Set theory: not really understanding what the question is asking..

63 Views Asked by At

Here is the problem.

Let $M$ be the metric space of all real numbers, and let $x_0 \in M$. Prove that there exist exactly two isometries of $M$ that leave $x_0$ fixed.

I am having trouble comprehending what it means by that "leave $x_0$ fixed."

Is it asking to prove that there are exactly two isometries $f_1:M \rightarrow M$ and $f_2: M \rightarrow M$ where $f_1(x_0) = x_0$ and $f_2(x_0) = x_0$?

But we don't have a specific metric defined on the set, so any hint on how would I go about proving this?

1

There are 1 best solutions below

0
On BEST ANSWER

The intended metric is certainly the usual metric on the real numbers: $d(x,y) = |x-y|$. You are looking to find a function $f$ satisfying $|f(x) - f(x_0)| = |x - x_0|$ which reduces in this case to $|f(x) - x_0| = |x - x_0|$. You can solve this for $f(x)$.