MathGroup Archive 2007

[Date Index] [Thread Index] [Author Index]

Search the Archive

SeriesCoefficient: needs work!

  • To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
  • Subject: [mg83384] SeriesCoefficient: needs work!
  • From: jackgold at umich.edu
  • Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 06:11:24 -0500 (EST)

Hi Everyone,

I have been experimenting with the new (ver 6) command, 
SeriesCoefficient in the form,

SeriesCoefficient[fnt,{x,x0,n}].

Here fnt is a function of x and n is symbolic.  This command is 
supposed to return the nth coefficient in the series expansion of fnt 
about x0.

I have found the following results on a MacBook Pro running Tiger.

1) SeriesCoefficient[Cos[x] Exp[x], {x, 0, n}] returns itself, unevaluated.

2) SeriesCoefficient[Cos[x] Exp[x]/(1-x), {x, 0, n}] returns an 
expression involving incomplete Gamma functions with an imaginary 
argument.  Odd that 1) does not compute but 2) does! Not that the 
result is terribly revealing, by the way.

3) SeriesCoefficient[Sin[x] Exp[x], {x, 0, n}] so preposterously 
complicated that most of us would have preferred no result!  (Just 
joking.  The result is far to complicated to publish here.)

My opinion is that this use of SeriesCoefficient should not be offered 
to the public until some of these obvious glitches are cleaned up.  
Incidentally, since the nth terms of the individual functions Sin[x], 
Cos[x], Exp[x] and 1/(1-x) can be found using SeriesCoefficient and 
surely Mathematica knows how to find the nth coefficient of a product of power 
series, I suspect the problem lies in the finite summation which 
results from the use of the Cauchy product formula.



  • Prev by Date: ordered positions (OrderedPosition?)
  • Next by Date: Re: What is a good way of returning a function from a Module[]?
  • Previous by thread: Re: Coloring cells
  • Next by thread: Re: SeriesCoefficient: needs work!