Evaluation Linear Transformation on Normed Vector Space is Linear Isometry

Theorem
Let $\struct {X, \norm \cdot_X}$ be a normed vector space.

Let $\struct {X^{\ast \ast}, \norm \cdot_{X^{\ast \ast} } }$ be the second normed dual of $\struct {X, \norm \cdot_X}$.

Let $J : X \to X^{\ast \ast}$ be the evaluation linear transformation for $X$.

Then:


 * $J$ is an isometric isomorphism onto $\map J X$.

Proof
For each $x \in X$, denote:


 * $\map J x = x^\wedge$

We aim to show that:


 * $\norm {x^\wedge}_{X^{\ast \ast} } = \norm x_X$

for each $x \in X$.

Note that for each $f \in X^\ast$, we have:

So, we have:


 * $\norm x_X \in \set {c > 0 : \cmod {\map {x^\wedge} f} \le c \norm f_{X^\ast} }$

So, from the definition of the norm on bounded functionals and the definition of infimum, we have:


 * $\norm {x^\wedge}_{X^{\ast \ast} } \le \norm x_X$

We now aim to show that:


 * $\norm x_X \le \norm {x^\wedge}_{X^{\ast \ast} }$

From Existence of Support Functional, there exists $f \in X^\ast$ such that:


 * $\map f x = \norm x_X$

and:


 * $\norm f_{X^\ast} = 1$

Then we have:

So we have:


 * $\norm x_X \in \set {\cmod {\map {x^\wedge} f} : \norm f_{X^\ast} = 1}$

So from the definition of the norm on bounded functionals and the definition of supremum, we have:


 * $\norm {x^\wedge}_{X^{\ast \ast} } \ge \norm x_X$

So we have:


 * $\norm {\map {x^\wedge} f} = \norm x_X$

That is:


 * $\norm {\map J x}_{X^{\ast \ast} } = \norm x_X$