Double sum of same variable simplification help

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The discussion revolves around simplifying a double summation involving variables k and l, specifically the expression ∑∑ x(k, l) with the condition l = n - m + k. Participants clarify that for each fixed k, l can only take on a single value, making the original summation over l unnecessary. The conversation highlights the importance of variable naming in summations, as reusing k in nested sums can lead to confusion. A key insight is that the summation can be simplified to reflect only the non-zero terms of x(k, n - m + k). Ultimately, the simplification process hinges on understanding the relationships between the variables and the constraints imposed by the summation limits.
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Hello all,
I have been meditating on this for a while, but can't seem to understand how this simplification came to be. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

So, here is what we start with:
##\mathop{\sum_{k=0}^m\sum_{l=0}^n}_{m{\geq}n} x(k,l)##
We also know that: l (lower case L) = n-m+k

and here is what my book ends with:
##\sum\limits_{k=m-n}^m x(k,n-m+k)##

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is my attempt, using the fact that l = n-m+k and substituting, I get:
##\mathop{\sum_{k=0}^m\sum_{n-m+k=0}^n}_{m{\geq}n} x(k,n-m+k)##

## = \mathop{\sum_{k=0}^m\sum_{k=m-n}^n}_{m{\geq}n} x(k,n-m+k)##

I then have no idea where to go from here : ( I tried substituting numbers for m and n and looked at what was happening, but that didn't help me much. Can someone please provide some insight please! I have been at this for a bit.

Thank you for reading.
 
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perplexabot said:
We also know that: l (lower case L) = n-m+k

If that is true then for a given value of k there is only a single value of l. So for a given value of k, the expression \sum_{l=0}^{n} x(k,l) doesn't make sense since it implies that for a given k you can vary l over several different values. If we adopt the convention that \sum _{l=0}^{n} x(k,l) shall mean the single term x(k,n-m+k) then you could get the desired result.

using the fact that l = n-m+k and substituting, I get:
##\mathop{\sum_{k=0}^m\sum_{n-m+k=0}^n}_{m{\geq}n} x(k,n-m+k)##
## = \mathop{\sum_{k=0}^m\sum_{k=m-n}^n}_{m{\geq}n} x(k,n-m+k)##

When you substitute, you can't use k as the name of the variable whose values are summed by the second summation <br /> \sum_{l=0}^n because the name k is already in use as the variable for the first summation \sum_{k=0}^m. The first argument of x(k,l) refers to the k that is summed by \sum_{k=0}^m.
 
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Hey, thank you for your reply. I still can't figure this out.

Stephen Tashi said:
If that is true then for a given value of k there is only a single value of l.
I didn't think of this, but now that you mentioned it, wouldn't l have infinite possible values? If you set k to a then you can have any value for n and m which results in l having many values. What is wrong with this?
Stephen Tashi said:
So for a given value of k, the expression \sum_{l=0}^{n} x(k,l) doesn't make sense since it implies that for a given k you can vary l over several different values. If we adopt the convention that \sum _{l=0}^{n} x(k,l) shall mean the single term x(k,n-m+k) then you could get the desired result.
I'm not sure what you mean here : ( I'm sorry, but I really am trying... I have to admit, the equation I supplied is modified from the original shown in the book. I will attach a copy of what I am struggling with maybe it will be better. Here it is (I understand everything until where it says "Thus for m ≥ n"):
Scanned%20Document.jpg


Stephen Tashi said:
When you substitute, you can't use k as the name of the variable whose values are summed by the second summation <br /> \sum_{l=0}^n because the name k is already in use as the variable for the first summation \sum_{k=0}^m. The first argument of x(k,l) refers to the k that is summed by \sum_{k=0}^m.
Hmmm, ok that kind of makes sense. So what then shall we do in such a situation?

Thank you for your help : )
 
perplexabot said:
If you set k to a then you can have any value for n and m which results in l having many values. What is wrong with this?

There's nothing to indicate that m and n are variables. They appear to denote constants.
I'm not sure what you mean here

To make an analogy with calculus, if you are finding \int ( \int f(x,y) dy) dx and you use integration by subsitution to find \int f(x,y) dy then you can do a substitution like y = 3u^2, but you can't do the substitution y = 3x^2 because the variable x is already in use to denote a quantity that is independent of y.

In your example, the variable k is already in use in the first summation. You can't introduce it as meaning a different variable in the second summation since the k in x(k,l) refers to the k used in the first summation.

The correct analogy to what is given in the text is the statement "x(k,l) = 0 except when l = n - m + k " (which is different than asserting " l = n - m + k ").

Then \sum_{l=0}^n x(k,l) has only one nonzero term, which is x(k,n-m+k).

Perhaps there is also information in the text that x(k,n-m+k) is zero for k &lt; n-m, but I'd have to think about it further to see why.
 
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Thank you Mr.Tashi. I am still trying to figure out how they got those last two lines. I will report back if I find anything.

PS: Your calculus analogy was helpful.
 
Last edited:
I think I may have understood how they achieved the second to last line. So we know ##l = n - m + k## (else the equation will be zero). And we also know from the second summation that ## 0 ≤ l ≤ n ##. So I did the following to kind of see what was going on:

for ##l = 0, l = 0 = n-m+k => k = m-n## this will make the first summation to be ##\sum\limits_{k=m-n}^m x(k,n-m+k)##
for ##l = n, l = n = n-m+k => k = m## this will make the first summation to be ##\sum\limits_{k=m}^m x(k,n-m+k)##
for ##l = n-1, l = n-1 = n-m+k => k = m-1## this will make the first summation to be ##\sum\limits_{k=m-1}^m x(k,n-m+k)##

So after viewing these summations, I see it is for ##l =0## in which the first summation takes into account all possible values (or has the greatest summation intervals).

What do you think of this?

EDIT1: I think the last line is achieved from the one before by using the fact that ##\sum\limits_{k=0}^m x(k) = \sum\limits_{k=0+n}^{m+n} x(k-n)##
EDIT2: My first edit (EDIT1) may be wrong. I am still checking.
 
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Here is a little puzzle from the book 100 Geometric Games by Pierre Berloquin. The side of a small square is one meter long and the side of a larger square one and a half meters long. One vertex of the large square is at the center of the small square. The side of the large square cuts two sides of the small square into one- third parts and two-thirds parts. What is the area where the squares overlap?

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