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Mollification
In mathematics, mollifiers (also known as ''approximations to the identity'') are smooth functions with special properties, used for example in distribution theory to create sequences of smooth functions approximating nonsmooth (generalized) functions, via convolution. Intuitively, given a function which is rather irregular, by convolving it with a mollifier the function gets "mollified", that is, its sharp features are smoothed, while still remaining close to the original nonsmooth (generalized) function. They are also known as Friedrichs mollifiers after Kurt Otto Friedrichs, who introduced them. Historical notes Mollifiers were introduced by Kurt Otto Friedrichs in his paper , which is considered a watershed in the modern theory of partial differential equations.See the commentary of Peter Lax on the paper in . The name of this mathematical object had a curious genesis, and Peter Lax tells the whole story in his commentary on that paper published in Friedrichs' "''Selec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Integral Operator
An integral operator is an operator that involves integration. Special instances are: * The operator of integration itself, denoted by the integral symbol * Integral linear operators, which are linear operators induced by bilinear forms involving integrals * Integral transform In mathematics, an integral transform maps a function from its original function space into another function space via integration, where some of the properties of the original function might be more easily characterized and manipulated than in ...s, which are maps between two function spaces, which involve integrals {{mathanalysis-stub Integral calculus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mollifier
In mathematics, mollifiers (also known as ''approximations to the identity'') are smooth functions with special properties, used for example in distribution theory to create sequences of smooth functions approximating nonsmooth (generalized) functions, via convolution. Intuitively, given a function which is rather irregular, by convolving it with a mollifier the function gets "mollified", that is, its sharp features are smoothed, while still remaining close to the original nonsmooth (generalized) function. They are also known as Friedrichs mollifiers after Kurt Otto Friedrichs, who introduced them. Historical notes Mollifiers were introduced by Kurt Otto Friedrichs in his paper , which is considered a watershed in the modern theory of partial differential equations.See the commentary of Peter Lax on the paper in . The name of this mathematical object had a curious genesis, and Peter Lax tells the whole story in his commentary on that paper published in Friedrichs' "''Selec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Approximate Identity
In mathematics, particularly in functional analysis and ring theory, an approximate identity is a net in a Banach algebra or ring (generally without an identity) that acts as a substitute for an identity element. Definition A right approximate identity in a Banach algebra ''A'' is a net \ such that for every element ''a'' of ''A'', \lim_\lVert ae_\lambda - a \rVert = 0. Similarly, a left approximate identity in a Banach algebra ''A'' is a net \ such that for every element ''a'' of ''A'', \lim_\lVert e_\lambda a - a \rVert = 0. An approximate identity is a net which is both a right approximate identity and a left approximate identity. C*-algebras For C*-algebras, a right (or left) approximate identity consisting of self-adjoint elements is the same as an approximate identity. The net of all positive elements in ''A'' of norm ≤ 1 with its natural order is an approximate identity for any C*-algebra. This is called the canonical approximate identity of a C*-algebra. Appr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Convergence (mathematics)
In mathematics, a series is the sum of the terms of an infinite sequence of numbers. More precisely, an infinite sequence (a_0, a_1, a_2, \ldots) defines a series that is denoted :S=a_0 +a_1+ a_2 + \cdots=\sum_^\infty a_k. The th partial sum is the sum of the first terms of the sequence; that is, :S_n = \sum_^n a_k. A series is convergent (or converges) if the sequence (S_1, S_2, S_3, \dots) of its partial sums tends to a limit; that means that, when adding one a_k after the other ''in the order given by the indices'', one gets partial sums that become closer and closer to a given number. More precisely, a series converges, if there exists a number \ell such that for every arbitrarily small positive number \varepsilon, there is a (sufficiently large) integer N such that for all n \ge N, :\left , S_n - \ell \right , 1 produce a convergent series: *: ++++++\cdots = . * Alternating the signs of reciprocals of powers of 2 also produces a convergent series: *: -+-+-+\cdots = ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 vectors and is complete in the sense that a Cauchy sequence of vectors always converges to a well-defined limit that is within the space. Banach spaces are named after the Polish mathematician Stefan Banach, who introduced this concept and studied it systematically in 1920–1922 along with Hans Hahn and Eduard Helly. Maurice René Fréchet was the first to use the term "Banach space" and Banach in turn then coined the term "Fréchet space." Banach spaces originally grew out of the study of function spaces by Hilbert, Fréchet, and Riesz earlier in the century. Banach spaces play a central role in functional analysis. In other areas of analysis, the spaces under study are often Banach spaces. Definition A Banach space is a complete norme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hilbert Space
In mathematics, Hilbert spaces (named after David Hilbert) allow generalizing the methods of linear algebra and calculus from (finite-dimensional) Euclidean vector spaces to spaces that may be infinite-dimensional. Hilbert spaces arise naturally and frequently in mathematics and physics, typically as function spaces. Formally, a Hilbert space is a vector space equipped with an inner product that defines a distance function for which the space is a complete metric space. The earliest Hilbert spaces were studied from this point of view in the first decade of the 20th century by David Hilbert, Erhard Schmidt, and Frigyes Riesz. They are indispensable tools in the theories of partial differential equations, quantum mechanics, Fourier analysis (which includes applications to signal processing and heat transfer), and ergodic theory (which forms the mathematical underpinning of thermodynamics). John von Neumann coined the term ''Hilbert space'' for the abstract concept that under ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laurent Schwartz
Laurent-Moïse Schwartz (; 5 March 1915 – 4 July 2002) was a French mathematician. He pioneered the theory of distributions, which gives a well-defined meaning to objects such as the Dirac delta function. He was awarded the Fields Medal in 1950 for his work on the theory of distributions. For several years he taught at the École polytechnique. Biography Family Laurent Schwartz came from a Jewish family of Alsatian origin, with a strong scientific background: his father was a well-known surgeon, his uncle Robert Debré (who contributed to the creation of UNICEF) was a famous pediatrician, and his great-uncle-in-law, Jacques Hadamard, was a famous mathematician. During his training at Lycée Louis-le-Grand to enter the École Normale Supérieure, he fell in love with Marie-Hélène Lévy, daughter of the probabilist Paul Lévy who was then teaching at the École polytechnique. They married in 1938. Later they had two children, Marc-André and Claudine. Marie-Hélène w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Infinitely Differentiable Function
In mathematical analysis, the smoothness of a function is a property measured by the number of continuous derivatives it has over some domain, called ''differentiability class''. At the very minimum, a function could be considered smooth if it is differentiable everywhere (hence continuous). At the other end, it might also possess derivatives of all orders in its domain, in which case it is said to be infinitely differentiable and referred to as a C-infinity function (or C^ function). Differentiability classes Differentiability class is a classification of functions according to the properties of their derivatives. It is a measure of the highest order of derivative that exists and is continuous for a function. Consider an open set U on the real line and a function f defined on U with real values. Let ''k'' be a non-negative integer. The function f is said to be of differentiability class ''C^k'' if the derivatives f',f'',\dots,f^ exist and are continuous on U. If f is k-diff ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Distribution (mathematics)
Distributions, also known as Schwartz distributions or generalized functions, are objects that generalize the classical notion of functions in mathematical analysis. Distributions make it possible to differentiate functions whose derivatives do not exist in the classical sense. In particular, any locally integrable function has a distributional derivative. Distributions are widely used in the theory of partial differential equations, where it may be easier to establish the existence of distributional solutions than classical solutions, or where appropriate classical solutions may not exist. Distributions are also important in physics and engineering where many problems naturally lead to differential equations whose solutions or initial conditions are singular, such as the Dirac delta function. A function f is normally thought of as on the in the function domain by "sending" a point x in its domain to the point f(x). Instead of acting on points, distribution theory reinterpr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dirac Delta Function
In mathematics, the Dirac delta distribution ( distribution), also known as the unit impulse, is a generalized function or distribution over the real numbers, whose value is zero everywhere except at zero, and whose integral over the entire real line is equal to one. The current understanding of the unit impulse is as a linear functional that maps every continuous function (e.g., f(x)) to its value at zero of its domain (f(0)), or as the weak limit of a sequence of bump functions (e.g., \delta(x) = \lim_ \frace^), which are zero over most of the real line, with a tall spike at the origin. Bump functions are thus sometimes called "approximate" or "nascent" delta distributions. The delta function was introduced by physicist Paul Dirac as a tool for the normalization of state vectors. It also has uses in probability theory and signal processing. Its validity was disputed until Laurent Schwartz developed the theory of distributions where it is defined as a linear form acting on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bump Function
In mathematics, a bump function (also called a test function) is a function f: \R^n \to \R on a Euclidean space \R^n which is both smooth (in the sense of having continuous derivatives of all orders) and compactly supported. The set of all bump functions with domain \R^n forms a vector space, denoted \mathrm^\infty_0(\R^n) or \mathrm^\infty_\mathrm(\R^n). The dual space of this space endowed with a suitable topology is the space of distributions. Examples The function \Psi:\R \to \R given by \Psi(x) = \begin \exp\left( -\frac\right), & x \in (-1,1) \\ 0, & \text \end is an example of a bump function in one dimension. It is clear from the construction that this function has compact support, since a function of the real line has compact support if and only if it has bounded closed support. The proof of smoothness follows along the same lines as for the related function discussed in the Non-analytic smooth function article. This function can be interpreted as the Gaussian fu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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