A Taylor polynomial replaces a function near a chosen point by a polynomial with matching derivatives. If has derivatives through order at , defineThe factorial denominator makes for . This determines a unique polynomial of degree of a polynomial at most . Order zero matches the value, order one also matches the tangent line, and order two also incorporates the second derivative. Matching more local information is useful because polynomials are easy to evaluate, differentiate, and integrate. The distinction between the finite Taylor polynomial and the infinite Taylor series is developed in OpenStax, Taylor and Maclaurin series.
For a computed example, let and expand at zero. Its first three derivatives giveAt , the linear approximation is and the quadratic approximation is , compared with . The quadratic correction captures the downward bending of the square root and reduces the absolute difference from about to .
Matching more derivatives improves a local square-root approximation, and the third derivative supplies an error bound
. Details. The Taylor remainder turns this convenient approximation into a controlled calculation. On , is positive and at most . The Taylor theorem with Lagrange remainder therefore givesConsequently follows without using the displayed decimal evaluation as evidence. The Taylor polynomial and the Taylor remainder play different roles: the former supplies an answer that is easy to compute, while the latter specifies what accuracy is justified. Farther from the expansion point, the same low-degree polynomial need not remain accurate.
An integral adds up contributions of a function across a domain of integration. For a continuous function on , the Riemann integral is the common limit of its Riemann sums as the largest subinterval width tends to zero:Each product combines a value with the width over which it acts. When is nonnegative, the result is the area beneath its graph; values below the horizontal axis contribute with the opposite sign. The signed area under a graph can therefore vanish even when the graph encloses nonzero geometric area.
For a velocity on , use equal time steps. The left and right Riemann sums areBecause the function is increasing, they bound the integral. With six steps they give and ; with sixty steps they give and . Both approach the same total, . This is accumulation made exact by refining finite measurements.
An integral retains units: velocity times time gives displacement, and a probability density function integrated over an interval gives a probability. Weighting a density by a function gives its expectation. The same operation serves different subjects because it expresses a common pattern, value multiplied by extent, then accumulated.
The fundamental theorem of calculus often evaluates a definite integral by finding an antiderivative, but a finite sum or a numerical approximation is still useful when no convenient antiderivative is available. An indefinite integral denotes a family of antiderivatives; a definite integral denotes an accumulated value between specified endpoints. More general constructions, including Lebesgue integration, extend the class of functions and domains that can be handled.
The floor is the greatest integer not exceeding the real number . Equivalently, exactly when , for an integer . The floor function is constant on each such half-open interval and has a discontinuity of a function at each integer.
Permutation representation of a two-transitive action by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Let be a finite-dimensional real inner-product space and let be continuous. If on the sphere , then has a zero in the open ball. Otherwise the radial projection of gives a map of the ball that contradicts the Brouwer fixed-point theorem.
When an inverse Laplace integrand contains on the principal branch, closing the Bromwich contour to the left encloses isolated poles and wraps a branch cut along the negative real axis. Pole residues give persistent oscillatory terms, while the jump across the two sides of the cut gives a real decaying integral.
Monodromy reflection at a square-root branch point by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Letwhere has a simple zero at , and let be the limiting value of at on one sheet. Analytic continuation once around changes the sign of the square root and hence of . The continued primitive agrees at with the original one, so it is
A phonon is a bosonic quantum of a crystal's normal modes. Because phonon number is not conserved in thermal equilibrium, its chemical potential is zero.
Bose-Einstein condensation is the macroscopic occupation of the lowest one-particle state by bosons below a critical temperature.
Kahn-Kalai counterexample to the Borsuk conjecture by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
For independent rate-one exponential variables and ,almost surely. The first follows by applying both Borel--Cantelli lemmas to thresholds ; the second uses
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For a nonnegative random variable , Tonelli theorem givesConsequently, for each , exactly when ; compare the integral on successive intervals of length .
A nonzero Boolean integral domain has only the elements zero and one, so it is . The quotient criterion then makes every prime quotient of a Boolean ring a field, and every prime ideal maximal.
If a nonzero function on the Boolean hypercube has degree at most , then its support has measure at least . This sharp bound follows by induction on the dimension.
Hypercontractive inequality on the Boolean hypercube by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
One form of the hypercontractive inequality is , where is the noise operator on the Boolean hypercube.
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