On the convergence of continued radicals with applications to polynomial equations (Q1071968)

Expressions of the form \({}^ m\sqrt{(a_ 2+^ m\sqrt{(a_ 2+^ m\sqrt{...})})}\), \(a_ n>0\) are called continued radicals. The quantity \(\alpha =\lim_{n\to \infty}\sup (n^{-1}\log \log a_ n)\) turns out to be crucial in the analysis. If \(\alpha <\log m\) \((\alpha >\log m\), resp.), a continued fraction is convergent (divergent, resp.). The more general case, where m is replaced by individual numbers, is also considered. Some examples illustrating the applicability of continued radicals to polynomial equations, and their relation to continued fractions are discussed.