Taylor Series - Definition

Definition

The Taylor series of a real or complex-valued function ƒ(x) that is infinitely differentiable in a neighborhood of a real or complex number a is the power series

which can be written in the more compact sigma notation as

where n! denotes the factorial of n and ƒ (n)(a) denotes the nth derivative of ƒ evaluated at the point a. The derivative of order zero ƒ is defined to be ƒ itself and (xa)0 and 0! are both defined to be 1. In the case that a = 0, the series is also called a Maclaurin series.

Read more about this topic:  Taylor Series

Famous quotes containing the word definition:

    It’s a rare parent who can see his or her child clearly and objectively. At a school board meeting I attended . . . the only definition of a gifted child on which everyone in the audience could agree was “mine.”
    Jane Adams (20th century)

    The definition of good prose is proper words in their proper places; of good verse, the most proper words in their proper places. The propriety is in either case relative. The words in prose ought to express the intended meaning, and no more; if they attract attention to themselves, it is, in general, a fault.
    Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)

    I’m beginning to think that the proper definition of “Man” is “an animal that writes letters.”
    Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832–1898)