Finding function, simplifying the summation

Saitama
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Homework Statement


Let ## n \geq 2## be a fixed integer. ##f(x)## be a bounded function defined in ##f:(0,a) \rightarrow R## satisfying
f(x)=\frac{1}{n^2}\sum_{r=0}^{(n-1)a} f\left(\frac{x+r}{n}\right)
then ##f(x)## =
a)-f(x)
b)2f(x)
c)f(2x)
d)nf(x)


Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution


I see no way of simplifying the summation. I need a few hints to start with.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
 
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I don't see any way to simplify it at the first glance. If I spot anything, I will edit this post.

Edit: Don't try to simplify the sum, because it won't turn out so nicely anyway. Instead, inspect the functional equations given to you in the options and try substituting them back into the original sum formula.
 
Last edited:
Millennial said:
Don't try to simplify the sum, because it won't turn out so nicely anyway. Instead, inspect the functional equations given to you in the options and try substituting them back into the original sum formula.

That gives a), b) and d), what about the c) option?
 
(a), (b) and (d) are equivalent to f(x)=0, no?
What does the range limit mean when (n-1)a is not an integer?
 
I figured out a), b) and d). :)

haruspex said:
What does the range limit mean when (n-1)a is not an integer?

I can't understand what you ask me here.
 
Pranav-Arora said:
I can't understand what you ask me here.
The OP doesn't say whether a is an integer. If it isn't, (n-1)a need not be either. In that case I'm not sure how to interpret the sum. Does it mean the sum up to the greatest integer <= (n-1)a?
Anyway, assuming a is an integer, I would start by seeing what a constant solution would look like. Since f is not given as continuous, you could then see what changing f at only a countable set of points looks like (e.g. at a2-m, m=1, 2...). That still satisfies (c). Admittedly that's backwards; just because it satisfies (c) does not mean it should satisfy the given condition, but it might yield some insight.
 
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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