Stolz–Cesàro theorem

In mathematics, the Stolz–Cesàro theorem, named after mathematicians Otto Stolz and Ernesto Cesàro, is a criterion for proving the convergence of a sequence.

Let (a_n)_{n \geq 1} and (b_n)_{n \geq 1} be two sequences of real numbers. Assume that b_n is strictly increasing and unbounded and the following limit exists:

 \lim_{n \to \infty} \frac{a_{n%2B1}-a_n}{b_{n%2B1}-b_n}=\ell.\

Then, the limit

 \lim_{n \to \infty} \frac{a_n}{b_n}\

also exists and it is equal to .

The Stolz–Cesàro theorem can be viewed as a generalization of the Cesàro mean, but also as a l'Hôpital's rule for sequences. The ∞/∞ case is stated and proved on pages 173--175 of Stolz's 1885 book S and also on page 54 of Cesàro's 1888 article C. It appears as Problem 70 in PS.

References

External links

This article incorporates material from Stolz-Cesaro theorem on PlanetMath, which is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.