Closed-form expression

"Closed formula" redirects here. For "closed formula" in the sense of a logic formula with no free variables, see Sentence (mathematical logic).

In mathematics, a closed-form expression is a mathematical expression that uses a finite number of standard operations. It may contain constants, variables, certain well-known operations (e.g., + − × ÷), and functions (e.g., nth root, exponent, logarithm, trigonometric functions, and inverse hyperbolic functions), but usually no limit, or integral.

The set of operations and functions may vary with author and context.

Usually, if a function is allowed for closed form expressions, its derivative can be expressed as a closed-form expression. So, by the chain rule, the derivatives may be removed from closed-form expressions. As the expression of a derivative may be much larger than that of the function, it is only a question of convenience whether derivatives are accepted in closed-form expressions.

Example: roots of polynomials

The solutions of any quadratic equation with complex coefficients can be expressed in closed form in terms of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and square root extraction, each of which is an elementary function. For example, the quadratic equation

${\displaystyle ax^{2}+bx+c=0,}$ 

is tractable since its solutions can be expressed as a closed-form expression, i.e. in terms of elementary functions:

${\displaystyle x={\frac {-b\pm {\sqrt {b^{2}-4ac}}}{2a}}.}$ 

Similarly, solutions of cubic and quartic (third and fourth degree) equations can be expressed using arithmetic, square roots, and nth roots. However, there are quintic equations without such closed-form solutions, for example x⁵ − x + 1 = 0; this is Abel–Ruffini theorem.

The study of the existence of closed forms for polynomial roots is the initial motivation and one of the main achievements of the area of mathematics named Galois theory.

Alternative definitions

Changing the definition of "well known" to include additional functions can change the set of equations with closed-form solutions. Many cumulative distribution functions cannot be expressed in closed form, unless one considers special functions such as the error function or gamma function to be well known. It is possible to solve the quintic equation if general hypergeometric functions are included, although the solution is far too complicated algebraically to be useful. For many practical computer applications, it is entirely reasonable to assume that the gamma function and other special functions are well known since numerical implementations are widely available.

Analytic expression

An analytic expression (also known as expression in analytic form or analytic formula) is a mathematical expression constructed using well-known operations that lend themselves readily to calculation.^{[vague][citation needed]} Similar to closed-form expressions, the set of well-known functions allowed can vary according to context but always includes the basic arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division), exponentiation to a real exponent (which includes extraction of the nth root), logarithms, and trigonometric functions.

However, the class of expressions considered to be analytic expressions tends to be wider than that for closed-form expressions. In particular, special functions such as the Bessel functions and the gamma function are usually allowed, and often so are infinite series and continued fractions. On the other hand, limits in general, and integrals in particular, are typically excluded.^{[citation needed]}

If an analytic expression involves only the algebraic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and exponentiation to a rational exponent) and rational constants then it is more specifically referred to as an algebraic expression.

Comparison of different classes of expressions

Closed-form expressions are an important sub-class of analytic expressions, which contain a finite number of applications of well-known functions. Unlike the broader analytic expressions, the closed-form expressions do not include infinite series or continued fractions; neither includes integrals or limits. Indeed, by the Stone–Weierstrass theorem, any continuous function on the unit interval can be expressed as a limit of polynomials, so any class of functions containing the polynomials and closed under limits will necessarily include all continuous functions.

Similarly, an equation or system of equations is said to have a closed-form solution if, and only if, at least one solution can be expressed as a closed-form expression; and it is said to have an analytic solution if and only if at least one solution can be expressed as an analytic expression. There is a subtle distinction between a "closed-form function" and a "closed-form number" in the discussion of a "closed-form solution", discussed in (Chow 1999) and below. A closed-form or analytic solution is sometimes referred to as an explicit solution.

v t e	Arithmetic expressions	Polynomial expressions	Algebraic expressions	Closed-form expressions	Analytic expressions	Mathematical expressions
Constant	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Elementary arithmetic operation	Yes	Addition, subtraction, and multiplication only	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Finite sum	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Finite product	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Finite continued fraction	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Variable	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Integer exponent	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Integer nth root	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rational exponent	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Integer factorial	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Irrational exponent	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Logarithm	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Trigonometric function	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Inverse trigonometric function	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hyperbolic function	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Inverse hyperbolic function	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Root of a polynomial that is not an algebraic solution	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Gamma function and factorial of a non-integer	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Bessel function	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Special function	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Infinite sum (series) (including power series)	No	No	No	No	Convergent only	Yes
Infinite product	No	No	No	No	Convergent only	Yes
Infinite continued fraction	No	No	No	No	Convergent only	Yes
Limit	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Derivative	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Integral	No	No	No	No	No	Yes

Dealing with non-closed-form expressions

Transformation into closed-form expressions

The expression:

$${\displaystyle f(x)=\sum _{n=0}^{\infty }{\frac {x}{2^{n}}}}$$

 

is not in closed form because the summation entails an infinite number of elementary operations. However, by summing a geometric series this expression can be expressed in the closed form:^[1]

$${\displaystyle f(x)=2x.}$$

 

Differential Galois theory

Main article: Differential Galois theory

See also: Nonelementary integral

The integral of a closed-form expression may or may not itself be expressible as a closed-form expression. This study is referred to as differential Galois theory, by analogy with algebraic Galois theory.

The basic theorem of differential Galois theory is due to Joseph Liouville in the 1830s and 1840s and hence referred to as Liouville's theorem.

A standard example of an elementary function whose antiderivative does not have a closed-form expression is:

$${\displaystyle e^{-x^{2}},}$$

 

whose one antiderivative is (up to a multiplicative constant) the error function:

$${\displaystyle \operatorname {erf} (x)={\frac {2}{\sqrt {\pi }}}\int _{0}^{x}e^{-t^{2}}\,dt.}$$

 

Mathematical modelling and computer simulation

Equations or systems too complex for closed-form or analytic solutions can often be analysed by mathematical modelling and computer simulation.

Closed-form number

See also: Transcendental number theory

Three subfields of the complex numbers C have been suggested as encoding the notion of a "closed-form number"; in increasing order of generality, these are the Liouvillian numbers (not to be confused with Liouville numbers in the sense of rational approximation), EL numbers and elementary numbers. The Liouvillian numbers, denoted L, form the smallest algebraically closed subfield of C closed under exponentiation and logarithm (formally, intersection of all such subfields)—that is, numbers which involve explicit exponentiation and logarithms, but allow explicit and implicit polynomials (roots of polynomials); this is defined in (Ritt 1948, p. 60). L was originally referred to as elementary numbers, but this term is now used more broadly to refer to numbers defined explicitly or implicitly in terms of algebraic operations, exponentials, and logarithms. A narrower definition proposed in (Chow 1999, pp. 441–442), denoted E, and referred to as EL numbers, is the smallest subfield of C closed under exponentiation and logarithm—this need not be algebraically closed, and correspond to explicit algebraic, exponential, and logarithmic operations. "EL" stands both for "exponential–logarithmic" and as an abbreviation for "elementary".

Whether a number is a closed-form number is related to whether a number is transcendental. Formally, Liouvillian numbers and elementary numbers contain the algebraic numbers, and they include some but not all transcendental numbers. In contrast, EL numbers do not contain all algebraic numbers, but do include some transcendental numbers. Closed-form numbers can be studied via transcendental number theory, in which a major result is the Gelfond–Schneider theorem, and a major open question is Schanuel's conjecture.

Numerical computations

For purposes of numeric computations, being in closed form is not in general necessary, as many limits and integrals can be efficiently computed. Some equations have no closed form solution, such as those that represent the Three-body problem or the Hodgkin–Huxley model. Therefore, the future states of these systems must be computed numerically.

Conversion from numerical forms

There is software that attempts to find closed-form expressions for numerical values, including RIES,^[2] identify in Maple^[3] and SymPy,^[4] Plouffe's Inverter,^[5] and the Inverse Symbolic Calculator.^[6]

See also

• Algebraic solution – Solution in radicals of a polynomial equationPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Computer simulation – Process of mathematical modelling, performed on a computer
• Elementary function – Mathematical function
• Finitary operation – Addition, multiplication, division, ...Pages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Numerical solution – Study of algorithms using numerical approximationPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Liouvillian function – Elementary functions and their finitely iterated integrals
• Symbolic regression – Type of regression analysis
• Tarski's high school algebra problem – Mathematical problem
• Term (logic) – Components of a mathematical or logical formula
• Tupper's self-referential formula – Formula that visually represents itself when graphed

References

1. Holton, Glyn. . Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
2. Munafo, Robert. "RIES - Find Algebraic Equations, Given Their Solution". Retrieved 30 April 2012.
3. "identify". Maple Online Help. Maplesoft. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
4. . SymPy documentation. Archived from the original on 2018-07-06. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
5. . Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
6. . Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.

Further reading

• Ritt, J. F. (1948), Integration in finite terms
• Chow, Timothy Y. (May 1999), "What is a Closed-Form Number?", American Mathematical Monthly, 106 (5): 440–448, arXiv:math/9805045, doi:10.2307/2589148, JSTOR 2589148
• Jonathan M. Borwein and Richard E. Crandall (January 2013), "Closed Forms: What They Are and Why We Care", Notices of the American Mathematical Society, 60 (1): 50–65, doi:10.1090/noti936

External links

• Weisstein, Eric W. "Closed-Form Solution". MathWorld.
• Closed-form continuous-time neural networks