Closure (mathematics)

In mathematics, a subset of a given set is closed under an operation of the larger set if performing that operation on members of the subset always produces a member of that subset. For example, the natural numbers are closed under addition, but not under subtraction: $1-2$ is not a natural number, although both $1$ and $2$ are.

Similarly, a subset is said to be closed under a collection of operations if it is closed under each of the operations individually.

The closure of a subset is the result of a closure operator applied to the subset. The closure of a subset under some operations is the smallest subset that is closed under these operations. It is often called the span (for example linear span) or the generated set.

1 Definitions

1.1 In algebraic structures

2 In topology

3 Binary relations

4 Other examples

5 Closure operator

5.1 Closure operator vs. closed sets

6 References