Minimum of the Gamma Function $Gamma (x)$ for $x>0$. How to find $x_{min}$?What non-integer number has the...

Would a high gravity rocky planet be guaranteed to have an atmosphere?

Escape a backup date in a file name

How did Doctor Strange see the winning outcome in Avengers: Infinity War?

What is the opposite of 'gravitas'?

System.debug(JSON.Serialize(o)) Not longer shows full string

What does "I’d sit this one out, Cap," imply or mean in the context?

Is a stroke of luck acceptable after a series of unfavorable events?

Is HostGator storing my password in plaintext?

How do scammers retract money, while you can’t?

What is the difference between "behavior" and "behaviour"?

Applicability of Single Responsibility Principle

What is the intuitive meaning of having a linear relationship between the logs of two variables?

Go Pregnant or Go Home

Trouble understanding the speech of overseas colleagues

Sort a list by elements of another list

What can we do to stop prior company from asking us questions?

What happens if you roll doubles 3 times then land on "Go to jail?"

What is paid subscription needed for in Mortal Kombat 11?

Sequence of Tenses: Translating the subjunctive

Failed to fetch jessie backports repository

India just shot down a satellite from the ground. At what altitude range is the resulting debris field?

Return the Closest Prime Number

Why didn't Theresa May consult with Parliament before negotiating a deal with the EU?

Customer Requests (Sometimes) Drive Me Bonkers!



Minimum of the Gamma Function $Gamma (x)$ for $x>0$. How to find $x_{min}$?


What non-integer number has the smallest factorial?At which value (over $mathbb{R}^+$) is the gamma function strictly increasing?Explicit series for the minimum point of the Gamma function?Irrationality of $min$ and $arg,min$ of $Gamma|_{[1, 2]}$Relevance of the Gamma Function's local minimum at $xapprox 1.4616$How do you prove Gautschi's inequality for the gamma function?Limit for gamma functionCalculating the divisor, known to be small, of two Stirling approximations of the logarithmic Gamma function without overflowsBounding the Gamma FunctionMinimize the coefficient of asymptotic normalityDerivative of the Gamma functionOther forms for the derivative of the Gamma functionGeneralized gradient descent with constraintsNumerical methods for calculating derivative of gamma functionUsing the Weierstrass formula for the Gamma Function to find an expresision for $f(z)$













17












$begingroup$


The $Gamma (x)$ function has just one minimum for $x>0$ . This result uses some
properties of the gamma function:




  • $Gamma ^{prime prime }(x)>0$ and $Gamma (x)>0$ for all $x>0$

  • $Gamma (1)=Gamma (2)=1$.


Observing the following graph (created in SWP) of $y=Gamma (x)$ this minimum is near $x=3/2$, but likely $min Gamma (x)neq Gamma left( 3/2right) =dfrac{1}{2}Gamma left( 1/2right) =dfrac{1}{2}sqrt{pi }$.



alt text



I think that it is not possible to find analytically the exact value of $x_{min }$, even by converting to an adequate problem in the interval $]0,1]$ and using the functional equation $Gamma (x+1)=xGamma (x)$ and the reflection formula



$Gamma (p)Gamma (p-1)=dfrac{pi }{sin px}qquad $( $0lt plt 1$)



Question:



a) Which is the best way to find $min_{[1,2]}Gamma (x)$ and does $x_{min }$ lay in $[1,3/2]$ or in $[3/2,2]$?



b) Is there some useful series expansion of $Gamma (x)$?



c) Which numeric method do you suggest?





Edit: Due to the shape of $Gamma (x)$ I thought on the one-dimensional Davies-Swann-Campey method of direct search for unconstrained optimization, which approximates a function near a minimum by successive approximating quadratic polynomials.










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    A general rule of thumb in numerical computing: it's easier to compute (simple) roots of functions to the full precision of your environment than to compute extrema.
    $endgroup$
    – J. M. is not a mathematician
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:18










  • $begingroup$
    wolframalpha.com/input/?i=min+Gamma%28x%29+from+0+to+3
    $endgroup$
    – Memming
    May 9 '12 at 15:33






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    computation results in 1935 nature.com/nature/journal/v135/n3422/abs/135917b0.html
    $endgroup$
    – Memming
    May 9 '12 at 15:46










  • $begingroup$
    @Memming Thanks for the link.
    $endgroup$
    – Américo Tavares
    May 9 '12 at 15:48










  • $begingroup$
    So as it's not simple to compute the value analytically, it's worth stating that $left(frac{33}{20}cdotfrac{pi^4}{110} , frac{pi^4}{110}right)$ is an approximation to $(x,y)_{text{min}}$ with an error of $mathcal{O}(10^{-4})$ in the first and even less in the second variable.
    $endgroup$
    – Nikolaj-K
    Mar 1 '13 at 11:04


















17












$begingroup$


The $Gamma (x)$ function has just one minimum for $x>0$ . This result uses some
properties of the gamma function:




  • $Gamma ^{prime prime }(x)>0$ and $Gamma (x)>0$ for all $x>0$

  • $Gamma (1)=Gamma (2)=1$.


Observing the following graph (created in SWP) of $y=Gamma (x)$ this minimum is near $x=3/2$, but likely $min Gamma (x)neq Gamma left( 3/2right) =dfrac{1}{2}Gamma left( 1/2right) =dfrac{1}{2}sqrt{pi }$.



alt text



I think that it is not possible to find analytically the exact value of $x_{min }$, even by converting to an adequate problem in the interval $]0,1]$ and using the functional equation $Gamma (x+1)=xGamma (x)$ and the reflection formula



$Gamma (p)Gamma (p-1)=dfrac{pi }{sin px}qquad $( $0lt plt 1$)



Question:



a) Which is the best way to find $min_{[1,2]}Gamma (x)$ and does $x_{min }$ lay in $[1,3/2]$ or in $[3/2,2]$?



b) Is there some useful series expansion of $Gamma (x)$?



c) Which numeric method do you suggest?





Edit: Due to the shape of $Gamma (x)$ I thought on the one-dimensional Davies-Swann-Campey method of direct search for unconstrained optimization, which approximates a function near a minimum by successive approximating quadratic polynomials.










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    A general rule of thumb in numerical computing: it's easier to compute (simple) roots of functions to the full precision of your environment than to compute extrema.
    $endgroup$
    – J. M. is not a mathematician
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:18










  • $begingroup$
    wolframalpha.com/input/?i=min+Gamma%28x%29+from+0+to+3
    $endgroup$
    – Memming
    May 9 '12 at 15:33






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    computation results in 1935 nature.com/nature/journal/v135/n3422/abs/135917b0.html
    $endgroup$
    – Memming
    May 9 '12 at 15:46










  • $begingroup$
    @Memming Thanks for the link.
    $endgroup$
    – Américo Tavares
    May 9 '12 at 15:48










  • $begingroup$
    So as it's not simple to compute the value analytically, it's worth stating that $left(frac{33}{20}cdotfrac{pi^4}{110} , frac{pi^4}{110}right)$ is an approximation to $(x,y)_{text{min}}$ with an error of $mathcal{O}(10^{-4})$ in the first and even less in the second variable.
    $endgroup$
    – Nikolaj-K
    Mar 1 '13 at 11:04
















17












17








17


6



$begingroup$


The $Gamma (x)$ function has just one minimum for $x>0$ . This result uses some
properties of the gamma function:




  • $Gamma ^{prime prime }(x)>0$ and $Gamma (x)>0$ for all $x>0$

  • $Gamma (1)=Gamma (2)=1$.


Observing the following graph (created in SWP) of $y=Gamma (x)$ this minimum is near $x=3/2$, but likely $min Gamma (x)neq Gamma left( 3/2right) =dfrac{1}{2}Gamma left( 1/2right) =dfrac{1}{2}sqrt{pi }$.



alt text



I think that it is not possible to find analytically the exact value of $x_{min }$, even by converting to an adequate problem in the interval $]0,1]$ and using the functional equation $Gamma (x+1)=xGamma (x)$ and the reflection formula



$Gamma (p)Gamma (p-1)=dfrac{pi }{sin px}qquad $( $0lt plt 1$)



Question:



a) Which is the best way to find $min_{[1,2]}Gamma (x)$ and does $x_{min }$ lay in $[1,3/2]$ or in $[3/2,2]$?



b) Is there some useful series expansion of $Gamma (x)$?



c) Which numeric method do you suggest?





Edit: Due to the shape of $Gamma (x)$ I thought on the one-dimensional Davies-Swann-Campey method of direct search for unconstrained optimization, which approximates a function near a minimum by successive approximating quadratic polynomials.










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$




The $Gamma (x)$ function has just one minimum for $x>0$ . This result uses some
properties of the gamma function:




  • $Gamma ^{prime prime }(x)>0$ and $Gamma (x)>0$ for all $x>0$

  • $Gamma (1)=Gamma (2)=1$.


Observing the following graph (created in SWP) of $y=Gamma (x)$ this minimum is near $x=3/2$, but likely $min Gamma (x)neq Gamma left( 3/2right) =dfrac{1}{2}Gamma left( 1/2right) =dfrac{1}{2}sqrt{pi }$.



alt text



I think that it is not possible to find analytically the exact value of $x_{min }$, even by converting to an adequate problem in the interval $]0,1]$ and using the functional equation $Gamma (x+1)=xGamma (x)$ and the reflection formula



$Gamma (p)Gamma (p-1)=dfrac{pi }{sin px}qquad $( $0lt plt 1$)



Question:



a) Which is the best way to find $min_{[1,2]}Gamma (x)$ and does $x_{min }$ lay in $[1,3/2]$ or in $[3/2,2]$?



b) Is there some useful series expansion of $Gamma (x)$?



c) Which numeric method do you suggest?





Edit: Due to the shape of $Gamma (x)$ I thought on the one-dimensional Davies-Swann-Campey method of direct search for unconstrained optimization, which approximates a function near a minimum by successive approximating quadratic polynomials.







calculus approximation gamma-function numerical-methods special-functions






share|cite|improve this question















share|cite|improve this question













share|cite|improve this question




share|cite|improve this question








edited Aug 29 '10 at 10:20







Américo Tavares

















asked Aug 24 '10 at 21:59









Américo TavaresAmérico Tavares

32.5k1181206




32.5k1181206








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    A general rule of thumb in numerical computing: it's easier to compute (simple) roots of functions to the full precision of your environment than to compute extrema.
    $endgroup$
    – J. M. is not a mathematician
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:18










  • $begingroup$
    wolframalpha.com/input/?i=min+Gamma%28x%29+from+0+to+3
    $endgroup$
    – Memming
    May 9 '12 at 15:33






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    computation results in 1935 nature.com/nature/journal/v135/n3422/abs/135917b0.html
    $endgroup$
    – Memming
    May 9 '12 at 15:46










  • $begingroup$
    @Memming Thanks for the link.
    $endgroup$
    – Américo Tavares
    May 9 '12 at 15:48










  • $begingroup$
    So as it's not simple to compute the value analytically, it's worth stating that $left(frac{33}{20}cdotfrac{pi^4}{110} , frac{pi^4}{110}right)$ is an approximation to $(x,y)_{text{min}}$ with an error of $mathcal{O}(10^{-4})$ in the first and even less in the second variable.
    $endgroup$
    – Nikolaj-K
    Mar 1 '13 at 11:04
















  • 2




    $begingroup$
    A general rule of thumb in numerical computing: it's easier to compute (simple) roots of functions to the full precision of your environment than to compute extrema.
    $endgroup$
    – J. M. is not a mathematician
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:18










  • $begingroup$
    wolframalpha.com/input/?i=min+Gamma%28x%29+from+0+to+3
    $endgroup$
    – Memming
    May 9 '12 at 15:33






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    computation results in 1935 nature.com/nature/journal/v135/n3422/abs/135917b0.html
    $endgroup$
    – Memming
    May 9 '12 at 15:46










  • $begingroup$
    @Memming Thanks for the link.
    $endgroup$
    – Américo Tavares
    May 9 '12 at 15:48










  • $begingroup$
    So as it's not simple to compute the value analytically, it's worth stating that $left(frac{33}{20}cdotfrac{pi^4}{110} , frac{pi^4}{110}right)$ is an approximation to $(x,y)_{text{min}}$ with an error of $mathcal{O}(10^{-4})$ in the first and even less in the second variable.
    $endgroup$
    – Nikolaj-K
    Mar 1 '13 at 11:04










2




2




$begingroup$
A general rule of thumb in numerical computing: it's easier to compute (simple) roots of functions to the full precision of your environment than to compute extrema.
$endgroup$
– J. M. is not a mathematician
Aug 24 '10 at 22:18




$begingroup$
A general rule of thumb in numerical computing: it's easier to compute (simple) roots of functions to the full precision of your environment than to compute extrema.
$endgroup$
– J. M. is not a mathematician
Aug 24 '10 at 22:18












$begingroup$
wolframalpha.com/input/?i=min+Gamma%28x%29+from+0+to+3
$endgroup$
– Memming
May 9 '12 at 15:33




$begingroup$
wolframalpha.com/input/?i=min+Gamma%28x%29+from+0+to+3
$endgroup$
– Memming
May 9 '12 at 15:33




1




1




$begingroup$
computation results in 1935 nature.com/nature/journal/v135/n3422/abs/135917b0.html
$endgroup$
– Memming
May 9 '12 at 15:46




$begingroup$
computation results in 1935 nature.com/nature/journal/v135/n3422/abs/135917b0.html
$endgroup$
– Memming
May 9 '12 at 15:46












$begingroup$
@Memming Thanks for the link.
$endgroup$
– Américo Tavares
May 9 '12 at 15:48




$begingroup$
@Memming Thanks for the link.
$endgroup$
– Américo Tavares
May 9 '12 at 15:48












$begingroup$
So as it's not simple to compute the value analytically, it's worth stating that $left(frac{33}{20}cdotfrac{pi^4}{110} , frac{pi^4}{110}right)$ is an approximation to $(x,y)_{text{min}}$ with an error of $mathcal{O}(10^{-4})$ in the first and even less in the second variable.
$endgroup$
– Nikolaj-K
Mar 1 '13 at 11:04






$begingroup$
So as it's not simple to compute the value analytically, it's worth stating that $left(frac{33}{20}cdotfrac{pi^4}{110} , frac{pi^4}{110}right)$ is an approximation to $(x,y)_{text{min}}$ with an error of $mathcal{O}(10^{-4})$ in the first and even less in the second variable.
$endgroup$
– Nikolaj-K
Mar 1 '13 at 11:04












2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















8












$begingroup$

There indeed is no closed-form for the gamma function's minimum; what you can do instead, however, is to find the positive root of the digamma function (the logarithmic derivative of the gamma function), which should be available in your computing environment.






share|cite|improve this answer









$endgroup$









  • 1




    $begingroup$
    For instance, the computation in Mathematica goes something like x /. FindRoot[PolyGamma[x], {x, 1}, WorkingPrecision -> 20] which yields the result 1.4616321449683623413 .
    $endgroup$
    – J. M. is not a mathematician
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:11










  • $begingroup$
    Thanks, you have answered to a), b) and confirmed that it is not possible to find analytically the gamma function's minimum! Since I have no access to Mathematica I will try to use PARI.
    $endgroup$
    – Américo Tavares
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:31






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Américo: As for question b.), there are series expansions (see DLMF for instance), but none of them seem to be practical so I'd steer away from them. I believe PARI/GP has a digamma/polygamma function somewhere, just check the docs.
    $endgroup$
    – J. M. is not a mathematician
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:42










  • $begingroup$
    @Mangaldan: I will check. Also I intend to study further the subject of series expansions for the present situation.
    $endgroup$
    – Américo Tavares
    Aug 24 '10 at 23:03












  • $begingroup$
    I'm actually trying to discourage you from looking at the series expansions (well okay, let's make an exception for Stirling); but if you think you can glean new insights, dig in: dlmf.nist.gov/5.7
    $endgroup$
    – J. M. is not a mathematician
    Aug 24 '10 at 23:17



















4












$begingroup$

According to MathWorld the minimum of the Gamma function for positive $x$ is 1.46163...; in particular I guess this is enough to deduce that it is smaller than $3/2$. You can follow the links along to find some references where this is proved.






share|cite|improve this answer









$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    Yes, it is enough. Thanks! In this case I have not checked before in MathWorld, although usualy I search many things there.
    $endgroup$
    – Américo Tavares
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:35













Your Answer





StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function () {
return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function () {
StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix) {
StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["$", "$"], ["\\(","\\)"]]);
});
});
}, "mathjax-editing");

StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "69"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});

function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: true,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: 10,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});


}
});














draft saved

draft discarded


















StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmath.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f3245%2fminimum-of-the-gamma-function-gamma-x-for-x0-how-to-find-x-min%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown

























2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









8












$begingroup$

There indeed is no closed-form for the gamma function's minimum; what you can do instead, however, is to find the positive root of the digamma function (the logarithmic derivative of the gamma function), which should be available in your computing environment.






share|cite|improve this answer









$endgroup$









  • 1




    $begingroup$
    For instance, the computation in Mathematica goes something like x /. FindRoot[PolyGamma[x], {x, 1}, WorkingPrecision -> 20] which yields the result 1.4616321449683623413 .
    $endgroup$
    – J. M. is not a mathematician
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:11










  • $begingroup$
    Thanks, you have answered to a), b) and confirmed that it is not possible to find analytically the gamma function's minimum! Since I have no access to Mathematica I will try to use PARI.
    $endgroup$
    – Américo Tavares
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:31






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Américo: As for question b.), there are series expansions (see DLMF for instance), but none of them seem to be practical so I'd steer away from them. I believe PARI/GP has a digamma/polygamma function somewhere, just check the docs.
    $endgroup$
    – J. M. is not a mathematician
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:42










  • $begingroup$
    @Mangaldan: I will check. Also I intend to study further the subject of series expansions for the present situation.
    $endgroup$
    – Américo Tavares
    Aug 24 '10 at 23:03












  • $begingroup$
    I'm actually trying to discourage you from looking at the series expansions (well okay, let's make an exception for Stirling); but if you think you can glean new insights, dig in: dlmf.nist.gov/5.7
    $endgroup$
    – J. M. is not a mathematician
    Aug 24 '10 at 23:17
















8












$begingroup$

There indeed is no closed-form for the gamma function's minimum; what you can do instead, however, is to find the positive root of the digamma function (the logarithmic derivative of the gamma function), which should be available in your computing environment.






share|cite|improve this answer









$endgroup$









  • 1




    $begingroup$
    For instance, the computation in Mathematica goes something like x /. FindRoot[PolyGamma[x], {x, 1}, WorkingPrecision -> 20] which yields the result 1.4616321449683623413 .
    $endgroup$
    – J. M. is not a mathematician
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:11










  • $begingroup$
    Thanks, you have answered to a), b) and confirmed that it is not possible to find analytically the gamma function's minimum! Since I have no access to Mathematica I will try to use PARI.
    $endgroup$
    – Américo Tavares
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:31






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Américo: As for question b.), there are series expansions (see DLMF for instance), but none of them seem to be practical so I'd steer away from them. I believe PARI/GP has a digamma/polygamma function somewhere, just check the docs.
    $endgroup$
    – J. M. is not a mathematician
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:42










  • $begingroup$
    @Mangaldan: I will check. Also I intend to study further the subject of series expansions for the present situation.
    $endgroup$
    – Américo Tavares
    Aug 24 '10 at 23:03












  • $begingroup$
    I'm actually trying to discourage you from looking at the series expansions (well okay, let's make an exception for Stirling); but if you think you can glean new insights, dig in: dlmf.nist.gov/5.7
    $endgroup$
    – J. M. is not a mathematician
    Aug 24 '10 at 23:17














8












8








8





$begingroup$

There indeed is no closed-form for the gamma function's minimum; what you can do instead, however, is to find the positive root of the digamma function (the logarithmic derivative of the gamma function), which should be available in your computing environment.






share|cite|improve this answer









$endgroup$



There indeed is no closed-form for the gamma function's minimum; what you can do instead, however, is to find the positive root of the digamma function (the logarithmic derivative of the gamma function), which should be available in your computing environment.







share|cite|improve this answer












share|cite|improve this answer



share|cite|improve this answer










answered Aug 24 '10 at 22:09









J. M. is not a mathematicianJ. M. is not a mathematician

61.5k5152290




61.5k5152290








  • 1




    $begingroup$
    For instance, the computation in Mathematica goes something like x /. FindRoot[PolyGamma[x], {x, 1}, WorkingPrecision -> 20] which yields the result 1.4616321449683623413 .
    $endgroup$
    – J. M. is not a mathematician
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:11










  • $begingroup$
    Thanks, you have answered to a), b) and confirmed that it is not possible to find analytically the gamma function's minimum! Since I have no access to Mathematica I will try to use PARI.
    $endgroup$
    – Américo Tavares
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:31






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Américo: As for question b.), there are series expansions (see DLMF for instance), but none of them seem to be practical so I'd steer away from them. I believe PARI/GP has a digamma/polygamma function somewhere, just check the docs.
    $endgroup$
    – J. M. is not a mathematician
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:42










  • $begingroup$
    @Mangaldan: I will check. Also I intend to study further the subject of series expansions for the present situation.
    $endgroup$
    – Américo Tavares
    Aug 24 '10 at 23:03












  • $begingroup$
    I'm actually trying to discourage you from looking at the series expansions (well okay, let's make an exception for Stirling); but if you think you can glean new insights, dig in: dlmf.nist.gov/5.7
    $endgroup$
    – J. M. is not a mathematician
    Aug 24 '10 at 23:17














  • 1




    $begingroup$
    For instance, the computation in Mathematica goes something like x /. FindRoot[PolyGamma[x], {x, 1}, WorkingPrecision -> 20] which yields the result 1.4616321449683623413 .
    $endgroup$
    – J. M. is not a mathematician
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:11










  • $begingroup$
    Thanks, you have answered to a), b) and confirmed that it is not possible to find analytically the gamma function's minimum! Since I have no access to Mathematica I will try to use PARI.
    $endgroup$
    – Américo Tavares
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:31






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Américo: As for question b.), there are series expansions (see DLMF for instance), but none of them seem to be practical so I'd steer away from them. I believe PARI/GP has a digamma/polygamma function somewhere, just check the docs.
    $endgroup$
    – J. M. is not a mathematician
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:42










  • $begingroup$
    @Mangaldan: I will check. Also I intend to study further the subject of series expansions for the present situation.
    $endgroup$
    – Américo Tavares
    Aug 24 '10 at 23:03












  • $begingroup$
    I'm actually trying to discourage you from looking at the series expansions (well okay, let's make an exception for Stirling); but if you think you can glean new insights, dig in: dlmf.nist.gov/5.7
    $endgroup$
    – J. M. is not a mathematician
    Aug 24 '10 at 23:17








1




1




$begingroup$
For instance, the computation in Mathematica goes something like x /. FindRoot[PolyGamma[x], {x, 1}, WorkingPrecision -> 20] which yields the result 1.4616321449683623413 .
$endgroup$
– J. M. is not a mathematician
Aug 24 '10 at 22:11




$begingroup$
For instance, the computation in Mathematica goes something like x /. FindRoot[PolyGamma[x], {x, 1}, WorkingPrecision -> 20] which yields the result 1.4616321449683623413 .
$endgroup$
– J. M. is not a mathematician
Aug 24 '10 at 22:11












$begingroup$
Thanks, you have answered to a), b) and confirmed that it is not possible to find analytically the gamma function's minimum! Since I have no access to Mathematica I will try to use PARI.
$endgroup$
– Américo Tavares
Aug 24 '10 at 22:31




$begingroup$
Thanks, you have answered to a), b) and confirmed that it is not possible to find analytically the gamma function's minimum! Since I have no access to Mathematica I will try to use PARI.
$endgroup$
– Américo Tavares
Aug 24 '10 at 22:31




1




1




$begingroup$
Américo: As for question b.), there are series expansions (see DLMF for instance), but none of them seem to be practical so I'd steer away from them. I believe PARI/GP has a digamma/polygamma function somewhere, just check the docs.
$endgroup$
– J. M. is not a mathematician
Aug 24 '10 at 22:42




$begingroup$
Américo: As for question b.), there are series expansions (see DLMF for instance), but none of them seem to be practical so I'd steer away from them. I believe PARI/GP has a digamma/polygamma function somewhere, just check the docs.
$endgroup$
– J. M. is not a mathematician
Aug 24 '10 at 22:42












$begingroup$
@Mangaldan: I will check. Also I intend to study further the subject of series expansions for the present situation.
$endgroup$
– Américo Tavares
Aug 24 '10 at 23:03






$begingroup$
@Mangaldan: I will check. Also I intend to study further the subject of series expansions for the present situation.
$endgroup$
– Américo Tavares
Aug 24 '10 at 23:03














$begingroup$
I'm actually trying to discourage you from looking at the series expansions (well okay, let's make an exception for Stirling); but if you think you can glean new insights, dig in: dlmf.nist.gov/5.7
$endgroup$
– J. M. is not a mathematician
Aug 24 '10 at 23:17




$begingroup$
I'm actually trying to discourage you from looking at the series expansions (well okay, let's make an exception for Stirling); but if you think you can glean new insights, dig in: dlmf.nist.gov/5.7
$endgroup$
– J. M. is not a mathematician
Aug 24 '10 at 23:17











4












$begingroup$

According to MathWorld the minimum of the Gamma function for positive $x$ is 1.46163...; in particular I guess this is enough to deduce that it is smaller than $3/2$. You can follow the links along to find some references where this is proved.






share|cite|improve this answer









$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    Yes, it is enough. Thanks! In this case I have not checked before in MathWorld, although usualy I search many things there.
    $endgroup$
    – Américo Tavares
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:35


















4












$begingroup$

According to MathWorld the minimum of the Gamma function for positive $x$ is 1.46163...; in particular I guess this is enough to deduce that it is smaller than $3/2$. You can follow the links along to find some references where this is proved.






share|cite|improve this answer









$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    Yes, it is enough. Thanks! In this case I have not checked before in MathWorld, although usualy I search many things there.
    $endgroup$
    – Américo Tavares
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:35
















4












4








4





$begingroup$

According to MathWorld the minimum of the Gamma function for positive $x$ is 1.46163...; in particular I guess this is enough to deduce that it is smaller than $3/2$. You can follow the links along to find some references where this is proved.






share|cite|improve this answer









$endgroup$



According to MathWorld the minimum of the Gamma function for positive $x$ is 1.46163...; in particular I guess this is enough to deduce that it is smaller than $3/2$. You can follow the links along to find some references where this is proved.







share|cite|improve this answer












share|cite|improve this answer



share|cite|improve this answer










answered Aug 24 '10 at 22:08









damianodamiano

1,7161010




1,7161010












  • $begingroup$
    Yes, it is enough. Thanks! In this case I have not checked before in MathWorld, although usualy I search many things there.
    $endgroup$
    – Américo Tavares
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:35




















  • $begingroup$
    Yes, it is enough. Thanks! In this case I have not checked before in MathWorld, although usualy I search many things there.
    $endgroup$
    – Américo Tavares
    Aug 24 '10 at 22:35


















$begingroup$
Yes, it is enough. Thanks! In this case I have not checked before in MathWorld, although usualy I search many things there.
$endgroup$
– Américo Tavares
Aug 24 '10 at 22:35






$begingroup$
Yes, it is enough. Thanks! In this case I have not checked before in MathWorld, although usualy I search many things there.
$endgroup$
– Américo Tavares
Aug 24 '10 at 22:35




















draft saved

draft discarded




















































Thanks for contributing an answer to Mathematics Stack Exchange!


  • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

But avoid



  • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

  • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.


To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




draft saved


draft discarded














StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmath.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f3245%2fminimum-of-the-gamma-function-gamma-x-for-x0-how-to-find-x-min%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown





















































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown

































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown







Popular posts from this blog

Nidaros erkebispedøme

Birsay

Where did Arya get these scars? Unicorn Meta Zoo #1: Why another podcast? Announcing the arrival of Valued Associate #679: Cesar Manara Favourite questions and answers from the 1st quarter of 2019Why did Arya refuse to end it?Has the pronunciation of Arya Stark's name changed?Has Arya forgiven people?Why did Arya Stark lose her vision?Why can Arya still use the faces?Has the Narrow Sea become narrower?Does Arya Stark know how to make poisons outside of the House of Black and White?Why did Nymeria leave Arya?Why did Arya not kill the Lannister soldiers she encountered in the Riverlands?What is the current canonical age of Sansa, Bran and Arya Stark?