All Questions
13,927 questions
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Naive questions about "matrices" representing endomorphisms of Hilbert spaces.
This is a very basic question and might be way too easy for MO. I am learning analysis in a very backwards way. This is a question about complex Hilbert spaces but here's how I came to it: I have in ...
- 41.4k
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4
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974
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What are some examples of understanding a space by studying the functions on this space?
In Quantum theory, groups and representations, Peter Woit writes:
A fundamental principle of modern mathematics is that the way to
understand a space $M$, given as some set of points, is to look at $...
15
votes
3
answers
2k
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Asymptotic expansion of $\sum\limits_{n=1}^{\infty} \frac{x^{2n+1}}{n!{\sqrt{n}} }$
I've been trying to find an asymptotic expansion of the following series
$$C(x) = \sum\limits_{n=1}^{\infty} \frac{x^{2n+1}}{n!{\sqrt{n}} }$$
and
$$L(x) = \sum\limits_{n=1}^{\infty} \frac{x^{2n+1}}{...
- 153
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5
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Between Tietze's and Dugundji's extension theorems
The celebrated Tietze extension theorem asserts that any continuous real-valued function defined on a closed subset of a normal space, can be extended to a continuous function on the whole space. Seen ...
- 60.6k
15
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2
answers
2k
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Range of completely positive projection
Let $A$ be a C*-algebra. Suppose that $P:A \rightarrow A$ is a contractive completely positive projection. Does the range $P(A)$ is completely order isomorphic to a $C^*$-algebra?
In the case where ...
- 1,222
15
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5
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2k
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Striking existence theorems with mild conditions, and simple to state: more recent examples?
I would like to write an article about powerful existence theorems that assert, under mild and simple conditions, that some basic pattern or regularity exist. See some examples below. By mild ...
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3
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1k
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Classification of Platonic solids
My question is very basic: where can I find a complete (and hopefully self-contained) proof of the classification of Platonic solids? In all the references that I found, they use Euler's formula $v-e+...
- 955
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3
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8k
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What is an isomorphism of Banach spaces?
The nLab page on Banach spaces (http://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/Banach%20space) was recently criticised as being, in effect, too heavily biased to category theory (not of the Baire kind) and not enough ...
- 26.8k
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3
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4k
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What holomorphic functions are limits of polynomials?
Let $\Omega$ be a connected open set in the complex plane. What is the closure of the polynomials in $\mathcal{H}(\Omega)$ the set of holomorphic functions on $\Omega$? The topology is the usual ...
- 2,751
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2
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965
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$\mathfrak{ufo}$: An unidentified combinatorial cardinal characteristic of the continuum?
An ultrafilter ornament is a chain of free filters on $\mathbb{N}$ that are not ultrafilters, whose union is an ultrafilter.
Let $\mathfrak{ufo}$ be the minimal cardinality of
an ultrafilter ...
- 3,104
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2
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1k
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Is zero a hydrogen eigenvalue?
This question has been bugging me for some time.
Take the hamiltonian for the hydrogen atom: $$\hat{H}=-\frac{1}{2}\nabla^2-\frac{1}{r},$$ acting on (a domain contained in) $L^2(\mathbb{R}^3)$. It is ...
- 2,358
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2
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875
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Low dimensional topological manifolds [duplicate]
There is a well known result that every one dimensional topological manifold without boundary is homeomorphic either to the circle or to the whole real line. However there is one detail hidden: ...
- 9,330
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4
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2k
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Characterization of cocompact group action
Wikipedia claims the following:
In mathematics, an action of a group G on a topological space X is cocompact if the quotient space X/G is a compact space or, equivalently, if there is a compact ...
- 1,498
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5
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Is the pure braid group on three strands generated as a normal subgroup of the braid group by the six-crossing braid?
Artin's presentation of braid group on three strands is:
$$ B_3 = \langle l,r : lrl = rlr \rangle $$
where you should think of "$l$" as the positive crossing between the left and middle strands and "$...
- 54.6k
15
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4
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734
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Continuously selecting elements from unordered pairs
The symmetric square of a topological space $X$ is obtained from the usual square $X^2$ by identifying pairs of symmetric points $(x_1,x_2)$ and $(x_2,x_1)$. Thus, elements of the symmetric square can ...
- 44.4k
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2
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889
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Hodge decomposition of smooth n-forms: is it an isomorphism of topological vector spaces?
Fix a compact Riemannian manifold $M$ (leaving the metric implicit). What I'd like to know is if the corresponding Hodge decomposition of smooth $n$-forms
$$
\Omega^n(M) \simeq \mathcal{H}^n(M)\oplus ...
- 35.5k
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3
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1k
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Version of Banach-Steinhaus theorem
I am wondering about the following version of the Banach-Steinhaus theorem.
Let $A$ be a closed convex subset contained in the unit ball of a Banach space $X$ and consider bounded operators $T_n \in \...
- 536
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6
answers
3k
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Spectral theorem for self-adjoint differential operator on Hilbert space
I need a reference concerning a theorem that shows the following result, stated very roughly:
Given a self-adjoint differential operator densely defined on a Hilbert space, then the given Hilbert ...
15
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3
answers
3k
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Category of topological spaces with open or closed maps
Consider the category whose objects are topological spaces and whose morphisms are the open maps (or closed maps, open continuous maps, closed continuous maps … that is, one whose isomorphisms are ...
- 2,550
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4
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6k
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What is the interface between functional analysis and algebraic geometry?
This is a very open ended curiosity of mine and I would be grateful to hear any comments in this direction. In particular I am interested in functional analysis/algebraic geometry books/papers ...
- 2,246
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5
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680
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Idiosyncratic characterizations of $\ell^p$, for $p\not=1,2,\infty$
Do there exist, either in the literature or in folklore, theorems
that characterize some particular $\ell^p$ space(s) ($p\not=1,2,\infty$)?
Such a theorem should reveal the particular space(s) as ...
- 17.6k
15
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5
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807
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Abstract connectedness
Is there an abstract structure that characterizes connectedness, analogously to how topological spaces characterize continuity?
Here's one way to make this question more precise: if $(X,T_X)$ is a ...
- 66.8k
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4
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2k
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Can one do without Riesz Representation?
In more detail, can one establish that the continuous linear dual of a Hilbert space is again a Hilbert space without appealing to the Riesz Representation Theorem?
For me, the Riesz Representation ...
- 26.8k
15
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1
answer
573
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Continuous images of $\beta \mathbb{N} \setminus\mathbb{N}$
Let $\beta \mathbb{N}$ denote the Stone-Cech compatification of the natural numbers and $\beta \mathbb{N} \setminus\mathbb{N}$
denote the reminder of this compactification. I wonder if there is a ...
- 419
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3
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717
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Does every set $X$ have a topology for which the only continuous self-surjection is the identity map?
This question is a special case of Dominic van der Zypen's question Reconstructing relations with the image relation of a topology, as discussed in the comments, particularly the comment of Eric ...
- 236k
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3
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Making CW-complexes metrizable
$\newcommand\met{\mathrm{met}}$It is a basic topological fact that CW-complexes aren't typically metrizable (they must satisfy a certain local finiteness condition) and the quotient topology is to ...
- 7,193
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2
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In infinite dimensions, is it possible that convergence of distances to a sequence always implies convergence of that sequence?
This is a cross-posted on MSE here.
Let $(X,d)$ be a metric space. Say that $x_n\in X$ is a P-sequence if $\lim_{n\rightarrow\infty}d(x_n,y)$ converges for every $y\in X.$ Say that $(X,d)$ is P-...
- 1,225
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986
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Is a left topological group which is a manifold a topological group?
Let $G$ be a left topological group, i.e. a topological space with group operation such that left multiplication $L_g : x \mapsto gx$ is continuous (but right multiplication and inversion are not ...
- 1,269
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2
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3k
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Generalizations of the Tietze extension theorem (and Lusin's theorem)
I am reasking a year-old math.stackexchange.com question asked by someone else.
(For my needs every space $X$ and $Y$ will be Polish---that is a completely separably metrizable space.)
The Tietze ...
- 6,287
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2
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Must any continuous odd map from $\mathbb{S}^2$ to $\mathbb{R}$ have a path of zeros between antipodal points?
Let $f : S^2 \to \mathbb{R}$ be a continuous map such that $f(-x) = -f(x)$. Consider the set $Z = f^{-1}(0)$. Must $Z$ contain some path from some point to its antipode? Indeed, must $Z$ contain a ...
- 5,827
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681
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Are Fourier transforms of L^p stable under diffeomorphisms?
Let $\xi$ be a compactly supported distribution on $\mathbb R^n$ and assume that its Fourier transform is in $L^p$. Let $\phi:\mathbb R^n\to\mathbb R^n$ be a diffeomorphism. Does the Fourier ...
- 2,649
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3
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1k
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Why it is convenient to be cartesian closed for a category of spaces?
In 1967 Steenrod wrote what later became a quite celebrated paper, A convenient category of topological spaces (Michigan Math. J. 14 (1967) 133–152). The paper conveys the work of many (among the most ...
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2
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483
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Does the class of Hausdorff spaces have a shared "Coordinate space"?
Given topological spaces $X$ and $C$ we call $C$ a coordinate space for $X$ to mean that every open set $U \subset X$ is of the form $f^{-1}(V)$ for some open $V \subset C$ and continuous $f \colon X \...
- 1,955
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2
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1k
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Is a C*-algebra with an isomorphic predual a von Neumann algebra?
It is well-known that a C*-algebra $A$ is a von Neumann algebra if and only if it has an isometric predual, that is, if and only if there exists a Banach space $X$ such that $A$ is isometrically ...
- 3,497
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1
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684
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Is the topology generated by this weaker notion of a metric necessarily metrisable?
The triangle inequality seems much stronger than necessary for a lot of analysis. So I will define a "loose metric" on a set $X$ to be a function $d \colon X \times X \to [0,\infty)$ with ...
- 708
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2
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Analytical origins of the Stone duality
I've asked this question in the HSM community, but by the nature of my question, some user told me to ask this question here.
This is the original post https://hsm.stackexchange.com/q/13087/14296
...
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1
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839
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Homotopy pullback of a homotopy pushout is a homotopy pushout
Let's assume that we have a cube of spaces such that everything commutes up to homotopy.
The following holds:
- The right square is a homotopy pushout and
- all the squares in the middle are ...
- 181
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3
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Riesz's representation theorem for non-locally compact spaces
Every version of Riesz's representation theorem (the one expressing linear functionals as integrals) that I have found so far assumes that the underlying topological space is locally-compact. (For ...
- 5,407
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1
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Intersection of complemented subspaces of a Banach space
The following seems a very basic question in the theory of complemented subspaces of Banach spaces, but I was not able to find a reference, so I wish to ask it here.
Question. Let $X$ be a Banach ...
- 60.6k
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2
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660
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Multiple of identity plus compact
Is there an example of a bounded operator $T\in\mathcal{B}(H)$, where $H$ is a separable complex Hilbert space, such that no restriction to an infinite dimensional closed subspace is multiple of ...
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1
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Bases for spaces of smooth functions
Let $S$ denote the space of rapidly decreasing sequences, which means sequences $a=(a_k)_{k=1}^\infty$ such that the numbers $p_d(a)=\sup\{k^d|a_k| : 1\leq k<\infty\}$ are finite for all $d\in\...
- 56.9k
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Quotients of $\ell_\infty$ by separable subspaces
Given a (closed) separable subspace $M$ of $\ell_\infty$, I am interested in conditions implying that the quotient $\ell_\infty/M$ is isomorphic to a subspace of $\ell_\infty$.
It is not difficult ...
- 4,461
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2
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Error in Maurins proof for the nuclear spectral theorem?
I am currently studying the nuclear spectral theorem as presented in K. Maurins Monograph [2], second chapter or alternatively his paper [1] which contains basically the same proof.
Let $\Phi\subset H\...
- 428
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3
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Extreme points of unit ball in tensor product of spaces
Let $B_1, B_2$ be unit balls in finite-dimensional normed spaces $X_1, X_2$ respectively.
Let $e(B_1), e(B_2)$ be corresponding extreme points sets.
Consider the unit ball $B$ in tensor product $...
- 580
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1
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Matrices with entries in a $C^*$-algebra
Let $\mathcal{A}$ be a $C^\ast$-algebra. Consider vector space of matrices of size $n\times n$ whose entries in $\mathcal{A}$. Denote this vector space $M_{n,n}(\mathcal{A})$. We can define involution ...
- 1,697
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3
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Alternative proofs of the Krylov-Bogolioubov theorem
The Krylov-Bogolioubov theorem is a fundamental result in the ergodic theory of dynamical systems which is typically stated as follows: if $T$ is a continuous transformation of a nonempty compact ...
- 6,206
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1
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Gelfand-Naimark from the category-theoretic point of view
I was thinking about the Gelfand-Naimark theorem asserting the isometric * isomorphism between a commutative $C^*$-algebra (with unit) $\mathcal{A}$ and the $C^*$ -algebra of continuous complex-valued ...
- 2,479
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1
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507
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Is there an infinite subset of $\Bbb{R}$ not homeomorphic to any of its proper subsets?
Is there an infinite subset of $\Bbb{R}$ that is not homeomorphic to any of its proper subsets? Clearly, any finite subset of $\Bbb{R}$ is not homeomorphic to any of its proper subsets by mere ...
- 255
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1
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What is this equivalence relation on topological spaces: there are bijective continuous maps in both directions
Consider the following equivalence relation on topological spaces:
$X\sim Y$ $:\Longleftrightarrow$ there are bijective continuous maps $\phi:X\to Y$ and $\psi:Y\to X$.
Note that there are no ...
- 13.6k
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Borel-Écalle re-summation and resurgence: criteria and results
This is about the theory of Borel-Écalle re-summation and resurgence, see Refs below.
This states that the perturbative series (say of the vacuum expectation value of an operator $\mathcal{O}$ in ...
- 10.5k