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While most of the tests deal with the convergence of infinite series, they can also be used to show the convergence or divergence of infinite products. This can be achieved using following theorem: Let { a n } n = 1 ∞ {\displaystyle \left\{a_{n}\right\}_{n=1}^{\infty }} be a sequence of positive numbers.
In mathematics, Dirichlet's test is a method of testing for the convergence of a series that is especially useful for proving conditional convergence. It is named after its author Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet, and was published posthumously in the Journal de Mathématiques Pures et Appliquées in 1862. [1]
The more general class of p-series, =, exemplifies the possible results of the test: If p ≤ 0, then the nth-term test identifies the series as divergent. If 0 < p ≤ 1, then the nth-term test is inconclusive, but the series is divergent by the integral test for convergence.
A major problem was Euler's idea that any divergent series should have a natural sum, without first defining what is meant by the sum of a divergent series. Augustin-Louis Cauchy eventually gave a rigorous definition of the sum of a (convergent) series, and for some time after this, divergent series were mostly excluded from mathematics.
A famous example of an application of this test is the alternating harmonic series = + = + +, which is convergent per the alternating series test (and its sum is equal to ), though the series formed by taking the absolute value of each term is the ordinary harmonic series, which is divergent.
is used for the series, and, if it is convergent, to its sum. This convention is similar to that which is used for addition: a + b denotes the operation of adding a and b as well as the result of this addition, which is called the sum of a and b. Any series that is not convergent is said to be divergent or to diverge.
In mathematics, the ratio test is a test (or "criterion") for the convergence of a series =, where each term is a real or complex number and a n is nonzero when n is large. The test was first published by Jean le Rond d'Alembert and is sometimes known as d'Alembert's ratio test or as the Cauchy ratio test.
In mathematics, the Weierstrass M-test is a test for determining whether an infinite series of functions converges uniformly and absolutely.It applies to series whose terms are bounded functions with real or complex values, and is analogous to the comparison test for determining the convergence of series of real or complex numbers.