2nd order Taylor Series for a function in 3 or more variables?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the formulation of the second-order Taylor series for functions of three or more variables. Participants explore the general expression and notation used in higher-order expansions, particularly focusing on the challenges of representing these series in a multi-variable context.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes the lack of resources specifically addressing the second-order Taylor series for three or more variables and requests a general expression.
  • Another participant provides a hint involving the differential form of a function in three variables, suggesting a starting point for the discussion.
  • A third participant shares a video they found helpful, despite their general preference against video-based learning.
  • One participant mentions that the second-order Taylor series can be viewed as a tangent plane approximation and references a Wikipedia article for further reading.
  • A participant discusses the distinction between Taylor and Maclaurin series, suggesting the need for an expression in terms of powers of the variables rather than centered around specific points.
  • Concrete examples are proposed, including a sixth-order expansion and the coefficients for specific terms, emphasizing the complexity of writing these expansions in standard notation.
  • Another participant introduces a notation for third-order expansions, defining a shorthand for representing terms in the series and providing a detailed breakdown of how to construct the series from these terms.
  • There is a request for verification of the mathematical expressions provided, indicating a collaborative effort to ensure accuracy in the discussion.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the general expression for the second-order Taylor series in three or more variables. Multiple viewpoints and approaches are presented, with ongoing exploration of notation and examples.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights the complexity of multi-variable Taylor series and the challenges in notation, particularly in higher-order expansions. There are references to specific mathematical conventions and the need for clarity in definitions.

JorgeM
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TL;DR
Hello there, I need to get the Taylor Series for f(r) and r is a function f(x,y,z))=r
I have taken a look but most books and Online stuff just menctions the First order Taylor for 3 variables or the 2nd order Taylor series for just 2 variables.
Could you please tell me which is the general expression for 2nd order Taylor series in 3 or more variables? Because I have not found nothing at all.
Thanks
 
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Hint:
df(x, y, z)=\frac{\partial f}{\partial x}dx+\frac{\partial f}{\partial y}dy+\frac{\partial f}{\partial z}dz
 
I usually don't like videos for teaching but this is not bad:

 
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JorgeM said:
Summary: Hello there, I need to get the Taylor Series for f(r) and r is a function f(x,y,z))=r

Some people make a distinction between a Taylor Series and a McLaurin Series. Let's assume you mean you want an expression for ##f(x,y,z)## in powers of ##x,y,z## rather than in powers of ##(x-a),(y-b),(z-c)##

It is a strenuous exercise in LaTex to write it out higher order multi-variable expansions in ordinary notation. ( No wonder you only got hints - and I don't volunteer to write it out that way myself !)

You can find it written out in the "multi-index notation" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-index_notation
I'm not skilled at reading the mult-index notation. I'll try some concrete examples.

Example: consider the 6th order expansion of ##f(x,y,z,w)## What is the coefficient of ##x^3 y^1 z^2 w^0## in that expansion?

It is:
##\frac{ 1}{3!\ 1!\ 2!\ 0!}## ## \frac{\partial^3 f}{\partial x^3} \frac{\partial^1 f}{\partial y^1} \frac{\partial^2 f}{\partial z^2} \frac{\partial^0 f}{\partial w^0}##

where the partial derivatives are evaluated at x = y = z = w = 0 and keeping in mind the definition 0! = 1! = 1 and using the convention that ##\frac{\partial^0 f}{\partial w^0} = 1##

The above expressions implicitly use the multi-index {3,1,2,0}.

----------

For a third order expansion in powers of ##f(x,y,z)##, we could employ some concise (and atrocious?) notation such as saying ##T(a,b,c)## will abbreviate ##\frac{1}{a! \ b! \ c!} \frac{\partial^a f}{\partial x^a} \frac{\partial^b f}{\partial y^b} \frac{\partial^c z}{\partial z^c} x^a y^b z^c## and define ##T(0,0,0) = f(0,0,0)##

## f(x,y,z) =##
## T(0,0,0) ##
## + T(1,0,0) + T(0,1,0) + T(0,0,1) ##
## + T(2,0,0) + T(1,1,0) + T(1,0,1) + T(0,2,0) + T(0,1,1) + T(0,0,2)##
## + T(3,0,0) + T(2,1,0) + T(2,0,1) + T(1,2,0) + T(1,1,1) + T(1,0,2) + T(0,3,0) + T(0,2,1) + T(0,1,2) + T(0,0,3)##

Someone should check my work.
 
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