Brouwer fixed-point

theorem

Brouwer's fixed-point theorem is a fixed-point theorem in topology, named after L. E. J.

(Bertus) Brouwer. It states that for any continuous function mapping a nonempty compact
convex set to itself, there is a point such that . The simplest forms of
Brouwer's theorem are for continuous functions from a closed interval in the real
numbers to itself or from a closed disk to itself. A more general form than the latter is for
continuous functions from a nonempty convex compact subset of Euclidean space to
itself.

Among hundreds of fixed-point theorems,[1] Brouwer's is particularly well known, due in part
to its use across numerous fields of mathematics. In its original field, this result is one of the
key theorems characterizing the topology of Euclidean spaces, along with the Jordan curve
theorem, the hairy ball theorem, the invariance of dimension and the Borsuk–Ulam
theorem.[2] This gives it a place among the fundamental theorems of topology.[3] The theorem
is also used for proving deep results about differential equations and is covered in most
introductory courses on differential geometry. It appears in unlikely fields such as game
theory. In economics, Brouwer's fixed-point theorem and its extension, the Kakutani fixed-
point theorem, play a central role in the proof of existence of general equilibrium in market
economies as developed in the 1950s by economics Nobel prize winners Kenneth Arrow and
Gérard Debreu.

The theorem was first studied in view of work on differential equations by the French
mathematicians around Henri Poincaré and Charles Émile Picard. Proving results such as the
Poincaré–Bendixson theorem requires the use of topological methods. This work at the end
of the 19th century opened into several successive versions of the theorem. The case of
differentiable mappings of the n-dimensional closed ball was first proved in 1910 by Jacques
Hadamard[4] and the general case for continuous mappings by Brouwer in 1911.[5]

Statement
The theorem has several formulations, depending on the context in which it is used and its
degree of generalization. The simplest is sometimes given as follows:

In the plane
Every continuous function from a
closed disk to itself has at least one
fixed point.[6]
This can be generalized to an arbitrary finite dimension:

In Euclidean space
Every continuous function from a
closed ball of a Euclidean space into
itself has a fixed point.[7]
A slightly more general version is as follows:[8]

Convex compact set

 Every continuous function from a
nonempty convex compact subset K
of a Euclidean space to K itself has a
fixed point.[9]
An even more general form is better known under a different name:

Schauder fixed point theorem

Every continuous function from a
nonempty convex compact subset K
of a Banach space to K itself has a
fixed point.[10]

Importance of the pre-

conditions
The theorem holds only for functions that are endomorphisms (functions that have the same
set as the domain and codomain) and for nonempty sets that are compact (thus, in particular,
bounded and closed) and convex (or homeomorphic to convex). The following examples
show why the pre-conditions are important.
The function f as an endomorphism
Consider the function

with domain [-1,1]. The range of the function is [0,2]. Thus, f is not an endomorphism.

Boundedness
Consider the function

which is a continuous function from to itself. As it shifts every point to the right, it cannot
have a fixed point. The space is convex and closed, but not bounded.

Closedness
Consider the function

which is a continuous function from the open interval (−1,1) to itself. Since x = 1 is not part of
the interval, there is not a fixed point of f(x) = x. The space (−1,1) is convex and bounded, but
not closed. On the other hand, the function f does have a fixed point for the closed interval
[−1,1], namely f(1) = 1.

Convexity
Convexity is not strictly necessary for Brouwer's fixed-point theorem. Because the properties
involved (continuity, being a fixed point) are invariant under homeomorphisms, Brouwer's
fixed-point theorem is equivalent to forms in which the domain is required to be a closed unit
ball . For the same reason it holds for every set that is homeomorphic to a closed ball
(and therefore also closed, bounded, connected, without holes, etc.).

The following example shows that Brouwer's fixed-point theorem does not work for domains
with holes. Consider the function , which is a continuous function from the unit
circle to itself. Since -x≠x holds for any point of the unit circle, f has no fixed point. The
analogous example works for the n-dimensional sphere (or any symmetric domain that does
not contain the origin). The unit circle is closed and bounded, but it has a hole (and so it is not
convex) . The function f does have a fixed point for the unit disc, since it takes the origin to
itself.

A formal generalization of Brouwer's fixed-point theorem for "hole-free" domains can be

derived from the Lefschetz fixed-point theorem.[11]

Notes
The continuous function in this theorem is not required to be bijective or surjective.

Illustrations
The theorem has several "real world" illustrations. Here are some examples.
1. Take two sheets of graph paper of
equal size with coordinate systems
on them, lay one flat on the table
and crumple up (without ripping or
tearing) the other one and place it,
in any fashion, on top of the first so
that the crumpled paper does not
reach outside the flat one. There will
then be at least one point of the
crumpled sheet that lies directly
above its corresponding point (i.e.
the point with the same
coordinates) of the flat sheet. This
is a consequence of the n = 2 case
of Brouwer's theorem applied to the
continuous map that assigns to the
coordinates of every point of the
 crumpled sheet the coordinates of
the point of the flat sheet
immediately beneath it.
2. Take an ordinary map of a country,
and suppose that that map is laid
out on a table inside that country.
There will always be a "You are
Here" point on the map which
represents that same point in the
country.
3. In three dimensions a consequence
of the Brouwer fixed-point theorem
is that, no matter how much you stir
a delicious cocktail in a glass (or
think about milk shake), when the
liquid has come to rest, some point
in the liquid will end up in exactly
the same place in the glass as
before you took any action,
assuming that the final position of
each point is a continuous function
of its original position, that the
liquid after stirring is contained
within the space originally taken up
by it, and that the glass (and stirred
surface shape) maintain a convex
volume. Ordering a cocktail shaken,
not stirred defeats the convexity
condition ("shaking" being defined
as a dynamic series of non-convex
inertial containment states in the
vacant headspace under a lid). In
that case, the theorem would not
 apply, and thus all points of the
liquid disposition are potentially
displaced from the original state.

Intuitive approach

Explanations attributed to Brouwer

The theorem is supposed to have originated from Brouwer's observation of a cup of gourmet
coffee.[12] If one stirs to dissolve a lump of sugar, it appears there is always a point without
motion. He drew the conclusion that at any moment, there is a point on the surface that is not
moving.[13] The fixed point is not necessarily the point that seems to be motionless, since the
centre of the turbulence moves a little bit. The result is not intuitive, since the original fixed
point may become mobile when another fixed point appears.

Brouwer is said to have added: "I can formulate this splendid result different, I take a
horizontal sheet, and another identical one which I crumple, flatten and place on the other.
Then a point of the crumpled sheet is in the same place as on the other sheet."[13] Brouwer
"flattens" his sheet as with a flat iron, without removing the folds and wrinkles. Unlike the
coffee cup example, the crumpled paper example also demonstrates that more than one
fixed point may exist. This distinguishes Brouwer's result from other fixed-point theorems,
such as Stefan Banach's, that guarantee uniqueness.

One-dimensional case
In one dimension, the result is intuitive and easy to prove. The continuous function f is
defined on a closed interval [a, b] and takes values in the same interval. Saying that this
function has a fixed point amounts to saying that its graph
(dark green in the figure on the right) intersects that of the
function defined on the same interval [a, b] which maps x to x
(light green).

Intuitively, any continuous line from the left edge of the square
to the right edge must necessarily intersect the green
diagonal. To prove this, consider the function g which maps x
to f(x) − x. It is ≥ 0 on a and ≤ 0 on b. By the intermediate value
theorem, g has a zero in [a, b]; this zero is a fixed point.

Brouwer is said to have expressed this as follows: "Instead of examining a surface, we will
prove the theorem about a piece of string. Let us begin with the string in an unfolded state,
then refold it. Let us flatten the refolded string. Again a point of the string has not changed its
position with respect to its original position on the unfolded string."[13]

History
The Brouwer fixed point theorem was one of the early achievements of algebraic topology,
and is the basis of more general fixed point theorems which are important in functional
analysis. The case n = 3 first was proved by Piers Bohl in 1904 (published in Journal für die
reine und angewandte Mathematik).[14] It was later proved by L. E. J. Brouwer in 1909.
Jacques Hadamard proved the general case in 1910,[4] and Brouwer found a different proof in
the same year.[5] Since these early proofs were all non-constructive indirect proofs, they ran
contrary to Brouwer's intuitionist ideals. Although the existence of a fixed point is not
constructive in the sense of constructivism in mathematics, methods to approximate fixed
points guaranteed by Brouwer's theorem are now known.[15][16]
Before discovery

For flows in an unbounded area, or

in an area with a "hole", the
theorem is not applicable.

The theorem applies to any

disk-shaped area, where it
guarantees the existence of a
fixed point.

At the end of the 19th century, the old problem[17] of the stability of the solar system returned
into the focus of the mathematical community.[18] Its solution required new methods. As
noted by Henri Poincaré, who worked on the three-body problem, there is no hope to find an
exact solution: "Nothing is more proper to give us an idea of the hardness of the three-body
problem, and generally of all problems of Dynamics where there is no uniform integral and
the Bohlin series diverge."[19] He also noted that the search for an approximate solution is no
more efficient: "the more we seek to obtain precise approximations, the more the result will
diverge towards an increasing imprecision".[20]
He studied a question analogous to that of the surface movement in a cup of coffee. What
can we say, in general, about the trajectories on a surface animated by a constant flow?[21]
Poincaré discovered that the answer can be found in what we now call the topological
properties in the area containing the trajectory. If this area is compact, i.e. both closed and
bounded, then the trajectory either becomes stationary, or it approaches a limit cycle.[22]
Poincaré went further; if the area is of the same kind as a disk, as is the case for the cup of
coffee, there must necessarily be a fixed point. This fixed point is invariant under all functions
which associate to each point of the original surface its position after a short time interval t.
If the area is a circular band, or if it is not closed,[23] then this is not necessarily the case.

To understand differential equations better, a new branch of mathematics was born. Poincaré
called it analysis situs. The French Encyclopædia Universalis defines it as the branch which
"treats the properties of an object that are invariant if it is deformed in any continuous way,
without tearing".[24] In 1886, Poincaré proved a result that is equivalent to Brouwer's fixed-
point theorem,[25] although the connection with the subject of this article was not yet
apparent.[26] A little later, he developed one of the fundamental tools for better understanding
the analysis situs, now known as the fundamental group or sometimes the Poincaré
group.[27] This method can be used for a very compact proof of the theorem under
discussion.

Poincaré's method was analogous to that of Émile Picard, a contemporary mathematician

who generalized the Cauchy–Lipschitz theorem.[28] Picard's approach is based on a result
that would later be formalised by another fixed-point theorem, named after Banach. Instead
of the topological properties of the domain, this theorem uses the fact that the function in
question is a contraction.
First proofs

Jacques Hadamard helped Brouwer

to formalize his ideas.

At the dawn of the 20th century, the interest in analysis situs did not stay unnoticed. However,
the necessity of a theorem equivalent to the one discussed in this article was not yet evident.
Piers Bohl, a Latvian mathematician, applied topological methods to the study of differential
equations.[29] In 1904 he proved the three-dimensional case of our theorem,[14] but his
publication was not noticed.[30]

It was Brouwer, finally, who gave the theorem its first patent of nobility. His goals were
different from those of Poincaré. This mathematician was inspired by the foundations of
mathematics, especially mathematical logic and topology. His initial interest lay in an attempt
to solve Hilbert's fifth problem.[31] In 1909, during a voyage to Paris, he met Henri Poincaré,
Jacques Hadamard, and Émile Borel. The ensuing discussions convinced Brouwer of the
importance of a better understanding of Euclidean spaces, and were the origin of a fruitful
exchange of letters with Hadamard. For the next four years, he concentrated on the proof of
certain great theorems on this question. In 1912 he proved the hairy ball theorem for the two-
dimensional sphere, as well as the fact that every continuous map from the two-dimensional
ball to itself has a fixed point.[32] These two results in themselves were not really new. As
Hadamard observed, Poincaré had shown a theorem equivalent to the hairy ball theorem.[33]
The revolutionary aspect of Brouwer's approach was his systematic use of recently
developed tools such as homotopy, the underlying concept of the Poincaré group. In the
following year, Hadamard generalised the theorem under discussion to an arbitrary finite
dimension, but he employed different methods. Hans Freudenthal comments on the
respective roles as follows: "Compared to Brouwer's revolutionary methods, those of
Hadamard were very traditional, but Hadamard's participation in the birth of Brouwer's ideas
resembles that of a midwife more than that of a mere spectator."[34]

Brouwer's approach yielded its fruits, and in 1910 he also found a proof that was valid for any
finite dimension,[5] as well as other key theorems such as the invariance of dimension.[35] In
the context of this work, Brouwer also generalized the Jordan curve theorem to arbitrary
dimension and established the properties connected with the degree of a continuous
mapping.[36] This branch of mathematics, originally envisioned by Poincaré and developed by
Brouwer, changed its name. In the 1930s, analysis situs became algebraic topology.[37]

Reception

John Nash used the theorem in game

theory to prove the existence of an
equilibrium strategy profile.

The theorem proved its worth in more than one way. During the 20th century numerous fixed-
point theorems were developed, and even a branch of mathematics called fixed-point
theory.[38] Brouwer's theorem is probably the most important.[39] It is also among the
foundational theorems on the topology of topological manifolds and is often used to prove
other important results such as the Jordan curve theorem.[40]

Besides the fixed-point theorems for more or less contracting functions, there are many that
have emerged directly or indirectly from the result under discussion. A continuous map from
a closed ball of Euclidean space to its boundary cannot be the identity on the boundary.
Similarly, the Borsuk–Ulam theorem says that a continuous map from the n-dimensional
sphere to Rn has a pair of antipodal points that are mapped to the same point. In the finite-
dimensional case, the Lefschetz fixed-point theorem provided from 1926 a method for
counting fixed points. In 1930, Brouwer's fixed-point theorem was generalized to Banach
spaces.[41] This generalization is known as Schauder's fixed-point theorem, a result
generalized further by S. Kakutani to set-valued functions.[42] One also meets the theorem
and its variants outside topology. It can be used to prove the Hartman-Grobman theorem,
which describes the qualitative behaviour of certain differential equations near certain
equilibria. Similarly, Brouwer's theorem is used for the proof of the Central Limit Theorem. The
theorem can also be found in existence proofs for the solutions of certain partial differential
equations.[43]

Other areas are also touched. In game theory, John Nash used the theorem to prove that in
the game of Hex there is a winning strategy for white.[44] In economics, P. Bich explains that
certain generalizations of the theorem show that its use is helpful for certain classical
problems in game theory and generally for equilibria (Hotelling's law), financial equilibria and
incomplete markets.[45]

Brouwer's celebrity is not exclusively due to his topological work. The proofs of his great
topological theorems are not constructive,[46] and Brouwer's dissatisfaction with this is partly
what led him to articulate the idea of constructivity. He became the originator and zealous
defender of a way of formalising mathematics that is known as intuitionism, which at the
time made a stand against set theory.[47] Brouwer disavowed his original proof of the fixed-
point theorem.

Proof outlines

A proof using degree

Brouwer's original 1911 proof relied on the notion of the degree of a continuous mapping,
stemming from ideas in differential topology. Several modern accounts of the proof can be
found in the literature, notably Milnor (1965).[48][49]
Let denote the closed unit ball in centered at the origin. Suppose for
simplicity that is continuously differentiable. A regular value of is a point
such that the Jacobian of is non-singular at every point of the preimage of . In
particular, by the inverse function theorem, every point of the preimage of lies in (the
interior of ). The degree of at a regular value is defined as the sum of the
signs of the Jacobian determinant of over the preimages of under :

The degree is, roughly speaking, the number of "sheets" of the preimage f lying over a small
open set around p, with sheets counted oppositely if they are oppositely oriented. This is thus
a generalization of winding number to higher dimensions.

The degree satisfies the property of homotopy invariance: let and be two continuously
differentiable functions, and for . Suppose that the
point is a regular value of for all t. Then .

If there is no fixed point of the boundary of , then the function

is well-defined, and

defines a homotopy from the identity function to it. The identity function has degree one at
every point. In particular, the identity function has degree one at the origin, so also has
degree one at the origin. As a consequence, the preimage is not empty. The elements
of are precisely the fixed points of the original function f.

This requires some work to make fully general. The definition of degree must be extended to
singular values of f, and then to continuous functions. The more modern advent of homology
theory simplifies the construction of the degree, and so has become a standard proof in the
literature.

A proof using the hairy ball theorem

The hairy ball theorem states that on the unit sphere S in an odd-dimensional Euclidean
space, there is no nowhere-vanishing continuous tangent vector field w on S. (The tangency
condition means that w(x) ⋅ x = 0 for every unit vector x.) Sometimes the theorem is
expressed by the statement that "there is always a place on the globe with no wind". An
elementary proof of the hairy ball theorem can be found in Milnor (1978).

In fact, suppose first that w is continuously differentiable. By scaling, it can be assumed that
w is a continuously differentiable unit tangent vector on S. It can be extended radially to a
small spherical shell A of S. For t sufficiently small, a routine computation shows that the
mapping ft(x) = x + t w(x) is a contraction mapping on A and that the volume of its image is
a polynomial in t. On the other hand, as a contraction mapping, ft must restrict to a
homeomorphism of S onto (1 + t2)½ S and A onto (1 + t2)½ A. This gives a contradiction,
because, if the dimension n of the Euclidean space is odd, (1 + t2)n/2 is not a polynomial.

If w is only a continuous unit tangent vector on S, by the Weierstrass approximation theorem,

it can be uniformly approximated by a polynomial map u of A into Euclidean space. The
orthogonal projection on to the tangent space is given by v(x) = u(x) - u(x) ⋅ x. Thus v is
polynomial and nowhere vanishing on A; by construction v/||v|| is a smooth unit tangent
vector field on S, a contradiction.

The continuous version of the hairy ball theorem can now be used to prove the Brouwer fixed
point theorem. First suppose that n is even. If there were a fixed-point-free continuous self-
mapping f of the closed unit ball B of the n-dimensional Euclidean space V, set

Since f has no fixed points, it follows that, for x in the interior of B, the vector w(x) is non-
zero; and for x in S, the scalar product
x ⋅ w(x) = 1 – x ⋅ f(x) is strictly positive. From the original n-dimensional space Euclidean
space V, construct a new auxiliary
(n + 1)-dimensional space W = V x R, with coordinates y = (x, t). Set

By construction X is a continuous vector field on the unit sphere of W, satisfying the

tangency condition y ⋅ X(y) = 0. Moreover, X(y) is nowhere vanishing (because, if x has norm
1, then x ⋅ w(x) is non-zero; while if x has norm strictly less than 1, then t and w(x) are both
non-zero). This contradiction proves the fixed point theorem when n is even. For n odd, one
can apply the fixed point theorem to the closed unit ball B in n + 1 dimensions and the
mapping F(x,y) = (f(x),0). The advantage of this proof is that it uses only elementary
techniques; more general results like the Borsuk-Ulam theorem require tools from algebraic
topology.[50]

A proof using homology or

cohomology
The proof uses the observation that the boundary of the n-disk Dn is Sn−1, the (n − 1)-sphere.

Illustration of the retraction F

Suppose, for contradiction, that a continuous function f : Dn → Dn has no fixed point. This
means that, for every point x in Dn, the points x and f(x) are distinct. Because they are distinct,
for every point x in Dn, we can construct a unique ray from f(x) to x and follow the ray until it
intersects the boundary Sn−1 (see illustration). By calling this intersection point F(x), we define
a function F : Dn → Sn−1 sending each point in the disk to its corresponding intersection point
on the boundary. As a special case, whenever x itself is on the boundary, then the intersection
point F(x) must be x.

Consequently, F is a special type of continuous function known as a retraction: every point of

the codomain (in this case Sn−1) is a fixed point of F.

Intuitively it seems unlikely that there could be a retraction of Dn onto Sn−1, and in the case n =
1, the impossibility is more basic, because S0 (i.e., the endpoints of the closed interval D1) is
not even connected. The case n = 2 is less obvious, but can be proven by using basic
arguments involving the fundamental groups of the respective spaces: the retraction would
induce a surjective group homomorphism from the fundamental group of D2 to that of S1, but
the latter group is isomorphic to Z while the first group is trivial, so this is impossible. The
case n = 2 can also be proven by contradiction based on a theorem about non-vanishing
vector fields.

For n > 2, however, proving the impossibility of the retraction is more difficult. One way is to
make use of homology groups: the homology Hn−1(Dn) is trivial, while Hn−1(Sn−1) is infinite
cyclic. This shows that the retraction is impossible, because again the retraction would
induce an injective group homomorphism from the latter to the former group.

The impossibility of a retraction can also be shown using the de Rham cohomology of open
subsets of Euclidean space En. For n ≥ 2, the de Rham cohomology of U = En – (0) is one-
dimensional in degree 0 and n - 1, and vanishes otherwise. If a retraction existed, then U
would have to be contractible and its de Rham cohomology in degree n - 1 would have to
vanish, a contradiction.[51]

A proof using Stokes' theorem

As in the proof of Brouwer's fixed-point theorem for continuous maps using homology, it is
reduced to proving that there is no continuous retraction F from the ball B onto its boundary
∂B. In that case it can be assumed that F is smooth, since it can be approximated using the
Weierstrass approximation theorem or by convolving with non-negative smooth bump
functions of sufficiently small support and integral one (i.e. mollifying). If ω is a volume form
on the boundary then by Stokes' theorem,
giving a contradiction.[52][53]

More generally, this shows that there is no smooth retraction from any non-empty smooth
oriented compact manifold M onto its boundary. The proof using Stokes' theorem is closely
related to the proof using homology, because the form ω generates the de Rham cohomology
group Hn-1(∂M) which is isomorphic to the homology group Hn-1(∂M) by de Rham's
theorem.[54]

A combinatorial proof
The BFPT can be proved using Sperner's lemma. We now give an outline of the proof for the
special case in which f is a function from the standard n-simplex, to itself, where

For every point also Hence the sum of their coordinates is equal:

Hence, by the pigeonhole principle, for every there must be an index

such that the th coordinate of is greater than or equal to the th
coordinate of its image under f:
Moreover, if lies on a k-dimensional sub-face of then by the same argument, the index
can be selected from among the k + 1 coordinates which are not zero on this sub-face.

We now use this fact to construct a Sperner coloring. For every triangulation of the color
of every vertex is an index such that

By construction, this is a Sperner coloring. Hence, by Sperner's lemma, there is an n-

dimensional simplex whose vertices are colored with the entire set of n + 1 available colors.

Because f is continuous, this simplex can be made arbitrarily small by choosing an arbitrarily
fine triangulation. Hence, there must be a point which satisfies the labeling condition in all
coordinates: for all

Because the sum of the coordinates of and must be equal, all these inequalities
must actually be equalities. But this means that:

That is, is a fixed point of

A proof by Hirsch
There is also a quick proof, by Morris Hirsch, based on the impossibility of a differentiable
retraction. The indirect proof starts by noting that the map f can be approximated by a
smooth map retaining the property of not fixing a point; this can be done by using the
Weierstrass approximation theorem or by convolving with smooth bump functions. One then
defines a retraction as above which must now be differentiable. Such a retraction must have
a non-singular value, by Sard's theorem, which is also non-singular for the restriction to the
boundary (which is just the identity). Thus the inverse image would be a 1-manifold with
boundary. The boundary would have to contain at least two end points, both of which would
have to lie on the boundary of the original ball—which is impossible in a retraction.[55]
R. Bruce Kellogg, Tien-Yien Li, and James A. Yorke turned Hirsch's proof into a computable
proof by observing that the retract is in fact defined everywhere except at the fixed points.[56]
For almost any point, q, on the boundary, (assuming it is not a fixed point) the one manifold
with boundary mentioned above does exist and the only possibility is that it leads from q to a
fixed point. It is an easy numerical task to follow such a path from q to the fixed point so the
method is essentially computable.[57] gave a conceptually similar path-following version of
the homotopy proof which extends to a wide variety of related problems.

A proof using oriented area

A variation of the preceding proof does not employ the Sard's theorem, and goes as follows.
If is a smooth retraction, one considers the smooth deformation
and the smooth function

Differentiating under the sign of integral it is not difficult to check that φ′(t) = 0 for all t, so φ is
a constant function, which is a contradiction because φ(0) is the n-dimensional volume of the
ball, while φ(1) is zero. The geometric idea is that φ(t) is the oriented area of gt(B) (that is, the
Lebesgue measure of the image of the ball via gt, taking into account multiplicity and
orientation), and should remain constant (as it is very clear in the one-dimensional case). On
the other hand, as the parameter t passes from 0 to 1 the map gt transforms continuously
from the identity map of the ball, to the retraction r, which is a contradiction since the
oriented area of the identity coincides with the volume of the ball, while the oriented area of r
is necessarily 0, as its image is the boundary of the ball, a set of null measure.[58]
A proof using the game Hex
A quite different proof given by David Gale is based on the game of Hex. The basic theorem
regarding Hex, first proven by John Nash, is that no game of Hex can end in a draw; the first
player always has a winning strategy (although this theorem is nonconstructive, and explicit
strategies have not been fully developed for board sizes of dimensions 10 x 10 or greater).
This turns out to be equivalent to the Brouwer fixed-point theorem for dimension 2. By
considering n-dimensional versions of Hex, one can prove in general that Brouwer's theorem
is equivalent to the determinacy theorem for Hex.[59]

A proof using the Lefschetz fixed-

point theorem
The Lefschetz fixed-point theorem says that if a continuous map f from a finite simplicial
complex B to itself has only isolated fixed points, then the number of fixed points counted
with multiplicities (which may be negative) is equal to the Lefschetz number

and in particular if the Lefschetz number is nonzero then f must have a fixed point. If B is a
ball (or more generally is contractible) then the Lefschetz number is one because the only
non-zero simplicial homology group is: and f acts as the identity on this group, so f
has a fixed point.[60][61]
A proof in a weak logical system
In reverse mathematics, Brouwer's theorem can be proved in the system WKL0, and
conversely over the base system RCA0 Brouwer's theorem for a square implies the weak
Kőnig's lemma, so this gives a precise description of the strength of Brouwer's theorem.

Generalizations
The Brouwer fixed-point theorem forms the starting point of a number of more general fixed-
point theorems.

The straightforward generalization to infinite dimensions, i.e. using the unit ball of an arbitrary
Hilbert space instead of Euclidean space, is not true. The main problem here is that the unit
balls of infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces are not compact. For example, in the Hilbert
space ℓ2 of square-summable real (or complex) sequences, consider the map f : ℓ2 → ℓ2
which sends a sequence (xn) from the closed unit ball of ℓ2 to the sequence (yn) defined by

It is not difficult to check that this map is continuous, has its image in the unit sphere of ℓ2,
but does not have a fixed point.

The generalizations of the Brouwer fixed-point theorem to infinite dimensional spaces

therefore all include a compactness assumption of some sort, and also often an assumption
of convexity. See fixed-point theorems in infinite-dimensional spaces for a discussion of
these theorems.

There is also finite-dimensional generalization to a larger class of spaces: If is a product of

finitely many chainable continua, then every continuous function has a fixed
point,[62] where a chainable continuum is a (usually but in this case not necessarily metric)
compact Hausdorff space of which every open cover has a finite open refinement
, such that if and only if . Examples of chainable
continua include compact connected linearly ordered spaces and in particular closed
intervals of real numbers.

The Kakutani fixed point theorem generalizes the Brouwer fixed-point theorem in a different
direction: it stays in Rn, but considers upper hemi-continuous set-valued functions (functions
that assign to each point of the set a subset of the set). It also requires compactness and
convexity of the set.

The Lefschetz fixed-point theorem applies to (almost) arbitrary compact topological spaces,
and gives a condition in terms of singular homology that guarantees the existence of fixed
points; this condition is trivially satisfied for any map in the case of Dn.

Equivalent results
There are several fixed-point theorems which come in three equivalent variants: an algebraic
topology variant, a combinatorial variant and a set-covering variant. Each variant can be
proved separately using totally different arguments, but each variant can also be reduced to
the other variants in its row. Additionally, each result in the top row can be deduced from the
one below it in the same column.[63]

Algebraic topology Combinatorics Set covering

Brouwer fixed-point theorem Sperner's lemma Knaster–Kuratowski–Mazurkiewicz lemma

Borsuk–Ulam theorem Tucker's lemma Lusternik–Schnirelmann theorem

See also

Banach fixed-point theorem

Fixed-point computation
 Infinite compositions of analytic
functions
Nash equilibrium
Poincaré–Miranda theorem –
equivalent to the Brouwer fixed-point
theorem
Topological combinatorics

Notes

1. E.g. F & V Bayart Théorèmes du point fixe

(http://www.bibmath.net/dico/index.php
3?action=affiche&quoi=./p/pointfixe.htm
l) on [email protected] Archived (https://web.
archive.org/web/20081226200755/http://
www.bibmath.net/dico/index.php3?action
=affiche&quoi=.%2Fp%2Fpointfixe.html)
 December 26, 2008, at the Wayback
Machine
2. See page 15 of: D. Leborgne Calcul
différentiel et géométrie Puf (1982)
ISBN 2-13-037495-6
3. More exactly, according to Encyclopédie
Universalis: Il en a démontré l'un des plus
beaux théorèmes, le théorème du point
fixe, dont les applications et
généralisations, de la théorie des jeux aux
équations différentielles, se sont révélées
fondamentales. Luizen Brouwer (http://w
ww.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/T705705/
BROUWER_L.htm) by G. Sabbagh
4. Jacques Hadamard: Note sur quelques
applications de l’indice de Kronecker (http
s://archive.org/stream/introductionla02ta
nnuoft#page/436/mode/2up) in Jules
Tannery: Introduction à la théorie des
fonctions d’une variable (Volume 2), 2nd
edition, A. Hermann & Fils, Paris 1910, pp.
437–477 (French)
5. Brouwer, L. E. J. (1911). "Über
Abbildungen von Mannigfaltigkeiten" (htt
p://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?G
DZPPN002264021) . Mathematische
Annalen (in German). 71: 97–115.
doi:10.1007/BF01456931 (https://doi.org/
10.1007%2FBF01456931) .
S2CID 177796823 (https://api.semanticsc
holar.org/CorpusID:177796823) .
6. D. Violette Applications du lemme de
Sperner pour les triangles (http://newton.
mat.ulaval.ca/amq/bulletins/dec06/spern
er.pdf) Bulletin AMQ, V. XLVI N° 4, (2006)
p 17. Archived (https://web.archive.org/w
eb/20110608214059/http://newton.mat.u
laval.ca/amq/bulletins/dec06/sperner.pd
f) June 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
7. Page 15 of: D. Leborgne Calcul différentiel
et géométrie Puf (1982) ISBN 2-13-
037495-6.
8. This version follows directly from the
previous one because every convex
compact subset of a Euclidean space is
homeomorphic to a closed ball of the
same dimension as the subset; see
Florenzano, Monique (2003). General
Equilibrium Analysis: Existence and
Optimality Properties of Equilibria (https://
books.google.com/books?id=cNBMfxPQl
vEC&pg=PA7) . Springer. p. 7.
ISBN 9781402075124. Retrieved
2016-03-08.
 9. V. & F. Bayart Point fixe, et théorèmes du
point fixe (http://www.bibmath.net/dico/in
dex.php3?action=affiche&quoi=./p/pointfi
xe.html) on Bibmath.net. Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/2008122620075
5/http://www.bibmath.net/dico/index.php
3?action=affiche&quoi=.%2Fp%2Fpointfix
e.html) December 26, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
10. C. Minazzo K. Rider Théorèmes du Point
Fixe et Applications aux Equations
Différentielles (http://math1.unice.fr/~eau
bry/Enseignement/M1/memoire.pdf)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20
180404001651/http://math1.unice.fr/~ea
ubry/Enseignement/M1/memoire.pdf)
2018-04-04 at the Wayback Machine
Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis.
11. Belk, Jim. "Why is convexity a requirement
for Brouwer fixed points?" (https://math.st
ackexchange.com/q/323841) . Math
StackExchange. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
12. The interest of this anecdote rests in its
intuitive and didactic character, but its
accuracy is dubious. As the history
section shows, the origin of the theorem
is not Brouwer's work. More than 20 years
earlier Henri Poincaré had proved an
equivalent result, and 5 years before
Brouwer P. Bohl had proved the three-
dimensional case.
13. This citation comes originally from a
television broadcast: Archimède (https://a
rchive.today/20130113210953/http://arch
ives.arte.tv/hebdo/archimed/19990921/ft
ext/sujet5.html) , Arte, 21 septembre
1999
14. Bohl, P. (1904). "Über die Bewegung eines
mechanischen Systems in der Nähe einer
Gleichgewichtslage". J. Reine Angew.
Math. 127 (3/4): 179–276.
15. Karamardian, Stephan (1977). Fixed
points: algorithms and applications. New
York: Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-
398050-2.
16. Istrăţescu, Vasile (1981). Fixed point
theory. Dordrecht-Boston, Mass.: D. Reidel
Publishing Co. ISBN 978-90-277-1224-0.
17. See F. Brechenmacher L'identité
algébrique d'une pratique portée par la
discussion sur l'équation à l'aide de
laquelle on détermine les inégalités
séculaires des planètes (https://arxiv.org/
abs/0704.2931) CNRS Fédération de
Recherche Mathématique du Nord-Pas-
de-Calais
18. Henri Poincaré won the King of Sweden's
mathematical competition in 1889 for his
work on the related three-body problem:
Jacques Tits Célébrations nationales
2004 (http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/
actualites/celebrations2004/poincare.ht
m) Site du Ministère Culture et
Communication
19. Henri Poincaré Les méthodes nouvelles
de la mécanique céleste T Gauthier-
Villars, Vol 3 p 389 (1892) new edition
Paris: Blanchard, 1987.
20. Quotation from Henri Poincaré taken
from: P. A. Miquel La catégorie de
désordre (http://www.arches.ro/revue/no
03/no3art03.htm) Archived (https://web.
archive.org/web/20160303205947/http://
www.arches.ro/revue/no03/no3art03.htm
#) 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine,
on the website of l'Association roumaine
des chercheurs francophones en sciences
humaines
21. This question was studied in: Poincaré, H.
(1886). "Sur les courbes définies par les
équations différentielles". Journal de
Mathématiques Pures et Appliquées. 2
(4): 167–244.
22. This follows from the Poincaré–
Bendixson theorem.
1
23. Multiplication by 2 on ]0, 1[2 has no fixed
point.
24. "concerne les propriétés invariantes d'une
figure lorsqu’on la déforme de manière
continue quelconque, sans déchirure (par
exemple, dans le cas de la déformation de
la sphère, les propriétés corrélatives des
objets tracés sur sa surface". From C.
Houzel M. Paty Poincaré, Henri (1854–
1912) (http://www.scientiaestudia.org.br/
associac/paty/pdf/Paty,M_1997g-Poincar
eEU.pdf) Archived (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20101008232932/http://www.scie
ntiaestudia.org.br/associac/paty/pdf/Pat
y%2CM_1997g-PoincareEU.pdf) 2010-10-
08 at the Wayback Machine Encyclopædia
Universalis Albin Michel, Paris, 1999,
p. 696–706
25. Poincaré's theorem is stated in: V. I.
Istratescu Fixed Point Theory an
Introduction Kluwer Academic Publishers
(réédition de 2001) p 113 ISBN 1-4020-
0301-3
26. Voitsekhovskii, M.I. (2001) [1994],
"Brouwer theorem" (https://www.encyclop
ediaofmath.org/index.php?title=Brouwer_t
heorem) , Encyclopedia of Mathematics,
EMS Press, ISBN 1-4020-0609-8
27. Dieudonné, Jean (1989). A History of
Algebraic and Differential Topology,
1900–1960 (https://archive.org/details/hi
storyofalgebra0000dieu_g9a3/page/17) .
Boston: Birkhäuser. pp. 17–24 (https://arc
hive.org/details/historyofalgebra0000dieu
_g9a3/page/17) . ISBN 978-0-8176-3388-
2.
28. See for example: Émile Picard Sur
l'application des méthodes
d'approximations successives à l'étude de
certaines équations différentielles
ordinaires (http://portail.mathdoc.fr/JMP
A/PDF/JMPA_1893_4_9_A4_0.pdf)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20
110716055143/http://portail.mathdoc.fr/
JMPA/PDF/JMPA_1893_4_9_A4_0.pdf#)
2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
Journal de Mathématiques p 217 (1893)
29. J. J. O'Connor E. F. Robertson Piers Bohl
(http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~his
tory/Biographies/Bohl.html)
30. Myskis, A. D.; Rabinovic, I. M. (1955).
"Первое доказательство теоремы о
неподвижной точке при непрерывном
отображении шара в себя, данное
латышским математиком П.Г.Болем" (h
ttps://mi.mathnet.ru/eng/umn/v10/i3/p17
9) [The first proof of a fixed-point
theorem for a continuous mapping of a
sphere into itself, given by the Latvian
mathematician P. G. Bohl]. Успехи
математических наук (in Russian). 10
(3): 188–192.
31. J. J. O'Connor E. F. Robertson Luitzen
Egbertus Jan Brouwer (http://www-group
s.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/
Brouwer.html)
32. Freudenthal, Hans (1975). "The cradle of
modern topology, according to Brouwer's
inedita" (https://doi.org/10.1016%2F0315-
0860%2875%2990111-1) . Historia
Mathematica. 2 (4): 495–502 [p. 495].
doi:10.1016/0315-0860(75)90111-1 (http
s://doi.org/10.1016%2F0315-0860%287
5%2990111-1) .
33. Freudenthal, Hans (1975). "The cradle of
modern topology, according to Brouwer's
inedita" (https://doi.org/10.1016%2F0315-
0860%2875%2990111-1) . Historia
Mathematica. 2 (4): 495–502 [p. 495].
doi:10.1016/0315-0860(75)90111-1 (http
s://doi.org/10.1016%2F0315-0860%287
5%2990111-1) . "... cette dernière
propriété, bien que sous des hypothèses
plus grossières, ait été démontré par H.
Poincaré"
34. Freudenthal, Hans (1975). "The cradle of
modern topology, according to Brouwer's
inedita" (https://doi.org/10.1016%2F0315-
0860%2875%2990111-1) . Historia
Mathematica. 2 (4): 495–502 [p. 501].
doi:10.1016/0315-0860(75)90111-1 (http
s://doi.org/10.1016%2F0315-0860%287
5%2990111-1) .
35. If an open subset of a manifold is
homeomorphic to an open subset of a
Euclidean space of dimension n, and if p
is a positive integer other than n, then the
open set is never homeomorphic to an
open subset of a Euclidean space of
dimension p.
36. J. J. O'Connor E. F. Robertson Luitzen
Egbertus Jan Brouwer (http://www-group
s.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/
Brouwer.html) .
37. The term algebraic topology first
appeared 1931 under the pen of David van
Dantzig: J. Miller Topological algebra (htt
p://jeff560.tripod.com/t.html) on the site
Earliest Known Uses of Some of the
Words of Mathematics (2007)
38. V. I. Istratescu Fixed Point Theory. An
Introduction Kluwer Academic Publishers
(new edition 2001) ISBN 1-4020-0301-3.
39. "... Brouwer's fixed point theorem, perhaps
the most important fixed point theorem." p
xiii V. I. Istratescu Fixed Point Theory an
Introduction Kluwer Academic Publishers
(new edition 2001) ISBN 1-4020-0301-3.
40. E.g.: S. Greenwood J. Cao Brouwer’s Fixed
Point Theorem and the Jordan Curve
Theorem (http://www.math.auckland.ac.n
z/class750/section5.pdf) University of
Auckland, New Zealand.
41. Schauder, J. (1930). "Der Fixpunktsatz in
Funktionsräumen" (https://doi.org/10.406
4%2Fsm-2-1-171-180) . Studia
Mathematica. 2: 171–180.
doi:10.4064/sm-2-1-171-180 (https://doi.o
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42. Kakutani, S. (1941). "A generalization of
Brouwer's Fixed Point Theorem". Duke
Mathematical Journal. 8 (3): 457–459.
doi:10.1215/S0012-7094-41-00838-4 (http
s://doi.org/10.1215%2FS0012-7094-41-00
838-4) .
43. These examples are taken from: F. Boyer
Théorèmes de point fixe et applications (h
ttp://www.cmi.univ-mrs.fr/~fboyer/ter_fb
oyer2.pdf) CMI Université Paul Cézanne
(2008–2009) Archived copy (https://www.
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cmi.univ-mrs.fr/%7Efboyer/ter_fboyer2.pd
f) at WebCite (August 1, 2010).
44. For context and references see the article
Hex (board game).
45. P. Bich Une extension discontinue du
théorème du point fixe de Schauder, et
quelques applications en économie (htt
p://www.ann.jussieu.fr/~plc/code2007/bi
ch.pdf) Archived (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20110611140634/http://www.ann.
jussieu.fr/~plc/code2007/bich.pdf) June
11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Institut
Henri Poincaré, Paris (2007)
46. For a long explanation, see: Dubucs, J. P.
(1988). "L. J. E. Brouwer : Topologie et
constructivisme" (http://www.persee.fr/w
eb/revues/home/prescript/article/rhs_01
51-4105_1988_num_41_2_4094) . Revue
d'Histoire des Sciences. 41 (2): 133–155.
doi:10.3406/rhs.1988.4094 (https://doi.or
g/10.3406%2Frhs.1988.4094) .
47. Later it would be shown that the
formalism that was combatted by
Brouwer can also serve to formalise
intuitionism, with some modifications. For
further details see constructive set theory.
48. Milnor 1965, pp. 1–19
49. Teschl, Gerald (2019). "10. The Brouwer
mapping degree". Topics in Linear and
Nonlinear Functional Analysis (https://ww
w.mat.univie.ac.at/~gerald/ftp/book-fa/f
a.pdf) (PDF). Graduate Studies in
Mathematics. American Mathematical
Society. Archived (https://ghostarchive.or
g/archive/20221009/https://www.mat.uni
vie.ac.at/~gerald/ftp/book-fa/fa.pdf)
(PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09.
Retrieved 1 February 2022.
50. Milnor 1978
51. Madsen & Tornehave 1997, pp. 39–48
52. Boothby 1971
53. Boothby 1986
54. Dieudonné 1982
55. Hirsch 1988
56. Kellogg, Li & Yorke 1976.
57. Chow, Mallet-Paret & Yorke 1978.
58. Kulpa 1989
59. David Gale (1979). "The Game of Hex and
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61. Spanier 1966
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External links

Brouwer's Fixed Point Theorem for

Triangles (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/
do_you_know/poincare.shtml#brouwer
theorem) at cut-the-knot
Brouwer theorem (https://planetmath.o
rg/encyclopedia/BrouwerFixedPointTh
eorem.html) Archived (https://web.arc
hive.org/web/20070319191655/http://
planetmath.org/encyclopedia/Brouwer
FixedPointTheorem.html) 2007-03-19
at the Wayback Machine, from
PlanetMath with attached proof.
Reconstructing Brouwer (http://www.m
athpages.com/home/kmath262/kmat
h262.htm) at MathPages
Brouwer Fixed Point Theorem (http://m
athforum.org/mathimages/index.php/
 Brouwer_Fixed_Point_Theorem) at
Math Images.

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