Questions tagged [formal-power-series]

This tag is for questions relating to "formal power series" which can be considered either as an extension of the polynomial to a possibly infinite number of terms or as a power series in which the variable is not assigned any value.

A formal power series, sometimes simply called a "formal series" is, informally, an expression of the form $$a(x) = a_0 +a_1x+a_2x^2 +a_3x^3 +\cdots=\sum_{i=0}^{\infty}a_i~x^i~,$$where the $a_i$ are numbers, but it is understood that no value is assigned to $x$. Unlike usual power series, convergence is not usually a concern.

Addition (termwise) and multiplication (Cauchy product) operations are defined, allowing formal power series to be studied in the context of ring theory. The set of all formal power series in $X$ with coefficients in a commutative ring $R$ forms another ring called the ring of formal power series in the variable $X$ over $R$, commonly written $R[[X]]$. Formal power series can be created from Taylor polynomials using formal moduli.

A related concept is a formal Laurent series, where the sum can be allowed to take finitely many negative values. The ring of formal Laurent series in $X$ over $R$ is denoted $R((X))$.

Reference:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formal_power_series

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A sequence of coefficients of $x+(x+(x+(x+(x+(x+\dots)^6)^5)^4)^3)^2$

Let's consider a function (or a way to obtain a formal power series): $$f(x)=x+(x+(x+(x+(x+(x+\dots)^6)^5)^4)^3)^2$$ Where $\dots$ is replaced by an infinite sequence of nested brackets raised to $n$th power. The function is defined as the limit…
Yuriy S
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If $R$ is a Noetherian ring then $R[[x]]$ is also Noetherian

Let $R$ be a Noetherian ring. How can one prove that the ring of the formal power series $R[[x]]$ is again a Noetherian ring? It is well-known that the ring of polynomials $R[x]$ is Noetherian. I try imitating the standard proof of the fact by…
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Functional equations satisfied by both sine and tangent functions.

The functional equation identity, (assuming ALSO $\,f(-x)=-f(x)\,$ for all $\,x$), $$ f(a)f(b)f(a\!-\!b)+f(b)f(c)f(b\!-\!c)+f(c)f(a)f(c\!-\!a)+ f(a\!-\!b)f(b\!-\!c)f(c\!-\!a) = 0 \tag{1}$$ for all $\,a,b,c\,$ has solutions $f(x)=k_1\sin(k_2\,x)$…
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Prove addition law from duplication formula (for power series associated to elliptic genus)

I would like to prove the following statement, which I'll state initially without context since I believe it to be purely algebraic. Let $f(x)=x+a_3x^3+a_5x^5+\cdots$ be an odd formal power series (say, over $\Bbb Q$). Then the following are…
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If $R[x]$ and $R[[x]]$ are isomorphic, then are they isomorphic to $R$ as well?

There are examples of commutative rings $R \neq 0$ such that $R[x]$ is isomorphic to $R[[x]]$ (see this question; an example would be $R=S[x_1, x_2, \ldots][[y_1, y_2, \ldots]]$, with $S \neq 0$ any commutative ring). This is false, see Martin…
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When does $f,g \in R[x]$ relatively prime imply $f,g \in R[[x]]$ relatively prime.

Recently in some research I came to the point where the strength of my conclusion bottlenecks at my ability to precisely address this question: Let $R$ be a ring such that $R[[x]]$, the ring of formal power series with coefficients in $R$, is a GCD…
Badam Baplan
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Is the ring of formal power series in infinitely many variables a unique factorization domain?

Is $R[[x_1,x_2\dots]]$ a unique factorization domain where the notation means infinite sums where each term is a finite product over the $x_i's$ with coefficients in $R$. I am most interested in the case where $R = \Bbb R$ or $\Bbb C$.
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Replacing ideal generators in $R[[X]]$ by polynomials

Consider a ring $R$ and the ring of formal power series $R[[X]]$ over $R$. Note that $R[X]$ naturally embeds into $R[[X]]$. Now let $I$ be a finitely generated ideal of $R[[X]]$, say, $I=\langle f_1,\dots,f_n\rangle$. What are the least necessary…
mrtaurho
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Polynomial approximation to formal power series matrix

I noticed that starting with a $2 {\times} 2$ matrix $M$ with a handful of polynomial entries in two variables such that $\det M$ is invertible in $\mathbb C [x] [[y]]$ I can add infinitely many terms of higher orders in $y$ to the entries of $M$ to…
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$p$-adic logarithm is a homomorphism, formal power series proof

Consider the $p$-adic logarithm defined by the series $$\log (1+x) = \sum_{n\ge 1} (-1)^{n+1} \frac{x^n}{n}.$$ It converges for $|x|_p < 1$, and if $|x|_p < 1$ and $|y|_p < 1$, then we have $$\log ((1+x)\cdot (1+y)) = \log (1+x) + \log (1+y).$$ One…
AAA
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The group of $k$-automorphisms of $k[[x,y]]$, $k$ is a field

Let $k$ be a field. Is the group of $k$-automorphisms of $k[[x,y]]$ known? ($k[[x,y]]$ is the ring of formal power series in two variables, see Wikipedia.) A somewhat relevant question is this question, which deals with $k[[x]]$, with $k$ any…
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Does $R[[x]] \cong S[[x]]$ imply $R\cong S$

Let $R,S$ be commutative unitary rings. Is it true that $$R[[x]] \cong S[[x]] \quad \Rightarrow \quad R\cong S.$$ Here by $R[[x]], S[[x]]$ I mean the ring of formal power series and the isomorphisms as isomorphisms of rings. In fact, in this…
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Is $K[X]\hookrightarrow K[[X]]$ an epimorphism?

Let $K$ be a field and $X$ an indeterminate. Is the natural monomorphism $K[X]\hookrightarrow K[[X]]$ an epimorphism? By epimorphism I mean epimorphism in the category of commutative rings. EDIT. The question can be spelled out as follows: Are…
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Difference between generating functions and formal power series

So I was reading about generating functions and formal power series, and it seems that these two concepts are used interchangeably. Can someone please tell me the difference between them? Is generating functions a method that involves using formal…
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Relationship between $p$-adic numbers and analytic continuation of $1+x+x^2+x^3+...$

The infinite sums $1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + ...$ $1 + 3 + 9 + 27 + ...$ $1 + 5 + 25 + 125 + ...$ $1 + 7 + 49 + 343 + ...$ ... of powers of primes do not converge in the usual sense. However, by analytically continuing the expression $1 + x + x^2 + x^3 +…
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