The Babylonian algorithm for deducing \(\sqrt{2}\). The sequence of numbers \(\{x_n\}\) is given by the following conditions: \(x_1 = 1\), \(x_{n + 1} = \frac 12 (x_n + 2/x_n)\) (\(n \geq 1\)).
Prove that \(\lim\limits_{n\to\infty} x_n = \sqrt{2}\).
What will the sequence from the previous problem 61297 be converging towards if we choose \(x_1\) as equal to \(-1\) as the initial condition?
Method of iterations. In order to approximately solve an equation, it is allowed to write \(f (x) = x\), by using the iteration method. First, some number \(x_0\) is chosen, and then the sequence \(\{x_n\}\) is constructed according to the rule \(x_{n + 1} = f (x_n)\) (\(n \geq 0\)). Prove that if this sequence has the limit \(x * = \lim \limits_ {n \to \infty} x_n\), and the function \(f (x)\) is continuous, then this limit is the root of the original equation: \(f (x ^*) = x^*\).
The numbers \(a_1, a_2, \dots , a_k\) are such that the equality \(\lim\limits_{n\to\infty} (x_n + a_1x_{n - 1} + \dots + a_kx_{n - k}) = 0\) is possible only for those sequences \(\{x_n\}\) for which \(\lim\limits_{n\to\infty} x_n = 0\). Prove that all the roots of the polynomial P \((\lambda) = \lambda^k + a_1 \lambda^{k-1} + a_2 \lambda^{k -2} + \dots + a_k\) are modulo less than 1.
We call the geometric-harmonic mean of numbers \(a\) and \(b\) the general limit of the sequences \(\{a_n\}\) and \(\{b_n\}\) constructed according to the rule \(a_0 = a\), \(b_0 = b\), \(a_{n + 1} = \frac{2a_nb_n}{a_n + b_n}\), \(b_{n + 1} = \sqrt{a_nb_n}\) (\(n \geq 0\)).
We denote it by \(\nu (a, b)\). Prove that \(\nu (a, b)\) is related to \(\mu (a, b)\) (see problem number 61322) by \(\nu (a, b) \times \mu (1/a, 1/b) = 1\).
Problem number 61322 says that both of these sequences have the same limit.
This limit is called the arithmetic-geometric mean of the numbers \(a, b\) and is denoted by \(\mu (a, b)\).