In
mathematics , a series is, roughly speaking, a description of the operation of
adding infinitely many quantities, one after the other, to a given starting quantity. The study of series is a major part of
calculus
Calculus, originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the calculus of infinitesimals", is the mathematics, mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizati ... and its generalization,
mathematical analysis
Analysis is the branch of mathematics dealing with continuous functions, limit (mathematics), limits, and related theories, such as Derivative, differentiation, Integral, integration, measure (mathematics), measure, infinite sequences, series (m ... . Series are used in most areas of mathematics, even for studying finite structures (such as in
combinatorics
Combinatorics is an area of mathematics primarily concerned with counting, both as a means and an end in obtaining results, and certain properties of finite structures. It is closely related to many other areas of mathematics and has many a ... ) through
generating function
In mathematics, a generating function is a way of encoding an infinite sequence of numbers () by treating them as the coefficients of a formal power series. This series is called the generating function of the sequence. Unlike an ordinary ser ... s. In addition to their ubiquity in mathematics, infinite series are also widely used in other quantitative disciplines such as
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which rel ... ,
computer science
Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includin ... ,
statistics and
finance .
For a long time, the idea that such a
potentially infinite summation
In mathematics, summation is the addition of a sequence of any kind of numbers, called ''addends'' or ''summands''; the result is their ''sum'' or ''total''. Beside numbers, other types of values can be summed as well: functions, vectors, m ... could produce a finite result was considered
paradox ical. This paradox was resolved using the concept of a
limit
Limit or Limits may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Limit'' (manga), a manga by Keiko Suenobu
* ''Limit'' (film), a South Korean film
* Limit (music), a way to characterize harmony
* "Limit" (song), a 2016 single by Luna Sea
* "Limits", a 2019 ... during the 17th century.
Zeno's paradox of
Achilles and the tortoise illustrates this counterintuitive property of infinite sums: Achilles runs after a tortoise, but when he reaches the position of the tortoise at the beginning of the race, the tortoise has reached a second position; when he reaches this second position, the tortoise is at a third position, and so on.
Zeno concluded that Achilles could ''never'' reach the tortoise, and thus that movement does not exist. Zeno divided the race into infinitely many sub-races, each requiring a finite amount of time, so that the total time for Achilles to catch the tortoise is given by a series. The resolution of the paradox is that, although the series has an infinite number of terms, it has a finite sum, which gives the time necessary for Achilles to catch up with the tortoise.
In modern terminology, any (ordered)
infinite sequence (a_1,a_2,a_3,\ldots) of
terms (that is, numbers,
functions , or anything that can be added) defines a series, which is the operation of adding the one after the other. To emphasize that there are an infinite number of terms, a series may be called an infinite series. Such a series is represented (or denoted) by an
expression like
a_1+a_2+a_3+\cdots,
or, using the
summation sign
In mathematics, summation is the addition of a sequence of any kind of numbers, called ''addends'' or ''summands''; the result is their ''sum'' or ''total''. Beside numbers, other types of values can be summed as well: functions, vectors, m ... ,
\sum_^\infty a_i.
The infinite sequence of additions implied by a series cannot be effectively carried on (at least in a finite amount of time). However, if the
set to which the terms and their finite sums belong has a notion of
limit
Limit or Limits may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Limit'' (manga), a manga by Keiko Suenobu
* ''Limit'' (film), a South Korean film
* Limit (music), a way to characterize harmony
* "Limit" (song), a 2016 single by Luna Sea
* "Limits", a 2019 ... , it is sometimes possible to assign a value to a series, called the sum of the series. This value is the limit as tends to
infinity
Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol .
Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions am ... (if the limit exists) of the finite sums of the first terms of the series, which are called the th partial sums of the series. That is,
\sum_^\infty a_i = \lim_ \sum_^n a_i.
When this limit exists, one says that the series is convergent or summable, or that the sequence
(a_1,a_2,a_3,\ldots) is summable. In this case, the limit is called the sum of the series. Otherwise, the series is said to be divergent.
The notation
\sum_^\infty a_i denotes both the series—that is the implicit process of adding the terms one after the other indefinitely—and, if the series is convergent, the sum of the series—the result of the process. This is a generalization of the similar convention of denoting by
a+b both the
addition
Addition (usually signified by the plus symbol ) is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic, the other three being subtraction, multiplication and division. The addition of two whole numbers results in the total amount or ''sum'' of ... —the process of adding—and its result—the ''sum'' of and .
Generally, the terms of a series come from a
ring , often the
field \mathbb R of the
real number
In mathematics, a real number is a number that can be used to measurement, measure a ''continuous'' one-dimensional quantity such as a distance, time, duration or temperature. Here, ''continuous'' means that values can have arbitrarily small var ... s or the field
\mathbb C of the
complex number
In mathematics, a complex number is an element of a number system that extends the real numbers with a specific element denoted , called the imaginary unit and satisfying the equation i^= -1; every complex number can be expressed in the for ... s. In this case, the set of all series is itself a ring (and even an
associative algebra ), in which the addition consists of adding the series term by term, and the multiplication is the
Cauchy product .
Basic properties
An infinite series or simply a series is an infinite sum, represented by an
infinite expression of the form
a_0 + a_1 + a_2 + \cdots,
where
(a_n) is any ordered
sequence
In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is called ... of
terms , such as
number
A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers ... s,
functions , or anything else that can be
added (an
abelian group
In mathematics, an abelian group, also called a commutative group, is a group in which the result of applying the group operation to two group elements does not depend on the order in which they are written. That is, the group operation is com ... ). This is an expression that is obtained from the list of terms
a_0,a_1,\dots by laying them side by side, and conjoining them with the symbol "+". A series may also be represented by using
summation notation , such as
\sum_^ a_n .
If an abelian group of terms has a concept of
limit
Limit or Limits may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Limit'' (manga), a manga by Keiko Suenobu
* ''Limit'' (film), a South Korean film
* Limit (music), a way to characterize harmony
* "Limit" (song), a 2016 single by Luna Sea
* "Limits", a 2019 ... (e.g., if it is a
metric space
In mathematics, a metric space is a set together with a notion of '' distance'' between its elements, usually called points. The distance is measured by a function called a metric or distance function. Metric spaces are the most general sett ... ), then some series, the
convergent series , can be interpreted as having a value in , called the ''sum of the series''. This includes the common cases from
calculus
Calculus, originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the calculus of infinitesimals", is the mathematics, mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizati ... , in which the group is the field of
real number
In mathematics, a real number is a number that can be used to measurement, measure a ''continuous'' one-dimensional quantity such as a distance, time, duration or temperature. Here, ''continuous'' means that values can have arbitrarily small var ... s or the field of
complex number
In mathematics, a complex number is an element of a number system that extends the real numbers with a specific element denoted , called the imaginary unit and satisfying the equation i^= -1; every complex number can be expressed in the for ... s. Given a series
s=\sum_^\infty a_n , its th partial sum is
s_k = \sum_^a_n = a_0 + a_1 + \cdots + a_k.
By definition, the series
\sum_^ a_n ''converges'' to the limit (or simply ''sums'' to ), if the sequence of its partial sums has a limit .
In this case, one usually writes
L = \sum_^a_n.
A series is said to be ''convergent'' if it converges to some limit, or ''divergent'' when it does not. The value of this limit, if it exists, is then the value of the series.
Convergent series
A series is said to
converge or to ''be convergent'' when the sequence of partial sums has a finite
limit
Limit or Limits may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Limit'' (manga), a manga by Keiko Suenobu
* ''Limit'' (film), a South Korean film
* Limit (music), a way to characterize harmony
* "Limit" (song), a 2016 single by Luna Sea
* "Limits", a 2019 ... . If the limit of is infinite or does not exist, the series is said to
diverge .
When the limit of partial sums exists, it is called the value (or sum) of the series
\sum_^\infty a_n = \lim_ s_k = \lim_ \sum_^k a_n.
An easy way that an infinite series can converge is if all the are zero for sufficiently large. Such a series can be identified with a finite sum, so it is only infinite in a trivial sense.
Working out the properties of the series that converge, even if infinitely many terms are nonzero, is the essence of the study of series. Consider the example
1 + \frac+ \frac+ \frac+\cdots+ \frac+\cdots.
It is possible to "visualize" its convergence on the
real number line : we can imagine a
line
Line most often refers to:
* Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity
* Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system
Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to:
Art ... of length 2, with successive
segment s marked off of lengths 1, 1/2, 1/4, etc. There is always room to mark the next segment, because the amount of line remaining is always the same as the last segment marked: When we have marked off 1/2, we still have a piece of length 1/2 unmarked, so we can certainly mark the next 1/4. This argument does not prove that the sum is ''equal'' to 2 (although it is), but it does prove that it is ''at most'' 2. In other words, the series has an upper bound. Given that the series converges, proving that it is equal to 2 requires only
elementary algebra . If the series is denoted , it can be seen that
S/2 = \frac = \frac+ \frac+ \frac+ \frac +\cdots.
Therefore,
S-S/2 = 1 \Rightarrow S = 2.
The idiom can be extended to other, equivalent notions of series. For instance, a
recurring decimal
A repeating decimal or recurring decimal is decimal representation of a number whose digits are periodic (repeating its values at regular intervals) and the infinitely repeated portion is not zero. It can be shown that a number is rational i ... , as in
x = 0.111\dots ,
encodes the series
\sum_^\infty \frac.
Since these series always converge to
real numbers
In mathematics, a real number is a number that can be used to measure a ''continuous'' one-dimensional quantity such as a distance, duration or temperature. Here, ''continuous'' means that values can have arbitrarily small variations. Every ... (because of what is called the
completeness property of the real numbers), to talk about the series in this way is the same as to talk about the numbers for which they stand. In particular, the decimal expansion 0.111... can be identified with 1/9. This leads to an argument that , which only relies on the fact that the limit laws for series preserve the
arithmetic operations ; for more detail on this argument, see
0.999... .
Examples of numerical series
* A ''
geometric series '' is one where each successive term is produced by multiplying the previous term by a
constant number (called the common ratio in this context). For example:
1 + + + + + \cdots=\sum_^\infty = 2. In general, the geometric series
\sum_^\infty z^n converges
if and only if
In logic and related fields such as mathematics and philosophy, "if and only if" (shortened as "iff") is a biconditional logical connective between statements, where either both statements are true or both are false.
The connective is bi ... , z, < 1 , in which case it converges to
harmonic series'' is the series 1 + + + + + \cdots = \sum_^\infty . The harmonic series is divergent .
* An ''alternating series
In mathematics, an alternating series is an infinite series of the form
\sum_^\infty (-1)^n a_n or \sum_^\infty (-1)^ a_n
with for all . The signs of the general terms alternate between positive and negative. Like any series, an alternat ... '' is a series where terms alternate signs. Examples: 1 - + - + - \cdots =\sum_^\infty =\ln(2) \quad ( alternating harmonic series ) and
-1+\frac - \frac + \frac - \frac + \cdots =\sum_^\infty \frac = -\frac
* A telescoping series \sum_^\infty (b_n-b_) converges if the
sequence
In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is called ... ''b''''n'' converges to a limit ''L''—as ''n'' goes to infinity. The value of the series is then ''b''1 − ''L''.
* An ''arithmetico-geometric series
In mathematics, arithmetico-geometric sequence is the result of term-by-term multiplication of a geometric progression with the corresponding terms of an arithmetic progression. Put plainly, the ''n''th term of an arithmetico-geometric sequence ... '' is a generalization of the geometric series, which has coefficient
In mathematics, a coefficient is a multiplicative factor in some term of a polynomial, a series, or an expression; it is usually a number, but may be any expression (including variables such as , and ). When the coefficients are themselves ... s of the common ratio equal to the terms in an arithmetic sequence . Example: 3 + + + + + \cdots=\sum_^\infty.
* The ''p''-series \sum_^\infty\frac converges if ''p'' > 1 and diverges for ''p'' ≤ 1, which can be shown with the integral criterion described below in convergence tests . As a function of ''p'', the sum of this series is Riemann's zeta function .
* Hypergeometric series : _rF_s \left \begina_1, a_2, \dotsc, a_r \\ b_1, b_2, \dotsc, b_s \end; z \right := \sum_^ \frac z^n and their generalizations (such as basic hypergeometric series and elliptic hypergeometric series ) frequently appear in
integrable systems
In mathematics, integrability is a property of certain dynamical systems. While there are several distinct formal definitions, informally speaking, an integrable system is a dynamical system with sufficiently many conserved quantities, or first i ... and mathematical physics
Mathematical physics refers to the development of mathematics, mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The ''Journal of Mathematical Physics'' defines the field as "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and t ... .
* There are some elementary series whose convergence is not yet known/proven. For example, it is unknown whether the Flint Hills series \sum_^\infty \frac converges or not. The convergence depends on how well \pi can be approximated with rational numbers (which is unknown as of yet). More specifically, the values of ''n'' with large numerical contributions to the sum are the numerators of the continued fraction convergents of \pi , a sequence beginning with 1, 3, 22, 333, 355, 103993, ... . These are integers that are close to n\pi for some integer ''n'', so that \sin n\pi is close to 0 and its reciprocal is large. Alekseyev (2011) proved that if the series converges, then the irrationality measure of \pi is smaller than 2.5, which is much smaller than the current known bound of 7.10320533....
Pi
\sum_^ \frac = \frac + \frac + \frac + \frac + \cdots = \frac
\sum_^\infty \frac = \frac - \frac + \frac - \frac + \frac - \frac + \frac - \cdots = \pi
Natural logarithm of 2
\sum_^\infty \frac = \ln 2
\sum_^\infty \frac = \ln 2
\sum_^\infty \frac = 2\ln(2) -1
\sum_^\infty \frac = 2\ln(2) -1
\sum_^\infty \frac = \ln 2
\sum_^\infty \left(\frac+\frac\right)\frac = \ln 2
\sum_^\infty \frac = \ln 2
Natural logarithm base ''e''
\sum_^\infty \frac = 1-\frac+\frac-\frac+\cdots = \frac
\sum_^\infty \frac = \frac + \frac + \frac + \frac + \frac + \cdots = e
Calculus and partial summation as an operation on sequences
Partial summation takes as input a sequence, (''a''''n'' ), and gives as output another sequence, (''S''''N'' ). It is thus a unary operation
In mathematics, an unary operation is an operation with only one operand, i.e. a single input. This is in contrast to binary operations, which use two operands. An example is any function , where is a set. The function is a unary operation ... on sequences. Further, this function is linear
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 ... , and thus is a linear operator on the vector space
In mathematics and physics, a vector space (also called a linear space) is a set whose elements, often called '' vectors'', may be added together and multiplied ("scaled") by numbers called '' scalars''. Scalars are often real numbers, but ... of sequences, denoted Σ. The inverse operator is the finite difference
A finite difference is a mathematical expression of the form . If a finite difference is divided by , one gets a difference quotient. The approximation of derivatives by finite differences plays a central role in finite difference methods for t ... operator, denoted Δ. These behave as discrete analogues of integration
Integration may refer to:
Biology
* Multisensory integration
* Path integration
* Pre-integration complex, viral genetic material used to insert a viral genome into a host genome
*DNA integration, by means of site-specific recombinase technolo ... and differentiation , only for series (functions of a natural number) instead of functions of a real variable. For example, the sequence (1, 1, 1, ...) has series (1, 2, 3, 4, ...) as its partial summation, which is analogous to the fact that \int_0^x 1\,dt = x.
In computer science
Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includin ... , it is known as prefix sum .
Properties of series
Series are classified not only by whether they converge or diverge, but also by the properties of the terms an (absolute or conditional convergence); type of convergence of the series (pointwise, uniform); the class of the term an (whether it is a real number, arithmetic progression, trigonometric function); etc.
Non-negative terms
When ''an '' is a non-negative real number for every ''n'', the sequence ''SN '' of partial sums is non-decreasing. It follows that a series Σ''an '' with non-negative terms converges if and only if the sequence ''SN '' of partial sums is bounded.
For example, the series
\sum_^\infty \frac
is convergent, because the inequality
\frac1 \le \frac - \frac, \quad n \ge 2,
and a telescopic sum argument implies that the partial sums are bounded by 2. The exact value of the original series is the Basel problem .
Grouping
When you group a series reordering of the series does not happen, so Riemann series theorem does not apply. A new series will have its partial sums as subsequence of original series, which means if the original series converges, so does the new series. But for divergent series that is not true, for example 1-1+1-1+... grouped every two elements will create 0+0+0+... series, which is convergent. On the other hand, divergence of the new series means the original series can be only divergent which is sometimes useful, like in Oresme proof .
Absolute convergence
A series
\sum_^\infty a_n
''converges absolutely'' if the series of absolute value s
\sum_^\infty \left, a_n\
converges. This is sufficient to guarantee not only that the original series converges to a limit, but also that any reordering of it converges to the same limit.
Conditional convergence
A series of real or complex numbers is said to be conditionally convergent (or semi-convergent) if it is convergent but not absolutely convergent. A famous example is the alternating series
\sum\limits_^\infty = 1 - + - + - \cdots,
which is convergent (and its sum is equal to \ln 2 ), but the series formed by taking the absolute value of each term is the divergent harmonic series . The Riemann series theorem says that any conditionally convergent series can be reordered to make a divergent series, and moreover, if the a_ are real and S is any real number, that one can find a reordering so that the reordered series converges with sum equal to S .
Abel's test is an important tool for handling semi-convergent series. If a series has the form
\sum a_n = \sum \lambda_n b_n
where the partial sums B_ = b_ + \cdots + b_ are bounded, \lambda_ has bounded variation, and \lim \lambda_ b_ exists:
\sup_N \left, \sum_^N b_n \ < \infty, \ \ \sum \left, \lambda_ - \lambda_n\ < \infty\ \text \ \lambda_n B_n \ \text
then the series \sum a_ is convergent. This applies to the point-wise convergence of many trigonometric series, as in
\sum_^\infty \frac
with 0 < x < 2\pi . Abel's method consists in writing b_=B_-B_ , and in performing a transformation similar to integration by parts
In calculus, and more generally in mathematical analysis, integration by parts or partial integration is a process that finds the integral of a product of functions in terms of the integral of the product of their derivative and antiderivative. ... (called summation by parts ), that relates the given series \sum a_ to the absolutely convergent series
\sum (\lambda_n - \lambda_) \, B_n.
Evaluation of truncation errors
The evaluation of truncation errors is an important procedure in numerical analysis
Numerical analysis is the study of algorithms that use numerical approximation (as opposed to symbolic manipulations) for the problems of mathematical analysis (as distinguished from discrete mathematics). It is the study of numerical methods th ... (especially validated numerics and computer-assisted proof ).
Alternating series
In mathematics, an alternating series is an infinite series of the form
\sum_^\infty (-1)^n a_n or \sum_^\infty (-1)^ a_n
with for all . The signs of the general terms alternate between positive and negative. Like any series, an alternat ...
When conditions of the alternating series test are satisfied by S:=\sum_^\infty(-1)^m u_m , there is an exact error evaluation. Set s_n to be the partial sum s_n:=\sum_^n(-1)^m u_m of the given alternating series S . Then the next inequality holds:
, S-s_n, \leq u_.
Taylor series
In mathematics, the Taylor series or Taylor expansion of a function is an infinite sum of terms that are expressed in terms of the function's derivatives at a single point. For most common functions, the function and the sum of its Taylor se ...
Taylor's theorem
In calculus, Taylor's theorem gives an approximation of a ''k''-times differentiable function around a given point by a polynomial of degree ''k'', called the ''k''th-order Taylor polynomial. For a smooth function, the Taylor polynomial is the ... is a statement that includes the evaluation of the error term when the Taylor series
In mathematics, the Taylor series or Taylor expansion of a function is an infinite sum of terms that are expressed in terms of the function's derivatives at a single point. For most common functions, the function and the sum of its Taylor se ... is truncated.
Hypergeometric series
By using the ratio
In mathematics, a ratio shows how many times one number contains another. For example, if there are eight oranges and six lemons in a bowl of fruit, then the ratio of oranges to lemons is eight to six (that is, 8:6, which is equivalent to the ... , we can obtain the evaluation of the error term when the hypergeometric series is truncated.
Matrix exponential
For the matrix exponential :
\exp(X) := \sum_^\infty\fracX^k,\quad X\in\mathbb^,
the following error evaluation holds (scaling and squaring method):
T_(X) := \left sum_^r\frac(X/s)^j\right s,\quad \, \exp(X)-T_(X)\, \leq\frac\exp(\, X\, ).
Convergence tests
There exist many tests that can be used to determine whether particular series converge or diverge.
* ''n-th term test
In mathematics, the ''n''th-term test for divergenceKaczor p.336 is a simple test for the divergence of an infinite series:If \lim_ a_n \neq 0 or if the limit does not exist, then \sum_^\infty a_n diverges.Many authors do not name this test or ... '': If \lim_ a_n \neq 0 , then the series diverges; if \lim_ a_n = 0 , then the test is inconclusive.
* Comparison test 1 (see Direct comparison test
In mathematics, the comparison test, sometimes called the direct comparison test to distinguish it from similar related tests (especially the limit comparison test), provides a way of deducing the convergence or divergence of an infinite serie ... ): If \sum b_n is an absolutely convergent series such that \left\vert a_n \right\vert \leq C \left\vert b_n \right\vert for some number C and for sufficiently large n , then \sum a_n converges absolutely as well. If \sum \left\vert b_n \right\vert diverges, and \left\vert a_n \right\vert \geq \left\vert b_n \right\vert for all sufficiently large n , then \sum a_n also fails to converge absolutely (though it could still be conditionally convergent, for example, if the a_n alternate in sign).
* Comparison test 2 (see Limit comparison test ): If \sum b_n is an absolutely convergent series such that \left\vert \frac \right\vert \leq \left\vert \frac \right\vert for sufficiently large n , then \sum a_n converges absolutely as well. If \sum \left, b_n \ diverges, and \left\vert \frac \right\vert \geq \left\vert \frac \right\vert for all sufficiently large n , then \sum a_n also fails to converge absolutely (though it could still be conditionally convergent, for example, if the a_n alternate in sign).
* Ratio test : If there exists a constant C < 1 such that \left\vert \frac \right\vert < C for all sufficiently large n , then \sum a_ converges absolutely. When the ratio is less than 1 , but not less than a constant less than 1 , convergence is possible but this test does not establish it.
* Root test : If there exists a constant C < 1 such that \left\vert a_ \right\vert^ \leq C for all sufficiently large n , then \sum a_ converges absolutely.
* Integral test : if f(x) is a positive monotone decreasing
In mathematics, a monotonic function (or monotone function) is a function between ordered sets that preserves or reverses the given order. This concept first arose in calculus, and was later generalized to the more abstract setting of ord ... function defined on the interval with f(n)=a_ for all n , then \sum a_ converges if and only if the integral">,\infty) with f(n)=a_ for all n , then \sum a_ converges if and only if the integral \int_^ f(x) \, dx is finite.
* Cauchy's condensation test: If a_ is non-negative and non-increasing, then the two series \sum a_ and \sum 2^ a_ are of the same nature: both convergent, or both divergent.
* Alternating series test : A series of the form \sum (-1)^ a_ (with a_ > 0 ) is called ''alternating''. Such a series converges if the sequence
In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is called ... ''a_ '' is monotone decreasing
In mathematics, a monotonic function (or monotone function) is a function between ordered sets that preserves or reverses the given order. This concept first arose in calculus, and was later generalized to the more abstract setting of ord ... and converges to 0 . The converse is in general not true.
* For some specific types of series there are more specialized convergence tests, for instance for Fourier series
A Fourier series () is a summation of harmonically related sinusoidal functions, also known as components or harmonics. The result of the summation is a periodic function whose functional form is determined by the choices of cycle length (or '' ... there is the Dini test .
Series of functions
A series of real- or complex-valued functions
\sum_^\infty f_n(x)
converges pointwise on a set ''E'', if the series converges for each ''x'' in ''E'' as an ordinary series of real or complex numbers. Equivalently, the partial sums
s_N(x) = \sum_^N f_n(x)
converge to ''ƒ''(''x'') as ''N'' → ∞ for each ''x'' ∈ ''E''.
A stronger notion of convergence of a series of functions is the uniform convergence
In the mathematical field of analysis, uniform convergence is a mode of convergence of functions stronger than pointwise convergence. A sequence of functions (f_n) converges uniformly to a limiting function f on a set E if, given any arbitra ... . A series converges uniformly if it converges pointwise to the function ''ƒ''(''x''), and the error in approximating the limit by the ''N''th partial sum,
, s_N(x) - f(x),
can be made minimal ''independently'' of ''x'' by choosing a sufficiently large ''N''.
Uniform convergence is desirable for a series because many properties of the terms of the series are then retained by the limit. For example, if a series of continuous functions converges uniformly, then the limit function is also continuous. Similarly, if the ''ƒ''''n'' are integrable on a closed and bounded interval ''I'' and converge uniformly, then the series is also integrable on ''I'' and can be integrated term-by-term. Tests for uniform convergence include the Weierstrass' M-test , Abel's uniform convergence test , Dini's test , and the Cauchy criterion
The Cauchy convergence test is a method used to test infinite series for convergence. It relies on bounding sums of terms in the series. This convergence criterion is named after Augustin-Louis Cauchy who published it in his textbook Cours d'An ... .
More sophisticated types of convergence of a series of functions can also be defined. In measure theory , for instance, a series of functions converges almost everywhere if it converges pointwise except on a certain set of measure zero
In mathematical analysis, a null set N \subset \mathbb is a measurable set that has measure zero. This can be characterized as a set that can be covered by a countable union of intervals of arbitrarily small total length.
The notion of null ... . Other modes of convergence
In mathematics, there are many senses in which a sequence or a series is said to be convergent. This article describes various modes (senses or species) of convergence in the settings where they are defined. For a list of modes of convergence, se ... depend on a different metric space
In mathematics, a metric space is a set together with a notion of '' distance'' between its elements, usually called points. The distance is measured by a function called a metric or distance function. Metric spaces are the most general sett ... structure on the space of functions under consideration. For instance, a series of functions converges in mean on a set ''E'' to a limit function ''ƒ'' provided
\int_E \left, s_N(x)-f(x)\^2\,dx \to 0
as ''N'' → ∞.
Power series
:
A power series is a series of the form
\sum_^\infty a_n(x-c)^n.
The Taylor series
In mathematics, the Taylor series or Taylor expansion of a function is an infinite sum of terms that are expressed in terms of the function's derivatives at a single point. For most common functions, the function and the sum of its Taylor se ... at a point ''c'' of a function is a power series that, in many cases, converges to the function in a neighborhood of ''c''. For example, the series
\sum_^ \frac
is the Taylor series of e^x at the origin and converges to it for every ''x''.
Unless it converges only at ''x''=''c'', such a series converges on a certain open disc of convergence centered at the point ''c'' in the complex plane, and may also converge at some of the points of the boundary of the disc. The radius of this disc is known as the radius of convergence , and can in principle be determined from the asymptotics of the coefficients ''a''''n'' . The convergence is uniform on closed and bounded
Boundedness or bounded may refer to:
Economics
* Bounded rationality, the idea that human rationality in decision-making is bounded by the available information, the cognitive limitations, and the time available to make the decision
* Bounded e ... (that is, compact ) subsets of the interior of the disc of convergence: to wit, it is uniformly convergent on compact sets .
Historically, mathematicians such as Leonhard Euler
Leonhard Euler ( , ; 15 April 170718 September 1783) was a Swiss mathematician, physicist, astronomer, geographer, logician and engineer who founded the studies of graph theory and topology and made pioneering and influential discoveries in ma ... operated liberally with infinite series, even if they were not convergent. When calculus was put on a sound and correct foundation in the nineteenth century, rigorous proofs of the convergence of series were always required.
Formal power series
While many uses of power series refer to their sums, it is also possible to treat power series as ''formal sums'', meaning that no addition operations are actually performed, and the symbol "+" is an abstract symbol of conjunction which is not necessarily interpreted as corresponding to addition. In this setting, the sequence of coefficients itself is of interest, rather than the convergence of the series. Formal power series are used in combinatorics
Combinatorics is an area of mathematics primarily concerned with counting, both as a means and an end in obtaining results, and certain properties of finite structures. It is closely related to many other areas of mathematics and has many a ... to describe and study sequence
In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is called ... s that are otherwise difficult to handle, for example, using the method of generating function
In mathematics, a generating function is a way of encoding an infinite sequence of numbers () by treating them as the coefficients of a formal power series. This series is called the generating function of the sequence. Unlike an ordinary ser ... s. The Hilbert–Poincaré series is a formal power series used to study graded algebra
In mathematics, in particular abstract algebra, a graded ring is a ring such that the underlying additive group is a direct sum of abelian groups R_i such that R_i R_j \subseteq R_. The index set is usually the set of nonnegative integers or the ... s.
Even if the limit of the power series is not considered, if the terms support appropriate structure then it is possible to define operations such as addition
Addition (usually signified by the plus symbol ) is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic, the other three being subtraction, multiplication and division. The addition of two whole numbers results in the total amount or ''sum'' of ... , multiplication
Multiplication (often denoted by the cross symbol , by the mid-line dot operator , by juxtaposition, or, on computers, by an asterisk ) is one of the four elementary mathematical operations of arithmetic, with the other ones being ad ... , derivative
In mathematics, the derivative of a function of a real variable measures the sensitivity to change of the function value (output value) with respect to a change in its argument (input value). Derivatives are a fundamental tool of calculus. ... , antiderivative
In calculus, an antiderivative, inverse derivative, primitive function, primitive integral or indefinite integral of a function is a differentiable function whose derivative is equal to the original function . This can be stated symbolically ... for power series "formally", treating the symbol "+" as if it corresponded to addition. In the most common setting, the terms come from a commutative ring , so that the formal power series can be added term-by-term and multiplied via the Cauchy product . In this case the algebra of formal power series is the total algebra of the monoid
In abstract algebra, a branch of mathematics, a monoid is a set equipped with an associative binary operation and an identity element. For example, the nonnegative integers with addition form a monoid, the identity element being 0.
Monoids ... of natural numbers
In mathematics, the natural numbers are those numbers used for counting (as in "there are ''six'' coins on the table") and ordering (as in "this is the ''third'' largest city in the country").
Numbers used for counting are called '' cardinal ... over the underlying term ring. If the underlying term ring is a differential algebra
In mathematics, differential rings, differential fields, and differential algebras are rings, fields, and algebras equipped with finitely many derivations, which are unary functions that are linear and satisfy the Leibniz product rule. A ... , then the algebra of formal power series is also a differential algebra, with differentiation performed term-by-term.
Laurent series
Laurent series generalize power series by admitting terms into the series with negative as well as positive exponents. A Laurent series is thus any series of the form
\sum_^\infty a_n x^n.
If such a series converges, then in general it does so in an annulus rather than a disc, and possibly some boundary points. The series converges uniformly on compact subsets of the interior of the annulus of convergence.
Dirichlet series
:
A Dirichlet series
In mathematics, a Dirichlet series is any series of the form
\sum_^\infty \frac,
where ''s'' is complex, and a_n is a complex sequence. It is a special case of general Dirichlet series.
Dirichlet series play a variety of important roles in analyti ... is one of the form
\sum_^\infty ,
where ''s'' is a complex number
In mathematics, a complex number is an element of a number system that extends the real numbers with a specific element denoted , called the imaginary unit and satisfying the equation i^= -1; every complex number can be expressed in the for ... . For example, if all ''a''''n'' are equal to 1, then the Dirichlet series is the Riemann zeta function
\zeta(s) = \sum_^\infty \frac.
Like the zeta function, Dirichlet series in general play an important role in analytic number theory . Generally a Dirichlet series converges if the real part of ''s'' is greater than a number called the abscissa of convergence. In many cases, a Dirichlet series can be extended to an analytic function
In mathematics, an analytic function is a function that is locally given by a convergent power series. There exist both real analytic functions and complex analytic functions. Functions of each type are infinitely differentiable, but complex ... outside the domain of convergence by analytic continuation
In complex analysis, a branch of mathematics, analytic continuation is a technique to extend the domain of definition of a given analytic function. Analytic continuation often succeeds in defining further values of a function, for example in a n ... . For example, the Dirichlet series for the zeta function converges absolutely when Re(''s'') > 1, but the zeta function can be extended to a holomorphic function defined on \Complex\setminus\ with a simple pole at 1.
This series can be directly generalized to general Dirichlet series .
Trigonometric series
A series of functions in which the terms are trigonometric function
In mathematics, the trigonometric functions (also called circular functions, angle functions or goniometric functions) are real functions which relate an angle of a right-angled triangle to ratios of two side lengths. They are widely used in ... s is called a trigonometric series:
\frac12 A_0 + \sum_^\infty \left(A_n\cos nx + B_n \sin nx\right).
The most important example of a trigonometric series is the Fourier series
A Fourier series () is a summation of harmonically related sinusoidal functions, also known as components or harmonics. The result of the summation is a periodic function whose functional form is determined by the choices of cycle length (or '' ... of a function.
History of the theory of infinite series
Development of infinite series
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ... mathematician Archimedes
Archimedes of Syracuse (;; ) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scienti ... produced the first known summation of an infinite series with a
method that is still used in the area of calculus today. He used the method of exhaustion
The method of exhaustion (; ) is a method of finding the area of a shape by inscribing inside it a sequence of polygons whose areas converge to the area of the containing shape. If the sequence is correctly constructed, the difference in area b ... to calculate the area
Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while ''surface area'' refers to the area of an open su ... under the arc of a parabola
In mathematics, a parabola is a plane curve which is mirror-symmetrical and is approximately U-shaped. It fits several superficially different mathematical descriptions, which can all be proved to define exactly the same curves.
One descri ... with the summation of an infinite series, and gave a remarkably accurate approximation of π .
Mathematicians from Kerala, India studied infinite series around 1350 CE.
In the 17th century, James Gregory worked in the new decimal system on infinite series and published several Maclaurin series . In 1715, a general method for constructing the Taylor series
In mathematics, the Taylor series or Taylor expansion of a function is an infinite sum of terms that are expressed in terms of the function's derivatives at a single point. For most common functions, the function and the sum of its Taylor se ... for all functions for which they exist was provided by Brook Taylor
Brook Taylor (18 August 1685 – 29 December 1731) was an English mathematician best known for creating Taylor's theorem and the Taylor series, which are important for their use in mathematical analysis.
Life and work
Brook Taylor w ... . Leonhard Euler
Leonhard Euler ( , ; 15 April 170718 September 1783) was a Swiss mathematician, physicist, astronomer, geographer, logician and engineer who founded the studies of graph theory and topology and made pioneering and influential discoveries in ma ... in the 18th century, developed the theory of hypergeometric series and q-series .
Convergence criteria
The investigation of the validity of infinite series is considered to begin with Gauss
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; german: Gauß ; la, Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Sometimes refer ... in the 19th century. Euler had already considered the hypergeometric series
1 + \fracx + \fracx^2 + \cdots
on which Gauss published a memoir in 1812. It established simpler criteria of convergence, and the questions of remainders and the range of convergence.
Cauchy
Baron Augustin-Louis Cauchy (, ; ; 21 August 178923 May 1857) was a French mathematician, engineer, and physicist who made pioneering contributions to several branches of mathematics, including mathematical analysis and continuum mechanics. He ... (1821) insisted on strict tests of convergence; he showed that if two series are convergent their product is not necessarily so, and with him begins the discovery of effective criteria. The terms ''convergence'' and ''divergence'' had been introduced long before by Gregory (1668). Leonhard Euler
Leonhard Euler ( , ; 15 April 170718 September 1783) was a Swiss mathematician, physicist, astronomer, geographer, logician and engineer who founded the studies of graph theory and topology and made pioneering and influential discoveries in ma ... and Gauss
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; german: Gauß ; la, Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Sometimes refer ... had given various criteria, and Colin Maclaurin had anticipated some of Cauchy's discoveries. Cauchy advanced the theory of power series
In mathematics, a power series (in one variable) is an infinite series of the form
\sum_^\infty a_n \left(x - c\right)^n = a_0 + a_1 (x - c) + a_2 (x - c)^2 + \dots
where ''an'' represents the coefficient of the ''n''th term and ''c'' is a con ... by his expansion of a complex function in such a form.
Abel
Abel ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hābīl is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He was the younger brother of Cain, and the younger son of Adam and Eve, the first couple in Biblical history. He was a shepherd ... (1826) in his memoir on the binomial series
1 + \fracx + \fracx^2 + \cdots
corrected certain of Cauchy's conclusions, and gave a completely scientific summation of the series for complex values of m and x . He showed the necessity of considering the subject of continuity in questions of convergence.
Cauchy's methods led to special rather than general criteria, and
the same may be said of Raabe The last name Raabe specifically originates from Prussia, derived from a Prussian warrior clans' symbol: a raven, which was one of the four beasts of war. During Prussia's decimation, most of these warriors intermarried with the Danish, and slowly m ... (1832), who made the first elaborate investigation of the subject, of De Morgan (from 1842), whose
logarithmic test DuBois-Reymond (1873) and Pringsheim (1889) have
shown to fail within a certain region; of Bertrand (1842), Bonnet
(1843), Malmsten Malmsten is a Swedish language surname which may refer to:
* Bengt Malmsten, Swedish Olympic speed skater
*Birger Malmsten, Swedish actor
*Bodil Malmsten, Swedish poet and novelist
* Carl Johan Malmsten, Swedish mathematician
* Eugen Malmstén, S ... (1846, 1847, the latter without integration); Stokes (1847), Paucker (1852), Chebyshev (1852), and Arndt
(1853).
General criteria began with Kummer Kummer is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Bernhard Kummer (1897–1962), German Germanist
*Clare Kummer (1873—1958), American composer, lyricist and playwright
*Clarence Kummer (1899–1930), American jockey
* Christo ... (1835), and have been studied by Eisenstein (1847), Weierstrass
Karl Theodor Wilhelm Weierstrass (german: link=no, Weierstraß ; 31 October 1815 – 19 February 1897) was a German mathematician often cited as the "father of modern analysis". Despite leaving university without a degree, he studied mathematics ... in his various
contributions to the theory of functions, Dini (1867),
DuBois-Reymond (1873), and many others. Pringsheim's memoirs (1889) present the most complete general theory.
Uniform convergence
The theory of uniform convergence
In the mathematical field of analysis, uniform convergence is a mode of convergence of functions stronger than pointwise convergence. A sequence of functions (f_n) converges uniformly to a limiting function f on a set E if, given any arbitra ... was treated by Cauchy (1821), his limitations being pointed out by Abel, but the first to attack it
successfully were Seidel and Stokes (1847–48). Cauchy took up the
problem again (1853), acknowledging Abel's criticism, and reaching
the same conclusions which Stokes had already found. Thomae used the
doctrine (1866), but there was great delay in recognizing the importance of distinguishing between uniform and non-uniform
convergence, in spite of the demands of the theory of functions.
Semi-convergence
A series is said to be semi-convergent (or conditionally convergent) if it is convergent but not absolutely convergent .
Semi-convergent series were studied by Poisson (1823), who also gave a general form for the remainder of the Maclaurin formula. The most important solution of the problem is due, however, to Jacobi (1834), who attacked the question of the remainder from a different standpoint and reached a different formula. This expression was also worked out, and another one given, by Malmsten Malmsten is a Swedish language surname which may refer to:
* Bengt Malmsten, Swedish Olympic speed skater
*Birger Malmsten, Swedish actor
*Bodil Malmsten, Swedish poet and novelist
* Carl Johan Malmsten, Swedish mathematician
* Eugen Malmstén, S ... (1847). Schlömilch (''Zeitschrift'', Vol.I, p. 192, 1856) also improved Jacobi's remainder, and showed the relation between the remainder and Bernoulli's function
F(x) = 1^n + 2^n + \cdots + (x - 1)^n.
Genocchi (1852) has further contributed to the theory.
Among the early writers was Wronski , whose "loi suprême" (1815) was hardly recognized until Cayley (1873) brought it into
prominence.
Fourier series
Fourier series
A Fourier series () is a summation of harmonically related sinusoidal functions, also known as components or harmonics. The result of the summation is a periodic function whose functional form is determined by the choices of cycle length (or '' ... were being investigated
as the result of physical considerations at the same time that
Gauss, Abel, and Cauchy were working out the theory of infinite
series. Series for the expansion of sines and cosines, of multiple
arcs in powers of the sine and cosine of the arc had been treated by
Jacob Bernoulli
Jacob Bernoulli (also known as James or Jacques; – 16 August 1705) was one of the many prominent mathematicians in the Bernoulli family. He was an early proponent of Leibnizian calculus and sided with Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz during the L ... (1702) and his brother Johann Bernoulli
Johann Bernoulli (also known as Jean or John; – 1 January 1748) was a Swiss mathematician and was one of the many prominent mathematicians in the Bernoulli family. He is known for his contributions to infinitesimal calculus and educating ... (1701) and still
earlier by Vieta . Euler and Lagrange
Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi Lagrangia[Poinsot, ](_blank)Schröter , Glaisher , and Kummer Kummer is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Bernhard Kummer (1897–1962), German Germanist
*Clare Kummer (1873—1958), American composer, lyricist and playwright
*Clarence Kummer (1899–1930), American jockey
* Christo ... .
Fourier (1807) set for himself a different problem, to
expand a given function of ''x'' in terms of the sines or cosines of
multiples of ''x'', a problem which he embodied in his '' Théorie analytique de la chaleur '' (1822). Euler had already given the formulas for determining the coefficients in the series;
Fourier was the first to assert and attempt to prove the general
theorem. Poisson (1820–23) also attacked the problem from a
different standpoint. Fourier did not, however, settle the question
of convergence of his series, a matter left for Cauchy
Baron Augustin-Louis Cauchy (, ; ; 21 August 178923 May 1857) was a French mathematician, engineer, and physicist who made pioneering contributions to several branches of mathematics, including mathematical analysis and continuum mechanics. He ... (1826) to
attempt and for Dirichlet (1829) to handle in a thoroughly
scientific manner (see convergence of Fourier series ). Dirichlet's treatment ('' Crelle '', 1829), of trigonometric series was the subject of criticism and improvement by
Riemann (1854), Heine, Lipschitz Lipschitz, Lipshitz, or Lipchitz, is an Ashkenazi Jewish (Yiddish/German-Jewish) surname. The surname has many variants, including: Lifshitz (Lifschitz), Lifshits, Lifshuts, Lefschetz; Lipschitz, Lipshitz, Lipshits, Lopshits, Lipschutz (Lipschütz ... , Schläfli , and
du Bois-Reymond . Among other prominent contributors to the theory of
trigonometric and Fourier series were Dini , Hermite , Halphen Halphen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Éric Halphen (born 1959), French judge
* Étienne Halphen (1911–1954), French mathematician
* Eugène Halphen (1820–1912), French historian, poet and book editor
* Fernand H ... ,
Krause, Byerly and Appell .
Generalizations
Asymptotic series
Asymptotic series , otherwise asymptotic expansion s, are infinite series whose partial sums become good approximations in the limit of some point of the domain. In general they do not converge, but they are useful as sequences of approximations, each of which provides a value close to the desired answer for a finite number of terms. The difference is that an asymptotic series cannot be made to produce an answer as exact as desired, the way that convergent series can. In fact, after a certain number of terms, a typical asymptotic series reaches its best approximation; if more terms are included, most such series will produce worse answers.
Divergent series
Under many circumstances, it is desirable to assign a limit to a series which fails to converge in the usual sense. A summability method is such an assignment of a limit to a subset of the set of divergent series which properly extends the classical notion of convergence. Summability methods include Cesàro summation , (''C'',''k'') summation, Abel summation , and Borel summation , in increasing order of generality (and hence applicable to increasingly divergent series).
A variety of general results concerning possible summability methods are known. The Silverman–Toeplitz theorem characterizes ''matrix summability methods'', which are methods for summing a divergent series by applying an infinite matrix to the vector of coefficients. The most general method for summing a divergent series is non-constructive, and concerns Banach limit s.
Summations over arbitrary index sets
Definitions may be given for sums over an arbitrary index set I. There are two main differences with the usual notion of series: first, there is no specific order given on the set I ; second, this set I may be uncountable. The notion of convergence needs to be strengthened, because the concept of conditional convergence In mathematics, a series or integral is said to be conditionally convergent if it converges, but it does not converge absolutely.
Definition
More precisely, a series of real numbers \sum_^\infty a_n is said to converge conditionally if
\lim_\,\ ... depends on the ordering of the index set.
If a : I \mapsto G is a function from an index set
In mathematics, an index set is a set whose members label (or index) members of another set. For instance, if the elements of a set may be ''indexed'' or ''labeled'' by means of the elements of a set , then is an index set. The indexing consis ... I to a set G, then the "series" associated to a is the formal sum of the elements a(x) \in G over the index elements x \in I denoted by the
\sum_ a(x).
When the index set is the natural numbers I=\N, the function a : \N \mapsto G is a sequence
In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is called ... denoted by a(n) = a_n. A series indexed on the natural numbers is an ordered formal sum and so we rewrite \sum_ as \sum_^ in order to emphasize the ordering induced by the natural numbers. Thus, we obtain the common notation for a series indexed by the natural numbers
\sum_^ a_n = a_0 + a_1 + a_2 + \cdots.
Families of non-negative numbers
When summing a family \left\ of non-negative real numbers, define
\sum_a_i = \sup \left\ \in , +\infty
When the supremum is finite then the set of i \in I such that a_i > 0 is countable. Indeed, for every n \geq 1, the cardinality
In mathematics, the cardinality of a set is a measure of the number of elements of the set. For example, the set A = \ contains 3 elements, and therefore A has a cardinality of 3. Beginning in the late 19th century, this concept was generalized ... \left, A_n\ of the set A_n = \left\ is finite because
\frac \, \left, A_n\ = \sum_ \frac \leq \sum_ a_i \leq \sum_ a_i < \infty.
If I is countably infinite and enumerated as I = \left\ then the above defined sum satisfies
\sum_ a_i = \sum_^ a_,
provided the value \infty is allowed for the sum of the series.
Any sum over non-negative reals can be understood as the integral of a non-negative function with respect to the counting measure , which accounts for the many similarities between the two constructions.
Abelian topological groups
Let a : I \to X be a map, also denoted by \left(a_i\right)_, from some non-empty set I into a Hausdorff abelian
Abelian may refer to:
Mathematics Group theory
* Abelian group, a group in which the binary operation is commutative
** Category of abelian groups (Ab), has abelian groups as objects and group homomorphisms as morphisms
* Metabelian group, a grou ... topological group
In mathematics, topological groups are logically the combination of groups and topological spaces, i.e. they are groups and topological spaces at the same time, such that the continuity condition for the group operations connects these two ... X.
Let \operatorname(I) be the collection of all finite subset
In mathematics, set ''A'' is a subset of a set ''B'' if all elements of ''A'' are also elements of ''B''; ''B'' is then a superset of ''A''. It is possible for ''A'' and ''B'' to be equal; if they are unequal, then ''A'' is a proper subset o ... s of I, with \operatorname(I) viewed as a directed set
In mathematics, a directed set (or a directed preorder or a filtered set) is a nonempty Set (mathematics), set A together with a Reflexive relation, reflexive and Transitive relation, transitive binary relation \,\leq\, (that is, a preorder), with ... , ordered under inclusion \,\subseteq\, with union as join .
The family \left(a_i\right)_, is said to be if the following limit
Limit or Limits may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Limit'' (manga), a manga by Keiko Suenobu
* ''Limit'' (film), a South Korean film
* Limit (music), a way to characterize harmony
* "Limit" (song), a 2016 single by Luna Sea
* "Limits", a 2019 ... , which is denoted by \sum_ a_i and is called the of \left(a_i\right)_, exists in X:
\sum_ a_i := \lim_ \ \sum_ a_i = \lim \left\
Saying that the sum S := \sum_ a_i is the limit of finite partial sums means that for every neighborhood V of the origin in X, there exists a finite subset A_0 of I such that
S - \sum_ a_i \in V \qquad \text \; A \supseteq A_0.
Because \operatorname(I) is not totally ordered , this is not a limit of a sequence of partial sums, but rather of a net .
For every neighborhood W of the origin in X, there is a smaller neighborhood V such that V - V \subseteq W. It follows that the finite partial sums of an unconditionally summable family \left(a_i\right)_, form a , that is, for every neighborhood W of the origin in X, there exists a finite subset A_0 of I such that
\sum_ a_i - \sum_ a_i \in W \qquad \text \; A_1, A_2 \supseteq A_0,
which implies that a_i \in W for every i \in I \setminus A_0 (by taking A_1 := A_0 \cup \ and A_2 := A_0 ).
When X is complete , a family \left(a_i\right)_ is unconditionally summable in X if and only if the finite sums satisfy the latter Cauchy net condition. When X is complete and \left(a_i\right)_, is unconditionally summable in X, then for every subset J \subseteq I, the corresponding subfamily \left(a_j\right)_, is also unconditionally summable in X.
When the sum of a family of non-negative numbers, in the extended sense defined before, is finite, then it coincides with the sum in the topological group X = \R.
If a family \left(a_i\right)_ in X is unconditionally summable then for every neighborhood W of the origin in X, there is a finite subset A_0 \subseteq I such that a_i \in W for every index i not in A_0. If X is a first-countable space then it follows that the set of i \in I such that a_i \neq 0 is countable. This need not be true in a general abelian topological group (see examples below).
Unconditionally convergent series
Suppose that I = \N. If a family a_n, n \in \N, is unconditionally summable in a Hausdorff abelian topological group X, then the series in the usual sense converges and has the same sum,
\sum_^\infty a_n = \sum_ a_n.
By nature, the definition of unconditional summability is insensitive to the order of the summation. When \sum a_n is unconditionally summable, then the series remains convergent after any permutation
In mathematics, a permutation of a set is, loosely speaking, an arrangement of its members into a sequence or linear order, or if the set is already ordered, a rearrangement of its elements. The word "permutation" also refers to the act or p ... \sigma : \N \to \N of the set \N of indices, with the same sum,
\sum_^\infty a_ = \sum_^\infty a_n.
Conversely, if every permutation of a series \sum a_n converges, then the series is unconditionally convergent. When X is complete then unconditional convergence is also equivalent to the fact that all subseries are convergent; if X is a Banach space
In mathematics, more specifically in functional analysis, a Banach space (pronounced ) is a complete normed vector space. Thus, a Banach space is a vector space with a metric that allows the computation of vector length and distance between ve ... , this is equivalent to say that for every sequence of signs \varepsilon_n = \pm 1 , the series
\sum_^\infty \varepsilon_n a_n
converges in X.
Series in topological vector spaces
If X is a topological vector space (TVS) and \left(x_i\right)_ is a (possibly uncountable ) family in X then this family is summable if the limit \lim_ x_A of the net \left(x_A\right)_ exists in X, where \operatorname(I) is the directed set
In mathematics, a directed set (or a directed preorder or a filtered set) is a nonempty Set (mathematics), set A together with a Reflexive relation, reflexive and Transitive relation, transitive binary relation \,\leq\, (that is, a preorder), with ... of all finite subsets of I directed by inclusion \,\subseteq\, and x_A := \sum_ x_i.
It is called absolutely summable if in addition, for every continuous seminorm p on X, the family \left(p\left(x_i\right)\right)_ is summable.
If X is a normable space and if \left(x_i\right)_ is an absolutely summable family in X, then necessarily all but a countable collection of x_i ’s are zero. Hence, in normed spaces, it is usually only ever necessary to consider series with countably many terms.
Summable families play an important role in the theory of nuclear space s.
= Series in Banach and seminormed spaces
=
The notion of series can be easily extended to the case of a seminormed space .
If x_n is a sequence of elements of a normed space X and if x \in X then the series \sum x_n converges to x in X if the sequence of partial sums of the series \left(\sum_^N x_n\right)_^ converges to x in X ; to wit,
\left\, x - \sum_^N x_n\right\, \to 0 \quad \text N \to \infty.
More generally, convergence of series can be defined in any abelian
Abelian may refer to:
Mathematics Group theory
* Abelian group, a group in which the binary operation is commutative
** Category of abelian groups (Ab), has abelian groups as objects and group homomorphisms as morphisms
* Metabelian group, a grou ... Hausdorff topological group
In mathematics, topological groups are logically the combination of groups and topological spaces, i.e. they are groups and topological spaces at the same time, such that the continuity condition for the group operations connects these two ... .
Specifically, in this case, \sum x_n converges to x if the sequence of partial sums converges to x.
If (X, , \cdot, ) is a seminormed space , then the notion of absolute convergence becomes:
A series \sum_ x_i of vectors in X converges absolutely if
\sum_ \left, x_i\ < +\infty
in which case all but at most countably many of the values \left, x_i\ are necessarily zero.
If a countable series of vectors in a Banach space converges absolutely then it converges unconditionally, but the converse only holds in finite-dimensional Banach spaces (theorem of ).
Well-ordered sums
Conditionally convergent series can be considered if I is a well-ordered set, for example, an ordinal number \alpha_0.
In this case, define by transfinite recursion :
\sum_ a_\beta = a_ + \sum_ a_\beta
and for a limit ordinal \alpha,
\sum_ a_\beta = \lim_ \sum_ a_\beta
if this limit exists. If all limits exist up to \alpha_0, then the series converges.
Examples
# Given a function f : X \to Y into an abelian topological group Y, define for every a \in X, f_a(x)=
\begin
0 & x\neq a, \\
f(a) & x=a, \\
\end
a function whose support is a singleton \. Then
f = \sum_f_a in the topology of pointwise convergence (that is, the sum is taken in the infinite product group Y^X ).
# In the definition of partitions of unity , one constructs sums of functions over arbitrary index set I, \sum_ \varphi_i(x) = 1. While, formally, this requires a notion of sums of uncountable series, by construction there are, for every given x, only finitely many nonzero terms in the sum, so issues regarding convergence of such sums do not arise. Actually, one usually assumes more: the family of functions is ''locally finite'', that is, for every x there is a neighborhood of x in which all but a finite number of functions vanish. Any regularity property of the \varphi_i, such as continuity, differentiability, that is preserved under finite sums will be preserved for the sum of any subcollection of this family of functions.
# On the first uncountable ordinal \omega_1 viewed as a topological space in the order topology
In mathematics, an order topology is a certain topology that can be defined on any totally ordered set. It is a natural generalization of the topology of the real numbers to arbitrary totally ordered sets.
If ''X'' is a totally ordered set, ... , the constant function f : \left , \omega_1\right) \to \left[0, \omega_1\right /math> given by f(\alpha) = 1 satisfies \sum_f(\alpha) = \omega_1 (in other words, \omega_1 copies of 1 is \omega_1 ) only if one takes a limit over all ''countable'' partial sums, rather than finite partial sums. This space is not separable.
See also
* Continued fraction
* Convergence tests
* Convergent series
* Divergent series
* Infinite compositions of analytic functions
* Infinite expression (mathematics), Infinite expression
* Infinite product
* Iterated binary operation
* List of mathematical series
* Prefix sum
* Sequence transformation
* Series expansion
References
Bibliography
* Bromwich, T. J. ''An Introduction to the Theory of Infinite Series'' MacMillan & Co. 1908, revised 1926, reprinted 1939, 1942, 1949, 1955, 1959, 1965.
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* Walter Rudin, ''Principles of Mathematical Analysis'' (McGraw-Hill: New York, 1964).
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External links
*
Infinite Series Tutorial *
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