Jump to content

Wikipedia:Reference desk/Mathematics: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
 
Line 1: Line 1:
[[Category:Non-talk pages that are automatically signed]] {{Wikipedia:Reference desk/header|WP:RD/MA}}
{{Wikipedia:Reference desk/header|WP:RD/MA}}
[[Category:Non-talk pages that are automatically signed]]
{{Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Archives/Mathematics/2007 October 19}}
[[Category:Pages automatically checked for incorrect links]]
[[Category:Wikipedia resources for researchers]]
[[Category:Wikipedia help forums]]
[[Category:Wikipedia reference desk|Mathematics]]
[[Category:Wikipedia help pages with dated sections]]</noinclude>


= July 7 =
{{Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Archives/Mathematics/2007 October 20}}


== Using sagemath or an other language, how to exactly find out what the order of the base point of an elliptic curve in Edwards Form is ? ==
{{Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Archives/Mathematics/2007 October 21}}


This kind of code will do it for the usual Weirestrass form&nbsp;:
= October 22 =
<syntaxhighlight lang="sage">
a = 1
b = 3141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592307816406665
p = 2^251 + 17*2^192 +1


E = EllipticCurve(GF(p), [0,0,0,a,b])
== Numerical Solution of Schrödinger Equation in One Dimension? ==
print(E)
print(E.abelian_group())


card = E.cardinality()
I was wondering if there was a way to solve the [[Schrödinger equation]] numerically with a user-supplied potential function on a certain interval. I know about the parts that match normal solution of differential equations, but I was wondering how to set boundary conditions and how to numerically find a valid value of the energy of a bound state. --[[User:Zemyla|Zemyla]]<sup>[[User talk:Zemyla|t]]</sup> 17:25, 22 October 2007 (UTC)
print("cardinality =",card)
:From experience except in the simplest cases the differential equation is not analytically solvable.
factor(card)
:I was wondering what you meant by 'set boundary conditions' - did you mean ways to create energy boundaries in V(x)? (This can easily be done with equations similar to V(x) = fn(exp((x-a)<sup>n</sup>)) where n is large odd integer eg 1, 'a' is the position of the boundary ( x must be less than a ) and f(x) can be exp(x<sup>2</sup>) or x<sup>2n</sup> or just x etc .. for boundaries such as a<x<b use V(x)=fn(exp(a-x)<sup>2n</sup>) +fn(exp(x-b)<sup>2n</sup>) etc . An alternative energy barrier for x<a is V(x) = fn( (x/a)<sup>2n</sup> )
:f(x) is there just to make the energy barrier 'more sharp' - without having to resort to discontinuous functions....
:The energy of a state comes easily if you can solve the differential - I'm sure it's covered at that page.
:The differential might be solvable for a specific case of V(x) - if you have that and are stuck on it someone (probably not me!) might be able to help you.. Otherwise you need to ask about getting approximate solutions to differential equations...[[User:87.102.83.3|87.102.83.3]] 20:40, 22 October 2007 (UTC)
::Yes, I'm talking about a numerical solution, not an analytic solution. I remember a piece of software a while back called MP Desktop had a numerical solver for Schrödinger's equation, and from what I could tell, it integrated from either end toward the middle, and if the energy value given wasn't a valid bound state, the wave function would be discontinuous. But I don't know exactly how that worked. --[[User:Zemyla|Zemyla]]<sup>[[User talk:Zemyla|t]]</sup> 14:07, 23 October 2007 (UTC)
:::So the software checked if a particular function was a valid solution of the equation? (Or did it work the other way round and try to find a wavefunction for a particular energy).. The second way is much more difficult..
:::Your original question asks how to get the energy - for this you need a wavefunction - if you can give more details - such as any values/function/potential energys you want to include - that would help a lot.[[User:87.102.7.135|87.102.7.135]] 18:23, 23 October 2007 (UTC)


G = E(874739451078007766457464989774322083649278607533249481151382481072868806602,152666792071518830868575557812948353041420400780739481342941381225525861407)
:::It just occurred to me that what you where discribing was the [[Particle in a box]] problem see also (http://ww.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=particle+box+schrodinger&spell=1 first few links) - this is a special case - in fact this problem is more like the equation of motion of a vibrating string.. In this case if the box edges (boundaries) are at A and B then the wavefunction at A and B is zero. (technically this specific problem isn't really suited to modelling with the schroedinger equation since the function is discontinuous - and there are various problems associated with that..)[[User:87.102.10.72|87.102.10.72]] 22:07, 23 October 2007 (UTC)
print("Generator order q=", G.order())</syntaxhighlight>
::::What in the world do you mean "this specific problem isn't really suited to modelling with the schroedinger equation"? Solving the Schrödinger equation for the particle in an infinite square well is one of the first exercises in any quantum mechanics course. —[[User:Keenan Pepper|Keenan Pepper]] 03:37, 25 October 2007 (UTC)
But how to do it for a curve in the twisted Edwards form ? Because I suppose converting the curve and the point to the Weirestrass form would change the resulting order being computed right ? [[Special:Contributions/2A01:E0A:401:A7C0:DD6F:EA1B:CCA4:2633|2A01:E0A:401:A7C0:DD6F:EA1B:CCA4:2633]] ([[User talk:2A01:E0A:401:A7C0:DD6F:EA1B:CCA4:2633|talk]]) 21:12, 7 July 2024 (UTC)


:I'm not an expert, but I'd think that the group is isomorphic to the Weierstrass group by which it is induced. &nbsp;--[[User talk:Lambiam#top|Lambiam]] 11:07, 8 July 2024 (UTC)
:Have you looked at the [[WKB approximation]]? —[[User:Keenan Pepper|Keenan Pepper]] 03:10, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
::Isn't that almost totally useless after (in the text) the point where it says "Next, the semiclassical approximation is invoked" - since it basically 'bodges' the solution by ignoring all the terms in the series except A0, and ignores the differentials etc etc[[User:87.102.94.157|87.102.94.157]] 12:19, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
:::No, the WKB approximation is not "almost totally useless", and it doesn't "bodge" anything. It's a perfectly valid limiting approximation for a large class of potentials. You think you're smarter than Wentzel, Kramers, and Brillouin? —[[User:Keenan Pepper|Keenan Pepper]] 03:32, 25 October 2007 (UTC)
::::fuck off[[User:87.102.94.16|87.102.94.16]] 12:54, 25 October 2007 (UTC)


= July 8 =
== wiki project in mathmatics ==


== If 0 and 1 are counted as perfect powers, can every sufficiently large number be written as the sum of 3 perfect powers? ==
my son has a project and it is about a project of the year which is math and needs to know something about the number 20 and its vocabulary i guess that is what it is. please help if you can. he is in 5th grade <small>—Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[Special:Contributions/76.182.221.170|76.182.221.170]] ([[User talk:76.182.221.170|talk]]) 22:20, 22 October 2007 (UTC)</small><!-- Template:UnsignedIP --> <!--Autosigned by SineBot-->
:We have the article [[20 (number)]]. [[User:PrimeHunter|PrimeHunter]] 22:33, 22 October 2007 (UTC)


If 0 and 1 are counted as perfect powers, can every [[sufficiently large]] number be written as the sum of 3 [[perfect power]]s? [[Special:Contributions/1.165.223.46|1.165.223.46]] ([[User talk:1.165.223.46|talk]]) 12:09, 8 July 2024 (UTC)
= October 23 =


:Are you including perfect powers of negative numbers?
== MEAN VALUE THEOREM ==
:example: the first problematic number is 7, which cannot be made from 3 powers of positive numbers, but using negative numbers, 7 = 2^3 + (-1)^3 + 0^3. [[User:Dhrm77|Dhrm77]] ([[User talk:Dhrm77|talk]]) 14:40, 8 July 2024 (UTC)
::Every '''sufficiently large''' number, of course I know that 7 and 15 cannot be written as such. [[Special:Contributions/220.132.216.52|220.132.216.52]] ([[User talk:220.132.216.52|talk]]) 17:09, 8 July 2024 (UTC)
:{{small|[edited: This comment addresses a different problem]: A necessary condition for an integer <math>n</math> to equal <s>such a sum</s> a sum of three cubes is that <math>n</math> does not equal 4 or 5 modulo 9, because the cubes modulo 9 are 0, 1, and −1, and no three of these numbers can sum to 4 or 5 modulo 9. For the remaining set of integers it is an open problem; see [[Sums of three cubes]]. &nbsp;--[[User talk:Lambiam#top|Lambiam]] 16:10, 8 July 2024 (UTC)}}
::No, I only consider nonnegative numbers. [[Special:Contributions/220.132.216.52|220.132.216.52]] ([[User talk:220.132.216.52|talk]]) 17:08, 8 July 2024 (UTC)
:It would seem that no one knows, see [[OEIS:A113505]]. [[User:GalacticShoe|GalacticShoe]] ([[User talk:GalacticShoe|talk]]) 17:32, 8 July 2024 (UTC)
::I'm confused. 32 is congruent to 5 mod 9, but it's the sum of 1 perfect power. All numbers not congruent to 7 mod 8 are a sum of three squares so you only have to consider 7, 15, 23, 31, ... The OEIS entry does not cite a source, other than just letting the program run to 10<sup>8</sup> (which seems feasible). But in general if OEIS doesn't know then it's probably unknown. --[[User:RDBury|RDBury]] ([[User talk:RDBury|talk]]) 01:28, 9 July 2024 (UTC)
::There's also the slightly-more restrictive [[OEIS:A135393]] that doesn't use 0 or 1 as perfect powers, and even then the list seems to probably be finite. This makes me wonder what would happen if you removed the nonnegativity constraint from the base of the power. Certainly many terms would disappear (like <math>335 = 3^{5} + 10^{2} + (-2)^{3}</math>), and it seems likely that every number not congruent to <math>4</math> or <math>5 \!\!\!\pmod 9</math> would be erased as per the [[sums of three cubes]], but the remaining terms might be interesting. [[User:GalacticShoe|GalacticShoe]] ([[User talk:GalacticShoe|talk]]) 04:26, 9 July 2024 (UTC)
:::335 is in fact 7^3 + (-2)^3 [[Special:Contributions/2402:7500:943:2AC:F4A8:5238:E22:338A|2402:7500:943:2AC:F4A8:5238:E22:338A]] ([[User talk:2402:7500:943:2AC:F4A8:5238:E22:338A|talk]]) 06:31, 9 July 2024 (UTC)
::::Yes, but I wanted to give an example without using -1, 0, or 1. Although there are easy examples like <math>167 = 13^{2} + (-1)^{3} + (-1)^{3}</math>, I'd like to know if there are more without using the more trivial perfect powers. [[User:GalacticShoe|GalacticShoe]] ([[User talk:GalacticShoe|talk]]) 07:38, 9 July 2024 (UTC)
::Are there infinitely many positive integers that are not the sum of two perfect powers? (If 0 and 1 are counted as perfect powers) [[Special:Contributions/2402:7500:943:2AC:F4A8:5238:E22:338A|2402:7500:943:2AC:F4A8:5238:E22:338A]] ([[User talk:2402:7500:943:2AC:F4A8:5238:E22:338A|talk]]) 06:31, 9 July 2024 (UTC)
:::The number of perfect powers up to <math>N</math> is (if I'm not mistaken) asymptotically equal to <math>\sqrt N.</math> Then there are <math>\Omega(N^\frac32)</math> triples of perfect powers whose sum is at most <math>N.</math> Thus, unless there is some number-theoretic conspiracy that makes many triple sums unexpectedly often have the same value, one expects, by a naive counting argument, saturation: not only can eventually all numbers be expected to be the sum of three perfect powers, but to be so in many ways. &nbsp;--[[User talk:Lambiam#top|Lambiam]] 12:03, 9 July 2024 (UTC)
::::For N congruent to 7 mod 8 you need at least one odd power. So I think the number of triples you can use for these N is more like <math>\Omega(N^\frac43)</math>. The exponent is still greater than 1 though. The asymptotic density of numbers which are the sum of three squares is 7/8 and for two squares it's 0. In these cases your tuple counting argument would estimate densities of <math>\Omega(N^\frac32)</math> and <math>\Omega(N)</math> respectively, but there are indeed "number-theoretic conspiracies" in both cases. --[[User:RDBury|RDBury]] ([[User talk:RDBury|talk]]) 03:56, 10 July 2024 (UTC)
:::This additional question is “are there infinitely many positive integers that are not the sum of '''two''' perfect powers?” [[Special:Contributions/49.217.131.145|49.217.131.145]] ([[User talk:49.217.131.145|talk]]) 12:42, 10 July 2024 (UTC)
::::I think Lambiam's tuple counting argument with a tweak or two settles this. If N is congruent to 3 mod four then there must be an odd power. The number of perfect powers less than N is asymptotically <math>\sqrt N</math> and the number of odd powers is asymptotically <math>\sqrt[3] N.</math> The number of combinations is then <math>\Omega(N^\frac56)</math> which is asymptotically less than N. I didn't see an OEIS entry for this, but that may be because I was trying to work out the first few terms in my head. Sequence {{OEIS link|A075434}} comes close, but they're not counting 0 as a perfect power so it includes 4, 27, ... . --[[User:RDBury|RDBury]] ([[User talk:RDBury|talk]]) 17:26, 10 July 2024 (UTC)
:::::I haven't proved this, but it seems that no number of the form <math>2^n-1,n\geq18,</math> can be written as the sum of two perfect powers. The largest base-2 repunit that is such a sum may be <math>2^{17}-1=3^3+362^2.</math> &nbsp;--[[User talk:Lambiam#top|Lambiam]] 17:50, 10 July 2024 (UTC)
::::::It seems to be true if [[Fermat–Catalan conjecture]] is true, since numbers == 3 mod 4 (as well as numbers divisible by 3 but not 9, numbers divisible by 7 but not 49, numbers divisible by 11 but not 121, etc.) are not sum of two squares. [[Special:Contributions/220.132.216.52|220.132.216.52]] ([[User talk:220.132.216.52|talk]]) 06:03, 11 July 2024 (UTC)
:::::::If <math>0</math> is not considered a perfect power, truth of the Fermat–Catalan conjecture implies a positive answer to the additional question: only a finite number of prime powers of the form <math>p^p</math> are the sum of two non-zero perfect powers. I don't see how to use it here. The relevance of non-expressibility as sums of squares escapes me. &nbsp;--[[User talk:Lambiam#top|Lambiam]] 05:56, 12 July 2024 (UTC)
::::::::If p == 3 mod 4 and q is odd prime, then p^q is not the sum of two squares, and truth of the Fermat–Catalan conjecture implies that only a finite number of numbers of the form p^q are the sum of two perfect powers such that at least one of them is cube or higher power. [[Special:Contributions/220.132.216.52|220.132.216.52]] ([[User talk:220.132.216.52|talk]]) 06:44, 13 July 2024 (UTC)
:::::::::This assumes not counting <math>0</math> as a perfect power. The premise of the question is that <math>0</math> and <math>1</math> are both counted as perfect powers. &nbsp;--[[User talk:Lambiam#top|Lambiam]] 10:13, 13 July 2024 (UTC)


= July 10 =
what is the mean value theorem, and please explain with reference to integrals and limits.
and plz do provide a set of solved examples.
and are there any online notes available for reviewing these concepts (of the book cALCULUS BY THOMAS AND FINNEY 9TH EDITION) <small>—Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[Special:Contributions/203.128.4.231|203.128.4.231]] ([[User talk:203.128.4.231|talk]]) 06:17, 23 October 2007 (UTC)</small><!-- Template:UnsignedIP --> <!--Autosigned by SineBot-->


== Definition of proof ==
:Have you seen [[Mean value theorem]]? If you're looking for worked examples, you can also look at [[b:Calculus/Mean Value Theorem for Functions]]. [[User:ConMan|Confusing Manifestation]] 06:55, 23 October 2007 (UTC)


How does Gödel defined a proof in his version of [[Intermediate logic]]? [[Special:Contributions/2A02:8071:60A0:92E0:78B6:4D3A:774B:E50C|2A02:8071:60A0:92E0:78B6:4D3A:774B:E50C]] ([[User talk:2A02:8071:60A0:92E0:78B6:4D3A:774B:E50C|talk]]) 18:34, 10 July 2024 (UTC)
= October 24 =


:Can you give us a pointer to a source defining "Gödel's version" of intermediate logic? Also, is there evidence that Gödel defined the notion of proof for this logic? &nbsp;--[[User talk:Lambiam#top|Lambiam]] 18:46, 10 July 2024 (UTC)
== O J & π ==


A flyer from ''[[Scientific American]]'' invites me to buy books about [[0 (number)|0]], [[golden ratio|&phi;]], [[pi|&pi;]], [[e (mathematical constant)|''e'']] and [[imaginary unit|''i'']]. It says that &pi; was mentioned in testimony in [[O. J. Simpson murder case|the murder trial of O. J. Simpson]]. Anyone know how? &mdash;[[User:Tamfang|Tamfang]] 02:31, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
:I found it with a little Googling. Search "FBI" in [http://www.math.harvard.edu/~knill/sofia/data/citations.txt]. It quotes ''The Joy of Pi'' by [[David Blatner]]. An FBI Special Agent is quizzed on pi and the area of a circle. His suggestions for pi were 2.12 and 2.17. Judge Ito got closer with 3.1214. [[User:PrimeHunter|PrimeHunter]] 22:17, 24 October 2007 (UTC)


== Picture ==
At [http://discovermagazine.com/1995/dec/infinityplusonea599], in the upper left hand corner, there's a picture of a crumpled up surface. What is it? [[User:Black Carrot|Black Carrot]] 05:44, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
:I believe I've seen that same picture labeled as a minimal surface, but I can't find a reference. [[User:75.3.82.67|75.3.82.67]] 06:30, 24 October 2007 (UTC)


= July 13 =
: It is indeed: namely a [[gyroid]], [http://www.bathsheba.com/math/gyroid/ made by Bathsheba Grossman]. I have one beside my monitor. &mdash;[[User:Tamfang|Tamfang]] 08:42, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
== Given the results from powers of tau in the trusted setup ceremony ; the verifying and the proving key, how can I find the point [f] resulting from the trusted setup in [[Non-interactive zero-knowledge proof|Groth16]] ? ==
::Is it really metal? does it weigh a bit.. Wow - has anyone got any links to how these are made - it's not immediately apparent how I would print with metal - are chemicals involved - or some sort of ion beam?[[User:87.102.94.157|87.102.94.157]] 12:58, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
:{{small|''Moved to the Computing section of the Reference desk — &nbsp;--[[User talk:Lambiam#top|Lambiam]] 13:36, 16 July 2024 (UTC)''}}


= July 15 =
:::These things can be made with [[Rapid prototyping]] systems. Basically the shape is built up lay by layer using special chemicals which are hardened by lasers (or similar). The end result is a plastic model which can then be used to cast a metal object. An alternative could be [[CNC]] (computer numerical control). --[[User:Salix alba|Salix alba]] ([[User talk:Salix alba|talk]]) 15:38, 24 October 2007 (UTC)


== Next Julian period ==
:::Actually it might be done with Direct metal printing, [[Direct metal deposition]] is the closest WP article. --[[User:Salix alba|Salix alba]] ([[User talk:Salix alba|talk]]) 15:42, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
:{{small|''Moved to the Science section of the Reference desk — &nbsp;--[[User talk:Lambiam#top|Lambiam]] 13:24, 16 July 2024 (UTC).''}}


= July 16 =
::: [http://www.bathsheba.com/sculpt/process/#3dprint the artist's description of the technology]. I have two of her pieces: the mini gyroid weighs perhaps an ounce, and the mini [http://www.bathsheba.com/sculpt/nexus/ Nexus] a bit more. They're quite sturdy. —[[User:Tamfang|Tamfang]] 16:22, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
::::Thanks those links answered it for me.. ... from the picture it looked like the thing was six inches across and weighed about a kilo... (not 28g)[[User:87.102.94.157|87.102.94.157]] 19:16, 24 October 2007 (UTC)


== In [[SageMath]], how to use GF() on a very large finite field ? ==
== processs of writing a number as the sum of four squares ==
:{{small|''Moved to the Computing section of the Reference desk — &nbsp;--[[User talk:Lambiam#top|Lambiam]] 13:37, 16 July 2024 (UTC)''}}
Please help me in knowing the process of writing a number as sum of four squares ( if there is any ) according the Lagrange's theorem. Will such splitting is unique? Also let me know the way of writing the following numbers as the sum of four squares.


33102; 33215; 103993; 104348 [[User:Kasiraoj|Kasiraoj]] 13:29, 24 October 2007 (UTC)


= July 18 =
:I ''think'' the proof of [[Lagrange's four-square theorem]] given [http://www.alpertron.com.ar/4SQUARES.HTM here] is constructive, and can be turned into a method of finding a four squares representation of any positive integer. The representation is not usually unique, even if we disregard differences of order, because identities such as
::<math>7^2+4^2=8^2+1^2</math>
:often allow you to replace one pair of squares with another pair. If you want a simple pragmatic method of finding a representation, I would try a [[greedy algorithm]] approach - start with the largest square less than ''n'', then take the largest square less than the remainder, and see if that leaves you with something that is obviously a sum of two squares. If not, backtrack and try a smaller square on either of the first two steps. For example:
::<math>33102 - 181^2 = 341</math>
::<math>341 - 18^2 = 17</math>
::<math>17 = 4^2 + 1^2</math> [[User:Gandalf61|Gandalf61]] 16:34, 24 October 2007 (UTC)


== Functions whose every derivative is positive growing slower than exponential ==
:The applet at [http://www.alpertron.com.ar/ECM.HTM] does it, explained at [http://www.alpertron.com.ar/4SQUARES.HTM]. [[User:PrimeHunter|PrimeHunter]] 22:01, 24 October 2007 (UTC)


Is there any smooth function with the following two properties:
== Mortgage Checking Accounts (MCA) ==


What are MCA's? Are they worth while for most home owners or are they only good in a few situations?
Thanks


<math>f^{(n)}(x) > 0 </math>, i.e. the ''n''th derivative of ''f'' is strictly positive for every ''x'' and ''n''.
Don Dutton <small>—Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[Special:Contributions/130.76.32.182|130.76.32.182]] ([[User talk:130.76.32.182|talk]]) 14:27, 24 October 2007 (UTC)</small><!-- Template:UnsignedIP --> <!--Autosigned by SineBot-->
:A quick [http://www.google.com/search?q=mortgage+checking+account&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a google search] brings up lots of relevant results. The short version is that your paycheck deposits directly against your mortgage (instead of into a traditional checking account) and you're allowed to make withdrawals against your mortgage. Money that would otherwise be unspent counts toward your mortgage, paying it off faster (and reducing the interest you're paying). Additionally, there are suggestions that you can fiddle with credit card balances and such to gain an edge in interest accumulation. A significant caveat is that the system demands careful money management, particularly with regard to long-term savings. As for their overall merit, you would be well-advised to consult a professional. &mdash; [[User talk :Lomn|Lomn]] 15:02, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
::I wouldn't do something like that. Unless you have a very high mortgage rate, the benefits of the liquidity of cash-equivalent investments such as CDs outweigh the savings of paying down a mortgage in most circumstances. In a declining real estate market, it especially makes little sense to focus on paying down a mortgage ahead of schedule as those who are in danger of being underwater on their mortgage are also unlikely to be able to pay off the mortgage at a sufficient rate to fix their situation. I would imagine that in an MCA situation the bank is going to look very unfavorably at someone's mortgage balance exceeding the market value of the home so you could see the house next door being sold in a foreclosure auction quickly eliminating any savings that you might have managed to store in an MCA. Having a stash of ready cash will be helpful for handling such situations as getting into an apartment (between security deposit, first/last month's rent and moving costs, it can easily be $5-6K to move into an apartment in Los Angeles). Basic money management would put paying down the mortgage at the bottom of the priority list. [[User:Donald Hosek|Donald Hosek]] 16:33, 24 October 2007 (UTC)


<math>\lim_{x \rightarrow\infty}\frac{f(x)}{b^{x}} = 0</math> for every ''b'' > 1. The hard case is when ''b'' is small.
::I performed the same Google search as [[User talk :Lomn|Lomn]], and after seeing a lot of words but not a lot of information, I added the word "scam" to my search. It seems that a lot of money is being charged for these accounts, and there are also a lot of "paid referrers". I don't have any statistics at hand, but I'd guess that most mortgage loans these days allow additional payments of principal at any time, without resorting to some "new" scheme that has a bit of on odor to it. --[[User:LarryMac|<font color="#3EA99F">LarryMac</font>]][[User talk:LarryMac|<font color="#3EA99F"><small> | Talk</small></font>]] 17:52, 24 October 2007 (UTC)


== Wikipedia and Graph Theory ==
First of all, I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this. But here it is anyway.


Functions like <math>a^x</math> (for ''a'' > 1) are the only ones I can think of with the first property, but none of them has the second property because you can always choose ''b'' < ''a''. So I am asking whether there is any function with the first property that grows slower than exponential.
Wikipedia can be represented as a [[graph (mathematics)|graph]] (where pages are vertices, and links are edges). Has anyone ever done any research about wikipedia in terms of graph properties? For example, it would be interesting to know whether the English wikipedia has more than one nontrivial [[Connected component (graph theory)|connected component]]. Since it's more closely represented by a digraph, maybe "strongly connected" would be a better term. I find graph theory quite interesting, and I wonder if this type of analysis has ever been done with wikipedia. This sparked my interest when I heard about a game in which you pick any two topics, and try to find the shortest path from one to the other by only clicking links in the article. --[[User:BennyD|BennyD]] 15:15, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
*Hello BennyD, did you try this one : [http://www.wikimindmap.org/ wikimindmap] ? Just take a look and tell me if it helps. --[[User:Harvestman|<font color="blue"> DLL </font>]] <sup>[[User talk:Harvestman |<font color="green"> .. T</font>]]</sup> 17:11, 24 October 2007 (UTC)


[[Special:Contributions/120.21.218.123|120.21.218.123]] ([[User talk:120.21.218.123|talk]]) 10:09, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
== Simpler method of differentiation ==


:Wouldn't any power series with positive coefficients that decrease compared to the coefficients of the exponential do? The exponential is <math>1 + \sum_{k=1}^{\infty}\frac{1}{k!}x^k</math>, so e.g. <math>f(x) = 1 + \sum_{k=1}^{\infty} \frac{1}{k}\frac{1}{k!} x^k</math> should do the trick. The next question is whether you can find a closed-form expression for this or a similar power series. --[[User:Wrongfilter|Wrongfilter]] ([[User talk:Wrongfilter|talk]]) 13:02, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
I have to work out [[Taylor series]] of various functions, and there's one that seems a little tricky. It's not that I can't do Taylor series, but the only way I can think of to differentiate <math>\frac{1}{2 + 3x}</math> is to use the quotient rule, which works fine for the first differential, but is totally unwieldy for the 3rd (having to square a massively long polynomial is a complete pain). To make things harder, I'm not making the series around 0, so I can't cancel out all the ''x'' terms later. Is there a simpler way to differentiate this function (it seems really simple, so I'm sure I'm missing something obvious...) [[User:Smurrayinchester|<span style="color:#00BB55">Laïka</span>]] 16:49, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
::Good thinking. It is of course the case that the first property holds for any power series where all coefficients are positive. Plotting on a graph, I think your specific example doesn't satisfy the second property, but others where the coefficients decrease more rapidly do. [[Special:Contributions/120.21.218.123|120.21.218.123]] ([[User talk:120.21.218.123|talk]]) 13:26, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
::<math>1+\sum_{k=1}^\infty\frac1k\frac1{k!}x^k>1+\sum_{k=1}^\infty\frac1{k{+}1}\frac1{k!}x^k=</math> <math>1+\sum_{k=1}^\infty\frac1{(k{+}1)!}x^k=</math> <math>1+\frac1x\sum_{k=1}^\infty\frac1{(k{+}1)!}x^{k{+}1}=</math> <math>1+\frac1x\sum_{k=2}^\infty\frac1kx^k=\frac{\exp x - 1}x=</math> <math>\Omega(2^x).</math> &nbsp;--[[User talk:Lambiam#top|Lambiam]] 13:45, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
:A [[half-exponential function]] will satisfy your requirements. [[Hellmuth Kneser]] famously defined an analytic function that is the [[functional square root]] of the exponential function.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Hellmuth Kneser |title=Reelle analytische Lösungen der Gleichung <math>\varphi(\varphi(x))=e^x</math> und verwandter Funktionalgleichungen |journal=[[Journal für die reine und angewandte Mathematik]] |url=http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?GDZPPN002175851 |volume=187 |year=1950 |pages=56–67}}</ref> &nbsp;--[[User talk:Lambiam#top|Lambiam]] 14:04, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
:{{reflist-talk}}
:A variant of [[User:Wrongfilter|Wrongfilter]]'s idea that I think does work:
::<math>f(x)=\sum_{k=0}^\infty\frac{x^k}{(k!)^2}</math>
:(taking <math>0^0</math> to be <math>1</math>).
:Numerical evidence suggests that <math>\log f(x)\sim 2\sqrt x.</math> One might herefore hope that <math>e^{2\sqrt x}</math> would also work. However, its second derivative is negative for <math>x<\tfrac14.</math> &nbsp;--[[User talk:Lambiam#top|Lambiam]] 22:20, 20 July 2024 (UTC)


= July 20 =

: Firstly, it's easier to use the chain rule rather than the quotient rule for this: the derivative of 1/f(x) is -f'(x)/(f(x)^2) (of course, the quotient rule gives the same answer). Secondly, don't expand the polynomial in the denominator. So the first derivative is <math>\frac{-3}{(2+3x)^2}</math>, and the 2nd derivative is <math>\frac{-3*-3*2}{(2+3x)^3}</math> - can you take it from there? [[User:AndrewWTaylor|AndrewWTaylor]] 17:14, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

::Differentiation is the hard way to find the Taylor series of this function. I'll give a hint for the easy way: The Taylor series of <math>\frac{1}{1-x}</math> around 0 is <math>\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}x^n</math>. -- [[User:Meni Rosenfeld|Meni Rosenfeld]] ([[User Talk:Meni Rosenfeld|talk]]) 17:21, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

:::Thanks; I'd tried the chain rule but a stupid mistake in my working screwed up the answer; I knew there was something obvious I'd missed. [[User:Smurrayinchester|<span style="color:#00BB55">Laïka</span>]] 19:46, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

== Water volume ==

This is probably a bit of a dunce-ish question but never mind. If I know the cross section of a river, assumed constant, and the speed of the water flowing in the river, again assumed constant, how can I estimate the volume of water flowing in a given time frame. (This is a homework question but I tried to be vague. If it doesn't make sense as it is, I can give more specific info.) Thanks [[User:Asyndeton|asyndeton]] 20:08, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

: What do you get if you multiply the area of the section by the speed? Note the units. &mdash;[[User:Tamfang|Tamfang]] 20:24, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

::The speed is m/s, the area is m^2, so I would get m^3/s? And then I just mulitply by, in my case, 60 to get the volume in a minute. Thanks [[User:Asyndeton|asyndeton]] 20:44, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
:::Yep. It's somewhat impressive how many problems reduce to simple multiiplications and divisions once you look at the units. [[User:Donald Hosek|Donald Hosek]] 23:12, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
::::A tad embarassing really. But then again, I suppose we all learn from our mistakes. [[User:Asyndeton|asyndeton]] 23:14, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
:::::Blindly trusting the power of [[dimensional analysis]] is dangerous, as there might be other physical quantities or constants effecting the problem, the units of which can change the result. I will always remember a book I've read which uses dimensional analysis to "prove" that [[Drag (physics)|drag]] in a liquid is proportional to the square of the speed, where in practice the relation is much more similar to linear. The discrepancy is due to ignoring a unit-bound property of the liquid.
:::::This particular problem can be solved easily without resorting to such unsound methods. -- [[User:Meni Rosenfeld|Meni Rosenfeld]] ([[User Talk:Meni Rosenfeld|talk]]) 12:24, 25 October 2007 (UTC)
::::::Well I'm looking to learn. How would you go about it? [[User:Asyndeton|asyndeton]] 12:26, 25 October 2007 (UTC)
:::::There are several equivalent ways to think about it - one is to consider the "end" of the river, where the water enters the ocean. The volume of water flowing in a given time frame (<math>\Delta t</math>) is the volume of water exiting the river in that period. The water that will exit the river from now until <math>\Delta t</math> from now is exactly the water that can reach the end in time less than <math>\Delta t</math>, and since it flows at speed ''v'', this is exactly the water at distance up to <math>v\Delta t</math> from the end - and it forms a [[prism (geometry)|prism]] of cross section ''S'' and height <math>v\Delta t</math>. The volume of this is <math>Sv\Delta t</math>. -- [[User:Meni Rosenfeld|Meni Rosenfeld]] ([[User Talk:Meni Rosenfeld|talk]]) 12:38, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

== prisoner's dilemmas ==

where to find the 64 analyzable prisoner's dilemmas ?
[[User:71.113.165.99|71.113.165.99]] 11:58, 25 October 2007 (UTC)
:Our [[Prisoner's dilemma]] article describes one of them, and perhaps can get you started on the search for the other 63. -- [[User:Meni Rosenfeld|Meni Rosenfeld]] ([[User Talk:Meni Rosenfeld|talk]]) 12:14, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

Latest revision as of 22:20, 20 July 2024

Welcome to the mathematics section
of the Wikipedia reference desk.
Select a section:
Want a faster answer?

Main page: Help searching Wikipedia

   

How can I get my question answered?

  • Select the section of the desk that best fits the general topic of your question (see the navigation column to the right).
  • Post your question to only one section, providing a short header that gives the topic of your question.
  • Type '~~~~' (that is, four tilde characters) at the end – this signs and dates your contribution so we know who wrote what and when.
  • Don't post personal contact information – it will be removed. Any answers will be provided here.
  • Please be as specific as possible, and include all relevant context – the usefulness of answers may depend on the context.
  • Note:
    • We don't answer (and may remove) questions that require medical diagnosis or legal advice.
    • We don't answer requests for opinions, predictions or debate.
    • We don't do your homework for you, though we'll help you past the stuck point.
    • We don't conduct original research or provide a free source of ideas, but we'll help you find information you need.



How do I answer a question?

Main page: Wikipedia:Reference desk/Guidelines

  • The best answers address the question directly, and back up facts with wikilinks and links to sources. Do not edit others' comments and do not give any medical or legal advice.
See also:

July 7

[edit]

Using sagemath or an other language, how to exactly find out what the order of the base point of an elliptic curve in Edwards Form is ?

[edit]

This kind of code will do it for the usual Weirestrass form :

a = 1
b = 3141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592307816406665
p = 2^251 + 17*2^192 +1

E = EllipticCurve(GF(p), [0,0,0,a,b])
print(E)
print(E.abelian_group())

card = E.cardinality()
print("cardinality =",card)
factor(card)

G = E(874739451078007766457464989774322083649278607533249481151382481072868806602,152666792071518830868575557812948353041420400780739481342941381225525861407)
print("Generator order q=", G.order())

But how to do it for a curve in the twisted Edwards form ? Because I suppose converting the curve and the point to the Weirestrass form would change the resulting order being computed right ? 2A01:E0A:401:A7C0:DD6F:EA1B:CCA4:2633 (talk) 21:12, 7 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not an expert, but I'd think that the group is isomorphic to the Weierstrass group by which it is induced.  --Lambiam 11:07, 8 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

July 8

[edit]

If 0 and 1 are counted as perfect powers, can every sufficiently large number be written as the sum of 3 perfect powers?

[edit]

If 0 and 1 are counted as perfect powers, can every sufficiently large number be written as the sum of 3 perfect powers? 1.165.223.46 (talk) 12:09, 8 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Are you including perfect powers of negative numbers?
example: the first problematic number is 7, which cannot be made from 3 powers of positive numbers, but using negative numbers, 7 = 2^3 + (-1)^3 + 0^3. Dhrm77 (talk) 14:40, 8 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Every sufficiently large number, of course I know that 7 and 15 cannot be written as such. 220.132.216.52 (talk) 17:09, 8 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
[edited: This comment addresses a different problem]: A necessary condition for an integer to equal such a sum a sum of three cubes is that does not equal 4 or 5 modulo 9, because the cubes modulo 9 are 0, 1, and −1, and no three of these numbers can sum to 4 or 5 modulo 9. For the remaining set of integers it is an open problem; see Sums of three cubes.  --Lambiam 16:10, 8 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
No, I only consider nonnegative numbers. 220.132.216.52 (talk) 17:08, 8 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It would seem that no one knows, see OEIS:A113505. GalacticShoe (talk) 17:32, 8 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I'm confused. 32 is congruent to 5 mod 9, but it's the sum of 1 perfect power. All numbers not congruent to 7 mod 8 are a sum of three squares so you only have to consider 7, 15, 23, 31, ... The OEIS entry does not cite a source, other than just letting the program run to 108 (which seems feasible). But in general if OEIS doesn't know then it's probably unknown. --RDBury (talk) 01:28, 9 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
There's also the slightly-more restrictive OEIS:A135393 that doesn't use 0 or 1 as perfect powers, and even then the list seems to probably be finite. This makes me wonder what would happen if you removed the nonnegativity constraint from the base of the power. Certainly many terms would disappear (like ), and it seems likely that every number not congruent to or would be erased as per the sums of three cubes, but the remaining terms might be interesting. GalacticShoe (talk) 04:26, 9 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
335 is in fact 7^3 + (-2)^3 2402:7500:943:2AC:F4A8:5238:E22:338A (talk) 06:31, 9 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, but I wanted to give an example without using -1, 0, or 1. Although there are easy examples like , I'd like to know if there are more without using the more trivial perfect powers. GalacticShoe (talk) 07:38, 9 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Are there infinitely many positive integers that are not the sum of two perfect powers? (If 0 and 1 are counted as perfect powers) 2402:7500:943:2AC:F4A8:5238:E22:338A (talk) 06:31, 9 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The number of perfect powers up to is (if I'm not mistaken) asymptotically equal to Then there are triples of perfect powers whose sum is at most Thus, unless there is some number-theoretic conspiracy that makes many triple sums unexpectedly often have the same value, one expects, by a naive counting argument, saturation: not only can eventually all numbers be expected to be the sum of three perfect powers, but to be so in many ways.  --Lambiam 12:03, 9 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
For N congruent to 7 mod 8 you need at least one odd power. So I think the number of triples you can use for these N is more like . The exponent is still greater than 1 though. The asymptotic density of numbers which are the sum of three squares is 7/8 and for two squares it's 0. In these cases your tuple counting argument would estimate densities of and respectively, but there are indeed "number-theoretic conspiracies" in both cases. --RDBury (talk) 03:56, 10 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
This additional question is “are there infinitely many positive integers that are not the sum of two perfect powers?” 49.217.131.145 (talk) 12:42, 10 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I think Lambiam's tuple counting argument with a tweak or two settles this. If N is congruent to 3 mod four then there must be an odd power. The number of perfect powers less than N is asymptotically and the number of odd powers is asymptotically The number of combinations is then which is asymptotically less than N. I didn't see an OEIS entry for this, but that may be because I was trying to work out the first few terms in my head. Sequence A075434 comes close, but they're not counting 0 as a perfect power so it includes 4, 27, ... . --RDBury (talk) 17:26, 10 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I haven't proved this, but it seems that no number of the form can be written as the sum of two perfect powers. The largest base-2 repunit that is such a sum may be  --Lambiam 17:50, 10 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It seems to be true if Fermat–Catalan conjecture is true, since numbers == 3 mod 4 (as well as numbers divisible by 3 but not 9, numbers divisible by 7 but not 49, numbers divisible by 11 but not 121, etc.) are not sum of two squares. 220.132.216.52 (talk) 06:03, 11 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
If is not considered a perfect power, truth of the Fermat–Catalan conjecture implies a positive answer to the additional question: only a finite number of prime powers of the form are the sum of two non-zero perfect powers. I don't see how to use it here. The relevance of non-expressibility as sums of squares escapes me.  --Lambiam 05:56, 12 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
If p == 3 mod 4 and q is odd prime, then p^q is not the sum of two squares, and truth of the Fermat–Catalan conjecture implies that only a finite number of numbers of the form p^q are the sum of two perfect powers such that at least one of them is cube or higher power. 220.132.216.52 (talk) 06:44, 13 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
This assumes not counting as a perfect power. The premise of the question is that and are both counted as perfect powers.  --Lambiam 10:13, 13 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

July 10

[edit]

Definition of proof

[edit]

How does Gödel defined a proof in his version of Intermediate logic? 2A02:8071:60A0:92E0:78B6:4D3A:774B:E50C (talk) 18:34, 10 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Can you give us a pointer to a source defining "Gödel's version" of intermediate logic? Also, is there evidence that Gödel defined the notion of proof for this logic?  --Lambiam 18:46, 10 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]


July 13

[edit]

Given the results from powers of tau in the trusted setup ceremony ; the verifying and the proving key, how can I find the point [f] resulting from the trusted setup in Groth16 ?

[edit]
Moved to the Computing section of the Reference desk —  --Lambiam 13:36, 16 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

July 15

[edit]

Next Julian period

[edit]
Moved to the Science section of the Reference desk —  --Lambiam 13:24, 16 July 2024 (UTC).[reply]

July 16

[edit]

In SageMath, how to use GF() on a very large finite field ?

[edit]
Moved to the Computing section of the Reference desk —  --Lambiam 13:37, 16 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]


July 18

[edit]

Functions whose every derivative is positive growing slower than exponential

[edit]

Is there any smooth function with the following two properties:


, i.e. the nth derivative of f is strictly positive for every x and n.

for every b > 1. The hard case is when b is small.


Functions like (for a > 1) are the only ones I can think of with the first property, but none of them has the second property because you can always choose b < a. So I am asking whether there is any function with the first property that grows slower than exponential.

120.21.218.123 (talk) 10:09, 18 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Wouldn't any power series with positive coefficients that decrease compared to the coefficients of the exponential do? The exponential is , so e.g. should do the trick. The next question is whether you can find a closed-form expression for this or a similar power series. --Wrongfilter (talk) 13:02, 18 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Good thinking. It is of course the case that the first property holds for any power series where all coefficients are positive. Plotting on a graph, I think your specific example doesn't satisfy the second property, but others where the coefficients decrease more rapidly do. 120.21.218.123 (talk) 13:26, 18 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
 --Lambiam 13:45, 18 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
A half-exponential function will satisfy your requirements. Hellmuth Kneser famously defined an analytic function that is the functional square root of the exponential function.[1]  --Lambiam 14:04, 18 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

References

  1. ^ Hellmuth Kneser (1950). "Reelle analytische Lösungen der Gleichung und verwandter Funktionalgleichungen". Journal für die reine und angewandte Mathematik. 187: 56–67.
A variant of Wrongfilter's idea that I think does work:
(taking to be ).
Numerical evidence suggests that One might herefore hope that would also work. However, its second derivative is negative for  --Lambiam 22:20, 20 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

July 20

[edit]