NEIGHBORHOODS
The set of all points ðx; yÞ such that jx x0j < , j y y0j < where > 0, is called a rectangular
neighborhood of ðx0; y0Þ; the set 0 < jx x0j < , 0 < j y y0j < which excludes ðx0; y0Þ is called a
rectangular deleted neighborhood of ðx0; y0Þ. Similar remarks can be made for other neighborhoods,
e.g., ðx x0Þ2 þ ðy y0Þ2 < 2 is a circular neighborhood of ðx0; y0Þ. The term ‘‘open ball’’ is used to
designate this circular neighborhood. This terminology is appropriate for generalization to more
dimensions. Whether neighborhoods are viewed as circular or square is immaterial, since the descriptions
are interchangeable. Simply notice that given an open ball (circular neighborhood) of radius
there is a centered square whose side is of length less than
ffiffiffi
p2 that is interior to the open ball, and
conversely for a square of side there is an interior centered of radius of radius less than =2. (See Fig.
6-1.)
A point ðx0; y0Þ is called a limit point, accumulation point, or cluster point of a point set S if every
deleted neighborhood of ðx0; y0Þ contains points of S. As in the case of one-dimensional point sets,
every bounded infinite set has at least one limit point (the Bolzano–Weierstrass theorem, see Pages 6 and
12). A set containing all its limit points is called a closed set.