Ratio test

From specialfunctionswiki
Revision as of 06:26, 3 July 2014 by Tom (talk | contribs) (Created page with "Let $\{a_1,a_2,\ldots\} \subset \mathbb{C}$ and consider the infinite series $\displaystyle\sum_{k=0}^{\infty} a_k.$ Define $$L=\displaystyle\lim_{k \rightarrow \infty} \left|...")
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to: navigation, search

Let $\{a_1,a_2,\ldots\} \subset \mathbb{C}$ and consider the infinite series $\displaystyle\sum_{k=0}^{\infty} a_k.$ Define $$L=\displaystyle\lim_{k \rightarrow \infty} \left| \dfrac{a_{k+1}}{a_k} \right|.$$

Theorem: (The ratio test)

  1. If $L<1$, then the series converges absolutely,
  2. if $L>1$, then the series does not converge,
  3. if $L=1$, then the test is inconclusive.