I have two questions concerning infinite series in the context of the Riemann zeta function.
- Given the properties of infinite series, why can't we regroup the terms in ζ(0) in such a way as to give ζ(−1)? i.e.
ζ(0)=∞∑n=01n0=∞∑n=01=1+1+1+…=(1)+(1+1)+(1+1+1)+…=1+2+3+…=11−1+12−1+11−3+…=∞∑n=0n=∞∑n=01n−1=ζ(−1)
- This one might be a lot simpler to answer: why can we assign a value to ζ(−1)=∑∞n=01n−1 when the infinite series on the RHS is clearly divergent, i.e. its nth term is always bigger than its (n−1)th term?
Answer
In short: in a non-absolutely convergent series you can't do things like reorder and group terms because you may get a different answer. In fact, you can reorder the terms in in the sum 1/1−1/2+1/3−1/4+... (which in this case does converge, but not absolutely) to give you any real result you like!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_convergence
ζ(−1) is something quite different. For numbers with Re(s)≤1 we don't define ζ(s)=∑∞n=1n−s, but instead as the function which "smoothly" extends this sum which is well-defined on Re(s)>1 to those numbers with Re(s)≤1. It is, as was mentioned, a meromorphic continuation.
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