Even partial derivatives of a ratio

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the formulation of even partial derivatives of a ratio of functions, specifically focusing on the mathematical expressions and methods for deriving these derivatives. Participants explore both specific cases and general formulations, engaging in technical reasoning and mathematical derivations.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about a general formula for the even partial derivatives of a ratio of functions A and B, both dependent on a variable f.
  • Another participant suggests that deriving these derivatives leads to complex expressions, particularly for the first derivative, and proposes exploring more terms to identify patterns.
  • A different participant presents an implicit equation for the n-th derivative of a fraction, using a binomial series approach, and expresses confidence in the method.
  • One participant challenges the characterization of the presented method as trivial, expressing admiration and seeking clarification on the derivation process.
  • Concerns are raised about a potential error in the final expression for the n-th derivative, with a participant providing a corrected version of the formula.
  • Another participant tests the derived formula using a specific function in MATLAB, reporting discrepancies in the expected results.
  • A later contribution claims to have found the correct formulation for the n-th derivative, providing a detailed breakdown of the derivatives in a structured manner.
  • One participant expands the discussion to a more general case involving the ratio of products and presents a new expression for the n-th derivative, inviting feedback on its correctness.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the complexity and correctness of the derived formulas. There is no consensus on the validity of the various approaches, and multiple competing perspectives remain throughout the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Some participants note potential errors in the expressions and calculations, indicating that the discussion is ongoing and that assumptions or specific cases may influence the outcomes.

DivGradCurl
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Is there a general formula for the even partial derivatives of a ratio,
where both A and B are functions of f?

[tex]\frac{\partial ^{(2n)}}{\partial f^{(2n)}} \left( \frac{A}{B} \right)[/tex]

Thanks
 
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I think not... if we let A' and B' denote the partial derivatives of A and B w.r.t. f, respectively, then for n = 1 you would get
[tex]\frac{\partial^2}{\partial f^2} \frac{A}{B} = \frac{\partial}{\partial f} \left( \frac{A' B - A B'}{B^2} \right) = \frac{ (A'' B - A B'') B^2 - 2 B B' (A' B - A B') }{ B^4 }[/tex]
which already looks really messy (and that's just n = 1).

But you could try writing out some more terms and see if there is a pattern.
 
It is fairly trivial to find an IMPLICIT equation for the n'th derivative of a fraction:

Set [tex]y(x)=\frac{A(x)}{B(x)}\to{A}(x)=B(x)y(x)[/tex]
Thus, we have for the n'th derivative:
[tex]A^{(n)}(x)=\sum_{i=0}^{i=n}\binom{n}{i}B^{(n-i)}(x)y^{(i)}(x)[/tex]
This is then readily solved for the n'th derivative for y:
[tex]y^{(n)}(x)=\frac{1}{B(x)}(A^{(n)}(x)-\sum_{i=0}^{i=n-1}\binom{n}{i}B^{(n-i))(x}y^{(i)}(x))[/tex]
 
Arildno, I have to disagree: that's not trivial, it's awesome! Thanks for your response. A couple of thoughts:

1) How did you get from generic differentiation of a product to that binomial series? Simple pattern recognition? If not, could you suggest a specific reference so that I can follow your reasoning?

2) There seems to be a tiny glitch in your final answer. Here's what I think it should be:

[tex]y(x) = \frac{A(x)}{B(x)} \qquad (1)[/tex]

[tex]A(x) = B(x) \cdot y(x) \qquad (2)[/tex]

[tex]A^{(n)} (x) = \sum _{i = 0} ^{n} \left[ \binom{n}{i} B^{(n-i)} (x) \cdot y^{(i)}(x) \right] \qquad (3)[/tex]

[tex]A^{(n)} (x) = \sum _{i = 0} ^{n-1} \left[ \binom{n-1}{i} B^{(n-1-i)} (x) \cdot y^{(i)}(x) \right] + B(x) \cdot y^{(n)}(x) \qquad (4)[/tex]

[tex]y^{(n)} (x) = \frac{1}{B(x)} \left\{ A^{(n)} (x) - \sum _{i = 0} ^{n-1} \left[ \binom{n-1}{i} B^{(n-1-i)} (x) \cdot y^{(i)}(x) \right] \right\} \qquad (5)[/tex]

Thanks again
 
One more point. Unless I made a mistake, the expression for the n-th derivative of y

[tex] y^{(n)} (x) = \frac{1}{B(x)} \left\{ A^{(n)} (x) - \sum _{i = 0} ^{n-1} \left[ \binom{n-1}{i} B^{(n-1-i)} (x) \cdot y^{(i)}(x) \right] \right\} \qquad (5)[/tex]

does not seem to work. I tested it on MATLAB for this function

[tex] y(x) = \frac{(2+4i)^x - (3-i)^x}{(6-2i)^x - (5+7i)^x}[/tex]

where [tex]i = \sqrt{-1}[/tex], A is the numerator, and B is the denominator. According to the formula above, the first derivative is

[tex] y^{\prime}(x) = \frac{1}{B(x)}\left( A^{\prime}(x) - B(x) \cdot y(x) \right)[/tex]

Here's what I found:

Code:
>> syms x
>> syms y A B
>> y = ((2+4*i)^x - (3-i)^x)/((6-2*i)^x - (5+7*i)^x);
>> pretty(y)
 
                                      x          x
                             (2 + 4 I)  - (3 - I)
                            -----------------------
                                     x            x
                            (6 - 2 I)  - (5 + 7 I)

>> A = ((2+4*i)^x - (3-i)^x)
 
A =
 
(2+4*i)^x-(3-i)^x

>> B = (6-2*i)^x - (5+7*i)^x
 
B =
 
(6-2*i)^x-(5+7*i)^x

>> (1/B)*(diff(A,x,1) - B*y) == diff(y,x,1)

ans =

     0
 
Last edited:
I finally found the correct answer. Thank you for the hint, arildno!

[tex] y= \frac{A}{B} \Longleftrightarrow A^{(0)} = B^{(0)} y^{(0)} [/tex]

[tex] A^{(1)} = B^{(0)} y^{(1)} + B^{(1)} y^{(0)} [/tex]

[tex] A^{(2)} = B^{(0)} y^{(2)} + 2 B^{(1)} y^{(1)} + B^{(2)} y^{(0)}[/tex]

[tex] A^{(3)} = B^{(0)} y^{(3)} + 3 B^{(1)} y^{(2)} +3 B^{(2)} y^{(1)} + B^{(3)} y^{(0)}[/tex]

[tex] A^{(4)} = B^{(0)} y^{(4)} + 4 B^{(1)} y^{(3)} + 6 B^{(2)} y^{(2)} + 4 B^{(3)} y^{(1)} + B^{(4)} y^{(0)}[/tex]

[tex] A^{(5)} = B^{(0)} y^{(5)} + 5 B^{(1)} y^{(4)} + 10 B^{(2)} y^{(3)} + 10 B^{(3)} y^{(2)} + 5 B^{(4)} y^{(1)} + B^{(5)} y^{(0)} [/tex]

These derivatives can be rephrased as follows.

[tex] A^{(0)} = \binom{0}{0} B^{(0)} y^{(0)}[/tex]

[tex] A^{(1)} = \binom{1}{0} B^{(0)} y^{(1)} + \binom{1}{1} B^{(1)} y^{(0)} [/tex]

[tex] A^{(2)} = \binom{2}{0} B^{(0)} y^{(2)} + \binom{2}{1} B^{(1)} y^{(1)} + \binom{2}{2} B^{(2)} y^{(0)}[/tex]

[tex] A^{(3)} = \binom{3}{0} B^{(0)} y^{(3)} + \binom{3}{1} B^{(1)} y^{(2)} +\binom{3}{2} B^{(2)} y^{(1)} + \binom{3}{3} B^{(3)} y^{(0)}[/tex]

[tex] A^{(4)} = \binom{4}{0} B^{(0)} y^{(4)} + \binom{4}{1} B^{(1)} y^{(3)} + \binom{4}{2} B^{(2)} y^{(2)} + \binom{4}{3} B^{(3)} y^{(1)} + \binom{4}{4} B^{(4)} y^{(0)}[/tex]

[tex] A^{(5)} = \binom{5}{0} B^{(0)} y^{(5)} + \binom{5}{1} B^{(1)} y^{(4)} + \binom{5}{2} B^{(2)} y^{(3)} + \binom{5}{3} B^{(3)} y^{(2)} + \binom{5}{4} B^{(4)} y^{(1)} + \binom{5}{5} B^{(5)} y^{(0)} [/tex]

Therefore,

[tex] A^{(n)} = \sum _{i=0} ^{n} \binom{n}{i} B^{(i)} y^{(n-i)} = B^{(0)} y^{(n)} + \sum _{i=1} ^{n} \binom{n}{i} B^{(i)} y^{(n-i)} [/tex]

which means

[tex] y^{(n)} = \frac{1}{B ^{(0)} } \left[ A ^{(n)} - \sum _{i=1} ^{n} \binom{n}{i} B^{(i)} y^{(n-i)} \right] \qquad \mbox{for } n \geq 0 [/tex]
 
Last edited:
thiago_j said:
Arildno, I have to disagree: that's not trivial, it's awesome! Thanks for your response. A couple of thoughts:

1) How did you get from generic differentiation of a product to that binomial series? Simple pattern recognition? If not, could you suggest a specific reference so that I can follow your reasoning?

2) There seems to be a tiny glitch in your final answer. Here's what I think it should be:

[tex]y(x) = \frac{A(x)}{B(x)} \qquad (1)[/tex]

[tex]A(x) = B(x) \cdot y(x) \qquad (2)[/tex]

[tex]A^{(n)} (x) = \sum _{i = 0} ^{n} \left[ \binom{n}{i} B^{(n-i)} (x) \cdot y^{(i)}(x) \right] \qquad (3)[/tex]

[tex]A^{(n)} (x) = \sum _{i = 0} ^{n-1} \left[ \binom{n-1}{i} B^{(n-1-i)} (x) \cdot y^{(i)}(x) \right] + B(x) \cdot y^{(n)}(x) \qquad (4)[/tex]

[tex]y^{(n)} (x) = \frac{1}{B(x)} \left\{ A^{(n)} (x) - \sum _{i = 0} ^{n-1} \left[ \binom{n-1}{i} B^{(n-1-i)} (x) \cdot y^{(i)}(x) \right] \right\} \qquad (5)[/tex]


Thanks again
This is dead wrong. The upper argument in the binomial coefficient IS n, not n-1!
 
Derivatives of a ratio of products

I thought I was done with this thread, but I decided to expand it to a more general case:

[tex]R = \frac{A\cdot C}{B\cdot D}[/tex]

where R, A, B, C, and D are functions of x. I've found an expression for the n-th derivative, but I'm not sure it correct. If anyone finds a mistake, please let me know. Thanks.

Here it is:

[tex]R^{\displaystyle (n)} = \frac{1}{B^{\displaystyle (0)} \cdot C^{\displaystyle (0)}} \left\{ \sum _{\displaystyle i = 0} ^{\displaystyle n} \left[ \binom{n}{i} A^{\displaystyle (i)} C^{\displaystyle (n-i)} \right] + \mathop{\sum _{\displaystyle j=0} ^{\displaystyle j=n-1}} _{\displaystyle k = 0} ^{\displaystyle k = n} \left[ \binom{n}{j,k,n-j-k} R^{\displaystyle (j)}} B ^{\displaystyle (k)}} D^{\displaystyle (n-j-k)}} \right] \right\}[/tex]

[tex]\mbox{for } n-(j+k) \geq 0[/tex]

[tex]\mbox{where } \binom{n}{i} = \frac{n!}{i!(n-i)!} \mbox{ and } \binom{n}{j,k,n-j-k} = \frac{n!}{j! k! (n-j-k)!}[/tex]

And this is how I got it:

[tex]A^{(0)} C^{(0)} = R^{(0)} B^{(0)} D^{(0)}[/tex]

[tex]A^{(1)} C^{(0)} + A^{(0)} C^{(1)} = R^{(1)} B^{(0)} D^{(0)} + R^{(0)} B^{(1)} D^{(0)} + R^{(0)} B^{(0)} D^{(1)}[/tex]

[tex]A^{(2)} C^{(0)} + 2 A^{(1)} C^{(1)} + A^{(0)} C^{(2)} = R^{(2)} B^{(0)} D^{(0)} + 2\left( R^{(1)} B^{(1)} D^{(0)} + R^{(1)} B^{(0)} D^{(1)} + R^{(0)} B^{(1)} D^{(1)}\right) + \ldots[/tex]

[tex]\ldots R^{(0)} B^{(2)} D^{(0)} + R^{(0)} B^{(0)} D^{(2)}[/tex]

[tex]A^{(3)} C^{(0)} + 3\left( A^{(2)} C^{(1)} + A^{(1)} C^{(2)} \right) + A^{(0)} C^{(3)} = R^{(3)} B^{(0)} D^{(0)} + 3 \Big( R^{(2)} B^{(1)} D^{(0)} + R^{(2)} B^{(0)} D^{(1)} + \ldots[/tex]

[tex]\ldots R^{(1)} B^{(2)} D^{(0)} + R^{(1)} B^{(0)} D^{(2)} + R^{(0)} B^{(2)} D^{(1)} + R^{(0)} B^{(1)} D^{(2)} \Big) + 6 R^{(1)} B^{(1)} D^{(1)} + R^{(0)} B^{(3)} D^{(0)} + R^{(0)} B^{(0)} D^{(3)}[/tex]

and so forth.

Any help is highly appreciated.
 
Last edited:

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