I Test for inconsistency of system of nonlinear equations

e2m2a
Messages
354
Reaction score
13
Is there a quick test to determine if a system of nonlinear equations is inconsistent. For example, suppose there is a system of equations such as:

3x cubed + 2y cubed = z cubed
2x cubed + 5y cubed = z cubed

Since these two equations are clearly not dependent, could we say that since they both are equal to the same term (z cubed), that they are therefore, inconsistent?
 
Mathematics news on Phys.org
x=y=z=0 is a solution, for example.

Both left hand sides are equal to the same thing, which means ##3x^2+2y^3=2x^3+5y^3##, that is an equation with solutions. An infinite set of solutions, actually. And for every solution of that equation there is a z that fits.

If you can derive something impossible, (like ##x^2=-1## if you work with real numbers), then there is no solution, but it is not always directly obvious if you can do that.
 
e2m2a said:
Is there a quick test to determine if a system of nonlinear equations is inconsistent. For example, suppose there is a system of equations such as:

3x cubed + 2y cubed = z cubed
2x cubed + 5y cubed = z cubed

Since these two equations are clearly not dependent, could we say that since they both are equal to the same term (z cubed), that they are therefore, inconsistent?
They are not "inconsistent" which presumable means "without solution". Those kind of questions define an algebraic variety and are subject to commutative algebra and algebraic geometry. As far as I know, there is no test in "P" that decides the shape of the zeros, but this is more of a guess.
 
Insights auto threads is broken atm, so I'm manually creating these for new Insight articles. In Dirac’s Principles of Quantum Mechanics published in 1930 he introduced a “convenient notation” he referred to as a “delta function” which he treated as a continuum analog to the discrete Kronecker delta. The Kronecker delta is simply the indexed components of the identity operator in matrix algebra Source: https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/what-exactly-is-diracs-delta-function/ by...
Fermat's Last Theorem has long been one of the most famous mathematical problems, and is now one of the most famous theorems. It simply states that the equation $$ a^n+b^n=c^n $$ has no solutions with positive integers if ##n>2.## It was named after Pierre de Fermat (1607-1665). The problem itself stems from the book Arithmetica by Diophantus of Alexandria. It gained popularity because Fermat noted in his copy "Cubum autem in duos cubos, aut quadratoquadratum in duos quadratoquadratos, et...
I'm interested to know whether the equation $$1 = 2 - \frac{1}{2 - \frac{1}{2 - \cdots}}$$ is true or not. It can be shown easily that if the continued fraction converges, it cannot converge to anything else than 1. It seems that if the continued fraction converges, the convergence is very slow. The apparent slowness of the convergence makes it difficult to estimate the presence of true convergence numerically. At the moment I don't know whether this converges or not.
Back
Top