English

Forms of Nice Functions

Group Theory 2025-04-24 v1

Abstract

You can invent striking and challenging problems with unique solution by building some symmetry into functional equations. Some are suitable for high school; others could generate college-level projects involving computer algebra. The problems are functional equations with group actions in the background. Interesting examples arise even from small finite groups. Whether a given problem ``works" with a given choice of constant coefficients depends on whether a related multilinear form is nonzero. These forms are essentially the classical group determinants studied by Frobenius in the nineteenth century.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2504.16611,
  title  = {Forms of Nice Functions},
  author = {Anthony G. O'Farrell},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2504.16611},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

9 pages. A preprint version. The version of record is to be published in The College Mathematics Journal

R2 v1 2026-06-28T23:08:24.820Z