Namespaces
Variants
Actions

Fractional integration and differentiation

From Encyclopedia of Mathematics
Jump to: navigation, search

An extension of the operations of integration and differentiation to the case of fractional powers. Let be integrable on the interval [a,b], let I_1^af(x) be the integral of f along [a,x], while I_\alpha^af(x) is the integral of I_{\alpha-1}^af(x) along [a,b], \alpha=2,3,\dots. One then has

I_\alpha^af(x)=\frac{1}{\Gamma(\alpha)}\int\limits_a^x(x-t)^{\alpha-1}f(t)\,dt,\quad a\leq x\leq b,\label{1}\tag{1}

where \Gamma(\alpha)=(\alpha-1)! is the gamma-function. The right-hand side makes sense for every \alpha>0. The relation \eqref{1} defines the fractional integral (or the Riemann–Liouville integral) of order \alpha of f with starting point a. The operator I_z^a was studied by B. Riemann (1847) for complex values of the parameter z. The operator I_\alpha^a is linear and has the semi-group property:

I_\alpha^a[I_\beta^af(x)]=I_{\alpha+\beta}^af(x).

The operation inverse to fractional integration is known as fractional differentiation: If I_\alpha f=F, then f is the fractional derivative of order \alpha of F. If 0<\alpha<1, Marchaut's formula applies:

f(x)=\frac{\alpha}{\Gamma(1-\alpha)}\int\limits_0^\infty\left\lbrace\frac{F(x)-F(x-t)}{t^{1+\alpha}}\right\rbrace dt.

The concept of fractional integration and differentiation was first introduced by J. Liouville (1832); he studied, in particular, the operator I_\alpha^{-\infty}=I_\alpha, \alpha>0:

I_\alpha f=\frac{1}{\Gamma(\alpha)}\int\limits_{-\infty}^x\frac{f(t)}{(x-t)^{1-\alpha}}dt

(subject to appropriate restrictions on f; cf. [1], which also contains estimates of the operator I_\alpha in L_p).

The following definition (H. Weyl, 1917) is convenient for an integrable 2\pi-periodic function f with zero average value over the period. If

f(x)\sim\sum_{|n|>0}c^ne^{inx}=\sum'c_ne^{inx},

then the Weyl integral f_\alpha of order \alpha>0 of f is defined by the formula

f_\alpha(x)\sim\sum'\frac{c_ne^{inx}}{(in)^\alpha};\label{2}\tag{2}

and the derivative f^\beta of order \beta>0 is defined by the equation

f^\beta(x)=\frac{d^n}{dx^n}f_{n-\beta}(x),

where n is the smallest integer larger than \beta (it should be noted that f_\alpha(x) coincides with I_\alpha f(x)).

These definitions were further developed in the framework of the theory of generalized functions. For periodic generalized functions

f\sim\sum'c_ne^{inx}

the operation of fractional integration I_\alpha f=f_\alpha is realized according to formula \eqref{2} for all real \alpha (if \alpha is negative, I_\alpha f coincides with the partial derivative of order \alpha) and has the semi-group property with respect to the parameter \alpha.

In an n-dimensional space X the analogue of the operator of fractional integration is the Riesz potential (or the integral of potential type)

R_\alpha f(x)=\pi^{\alpha-n/2}\frac{\Gamma((n-\alpha)/2)}{\Gamma(\alpha/2)}\int\limits_X\frac{f(t)}{|x-t|^{n-\alpha}}dt.

The operation inverse to R_\alpha is said to be the Riesz derivative of order \alpha.

References

[1] G.H. Hardy, J.E. Littlewood, G. Pólya, "Inequalities" , Cambridge Univ. Press (1934)
[2] A. Zygmund, "Trigonometric series" , 1 , Cambridge Univ. Press (1988)
[3] E. Hille, R.S. Phillips, "Functional analysis and semi-groups" , Amer. Math. Soc. (1957)
[4] M.M. Dzhrbashyan, "Integral transforms and representation of functions in the complex domain" , Moscow (1966) (In Russian)
How to Cite This Entry:
Fractional integration and differentiation. Encyclopedia of Mathematics. URL: http://encyclopediaofmath.org/index.php?title=Fractional_integration_and_differentiation&oldid=44696
This article was adapted from an original article by P.I. Lizorkin (originator), which appeared in Encyclopedia of Mathematics - ISBN 1402006098. See original article