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Questions tagged [approximation-theory]

Approximation theory is concerned with how functions can best be approximated with simpler functions, and with quantitatively characterizing the errors introduced thereby.

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Approximating rational generating functions

Suppose we have a initial segment $x_1,\ldots,x_N$ (for reasonably large $N$) of a sequence of natural numbers $(x_i)$. We have reason to believe the generating function $\sum_{i=0}^\infty x_iX^i$ is ...
Brian Lang's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
129 views

Jackson inequality for a nonpolynomial basis

Hi everybody, this is my first question.$L^2$,$H^p$ are the standard Lebesgue,Sobolev spaces here, and I am deliberately omitting the domains because I'll accept an answer if it's on an interval or a ...
Reid Atcheson's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
226 views

Spectral norm for a truncated Hilbert matrix

Let $T_{N}$ be the (Hilbert) matrix defined by $T_{N}(m,n)=\frac{1}{m-n}$ if $1\leq m,n \leq N$ and $m\neq n$ , and $ T_{N}(n,n)=0$ if $1\leq n \leq N$ . It's well known that $\Vert T_{N}\Vert < \...
Emmanuel Preissmann's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
244 views

Is the Binomial Expectation of a Multivariate Convex Function Convex in the Vector p?

Let $\mathbf{p}=(p_1,\dots,p_m)$ be a vector in $[0,1]^m$ and let $\mathbf{X}=(X_1,\dots,X_m)$ be a vector of independently-distributed binomial random variables such that $X_i\sim \text{Binom}(n,p_i)$...
Hugh Medal's user avatar
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0 answers
160 views

Two Different Representations of Multivariate Bernstein Polynomials

In the literature the multivariate Bernstein polynomial of a function $f:[0,1]^m\rightarrow\mathbb{R}$ is often defined as the following: $$B_{f,n}(x_1,\dots,x_m)=\sum_{\mathbf{k}\in \{0,\dots,n\}^m}...
Hugh Medal's user avatar
5 votes
0 answers
321 views

Approximation by polynomials

The following is a well-known theorem (see e.g. The Chebyshev Polynomial by Rivlin): If $p(x) = x^n + a_{n_1} x^{n-1} + \ldots + a_0$, then $\max_{-1\leq x \leq 1} |p(x)| \geq 2^{1-n}$ for $n \geq 1$ ...
Navin Goyal's user avatar
64 votes
5 answers
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The unreasonable effectiveness of Padé approximation

I am trying to get an intuitive feel for why Padé approximation works so well. Given a truncated Taylor/Maclaurin series it "extrapolates" it beyond the radius of convergence. But what I can'...
Felix Goldberg's user avatar
23 votes
1 answer
1k views

Hilbert's Theorem on $L_2$ norm of polynomials in $\mathbb{Z}[X]$ - Explicit construction and a converse?

Consider the set of polynomials with real coefficients as a vector space with the following inner-product: $\langle f, g \rangle = \int_{a}^{b} f(x)g(x) dx$. Hilbert showed, in a paper from 1894, ...
Ofir Gorodetsky's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
312 views

Approximation theory under $L_1$-error

Is there a reference for results in approximation theory of bounded functions of one (and multiple) variables under $L_1$-error? Formal definitions for functions of one variable are below. Let $C$ ...
Grigory Yaroslavtsev's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
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Lebesgue constant as condition number of polynomial interpolation

Let $T = \{ x_0,\ldots,x_n \}$ be a set of $n+1$ different points in the real interval $[a,b]$. Let $X_T$ be the associated interpolation operator on $C[a,b]$: it takes a function $f \in C[a,b]$ into ...
Back's user avatar
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2 answers
605 views

Approximating a subspace by sampling a base without replacement

Let $X$ be a $p \times n$ matrix, with $p > n$. Now, suppose I sample $m < n$ columns from $X$ at random, without replacement. I would like to characterize the distance between the subspace ...
gappy3000's user avatar
  • 461
6 votes
2 answers
3k views

Approximating erf by tanh

It appears to be well-known that $\tanh(x)\le \mathrm{erf}(x)$ on $[0,\infty)$. It's off-handedly mentioned here, for example. Where can I find a formal proof? On the one hand, it's hard to imagine ...
Aryeh Kontorovich's user avatar
17 votes
4 answers
3k views

Using Quotient of Prime Numbers to Approximation Reals

We know a positive rational number can be uniquely written as $m/n$ where $m$ and $n$ are coprime positive integers. Particularly, we can pick out those numbers with $m$ and $n$ both prime. Question ...
Ash GX's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
1k views

Convex upper bound on a linear-fractional function

I have a function of the form $f(x,y) = \frac{x}{c+y}$ where $c$ is a positive constant, $c \ge x \ge 0$, and $y \ge 0$. I would like to find a convex upper-bound for this function. Is there a ...
Norouzi's user avatar
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4 votes
4 answers
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When we use Bernstein polynomials in application

When it is preferable to use Bernstein polynomials to approximate a continuous function instead of using the only following preliminary Numerical Analysis methods: "Lagrange Polynomials", &...
AmirHosein Sadeghimanesh's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
459 views

Approximation power of wavelets

The Wikipedia article on Wavelet Transform states that: Wavelet compression is not good for all kinds of data: transient signal characteristics mean good wavelet compression, while smooth, periodic ...
dima's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
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approximation in Lie algebras

Let $x_{1}$, $x_{2}$, $x_{3}$ three disctinct closed points of a curve $X$ over an algebraically closed field k. Let G a connected reductive group and $\mathfrak{g}$ his Lie algebra. I fix a Borel $...
prochet's user avatar
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3 votes
0 answers
440 views

Decay rate of the singular values of functions

Suppose a function $f:[-1,1]^2\rightarrow \mathbb{C}$ has a singular value decomposition: $$ f(x,y) = \sum_{k=1}^\infty \sigma_k u_k(y) v_k(x), \qquad \sum_{k=1}^\infty \sigma_k^2 <\infty, $$ ...
alext87's user avatar
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3 votes
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A.G. Vitushkin's "Easily representable families of functions" - can it be generalized?

Background In his monograph "Estimation of the complexity of the tabulation problem" (translated into English as "Theory of the Transmission and Processing of Information") Vitushkin studies ...
dima's user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
243 views

Worst-case error and Cramer-Rao Lower Bound - is there any mathematical relation between them?

I would like to understand the relation (if any) between the Cramer-Rao Lower Bound of estimation theory and the following simple definition of "reconstruction accuracy" which doesn't use any ...
dima's user avatar
  • 959
3 votes
2 answers
2k views

Sampling without replacement until hitting a subset

I randomly sample uniformly from $ \{1,..,N \}$ without replacement until drawing a number $ \leq k$. Denote the expected number of draws by $R(N,k)$. I want a good approximation for $\sum_{k=1}^N R(...
Jacob's user avatar
  • 63
6 votes
3 answers
2k views

Multivariate Bernstein polynomials for approximation of derivatives.

If I have a $C^\infty$ function $f: [0,1]^n \to \mathbb{R}$ then its Bernstein polynomials $$ B_m(x) = \sum_{k_1,\dots,k_n=0}^m f\left(\frac{k_1}{m}, \dots, \frac{k_m}{m}\right) \prod_{i=1}^n \binom{m}...
Joe Neeman's user avatar
16 votes
2 answers
3k views

Approximating a convex function by a piecewise linear function

Suppose I have a Lipschitz-continuous convex function $f:\mathbb{R}^n\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$. I wish to approximate it on the unit ball by a piecewise-linear function $g:\mathbb{R}^n\rightarrow \...
Flavio Burton's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
341 views

Bound on trigonometric sum

I want to show that there is some $\gamma(n)=o(n^{-1})$ and some $C(n) \to -\infty$ such that for $\gamma \leq \theta \leq \pi$ we have $\sum_{k=1}^n -1+\cos(k\theta) \leq C(n)$. If we rewrite this ...
jordanbell2357's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
754 views

Approximation by polynom 1) with respect to supremum-norm 2) I need F_{approx} > F_{exact}

Given a function F, how to find polynom which is best/good approximate with respect supreremum-norm, i.e. minimize over P_{approx} sup|F-P_{approx}| ? I am intersted in polynoms in two variables of ...
Alexander Chervov's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
185 views

Approximating $\prod_{i=1}^{n-1} (1-ai)$ for large $n$

I have a function of the form: $f(n) = \prod_{i=1}^{n-1} (1-ai)$ Here, $a \geq 0$ and $(a*i) < 1$. For $n > 10^5$ or $10^6$, what is the best possible analytic approximation for $f(n)$ that ...
Roger S.'s user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
343 views

Algebraic curve approximation

I am wondering wether it exists a theorem that any continuous path on the plane one can approximate with algebraic curve $P(x,y)=0$ ($P$- is a polynom)?
David's user avatar
  • 83
1 vote
1 answer
133 views

are p-limits scales dense in the infinite musical scale of all rational frequencies?

In the wiki section on prime limit tuning, one reads: ...
Mirco A. Mannucci's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
249 views

$W^{1,1}$ simplicial approximation

Let $f$ be a continuous real-valued function defined on an $n$ dimesional simplex $\Sigma\subset \mathbb{R}^n $. The classical simplicial approximation scheme provides a sequence $f_k$ of piecewise ...
Pietro Majer's user avatar
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7 votes
3 answers
2k views

Approximation theory reference for a bounded polynomial having bounded coefficients

Let $P(x)$ be a real polynomial of degree at most $d$. Assume $|P(x)| \leq 1$ for $|x| \leq 1$. I would like a bound saying that each coefficient of $P(x)$ is at most $C^d$ in magnitude, for some ...
Ryan O'Donnell's user avatar
11 votes
1 answer
1k views

Stone-Weierstrass analogue for $L^p$

Let $A$ be a complex algebra of bounded measurable functions on the measure space $(X,\mu)$ (case of $[0,1]$ with Lebesgue measure is enough for me) closed under conjugation. Assume that $A$ separates ...
Fedor Petrov's user avatar
6 votes
0 answers
191 views

what books to read to quickly understand adiabatic approximation

Hi group, I'm a theoretical ecologist with fairly adequate training in applied math (ODE, linear algebra, applied probability, some PDEs). In my current work, I've encountered the use of adiabatic ...
user22624's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
1k views

A question about the Beurling-Selberg majorant

Beurling's majorant is defined as the unique entire function $B(z)$ such that the Fourier transform of $B(x)$ is compactly supported in the interval $[-1;1]$, $B(x) \geq \text{sgn}(x)$ and $B(x)$ ...
boinkboink's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
171 views

approximation of holomorphic functions on a halfplane.

Let $\mathbb {C} _ + $ denote the right halfplane and $A$ the algebra $$ A = \{ f \in H^\infty({\mathbb C} _ +) \cap C(\overline{{\mathbb C} _ +}): \; |f(z)| \le M (1+|z|)^{-\epsilon} \text{ ...
Eric's user avatar
  • 21
13 votes
5 answers
4k views

Application of polynomials with non-negative coefficients

Question 1: Are there any deeper applications (in any field of mathematics) of polynomials (with possibly more than one variable) over the real numbers whose coefficients are non-negative? So far I ...
Miroslav Korbelar's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
664 views

Are piecewise linear curves dense among Hölder curves?

Consider for some $0 < \alpha \leq 1$ the space functions $x:[0,1] \to \mathbb{R}^n$ such that $x(0) = 0$ and $\sup_{s,t} \frac{\|f(t)-f(s)\|}{|t-s|^{\alpha}}$ is finite. There are at least two ...
Pablo Lessa's user avatar
  • 4,304
8 votes
2 answers
1k views

Approximation by polynomials

Let $f:[a,b] \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$ be of class $C^n$. Let $ x_0, ..., x_m$ be different numbers from $[a,b]$. Does for each $\varepsilon >0$ there exist a polynom $P$ such that $P^{(k)}(x_i)=f^{...
arc's user avatar
  • 277
9 votes
2 answers
1k views

polynomials with minimal $L_\infty$ norm on multiple disjoint intervals

It is well-known that Chebyshev polynomials are the polynomials of minimal $L_\infty$ norm on [-1,1] with leading coefficient 1. But what if you want the minimal $L_\infty$ polynomial on two disjoint ...
Paul's user avatar
  • 223
9 votes
0 answers
561 views

Padé approximations of $e$

The following question came up in the analysis of some algorithm. Let $R_{s,t}(z)$ be the Padé approximants of $e^z$, and define $r_{s,t} = R_{s,t}(1)$. Using the explicit expression for the error ...
Yuval Filmus's user avatar
  • 1,906
5 votes
2 answers
1k views

Stone-Weierstrass for monotone functions

Let $\; f : [0,1] \to \mathbb{R} \;$ be continuous and non-decreasing. $\;\;$ Let $\epsilon$ be a real number such that $\; 0 < \epsilon \;$. Does it follow that that there exists a real ...
user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
195 views

Markov-type inequalities with arbitrary exponents

By a Markov-type inequality I mean an inequality of the form $$ \| p^{(k)} \| \leq \lambda_{k,n} \| p \|,\quad \forall p \in U_n, $$ for some $\lambda_{k,n} > 0$, where $U_n \subset L^\infty[-1,1]$ ...
Ben Adcock's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
2k views

Polynomial approximation in L^p norms

Hello, I am very new to the field of approximation theory, and since an extended search on the Internet did not provide answers for two rather basic questions, I decided to ask them here. 1) From ...
nothappy's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
1k views

Low degree polynomial approximation for the entropy function

Let $X$ be a discrete random variable with possible values $\{x_1,\ldots,x_n\}$, and let $p$ denote the probability mass function of $X$. In addition, denote $p_i=p(x_i)$. The entropy of $X$ is ...
user avatar
19 votes
1 answer
2k views

Accumulation of algebraic subvarieties: Near one subvariety there are many others (?), 3

Part 3 of this series of questions. In the meantime, I realized that there is some very simple question that was left open in Accumulation of algebraic subvarieties: Near one subvariety there are many ...
Peter Scholze's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
369 views

Low degree approximation of the polynomial extension of the logical-or function

Let $x\in\{0,1\}^n$ be a binary vector of dimension $n$, and let $OR(x)$ be the "logical or" function (i.e., returns $1$ if at least one of the coordinates is $1$ and otherwise returns $0$). Consider ...
user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
367 views

Trigonometrical approximation for the characteristic function of an interval

Hello, Denoting $e(x)$ for $e^{2i\pi x}$, set $$E(R):=\left\{f\ \left|\ f(x)=\sum_{r=0}^{R-1}a_re(rx)\mbox{ where }a_r\in\mathbb{C}\ \forall r\mbox{ and }\sum_r|a_r|^2=1\right\}\right.$$ $h(a,R):=\...
Emmanuel Preissmann's user avatar
15 votes
0 answers
517 views

Functions approximated by rolling epicycle curves

Imagine a decreasing sequence of (positive) radii $r_1 > r_2 > r_3 > \cdots$ and a series of nested circles $C_1 \supset C_2 \supset C_3 \supset \cdots$ with these radii, initially each ...
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar
6 votes
5 answers
3k views

Approximation to the ratio of a Gaussian CDF to PDF

Johnstone and Silverman (2005) claimed that for large x $\frac{1-\Phi(x)}{\phi(x)} \approx \frac{1}{x}$ where $\Phi(x)$ and $\phi(x)$ are the CDF and PDF for a normal random variable. I was able ...
lowndrul's user avatar
  • 203
7 votes
3 answers
3k views

Uniform approximation of $x^n$ by a degree $d$ polynomial: estimating the error

The answer to this question should be well known, but it's a hard question to search for online. Suppose we want to approximate the function $x^n$ by a polynomial of degree $d$ in the $L_\infty$ norm ...
Ryan O'Donnell's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
955 views

Least-squares regression and differential geometry

For $k, n \in \mathbb{N}$, let $\mathcal{C}_n \mathbb{R}^k$ denote the configuration space of $n$ distinct points in $\mathbb{R}^k$. (1) Is there a description of the tangent space $T_C \mathcal{C}...
Alexander Moll's user avatar

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