Sources in the development of mathematics : infinite series and products from the fifteenth to the twenty-first century / Ranjan Roy.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Roy, Ranjan, 1948- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mathematics--Historiography.

Mathematics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xix, 974 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The discovery of infinite products by Wallis and infinite series by Newton marked the beginning of the modern mathematical era. It allowed Newton to solve the problem of finding areas under curves defined by algebraic equations, an achievement beyond the scope of the earlier methods of Torricelli, Fermat and Pascal. While Newton and his contemporaries, including Leibniz and the Bernoullis, concentrated on mathematical analysis and physics, Euler's prodigious accomplishments demonstrated that series and products could also address problems in algebra, combinatorics and number theory. In this book, Ranjan Roy describes many facets of the discovery and use of infinite series and products as worked out by their originators, including mathematicians from Asia, Europe and America. The text provides context and motivation for these discoveries, with many detailed proofs, offering a valuable perspective on modern mathematics. Mathematicians, mathematics students, physicists and engineers will all read this book with benefit and enjoyment.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Power series in fifteenth-century Kerala; 2. Sums of powers of integers; 3. Infinite product of Wallis; 4. The binomial theorem; 5. The rectification of curves; 6. Inequalities; 7. Geometric calculus; 8. The calculus of Newton and Leibniz; 9. De Analysi per Aequationes Infinitas; 10. Finite differences: interpolation and quadrature; 11. Series transformation by finite differences; 12. The Taylor series; 13. Integration of rational functions; 14. Difference equations; 15. Differential equations; 16. Series and products for elementary functions; 17. Solution of equations by radicals; 18. Symmetric functions; 19. Calculus of several variables; 20. Algebraic analysis: the calculus of operations; 21. Fourier series; 22. Trigonometric series after 1830; 23. The gamma function; 24. The asymptotic series for ln [Gamma] (x); 25. The Euler-Maclaurin summation formula; 26. L-series; 27. The hypergeometric series; 28. Orthogonal polynomials; 29. q-Series; 30. Partitions; 31. q-Series and q-orthogonal polynomials; 32. Primes in arithmetic progressions; 33. Distribution of primes: early results; 34. Invariant theory: Cayley and Sylvester; 35. Summability; 36. Elliptic functions: eighteenth century; 37. Elliptic functions: nineteenth century; 38. Irrational and transcendental numbers; 39. Value distribution theory; 40. Univalent functions; 41. Finite fields.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references (p. 943-958) and index.

ISBN:

9786613295842

9781316086582

1316086585

9781139635516

1139635514

9781283295840

1283295849

9781139122603

1139122606

9780511844195

0511844190

9781139116862

113911686X

9781139127523

1139127527

9781139112505

1139112503

9781139114691

1139114697

OCLC:

769341828