Tuesday, 12 February 2019

Real Analysis Monotone Convergence Theorem Question

I am working on the following exercise for an introductory Real Analysis course.




Suppose that x02 and xn=2+xn12 for nN. Use the Monotone Convergence Theorem to prove that either limnxn=2 or 3 or .




I need some help to move in the right direction. I'll start with what I know so far. My first approach was to break the question into different cases.




I've found that if x0=2, then xn=2 for all nN. So, if this is the case, the series is neither decreasing nor increasing? Furthermore, I've found that if x0=3 then xn=3 for all nN. For 2<x0<3, the series is monotone increasing, and converges to 3. For x0>3, the series is monotone decreasing and converges to 3. You will notice none of the cases I've given result in limnxn=. I have not proven any of the above.



Now, the Monotone Convergence Theorem states, according to my textbook:




A monotone increasing sequence that is bounded above converges.



A monotone decreasing sequence that is bounded below converges.





Now, if I can show that the series is monotone increasing/decreasing and bounded above/below for the different cases, I believe I can use the following.



L=limnxn+1=limn2+xn2=2+limnxn2=2+L2



So,



L=2+L2



Which, solving for L, yields the solutions L=2 and L=3. This makes sense according to what I claimed earlier. Once again, I have not found under what conditions the series is divergent. Any help would be appreciated.




Also, any advice as to proving that the series is either monotone increasing and bounded above, or monotone decreasing and bounded below, under the different conditions for x0, would be appreciated.

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