Convergence of Factorial Series: Investigating the Radius of Convergence

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Homework Statement


The radius of convergence of the sum (from n=1 to infinity) of n!x^n /n^n


Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution


I ask way too many calculus questions on here..
This is everything I've done, written really badly..

Ratio test:
(n+1)!xn+1/(n+1)n+1 times nn/(n!)xn
Once I simplify it all, I get down to nn/(n+1)n
Does the limit approach infinity then? Did I make a mistake doing the ratio test?
 
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You are right that the ratio test yields

\lim_{n\rightarrow +\infty}{\frac{n^n}{(n+1)^n}}

So you need to calculate this limit. To do this, write (n+1)^n=n^n(1+1/n)^n. You should see a famous limit popping up...
 
So the limit is 1/e, making the radius of convergence e then?
 
Yes, I believe that is correct.
 
micromass said:
You are right that the ratio test yields

\lim_{n\rightarrow +\infty}{\frac{n^n}{(n+1)^n}}

So you need to calculate this limit. To do this, write (n+1)^n=n^n(1+1/n)^n. You should see a famous limit popping up...

hmm.. i think he've missed out his x didnt he?
 
I never write the x :smile: I guess you could do it either way...
 
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...

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