Series of Functions

Let uk(x)u_k(x) is a sequence of integrable functions. And series of those functions is defined as:

sn(x)=∑k=1nuk(x)s_n(x) = \sum_{k=1}^n u_k(x)

Convergence Tests

Weierstrass M-Test

To test if a series of functions converges uniformly and absolutely.

Suppose fnf_n is a sequence of functions on a set AA. If both these conditions are met:

  • ∀n≥1  ∃Mn≥0  ∀x∈A  ;∣fn(x)∣≤Mn\forall n \ge 1\;\exists M_n \ge 0\; \forall x \in A\;; \lvert f_n(x) \rvert \le M_n
  • Tn=∑n=1∞MnT_n = \sum_{n=1}^\infty M_n converges

Then:

∑n=1∞fn(x)  converges uniformly & absolutely\sum_{n=1}^\infty f_n(x)\; \text{converges uniformly \& absolutely}

Differentiation

Theorem

If (all conditions must be met):

  1. un(x)u_n(x) is differentiable (  ⟹  sn(x)\implies s_n(x) is differentiable) on [a,b][a,b]
  2. sn(x0)s_n(x_0) converges (pointwise) for some x0∈[a,b]x_0 \in [a,b]
  3. sn′(x)=∑k=1nuk′(x)s_n'(x)=\sum_{k=1}^n u_k'(x) converges to f(x)f(x) uniformly on [a,b][a,b]

Then:

  1. sn(x)s_n(x) converges to s(x)s(x) uniformly on [a,b][a,b]
  2. s(x)s(x) is differentiable on [a,b][a,b]
  3. s′(x)=f(x)s'(x)=f(x) OR in other words sn′(x)s_n'(x) converges to s′(x)s'(x) uniformly

In that case, differentiation and infinite sum can be interchanged:

∑k=1∞ddxuk(x)=ddx∑k=1∞uk(x)\sum_{k=1}^\infty \frac{\text{d}}{\text{d}x} u_k(x) = \frac{\text{d}}{\text{d}x} \sum_{k=1}^{\infty} u_k(x)

For Power Series

For any power series, inside the range of convergence, conditions for the above theorem is valid and thus the conclusions are valid.

Suppose sn=∑k=1nak(x−c)ks_n=\sum_{k=1}^n a_k(x-c)^k, and RR is the radius of convergence. For ∣x−c∣≤p<R\lvert x-c \rvert \le p \lt R:

s′(x)=ddx∑k=1∞ak(x−c)k=∑k=0∞kak(x−c)k−1s'(x)= \frac{\text{d}}{\text{d}x} \sum_{k=1}^{\infty} a_k(x-c)^k =\sum_{k=0}^\infty k a_k (x-c)^{k-1}
Written by September 29, 2026 2 min read
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