Continued radicals (Q2426723)

\(a(i),b(i),c(i)\) \((i\geq1)\) being suitable real numbers, set \[ P\{a,b;c| r\}= a(1)\cdot\{b(1)+ a(2)\cdot \{b(2)\dots+ a(r)\cdot b(r)\}^{1/c(r)}\}\dots\}^{1/c(2)}\}^{1/c(1)} \] for \(r\geq1\). When \(c(i)=1\) consistently, \(P\{a,b; c| r\}\) is a partial sum involving continued products. If then \(b(i)= \ln\{d(i)\}\), this partial sum becomes the logarithm of a continued product. When \(c(i)=-1\), \(P\{a,b; c| r\}\) becomes the continued fraction convergent \(a(1)/ \{b(1)+ a(2)/\{b(2)\dots+ a(r)/b(r)\}\}\). If then \( a(i) = 1\) consistently, the \( b(i) \) are real and positive and \( \sum b(i) \) converges, then the convergents diverge by oscillation: \(P\{a,b; c| 2r\}\) and \(P\{a,b; c | 2r+1\}\) converge to differing limits. The authors provide a further simple example of divergence by oscillation in the case in which \(c(i)=2\). They study in detail the case in which \(a(i)=1\), \(c(i)=2\): now abbreviate \(P\{a,b; c| r\}\) to \(P\{b| r\}\). They give [0] a comparison result: if \(b(i)\geq b''(i)\geq 0\) consistently, then \(P\{b| r\}\geq P\{b''| r\}\); [1] an ordering result: if \(b(i)\geq 0\) consistently, then \( P\{b| r+1\}\geq P\{b| r\}\); [2] a bound result: if \(b(i)\leq B\leq\infty \) consistently, then \(P\{b| r\}\) converges; [3] a special value result: with \(x> 0\) set \(\varphi (x)= \{1+\sqrt{(4x+1)}\}/2\); if \(b(i)=x\) consistently, then \(P\{b| r\}\rightarrow \varphi(x)\). In further results let \(M\) be the strictly increasing sequence of positive integers \(m(1),\dots,m(p)\). There is [4] a recurring digit result analogous for example to \(0.399\dots= 0.400\dots\): \(b \) and \(b''\) having the forms \((*)\) \(b=d(1),\dots,d(k)\), \(m(i),m(p),m(p),\dots\) and \(b''= d(1),\dots,d(k)\), \(m(i+1),m(1),m(1),\dots\), \(\lim P\{b| r\}= \lim P\{b''| r\}\) and [5] a value region result: assuming that \(\sqrt{\{m(k)+ \varphi\{m(p)\}\}}\geq \sqrt{\{m(k+1)+ \varphi\{m(1)\}\}}\) for \(1\leq k\leq p\), \([\varphi m(1) , \varphi m(p)]\) is the set of numbers representable by the \(P\{b| r\}\) and their limits having \(b(i)\) taken from \(M\). Discounting distinctions of the sort featuring in \((*)\) each representation is unique. Furthermore if \(y\) is rational in this interval, its corresponding \(b\) sequence is ultimately periodic. In the remaining results 0 features among the permitted values of the \(b(i)\). \(q\) is a positive integer. [6] \(z\in(1/\sqrt q,q+1)\) has a terminating \(P\{b\}\) representation if and only if it also has a nonterminating representation in which the last members of \(b\) are all \(q(q-1)\). The last result concerns an extension of a special case of \(M\) to the form \(T:kq\) \((0 \leq k \leq q+1)\) (note that \(\varphi\{q(q+1)\}= q+1\)). [7] Any \(z\in (1,q+1]\) has a \(P\{b\}\) representation with \(b(i)\) taken from the set \(T\). Furthermore \(T\) is the unique set of \(q+1\) distinct nonnegative integer terms permitting a \(P\{b\}\) representation (the \(b(i)\) taken from \(T\)) of every \(z\in(1,q+1]\); there is no other set of \(q+1\) nonnegative integers (in particular, no set of fewer than \( q+1 \) nonnegative integers) having this property. The reviewer ventures the suggestion that much of the above theory holds for cases in which the restriction \(c(i)=2\) consistently is not imposed.