ${\displaystyle Y}$ is the set of all elements of ${\displaystyle X}$ that map to a member of ${\displaystyle B.}$
3. The image of the function ${\displaystyle f}$ is the set of all output values it may produce, that is, the image of ${\displaystyle X}$. The preimage of ${\displaystyle f}$ is the preimage of the codomain ${\displaystyle Y}$. Because it always equals ${\displaystyle X}$ (the domain of ${\displaystyle f}$), it is rarely used.

Image and inverse image may also be defined for general binary relations, not just functions.

In mathematics, a hypergraph is a generalization of a graph in which an edge can join any number of vertices. In contrast, in an ordinary graph, an edge connects exactly two vertices.

Formally, a directed hypergraph is a pair ${\displaystyle (X,E)}$, where ${\displaystyle X}$ is a set of elements called nodes, vertices, points, or elements and ${\displaystyle E}$ is a set of pairs of subsets of ${\displaystyle X}$. Each of these pairs ${\displaystyle (D,C)\in E}$ is called an edge or hyperedge; the vertex subset ${\displaystyle D}$ is known as its tail or domain, and ${\displaystyle C}$ as its head or codomain.

In mathematics, a rational function is any function that can be defined by a rational fraction, which is an algebraic fraction such that both the numerator and the denominator are polynomials. The coefficients of the polynomials need not be rational numbers; they may be taken in any field K. In this case, one speaks of a rational function and a rational fraction over K. The values of the variables may be taken in any field L containing K. Then the domain of the function is the set of the values of the variables for which the denominator is not zero, and the codomain is L.

The set of rational functions over a field K is a field, the field of fractions of the ring of the polynomial functions over K.

In mathematics, the range of a function may refer either to the codomain of the function, or the image of the function. In some cases the codomain and the image of a function are the same set; such a function is called surjective or onto. For any non-surjective function ${\displaystyle f:X\to Y,}$ the codomain ${\displaystyle Y}$ and the image ${\displaystyle {\tilde {Y}}}$ are different; however, a new function can be defined with the original function's image as its codomain, ${\displaystyle {\tilde {f}}:X\to {\tilde {Y}}}$ where ${\displaystyle {\tilde {f}}(x)=f(x).}$ This new function is surjective.