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.
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