Three lessons on infinitesimal analysis (Q4037531)

[For the entire collection see Zbl 0758.00020.] The paper consists of three parts. Until now, we have several treatments to introduce infinitely large numbers and infinitesimals to develop infinitesimal calculus. In the first part, a new theory ZFL \((=\text{ZF} +\) an undefined predicate \textit{limité} \((=\text{finite}))\) is formulated. The conditions on the predicate introduced are: 1) 1 is finite; 2) \(x\) is finite and \(| y|<| x|\to y\) is finite; 3) \(x\), \(y\) are finite \(\to x+y\), \(xy\) are finite; 4) there exists a non- finite number. Such a non-finite number is infinitely large, and its inverse is infinitesimal and so on. The author develops non-standard analysis on ZFL. For example, let \(\{u_ n\}\) be a sequence whose terms with finite indices are all infinitesimal; then there is an infinitely large \(N\) such that all terms with indices less than \(N\) are infinitesimal and satisfy the Fehrele principle, roughly speaking a principle on the relation between internal and external formulas. In the second part, the concepts of \(S\)-convergence and \(S\)-continuous function are introduced. \(\{u_ n\}\) \(S\)-converges to 1, if for infinitely large \(\omega\) the difference of \(u_ \omega\) and 1 is infinitesimal (in symbols \(u_ \omega\simeq 1)\). \(f(x)\) is \(S\)-continuous at \(a\) if ``\(x\) is infinitesimal near to \(a\)'' implies ``\(f(x)\) is infinitesimal near to \(f(a)\)''. Then for an \(S\)-continuous function \(f\) on a finite interval \([a,b]\) and any infinitely large integer \(\omega\), \[ {b- a\over\omega}\sum^{\omega-1}_{i=0} f\left(a+i{b- a\over\omega}\right)\simeq\int^ f_ a f(t)dt \] holds. \[ f_ \omega(x)=\sum^{\omega-1}_{n=0}{\sin(2n+1)x\over 2n+1} \] is not \(S\)- continuous at 0. For an infinitely small \(x\), \[ f_ \omega(x)\simeq{1\over 2}\int^{2\omega x}_ 0{\sin t\over t}dt. \] The third part is concerned with Van der Pol equations: \(a\ddot x+(x^ 2- 1)\dot x+x=0\) and existence of the limit cycle, and with differential equations \(\dot y=xy+a\) which are solved by quadrature. The basic idea developed by the Strasbourg school is stated in this part.