Indexed Family - Mathematical Statement

Mathematical Statement

Definition. Let X and I be any sets. Then by family of elements in X indexed by I, we mean a function . An indexed family is denoted by, where it is understood that there is a function x that maps i to .

An indexed family can be turned into a set by considering the set, that is, the range of x, but this will collapse the elements with into one element in .

Definition. Let S be a set. An indexed family of sets is an indexed family that maps I to elements of the power set of S.

Hence, an indexed family of sets is conceptually different from a family of sets (which is just a synonym for "set of sets"), but in practice the distinction is sometimes fuzzy and the indexed family is identified with its range and treated like an ordinary family.

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