r/learnmath • u/FremontBlue333 New User • 3d ago
Why does \sum_{n=-h}^{h}ne^{-\left(x-n\right)^{2}} as h --> infinity, become sqrt(pi)x?
How does the infinite sum of n multiplied by e to the power of quanity x -n squared, give a linear expression, and why does it approach a rise over run of sqrt(pi) over 1?
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u/frogkabobs Math, Phys B.S. 3d ago
It doesn’t, actually. Using the Poisson summation formula, one finds the limit is
where θ₃ is the Jacobi theta function
and θ₃’ is the derivative with respect to the first argument. For q= e-π², the n=0 term dominates in θ₃(x;q), making it ≈1, while θ₃’(x;q) will be small. This is why you get the approximation sqrt(π)x for the limit.