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Jean-Luc Marichal

Publications and source records attributed to Jean-Luc Marichal.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Repeated principal indefinite summation

Under suitable asymptotic and convexity conditions on a function $g\colon\mathbb{R}_+\to\mathbb{R}$, the solution to $Δf=g$, where $Δ$ is the forward difference operator, is unique up to an additive constant and is called the principal indefinite sum of $g$, generalizing the additive form of Bohr-Mollerup's theorem. We consider the map $Σ$, which assigns to each admissible function $g$ its principal indefinite sum that vanishes at $1$, and we naturally explore its iterates, which produce repeated principal indefinite sums, in analogy with the concept of repeated indefinite integrals. Explicit formulas and convergence results are established, highlighting connections with classical combinatorial and special functions, including the multiple gamma functions, for which we also provide integral representations.

math.CA↗
arXiv2025

Newton series representation of completely monotone functions

We prove that every completely monotone function defined on a right-unbounded open interval admits a Newton series expansion at every point of that interval. This result can be viewed as an analog of Bernstein's little theorem for absolutely monotone functions. As an application, we use it to study principal indefinite sums, which are constructed via a broad generalization of Bohr-Mollerup's theorem.

math.CA↗
arXiv2025

Irreducible Polyadic Semigroups Admitting the Adjunction of a Neutral Element

It was claimed in [4] that for any integer $n\geqslant 2$, a neutral element can be adjoined to an $n$-ary semigroup if and only if the $n$-ary semigroup is reducible to a binary semigroup. We show that the `only if' direction of this statement is incorrect when $n$ is odd. Moreover, we offer a comprehensive characterization of the class of irreducible $n$-ary semigroups, for odd $n$, that admit the adjunction of a neutral element.

math.RA↗
arXiv2023

A generalization of Bohr-Mollerup's theorem for higher order convex functions: a tutorial

In its additive version, Bohr-Mollerup's remarkable theorem states that the unique (up to an additive constant) convex solution $f(x)$ to the equation $Δf(x)=\ln x$ on the open half-line $(0,\infty)$ is the log-gamma function $f(x)=\lnΓ(x)$, where $Δ$ denotes the classical difference operator and $Γ(x)$ denotes the Euler gamma function. In a recently published open access book, the authors provided and illustrated a far-reaching generalization of Bohr-Mollerup's theorem by considering the functional equation $Δf(x)=g(x)$, where $g$ can be chosen from a wide and rich class of functions that have convexity or concavity properties of any order. They also showed that the solutions $f(x)$ arising from this generalization satisfy counterparts of many properties of the log-gamma function (or equivalently, the gamma function), including analogues of Bohr-Mollerup's theorem itself, Burnside's formula, Euler's infinite product, Euler's reflection formula, Gauss' limit, Gauss' multiplication formula, Gautschi's inequality, Legendre's duplication formula, Raabe's formula, Stirling's formula, Wallis's product formula, Weierstrass' infinite product, and Wendel's inequality for the gamma function. In this paper, we review the main results of this new and intriguing theory and provide an illustrative application.

math.CA↗
arXiv2023

Nonstandard $n$-distances based on certain geometric constructions

The concept of $n$-distance was recently introduced to generalize the classical definition of distance to functions of $n$ arguments. In this paper we investigate this concept through a number of examples based on certain geometrical constructions. In particular, our study shows to which extent the computation of the best constant associated with an $n$-distance may sometimes be difficult and tricky. It also reveals that two important graph theoretical concepts, namely the total length of the Euclidean Steiner tree and the total length of the minimal spanning tree constructed on $n$ points, are instances of $n$-distances.

math.MG↗
arXiv2022

A Generalization of Bohr-Mollerup's Theorem for Higher Order Convex Functions

In 1922, Harald Bohr and Johannes Mollerup established a remarkable characterization of the Euler gamma function using its log-convexity property. A decade later, Emil Artin investigated this result and used it to derive the basic properties of the gamma function using elementary methods of the calculus. Bohr-Mollerup's theorem was then adopted by Nicolas Bourbaki as the starting point for his exposition of the gamma function. This open access book develops a far-reaching generalization of Bohr-Mollerup's theorem to higher order convex functions, along lines initiated by Wolfgang Krull, Roger Webster, and some others but going considerably further than past work. In particular, this generalization shows using elementary techniques that a very rich spectrum of functions satisfy analogues of several classical properties of the gamma function, including Bohr-Mollerup's theorem itself, Euler's reflection formula, Gauss' multiplication theorem, Stirling's formula, and Weierstrass' canonical factorization. The scope of the theory developed in this work is illustrated through various examples, ranging from the gamma function itself and its variants and generalizations (q-gamma, polygamma, multiple gamma functions) to important special functions such as the Hurwitz zeta function and the generalized Stieltjes constants. This volume is also an opportunity to honor the 100th anniversary of Bohr-Mollerup's theorem and to spark the interest of a large number of researchers in this beautiful theory.

math.CA↗
arXiv2022

Reducibility of $n$-ary semigroups: from quasitriviality towards idempotency

Let $X$ be a nonempty set. Denote by $\mathcal{F}^n_k$ the class of associative operations $F\colon X^n\to X$ satisfying the condition $F(x_1,\ldots,x_n)\in\{x_1,\ldots,x_n\}$ whenever at least $k$ of the elements $x_1,\ldots,x_n$ are equal to each other. The elements of $\mathcal{F}^n_1$ are said to be quasitrivial and those of $\mathcal{F}^n_n$ are said to be idempotent. We show that $\mathcal{F}^n_1=\cdots =\mathcal{F}^n_{n-2}\subseteq\mathcal{F}^n_{n-1}\subseteq\mathcal{F}^n_n$ and we give conditions on the set $X$ for the last inclusions to be strict. The class $\mathcal{F}^n_1$ was recently characterized by Couceiro and Devillet, who showed that its elements are reducible to binary associative operations. However, some elements of $\mathcal{F}^n_n$ are not reducible. In this paper, we characterize the class $\mathcal{F}^n_{n-1}\setminus\mathcal{F}^n_1$ and show that its elements are reducible. We give a full description of the corresponding reductions and show how each of them is built from a quasitrivial semigroup and an Abelian group whose exponent divides $n-1$.

math.RA↗
arXiv2020

On the best constants associated with $n$-distances

We pursue the investigation of the concept of $n$-distance, an $n$-variable version of the classical concept of distance recently introduced and investigated by Kiss, Marichal, and Teheux. We especially focus on the challenging problem of computing the best constant associated with a given $n$-distance. In particular, we define and investigate the best constants related to partial simplex inequalities. We also introduce and discuss some subclasses of $n$-distances defined by considering some properties. Finally, we discuss an interesting link between the concepts of $n$-distance and multidistance.

math.MG↗
arXiv2019

On indefinite sums weighted by periodic sequences

For any integer $q\geq 2$ we provide a formula to express indefinite sums of a sequence $(f(n))_{n\geq 0}$ weighted by $q$-periodic sequences in terms of indefinite sums of sequences $(f(qn+p))_{n\geq 0}$, where $p\in\{0,\ldots,q-1\}$. When explicit expressions for the latter sums are available, this formula immediately provides explicit expressions for the former sums. We also illustrate this formula through some examples.

math.CO↗
arXiv2019

Quasitrivial semigroups: characterizations and enumerations

We investigate the class of quasitrivial semigroups and provide various characterizations of the subclass of quasitrivial and commutative semigroups as well as the subclass of quasitrivial and order-preserving semigroups. We also determine explicitly the sizes of these classes when the semigroups are defined on finite sets. As a byproduct of these enumerations, we obtain several new integer sequences.

math.RA↗
arXiv2018

Classifications of quasitrivial semigroups

We investigate classifications of quasitrivial semigroups defined by certain equivalence relations. The subclass of quasitrivial semigroups that preserve a given total ordering is also investigated. In the special case of finite semigroups, we address and solve several related enumeration problems.

math.RA↗
arXiv2018

A generalization of the concept of distance based on the simplex inequality

We introduce and discuss the concept of \emph{$n$-distance}, a generalization to $n$ elements of the classical notion of distance obtained by replacing the triangle inequality with the so-called simplex inequality $$ d(x_1, \ldots, x_n)~\leq~K\, \sum_{i=1}^n d(x_1, \ldots, x_n)_i^z{\,}, \qquad x_1, \ldots, x_n, z \in X, $$ where $K=1$. Here $d(x_1,\ldots,x_n)_i^z$ is obtained from the function $d(x_1,\ldots,x_n)$ by setting its $i$th variable to $z$. We provide several examples of $n$-distances, and for each of them we investigate the infimum of the set of real numbers $K\in\left]0,1\right]$ for which the inequality above holds. We also introduce a generalization of the concept of $n$-distance obtained by replacing in the simplex inequality the sum function with an arbitrary symmetric function.

math.MG↗
arXiv2017

A classification of polynomial functions satisfying the Jacobi identity over integral domains

The Jacobi identity is one of the properties that are used to define the concept of Lie algebra and in this context is closely related to associativity. In this paper we provide a complete description of all bivariate polynomials that satisfy the Jacobi identity over infinite integral domains. Although this description depends on the characteristic of the domain, it turns out that all these polynomials are of degree at most one in each indeterminate.

math.RA↗
arXiv2017

Joint signature of two or more systems with applications to multistate systems made up of two-state components

The structure signature of a system made up of $n$ components having continuous and i.i.d. lifetimes was defined in the eighties by Samaniego as the $n$-tuple whose $k$-th coordinate is the probability that the $k$-th component failure causes the system to fail. More recently, a bivariate version of this concept was considered as follows. The joint structure signature of a pair of systems built on a common set of components having continuous and i.i.d. lifetimes is a square matrix of order $n$ whose $(k,l)$-entry is the probability that the $k$-th failure causes the first system to fail and the $l$-th failure causes the second system to fail. This concept was successfully used to derive a signature-based decomposition of the joint reliability of the two systems. In the first part of this paper we provide an explicit formula to compute the joint structure signature of two or more systems and extend this formula to the general non-i.i.d. case, assuming only that the distribution of the component lifetimes has no ties. We also provide and discuss a necessary and sufficient condition on this distribution for the joint reliability of the systems to have a signature-based decomposition. In the second part of this paper we show how our results can be efficiently applied to the investigation of the reliability and signature of multistate systems made up of two-state components. The key observation is that the structure function of such a multistate system can always be additively decomposed into a sum of classical structure functions. Considering a multistate system then reduces to considering simultaneously several two-state systems.

math.PR↗
arXiv2017

Characterizations of idempotent discrete uninorms

In this paper we provide an axiomatic characterization of the idempotent discrete uninorms by means of three conditions only: conservativeness, symmetry, and nondecreasing monotonicity. We also provide an alternative characterization involving the bisymmetry property. Finally, we provide a graphical characterization of these operations in terms of their contour plots, and we mention a few open questions for further research.

math.RA↗
arXiv2016

On the generalized associativity equation

The so-called generalized associativity functional equation G(J(x,y),z) = H(x,K(y,z)) has been investigated under various assumptions, for instance when the unknown functions G, H, J, and K are real, continuous, and strictly monotonic in each variable. In this note we investigate the following related problem: given the functions J and K, find every function F that can be written in the form F(x,y,z) = G(J(x,y),z) = H(x,K(y,z)) for some functions G and H. We show how this problem can be solved when any of the inner functions J and K has the same range as one of its sections.

math.RA↗
arXiv2016

Structure functions and minimal path sets

In this short note we give and discuss a general multilinear expression of the structure function of an arbitrary semicoherent system in terms of its minimal path and cut sets. We also examine the link between the number of minimal path and cut sets consisting of 1 or 2 components and the concept of structure signature of the system.

stat.AP↗