non-existence of universal series convergence criterion
There exist many criteria for examining the convergence and divergence of series with positive terms (see e.g. determining series convergence). They all are sufficient but not necessary. It has also been asked whether there would be any criterion which were both sufficient and necessary. The famous mathematician Niels Henrik Abel took this question under consideration and proved the
Theorem.
Proof. Let’s assume that there is a sequence (1) having the both properties. We infer that the series is divergent because . The theorem on slower divergent series guarantees us another divergent series such that the ratio tends to the limit as . But this limit result concerning the series should mean, according to our assumption, that the series is convergent. The contradiction shows that the theorem holds.
References
- 1 Ernst Lindelöf: Differentiali- ja integralilasku ja sen sovellutukset III.2. Mercatorin Kirjapaino Osakeyhtiö. Helsinki (1940).
Title | non-existence of universal series convergence criterion |
---|---|
Canonical name | NonexistenceOfUniversalSeriesConvergenceCriterion |
Date of creation | 2013-03-22 15:08:33 |
Last modified on | 2013-03-22 15:08:33 |
Owner | pahio (2872) |
Last modified by | pahio (2872) |
Numerical id | 16 |
Author | pahio (2872) |
Entry type | Theorem |
Classification | msc 40A05 |
Related topic | SlowerDivergentSeries |
Related topic | SlowerConvergentSeries |
Related topic | ErnstLindelof |