In
mathematics, the (exponential) shift theorem is a
theorem
In mathematics, a theorem is a statement that has been proved, or can be proved. The ''proof'' of a theorem is a logical argument that uses the inference rules of a deductive system to establish that the theorem is a logical consequence of ...
about
polynomial
In mathematics, a polynomial is an expression consisting of indeterminates (also called variables) and coefficients, that involves only the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and positive-integer powers of variables. An ex ...
differential operators
In mathematics, a differential operator is an operator defined as a function of the differentiation operator. It is helpful, as a matter of notation first, to consider differentiation as an abstract operation that accepts a function and retur ...
(''D''-operators) and
exponential function
The exponential function is a mathematical function denoted by f(x)=\exp(x) or e^x (where the argument is written as an exponent). Unless otherwise specified, the term generally refers to the positive-valued function of a real variable, ...
s. It permits one to eliminate, in certain cases, the exponential from under the ''D''-operators.
Statement
The theorem states that, if ''P''(''D'') is a polynomial ''D''-operator, then, for any sufficiently
differentiable
In mathematics, a differentiable function of one real variable is a function whose derivative exists at each point in its domain. In other words, the graph of a differentiable function has a non- vertical tangent line at each interior point i ...
function ''y'',
:
To prove the result, proceed by
induction. Note that only the special case
:
needs to be proved, since the general result then follows by
linearity
Linearity is the property of a mathematical relationship ('' function'') that can be graphically represented as a straight line. Linearity is closely related to '' proportionality''. Examples in physics include rectilinear motion, the linear ...
of ''D''-operators.
The result is clearly true for ''n'' = 1 since
:
Now suppose the result true for ''n'' = ''k'', that is,
:
Then,
:
This completes the proof.
The shift theorem can be applied equally well to inverse operators:
:
Related
There is a similar version of the shift theorem for
Laplace transforms
In mathematics, the Laplace transform, named after its discoverer Pierre-Simon Laplace (), is an integral transform that converts a function of a real variable (usually t, in the ''time domain'') to a function of a complex variable s (in the com ...
(