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Upper Factorial
In mathematics, the falling factorial (sometimes called the descending factorial, falling sequential product, or lower factorial) is defined as the polynomial :\begin (x)_n = x^\underline &= \overbrace^ \\ &= \prod_^n(x-k+1) = \prod_^(x-k) \,. \end The rising factorial (sometimes called the Pochhammer function, Pochhammer polynomial, ascending factorial, (A reprint of the 1950 edition by Chelsea Publishing Co.) rising sequential product, or upper factorial) is defined as :\begin x^ = x^\overline &= \overbrace^ \\ &= \prod_^n(x+k-1) = \prod_^(x+k) \,. \end The value of each is taken to be 1 (an empty product) when . These symbols are collectively called factorial powers. The Pochhammer symbol, introduced by Leo August Pochhammer, is the notation , where is a non-negative integer. It may represent ''either'' the rising or the falling factorial, with different articles and authors using different conventions. Pochhammer himself actually used with yet another meaning, namely to ... [...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] |
Ring (mathematics)
In mathematics, rings are algebraic structures that generalize fields: multiplication need not be commutative and multiplicative inverses need not exist. In other words, a ''ring'' is a set equipped with two binary operations satisfying properties analogous to those of addition and multiplication of integers. Ring elements may be numbers such as integers or complex numbers, but they may also be non-numerical objects such as polynomials, square matrices, functions, and power series. Formally, a ''ring'' is an abelian group whose operation is called ''addition'', with a second binary operation called ''multiplication'' that is associative, is distributive over the addition operation, and has a multiplicative identity element. (Some authors use the term " " with a missing i to refer to the more general structure that omits this last requirement; see .) Whether a ring is commutative (that is, whether the order in which two elements are multiplied might change the result) has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheffer Sequence
In mathematics, a Sheffer sequence or poweroid is a polynomial sequence, i.e., a sequence of polynomials in which the index of each polynomial equals its degree, satisfying conditions related to the umbral calculus in combinatorics. They are named for Isador M. Sheffer. Definition Fix a polynomial sequence (''p''''n''). Define a linear operator ''Q'' on polynomials in ''x'' by :Qp_n(x) = np_(x)\, . This determines ''Q'' on all polynomials. The polynomial sequence ''p''''n'' is a ''Sheffer sequence'' if the linear operator ''Q'' just defined is ''shift-equivariant''; such a ''Q'' is then a delta operator. Here, we define a linear operator ''Q'' on polynomials to be ''shift-equivariant'' if, whenever ''f''(''x'') = ''g''(''x'' + ''a'') = ''T''''a'' ''g''(''x'') is a "shift" of ''g''(''x''), then (''Qf'')(''x'') = (''Qg'')(''x'' + ''a''); i.e., ''Q'' commutes with every shift operator: ''T''''a''''Q'' = ''QT''''a''. Properties The set of all Sheffer sequences is a group un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Binomial Type
In mathematics, a polynomial sequence, i.e., a sequence of polynomials indexed by non-negative integers \left\ in which the index of each polynomial equals its degree, is said to be of binomial type if it satisfies the sequence of identities :p_n(x+y)=\sum_^n\, p_k(x)\, p_(y). Many such sequences exist. The set of all such sequences forms a Lie group under the operation of umbral composition, explained below. Every sequence of binomial type may be expressed in terms of the Bell polynomials. Every sequence of binomial type is a Sheffer sequence (but most Sheffer sequences are not of binomial type). Polynomial sequences put on firm footing the vague 19th century notions of umbral calculus. Examples * In consequence of this definition the binomial theorem can be stated by saying that the sequence is of binomial type. * The sequence of " lower factorials" is defined by(x)_n=x(x-1)(x-2)\cdot\cdots\cdot(x-n+1).(In the theory of special functions, this same notation denotes upper fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Umbral Calculus
In mathematics before the 1970s, the term umbral calculus referred to the surprising similarity between seemingly unrelated polynomial equations and certain "shadowy" techniques used to "prove" them. These techniques were introduced by John Blissard and are sometimes called Blissard's symbolic method. They are often attributed to Édouard Lucas (or James Joseph Sylvester), who used the technique extensively. Short history In the 1930s and 1940s, Eric Temple Bell attempted to set the umbral calculus on a rigorous footing. In the 1970s, Steven Roman, Gian-Carlo Rota, and others developed the umbral calculus by means of linear functionals on spaces of polynomials. Currently, ''umbral calculus'' refers to the study of Sheffer sequences, including polynomial sequences of binomial type and Appell sequences, but may encompass systematic correspondence techniques of the calculus of finite differences. The 19th-century umbral calculus The method is a notational procedure used for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 the numerical solution of differential equations, especially boundary value problems. The difference operator, commonly denoted \Delta is the operator that maps a function to the function \Delta /math> defined by :\Delta x)= f(x+1)-f(x). A difference equation is a functional equation that involves the finite difference operator in the same way as a differential equation involves derivatives. There are many similarities between difference equations and differential equations, specially in the solving methods. Certain recurrence relations can be written as difference equations by replacing iteration notation with finite differences. In numerical analysis, finite differences are widely used for approximating derivatives, and the term " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 truncation at the order ''k'' of the Taylor series of the function. The first-order Taylor polynomial is the linear approximation of the function, and the second-order Taylor polynomial is often referred to as the quadratic approximation. There are several versions of Taylor's theorem, some giving explicit estimates of the approximation error of the function by its Taylor polynomial. Taylor's theorem is named after the mathematician Brook Taylor, who stated a version of it in 1715, although an earlier version of the result was already mentioned in 1671 by James Gregory. Taylor's theorem is taught in introductory-level calculus courses and is one of the central elementary tools in mathematical analysis. It gives simple arithmetic formula ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Difference Operator
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] |
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 constant. Power series are useful in mathematical analysis, where they arise as Taylor series of infinitely differentiable functions. In fact, Borel's theorem implies that every power series is the Taylor series of some smooth function. In many situations, ''c'' (the ''center'' of the series) is equal to zero, for instance when considering a Maclaurin series. In such cases, the power series takes the simpler form \sum_^\infty a_n x^n = a_0 + a_1 x + a_2 x^2 + \dots. Beyond their role in mathematical analysis, power series also occur in combinatorics as generating functions (a kind of formal power series) and in electronic engineering (under the name of the Z-transform). The familiar decimal notation for real numbers can also be viewed as an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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. For example, the derivative of the position of a moving object with respect to time is the object's velocity: this measures how quickly the position of the object changes when time advances. The derivative of a function of a single variable at a chosen input value, when it exists, is the slope of the tangent line to the graph of the function at that point. The tangent line is the best linear approximation of the function near that input value. For this reason, the derivative is often described as the "instantaneous rate of change", the ratio of the instantaneous change in the dependent variable to that of the independent variable. Derivatives can be generalized to functions of several real variables. In this generalization, the derivativ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gamma Function
In mathematics, the gamma function (represented by , the capital letter gamma from the Greek alphabet) is one commonly used extension of the factorial function to complex numbers. The gamma function is defined for all complex numbers except the non-positive integers. For every positive integer , \Gamma(n) = (n-1)!\,. Derived by Daniel Bernoulli, for complex numbers with a positive real part, the gamma function is defined via a convergent improper integral: \Gamma(z) = \int_0^\infty t^ e^\,dt, \ \qquad \Re(z) > 0\,. The gamma function then is defined as the analytic continuation of this integral function to a meromorphic function that is holomorphic in the whole complex plane except zero and the negative integers, where the function has simple poles. The gamma function has no zeroes, so the reciprocal gamma function is an entire function. In fact, the gamma function corresponds to the Mellin transform of the negative exponential function: \Gamma(z) = \mathcal M \ (z ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Real Number
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 real number can be almost uniquely represented by an infinite decimal expansion. The real numbers are fundamental in calculus (and more generally in all mathematics), in particular by their role in the classical definitions of limits, continuity and derivatives. The set of real numbers is denoted or \mathbb and is sometimes called "the reals". The adjective ''real'' in this context was introduced in the 17th century by René Descartes to distinguish real numbers, associated with physical reality, from imaginary numbers (such as the square roots of ), which seemed like a theoretical contrivance unrelated to physical reality. The real numbers include the rational numbers, such as the integer and the fraction . The rest of the real number ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
