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In mathematics, the integral test for convergence is a method used to test infinite series of monotonic terms for convergence. It was developed by Colin Maclaurin and Augustin-Louis Cauchy and is sometimes known as the Maclaurin–Cauchy test .
While most of the tests deal with the convergence of infinite series, they can also be used to show the convergence or divergence of infinite products. This can be achieved using following theorem: Let { a n } n = 1 ∞ {\displaystyle \left\{a_{n}\right\}_{n=1}^{\infty }} be a sequence of positive numbers.
This test can be used with a power series = = where the coefficients c n, and the center p are complex numbers and the argument z is a complex variable. The terms of this series would then be given by a n = c n (z − p) n. One then applies the root test to the a n as above.
An analogous statement for convergence of improper integrals is proven using integration by parts. If the integral of a function f is uniformly bounded over all intervals , and g is a non-negative monotonically decreasing function , then the integral of fg is a convergent improper integral.
Therefore, the sum converges if and only if the integral over the same range of the same function converges. When this equivalence is used to check the convergence of a sum by replacing it with an easier integral, it is known as the integral test for convergence. [15]
The Cauchy convergence test is a method used to test infinite series for convergence. It relies on bounding sums of terms in the series. It relies on bounding sums of terms in the series. This convergence criterion is named after Augustin-Louis Cauchy who published it in his textbook Cours d'Analyse 1821.
In mathematics, the comparison test, sometimes called the direct comparison test to distinguish it from similar related tests (especially the limit comparison test), provides a way of deducing whether an infinite series or an improper integral converges or diverges by comparing the series or integral to one whose convergence properties are known.
Many authors do not name this test or give it a shorter name. [2] When testing if a series converges or diverges, this test is often checked first due to its ease of use. In the case of p-adic analysis the term test is a necessary and sufficient condition for convergence due to the non-Archimedean ultrametric triangle inequality.