Frequent Questions
17,982 questions
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Question about functional derivatives
This page on Wikipedia defines the so-called functional derivative as follows: "Given a manifold $M$ representing (continuous/smooth) functions $\rho$ (with certain boundary conditions, etc.) and a ...
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3
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Guises of the Stasheff polytopes, associahedra for the Coxeter $A_n$ root system?
Richard Stanley keeps a famous running compilation of different guises of the celebrated Catalan numbers. The number of vertices of the associahedron is one instantiation among the multitude, and the ...
- 10.5k
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2
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Explaining Mukai-Fourier transforms physically
A core concept in mathematics, engineering, and physics is the Fourier Transform (FT) and its many variants (Generalized Fourier Series, Green's Function, Pontryagin duality).
The basic algorithm is ...
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Is the conjecture A+B=C following correct?
Is the conjecture on A+B=C following correct ?
Conjecture: Let $A, B, C$ be three positive integer numbers such that $A+B=C$ with $\gcd(A, B, C) = 1$. By Fundamental theorem of arithmetic we write:
$...
- 1,776
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Combinatorics for the action of Virasoro / Kac–Schwarz operators: partition polynomials of free probability theory
In the background sections below, I establish the relations among characterizations of the action of Virasoro / Kac–Schwarz operators of 2D gravity models presented in terms of Laurent series by ...
- 10.5k
149
votes
7
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Homotopy groups of Lie groups
Several times I've heard the claim that any Lie group $G$ has trivial second fundamental group $\pi_2(G)$, but I have never actually come across a proof of this fact. Is there a nice argument, ...
- 4,014
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Computer algebra errors
In the course of doing mathematics, I make extensive use of computer-based calculations. There's one CAS that I use mostly, even though I occasionally come across out-and-out wrong answers.
After ...
130
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Are there any very hard unknots?
Some years ago I took a long piece of string, tied it into a loop, and tried to twist it up into a tangle that I would find hard to untangle. No matter what I did, I could never cause the later me any ...
- 29k
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7
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What is the smallest unsolved Diophantine equation?
If $P=\sum_{\bf i} a_{\bf i}x^{\bf i}\in {\mathbb Z}[x_1,\dots,x_d]$, let $|P|=\sum_{\bf i}|a_{\bf i}|x^{\bf i}$ and $h(P)=|P|(2,\dots,2)$, so that there is only a finite number of $P$ with $h(P)\leq ...
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2
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Geometric interpretation of the half-derivative?
For $f(x)=x$, the half-derivative of $f$ is
$$\frac{d^{\frac{1}{2}}}{dx^{\frac{1}{2}}} x = 2 \sqrt{\frac{x}{\pi}} \;.$$
Is there some geometric interpretation of (Q1) this specific derivative, and, (...
- 151k
46
votes
2
answers
11k
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Does the curvature determine the metric?
I ask myself, whether the curvature determines the metric.
Concretely: Given a compact manifold $M$, are there two metrics $g_1$ and $g_2$, which are not everywhere flat, such that they are
not ...
- 1,755
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3
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Which integers can be expressed as a sum of three cubes in infinitely many ways?
For fixed $n \in \mathbb{N}$ consider integer solutions to
$$x^3+y^3+z^3=n \qquad (1) $$
If $n$ is a cube or twice a cube, identities exist.
Elkies suggests no other polynomial identities are known.
...
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38
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answer
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Infinite tensor products
Let $A$ be a commutative ring and $M_i, i \in I$ be a infinite family of $A$-modules. Define their tensor product $\bigotimes_{i \in I} M_i$ to be a representing object of the functor of multilinear ...
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What mathematical treatment is there on the renormalization group flow in a space of Lagrangians?
What mathematical treatment is there on the renormalization group flow in a space of Lagrangians?
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Fourier transform of the unit sphere
The Fourier transform of the volume form of the (n-1)-sphere in $\mathbf R^n$ is given by the well-known formula
$$
\int_{S^{n-1}}e^{i\langle\mathbf a,\mathbf u\rangle}d\sigma(\mathbf u) = (2\pi)^{\nu ...
- 31.5k
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On equation $f(z+1)-f(z)=f'(z)$
Original Problem
If $f$ is an entire function such that
$$ f(z+1)-f(z)=f'(z) $$
for all $z$.
Is there a non-trivial solution? ($f(z)=az+b$ is trivial)
And here is something uncertainty
If we use ...
- 1,551
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1
answer
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Gödel's Constructible Universe in Infinitary Logics (A Possible Approach to HOD Problem)
Gödel's constructible universe ($L$) is defined using definable power set operator in first order logic ($\mathcal{L}_{\omega ,\omega}$). One can produce such a universe in infinitary logics in ...
user46667
19
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3
answers
2k
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How many tacks fit in the plane?
Call a tack the one point union of three open intervals. Can you fit an uncountable number of them on the plane? Or is only a countable number?
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The cyclic subfactors theory: a quantum arithmetic?
Context: First recall some results:
Actions of finite groups on the hyperfinite type $II_{1}$ factor $R$ (Jones 1980).
A Galois correspondence for depth 2 irreducible subfactors (Izumi-Longo-Popa ...
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2
answers
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Riemann zeta function at positive integers and an Appell sequence of polynomials related to fractional calculus
I was exploring some raising and lowering operators related to an infinitesimal generator for fractional integro-derivatives and found an Appell sequence of polynomials, i.e., an infinite sequence of ...
- 10.5k
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Bound the error in estimating a relative totient function
Let $n=p_1^{e_1}\cdots p_k^{e_k}$ be an integer with $k$ prime factors. We know that the number of integers less than $n$ and coprime to it is
$$\Phi(n)=n-\sum_i\frac n{p_i}+\sum_{i \lt j}\frac n{...
- 30.1k
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Elliptic operators corresponds to non vanishing vector fields
Added, June 19, 2019: The main motivation of this post is to associate an index to differential operator associated to a dynamical system such that the index has an interesting ...
- 366
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Would the following conjectures imply $\lim\inf_{n\to\infty}p_{n+k}-p_{n}=O(k\log k)$?
Assume Goldbach's conjecture. Then for every $n\ge 2$ there exists at least one non-negative integer $r\le n-2$ such that both $n+r$ and $n-r$ are primes. Let's write $r_{0}(n):=\inf\{r\le n-2, (n-r,n+...
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Necessary conditions for cofibrancy in global projective model structure on simplicial presheaves
Consider the global projective model category
of simplicial presheaves on some category
(the category of smooth manifolds is particularly interesting to me).
In Section 9.1 of Dugger's paper “...
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7
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1
answer
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Pochhammer symbol of a differential, and hypergeometric polynomials
I have a minor result which I'm sure has come up somewhere before but I can't seem to find it.
Consider a confluent hypergeometric function of the form
$$\newcommand{\ff}{{}_1F_1}
\ff(b+k;b;z)\...
- 2,358
5
votes
1
answer
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views
Series solution of the trinomial equation
The roots of trinomial equations $x^p+x-q=0$ ($p\in\mathbb{N}$) can be expressed in terms of the hypergeometric functions. I am wondering if at least one real root, for instance given by the following ...
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What are some examples of colorful language in serious mathematics papers?
The popular MO question "Famous mathematical quotes" has turned
up many examples of witty, insightful, and humorous writing by
mathematicians. Yet, with a few exceptions such as Weyl's "angel of
...
282
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47
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Examples of unexpected mathematical images
I try to generate a lot of examples in my research to get a better feel for what I am doing. Sometimes, I generate a plot, or a figure, that really surprises me, and makes my research take an ...
165
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23
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Do you read the masters?
I often hear the advice, "Read the masters" (i.e., read old, classic texts by great mathematicians). But frankly, I have hardly ever followed it. What I am wondering is, is this a ...
123
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How to solve $f(f(x)) = \cos(x)$?
I found the following equation on some web page I cannot remember, and found it interesting:
$$f(f(x))=\cos(x)$$
Out of curiosity I tried to solve it, but realized that I do not have a clue how to ...
- 1,571
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Reflection principle vs universes
In category-theoretic discussions, there is often the temptation to look at the category of all abelian groups, or of all categories, etc., which quickly leads to the usual set-theoretic problems. ...
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Can every manifold be given an analytic structure?
Let $M$ be a (real) manifold. Recall that an analytic structure on $M$ is an atlas such that all transition maps are real-analytic (and maximal with respect to this property). (There's also a sheafy ...
- 54.6k
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votes
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Eigenvalues of matrix sums
Is there a relationship between the eigenvalues of individual matrices and the eigenvalues of their sum? What about the special case when the matrices are Hermitian and positive definite?
I am ...
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11
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Is there a complex structure on the 6-sphere?
I don't know who first asked this question, but it's a question that I think many differential and complex geometers have tried to answer because it sounds so simple and fundamental. There are even a ...
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6
answers
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third stable homotopy group of spheres via geometry?
It is ''well-known'' that the third stable homotopy group of spheres is cyclic of order $24$. It is also ''well-known'' that the quaternionic Hopf map $\nu:S^7 \to S^4$, an $S^3$-bundle, suspends to a ...
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votes
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What does Mellin inversion "really mean"?
Given a function $f: \mathbb{R}^+ \rightarrow \mathbb{C}$ satisfying suitable conditions (exponential decay at infinity, continuous, and bounded variation) is good enough, its Mellin transform is ...
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True by accident (and therefore not amenable to proof)
The graph reconstruction conjecture claims that (barring trivial examples) a graph on n vertices is determined (up to isomorphism) by its collection of (n-1)-vertex induced subgraphs (again up to ...
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Can a problem be simultaneously polynomial time and undecidable?
The Robertson-Seymour theorem on graph minors leads to some interesting conundrums.
The theorem states that any minor-closed class of graphs can be described by a finite number of excluded minors. As ...
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answers
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What is known about the sum x^{n^2}/n?
It follows from a general theorem of Honda that the formal group with the logarithm
$$
x+x^{2^s}/2+x^{3^s}/3+x^{4^s}/4+\cdots
$$
has integer coefficients. I became interested in it because its $p$-...
- 18.4k
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Bijection between irreducible representations and conjugacy classes of finite groups
Is there some natural bijection between irreducible representations and conjugacy classes of finite groups (as in case of $S_n$)?
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Product of Borel sigma algebras
If $X$ and $Y$ are separable metric spaces, then the Borel $\sigma$-algebra $B(X \times Y)$ of the product is the $\sigma$-algebra generated by $B(X)\times B(Y)$. I am embarrassed to admit that I ...
- 31.5k
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Distinct numbers in multiplication table
Consider the multiplication table for the numbers $1,2,\dots, n$. How many different numbers are there? That is, how many different numbers of the form $ij$ with $1 \le i, j \le n$ are there?
I'm ...
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How many of the true sentences are provable?
Is there a natural measure on the set of statements which are true in the usual model (i.e. $\mathbb{N}$) of Peano arithmetic which enables one to enquire if 'most' true sentences are provable or ...
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Codimension of the range of certain linear operators
Added:8/15/2024 What about holomorphic or real analytic version? Please see the comment discussions on this post.
Assume that $P(x,y), Q(x,y) \in \mathbb{R}[x,y]$ are two polynomials. We ...
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Representability of finite metric spaces
There have been a couple questions recently regarding metric spaces, which got me thinking a bit about representation theorems for finite metric spaces.
Suppose $X$ is a set equipped with a metric $d$...
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2
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Uniqueness of compactification of an end of a manifold
Let $M$ be an $n$-dimensional manifold (smooth or topological). I call $\bar{M}$ a compactification of $M$ if it is an $n$-dimensional compact manifold with boundary $\partial \bar{M}$, an $(n-1)$-...
- 21.6k
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5
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Morse-Kelley set theory consistency strength
I've come across several references to MK (Morse-Kelley set theory), which includes the idea of a proper class, a limitation of size, includes the axiom schema of comprehension across class variables (...
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Hecke equidistribution
For a prime $p\equiv 1\pmod{4}$, we can write $p=a^2+b^2=N(a+bi)$. Therefore
$$
a+bi=p^{1/2}e^{i\varphi}
$$
where $\varphi\in [0,2\pi]$. I know that Hecke proved that $\varphi$ is equidistributed. I ...
- 2,508
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votes
3
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sum of squares in ring of integers
Lagrange proved that every positive integer is a sum of 4 squares.
Are there general results like this for rings of integers of number fields? Is this class field theory?
Explicitly, suppose a ...
user2529
18
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0
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"Special" meanders
One of the open problems in combinatorics is enumeration of meanders.
Here on MO I only could find them under the heading not-especially-famous-long-open-problems-which-anyone-can-understand.
Since my ...
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