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Although implicit in the development of calculus of the 17th and 18th centuries, the modern idea of the limit of a function goes back to Bolzano who, in 1817, introduced the basics of the epsilon-delta technique (see (ε, δ)-definition of limit below) to define continuous functions. However, his work was not known during his lifetime.
The epsilon operator and epsilon substitution method are typically applied to a first-order predicate calculus, followed by a demonstration of consistency. The epsilon-extended calculus is further extended and generalized to cover those mathematical objects, classes, and categories for which there is a desire to show consistency, building on ...
The basic idea behind Delta-epsilon proofs is, arguably, first found in the works of Cauchy in the 1820s. [9] [10] Cauchy did not clearly distinguish between continuity and uniform continuity on an interval.
H. Jerome Keisler, David Tall, and other educators maintain that the use of infinitesimals is more intuitive and more easily grasped by students than the "epsilon–delta" approach to analytic concepts. [10] This approach can sometimes provide easier proofs of results than the corresponding epsilon–delta formulation of the proof.
a variation in the calculus of variations; the Kronecker delta function [20] the Feigenbaum constants [21] the force of interest in mathematical finance; the Dirac delta function [22] the receptor which enkephalins have the highest affinity for in pharmacology [23] the Skorokhod integral in Malliavin calculus, a subfield of stochastic analysis
It is called the delta function because it is a continuous analogue of the Kronecker delta function, which is usually defined on a discrete domain and takes values 0 and 1. The mathematical rigor of the delta function was disputed until Laurent Schwartz developed the theory of distributions, where it is defined as a linear form acting on functions.
Keisler's Elementary Calculus: An Infinitesimal Approach defines continuity on page 125 in terms of infinitesimals, to the exclusion of epsilon, delta methods. The derivative is defined on page 45 using infinitesimals rather than an epsilon-delta approach. The integral is defined on page 183 in terms of infinitesimals.
The notion of analytic proof was introduced into proof theory by Gerhard Gentzen for the sequent calculus; the analytic proofs are those that are cut-free.His natural deduction calculus also supports a notion of analytic proof, as was shown by Dag Prawitz; the definition is slightly more complex—the analytic proofs are the normal forms, which are related to the notion of normal form in term ...