q-derivative

In mathematics, in the area of combinatorics, the q-derivative, or Jackson derivative, is a q-analog of the ordinary derivative, introduced by Frank Hilton Jackson. It is the inverse of Jackson's q-integration.

Definition

The q-derivative of a function f(x) is defined as

It is also often written as . The q-derivative is also known as the Jackson derivative.

Formally, in terms of Lagrange's shift operator in logarithmic variables, it amounts to the operator

which goes to the plain derivative, → ddx, as q → 1.

It is manifestly linear,

It has product rule analogous to the ordinary derivative product rule, with two equivalent forms

Similarly, it satisfies a quotient rule,

There is also a rule similar to the chain rule for ordinary derivatives. Let . Then

The eigenfunction of the q-derivative is the q-exponential eq(x).

Relationship to ordinary derivatives

Q-differentiation resembles ordinary differentiation, with curious differences. For example, the q-derivative of the monomial is:

where is the q-bracket of n. Note that so the ordinary derivative is regained in this limit.

The n-th q-derivative of a function may be given as:

provided that the ordinary n-th derivative of f exists at x = 0. Here, is the q-Pochhammer symbol, and is the q-factorial. If is analytic we can apply the Taylor formula to the definition of to get

A q-analog of the Taylor expansion of a function about zero follows:

See also

References

Further reading

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