AoPSWiki
Looking for a challenging algebra text? Preparing for MATHCOUNTS or the AMC exams?
Check out Art of Problem Solving's Introduction to Algebra by Richard Rusczyk.
Personal tools

Cauchy Functional Equation

From AoPSWiki

The Cauchy Functional Equation refers to the functional equation f:A\to B, with f(x+y) = f(x) + f(y) , for all x,y \in A.

Rational Case

If A=B=\mathbb Q (or any subset closed to addition like \mathbb Z or \mathbb N), the solutions are only the functions f(x)=ax, with a\in\mathbb Q.

Real Case

If A=B=\mathbb R, then we need a suplementar condition like f continous, or f monotonic, or f(x)>0 for all x>0, to get that all the solutions are of the form f(x)=ax, with a\in\mathbb R.

There have been given examples of real functions that fulfill the Cauchy Functional Equation, but are not linear, which use advanced knowledge of real analysis.

This article is a stub. Help us out by expanding it.

Looking for a challenging geometry text? Preparing for MATHCOUNTS or the AMC exams? Check out Art of Problem Solving's Introduction to Geometry by Richard Rusczyk.
© Copyright 2008 AoPS Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. • FoundationPrivacyContact Us