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Generating Functions
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 series, the ''formal'' power series is not required to converge: in fact, the generating function is not actually regarded as a function, and the "variable" remains an indeterminate. Generating functions were first introduced by Abraham de Moivre in 1730, in order to solve the general linear recurrence problem. One can generalize to formal power series in more than one indeterminate, to encode information about infinite multi-dimensional arrays of numbers. There are various types of generating functions, including ordinary generating functions, exponential generating functions, Lambert series, Bell series, and Dirichlet series; definitions and examples are given below. Every sequence in principle has a generating function of each type (except ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics with the major subdisciplines of number theory, algebra, geometry, and analysis, respectively. There is no general consensus among mathematicians about a common definition for their academic discipline. Most mathematical activity involves the discovery of properties of abstract objects and the use of pure reason to prove them. These objects consist of either abstractions from nature orin modern mathematicsentities that are stipulated to have certain properties, called axioms. A ''proof'' consists of a succession of applications of deductive rules to already established results. These results include previously proved theorems, axioms, andin case of abstraction from naturesome basic properties that are considered true starting points of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbert Wilf
Herbert Saul Wilf (June 13, 1931 – January 7, 2012) was a mathematician, specializing in combinatorics and graph theory. He was the Thomas A. Scott Professor of Mathematics in Combinatorial Analysis and Computing at the University of Pennsylvania. He wrote numerous books and research papers. Together with Neil Calkin he founded ''The Electronic Journal of Combinatorics'' in 1994 and was its editor-in-chief until 2001. Biography Wilf was the author of numerous papers and books, and was adviser and mentor to many students and colleagues. His collaborators include Doron Zeilberger and Donald Knuth. One of Wilf's former students is Richard Garfield, the creator of the collectible card game ''Magic: The Gathering''. He also served as a thesis advisor for E. Roy Weintraub in the late 1960s. Wilf died of a progressive neuromuscular disease in 2012. Awards In 1998, Wilf and Zeilberger received the Leroy P. Steele Prize for Seminal Contribution to Research for their joint pap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Multiplicative Function
In number theory, a multiplicative function is an arithmetic function ''f''(''n'') of a positive integer ''n'' with the property that ''f''(1) = 1 and f(ab) = f(a)f(b) whenever ''a'' and ''b'' are coprime. An arithmetic function ''f''(''n'') is said to be completely multiplicative (or totally multiplicative) if ''f''(1) = 1 and ''f''(''ab'') = ''f''(''a'')''f''(''b'') holds ''for all'' positive integers ''a'' and ''b'', even when they are not coprime. Examples Some multiplicative functions are defined to make formulas easier to write: * 1(''n''): the constant function, defined by 1(''n'') = 1 (completely multiplicative) * Id(''n''): identity function, defined by Id(''n'') = ''n'' (completely multiplicative) * Id''k''(''n''): the power functions, defined by Id''k''(''n'') = ''n''''k'' for any complex number ''k'' (completely multiplicative). As special cases we have ** Id0(''n'') = 1(''n'') and ** Id1(''n'') = Id(''n''). * ''ε''(''n''): the function defined by ''ε''(''n'') ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Formal 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 analytic number theory. The most usually seen definition of the Riemann zeta function is a Dirichlet series, as are the Dirichlet L-functions. It is conjectured that the Selberg class of series obeys the generalized Riemann hypothesis. The series is named in honor of Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet. Combinatorial importance Dirichlet series can be used as generating series for counting weighted sets of objects with respect to a weight which is combined multiplicatively when taking Cartesian products. Suppose that ''A'' is a set with a function ''w'': ''A'' → N assigning a weight to each of the elements of ''A'', and suppose additionally that the fibre over any natural number under that weight is a finite set. (We call such an arrangement (''A'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bell Series
In mathematics, the Bell series is a formal power series used to study properties of arithmetical functions. Bell series were introduced and developed by Eric Temple Bell. Given an arithmetic function f and a prime p, define the formal power series f_p(x), called the Bell series of f modulo p as: :f_p(x)=\sum_^\infty f(p^n)x^n. Two multiplicative functions can be shown to be identical if all of their Bell series are equal; this is sometimes called the ''uniqueness theorem'': given multiplicative functions f and g, one has f=g if and only if: :f_p(x)=g_p(x) for all primes p. Two series may be multiplied (sometimes called the ''multiplication theorem''): For any two arithmetic functions f and g, let h=f*g be their Dirichlet convolution. Then for every prime p, one has: :h_p(x)=f_p(x) g_p(x).\, In particular, this makes it trivial to find the Bell series of a Dirichlet inverse. If f is completely multiplicative, then formally: :f_p(x)=\frac. Examples The following is a tab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Number Theory
Number theory (or arithmetic or higher arithmetic in older usage) is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and arithmetic function, integer-valued functions. German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855) said, "Mathematics is the queen of the sciences—and number theory is the queen of mathematics."German original: "Die Mathematik ist die Königin der Wissenschaften, und die Arithmetik ist die Königin der Mathematik." Number theorists study prime numbers as well as the properties of mathematical objects made out of integers (for example, rational numbers) or defined as generalizations of the integers (for example, algebraic integers). Integers can be considered either in themselves or as solutions to equations (Diophantine geometry). Questions in number theory are often best understood through the study of Complex analysis, analytical objects (for example, the Riemann zeta function) that encode properties of the integers, primes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arithmetic Functions
In number theory, an arithmetic, arithmetical, or number-theoretic function is for most authors any function ''f''(''n'') whose domain is the positive integers and whose range is a subset of the complex numbers. Hardy & Wright include in their definition the requirement that an arithmetical function "expresses some arithmetical property of ''n''". An example of an arithmetic function is the divisor function whose value at a positive integer ''n'' is equal to the number of divisors of ''n''. There is a larger class of number-theoretic functions that do not fit the above definition, for example, the prime-counting functions. This article provides links to functions of both classes. Arithmetic functions are often extremely irregular (see table), but some of them have series expansions in terms of Ramanujan's sum. Multiplicative and additive functions An arithmetic function ''a'' is * completely additive if ''a''(''mn'') = ''a''(''m'') + ''a''(''n'') for all natural numbers ''m'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Divisor Sum
In mathematics, a divisor of an integer n, also called a factor of n, is an integer m that may be multiplied by some integer to produce n. In this case, one also says that n is a multiple of m. An integer n is divisible or evenly divisible by another integer m if m is a divisor of n; this implies dividing n by m leaves no remainder. Definition An integer is divisible by a nonzero integer if there exists an integer such that n=km. This is written as :m\mid n. Other ways of saying the same thing are that divides , is a divisor of , is a factor of , and is a multiple of . If does not divide , then the notation is m\not\mid n. Usually, is required to be nonzero, but is allowed to be zero. With this convention, m \mid 0 for every nonzero integer . Some definitions omit the requirement that m be nonzero. General Divisors can be negative as well as positive, although sometimes the term is restricted to positive divisors. For example, there are six divisors of 4; they are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fibonacci Sequence
In mathematics, the Fibonacci numbers, commonly denoted , form a integer sequence, sequence, the Fibonacci sequence, in which each number is the sum of the two preceding ones. The sequence commonly starts from 0 and 1, although some authors start the sequence from 1 and 1 or sometimes (as did Fibonacci) from 1 and 2. Starting from 0 and 1, the first few values in the sequence are: :0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144. The Fibonacci numbers were first described in Indian mathematics, as early as 200 BC in work by Pingala on enumerating possible patterns of Sanskrit poetry formed from syllables of two lengths. They are named after the Italian mathematician Leonardo of Pisa, later known as Fibonacci, who introduced the sequence to Western European mathematics in his 1202 book ''Liber Abaci''. Fibonacci numbers appear unexpectedly often in mathematics, so much so that there is an entire journal dedicated to their study, the ''Fibonacci Quarterly''. Applications of Fibonacci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Differential Equations
In mathematics, a differential equation is an equation that relates one or more unknown functions and their derivatives. In applications, the functions generally represent physical quantities, the derivatives represent their rates of change, and the differential equation defines a relationship between the two. Such relations are common; therefore, differential equations play a prominent role in many disciplines including engineering, physics, economics, and biology. Mainly the study of differential equations consists of the study of their solutions (the set of functions that satisfy each equation), and of the properties of their solutions. Only the simplest differential equations are solvable by explicit formulas; however, many properties of solutions of a given differential equation may be determined without computing them exactly. Often when a closed-form expression for the solutions is not available, solutions may be approximated numerically using computers. The theory of d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Recurrence Relations
In mathematics, a recurrence relation is an equation according to which the nth term of a sequence of numbers is equal to some combination of the previous terms. Often, only k previous terms of the sequence appear in the equation, for a parameter k that is independent of n; this number k is called the ''order'' of the relation. If the values of the first k numbers in the sequence have been given, the rest of the sequence can be calculated by repeatedly applying the equation. In ''linear recurrences'', the th term is equated to a linear function of the k previous terms. A famous example is the recurrence for the Fibonacci numbers, F_n=F_+F_ where the order k is two and the linear function merely adds the two previous terms. This example is a linear recurrence with constant coefficients, because the coefficients of the linear function (1 and 1) are constants that do not depend on n. For these recurrences, one can express the general term of the sequence as a closed-form expression of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Combinatorial Enumeration
Enumerative combinatorics is an area of combinatorics that deals with the number of ways that certain patterns can be formed. Two examples of this type of problem are counting combinations and counting permutations. More generally, given an infinite collection of finite sets ''S''''i'' indexed by the natural numbers, enumerative combinatorics seeks to describe a ''counting function'' which counts the number of objects in ''S''''n'' for each ''n''. Although counting the number of elements in a set is a rather broad mathematical problem, many of the problems that arise in applications have a relatively simple combinatorial description. The twelvefold way provides a unified framework for counting permutations, combinations and partitions. The simplest such functions are ''closed formulas'', which can be expressed as a composition of elementary functions such as factorials, powers, and so on. For instance, as shown below, the number of different possible orderings of a deck of ''n'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
