# Is there a vector space that cannot be an inner product space?

Quick question: Can I define some inner product on any arbitrary vector space such that it becomes an inner product space? If yes, how can I prove this? If no, what would be a counter example? Thanks a lot in advance.

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The easy answer is, no. But I think you want a non-trivial inner product. – vesszabo Nov 29 '12 at 17:49
@rschwieb I meant $\langle a,b\rangle =0$ for every $a,b$ is trivial. (My above comment is a joke only :-) ) So yes, what is interesting the question of the existence of positive definite inner product. As I see, the answer of Christian is complete. – vesszabo Nov 29 '12 at 21:47

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I'm sorry, in all lectures I have attended so far, the inner product is positive by definition, which is why I did not specify it. – Huy Nov 30 '12 at 8:10
@vesszabo Sorry, I should have kept my mutterings to myself! I didn't really have anything interesting to say either way :) – rschwieb Nov 30 '12 at 14:06

## 2 Answers

How about vector spaces over finite fields? Finite fields don't have an ordered subfield, and thus one cannot meaningfully define a positive-definite inner product on vector spaces over them.

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I'm not sure, but can one not just use the well-ordering theorem? – Huy Nov 29 '12 at 18:45

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You can't get an ordering compatible with the ring structure. – Zhen Lin Nov 29 '12 at 18:56
@ZhenLin How about the ring of integers? – chaohuang Nov 29 '12 at 23:04

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The ring of integers isn't a field. – Zhen Lin Nov 29 '12 at 23:22

I'm assuming the ground field is ${\mathbb R}$ or ${\mathbb C}$, because otherwise it's not clear what an "inner product space" is.

Now any vector space $X$ over ${\mathbb R}$ or ${\mathbb C}$ has a so-called Hamel basis. This is a family $(e_\iota)_{\iota\in I}$ of vectors $e_\iota\in X$ such that any $x\in X$ can be written uniquely in the form $x=\sum_{\iota\in I} \xi_\iota\ e_\iota$, where only finitely many $\xi_\iota$ are $\ne 0$. Unfortunately you need the axiom of choice to obtain such a basis, if $X$ is not finitely generated.

Defining $\langle x, y\rangle :=\sum_{\iota\in I} \xi_\iota\ \bar\eta_\iota$ gives a bilinear "scalar product" on $X$ such that $\langle x, x\rangle>0$ for any $x\ne0$. Note that in computing $\langle x,y\rangle$ no question of convergence arises.

It follows that $\langle\ ,\ \rangle$ is an inner product on $X$, and adopting the norm $\|x\|^2:=\langle x,x\rangle$ turns $X$ into a metric space in the usual way.

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Perhaps you could expand on what convergence w.r.t. (the metric generated by) your inner product means? – kahen Nov 29 '12 at 19:36
– kahen Nov 29 '12 at 19:41
@kahen: See my edit. – Christian Blatter Nov 30 '12 at 9:16

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@vesszabo: As Christian explain, given the axiom of choice, any arbitrary vector space can admit an inner product. In some sense just having a vector space is too floppy. It is more interesting to ask your question for a more rigid class of spaces, the topological vector spaces. In which case the answer is no: you cannot always find a inner product compatible with the given topology. There exists TVSs which are not normable or metrizable. – Willie Wong♦ Nov 30 '12 at 9:30
@WillieWong It's a valuable remark. Indeed, a vector space structure alone is (usually) not "too much" to work with it. – vesszabo Dec 1 '12 at 11:04
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