Hahn–Banach (real version): Let XX be a real , let YXY\subset X be a , and let p:XRp:X\to\mathbb{R} be .

If f:YRf:Y\to\mathbb{R} is a functional satisfying

f(y)p(y)for all yY,f(y)\le p(y)\quad\text{for all }y\in Y,

then there exists a linear functional F:XRF:X\to\mathbb{R} such that

  • F(y)=f(y)F(y)=f(y) for all yYy\in Y, and
  • F(x)p(x)F(x)\le p(x) for all xXx\in X.
Interpretation

The theorem is a principal tool for convex separation results, such as .