|
|
|
|
|
Mahler's TheoremIn the notation of combinatorialists, which conflicts with that used in the theory of special functions, the Pochhammer symbol denotes the falling factorial: -
Denote by Δ the forward difference operator defined by -
Then we have -
so that the relationship between the operator Δ and this polynomial sequence is much like that between differentiation and the sequence whose nth term is xn. Mahler's theorem, named after Kurt Mahler (1903 - 1988), says that if f is a continuous p-adic-valued function of a p-adic variable, then the analogy goes further: -
It is remarkable that as weak an assumption as continuity is enough. It is a fact of algebra that if f is a polynomial function with coefficients in any specified field, the same identity holds.
|
 |
|
| Copyright 2005-2009 OnPedia.com. All Rights Reserved |
|
|