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In mathematics, specifically in calculus and complex analysis, the logarithmic derivative of a function f is defined by the formula ′ where ′ is the derivative of f. [1] Intuitively, this is the infinitesimal relative change in f ; that is, the infinitesimal absolute change in f, namely f ′ , {\displaystyle f',} scaled by the current ...
In calculus, logarithmic differentiation or differentiation by taking logarithms is a method used to differentiate functions by employing the logarithmic derivative of a function f, [1] () ′ = ′ ′ = () ′.
The logarithmic derivative is another way of stating the rule for differentiating the logarithm of a function (using the chain rule): () ′ = ′, wherever is positive. Logarithmic differentiation is a technique which uses logarithms and its differentiation rules to simplify certain expressions before actually applying the derivative.
The natural logarithm of a number is its logarithm to the base of the mathematical constant e, which is an irrational and transcendental number approximately equal to 2.718 281 828 459. [1] The natural logarithm of x is generally written as ln x, log e x, or sometimes, if the base e is implicit, simply log x.
The identities of logarithms can be used to approximate large numbers. Note that log b (a) + log b (c) = log b (ac), where a, b, and c are arbitrary constants. Suppose that one wants to approximate the 44th Mersenne prime, 2 32,582,657 −1. To get the base-10 logarithm, we would multiply 32,582,657 by log 10 (2), getting 9,808,357.09543 ...
As x goes to infinity, ψ(x) gets arbitrarily close to both ln(x − 1 / 2 ) and ln x. Going down from x + 1 to x, ψ decreases by 1 / x , ln(x − 1 / 2 ) decreases by ln(x + 1 / 2 ) / (x − 1 / 2 ), which is more than 1 / x , and ln x decreases by ln(1 + 1 / x ), which is less than 1 / x ...
As an integral, ln(t) equals the area between the x-axis and the graph of the function 1/x, ranging from x = 1 to x = t. This is a consequence of the fundamental theorem of calculus and the fact that the derivative of ln(x) is 1/x. Product and power logarithm formulas can be derived from this definition. [41]
The logarithmic derivative of the gamma function is called the digamma function; higher derivatives are the polygamma functions. The analog of the gamma function over a finite field or a finite ring is the Gaussian sums , a type of exponential sum .