Oct 29, 2024
Test functions and [tempered] distributions require the notion of topological vector space … distributions can be traced back to Green's functions in the 1830’s to solve ordinary differential equations … the 1936 work of Sergei Sobolev on hyperbolic PDE’s.
Laurent Schwartz introduced the term "distribution" by analogy with a distribution of electrical charge, possibly including not only point charges but also dipoles and so on.
tempered distribution
topological vector space
(^ if there is a dipole, there must be a notion of subtraction, hence the need for a vector, and to speak of this very conceptually, use a TVS)
