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MASTER’S THESIS
2003:320 CIV
Continuous Nowhere
Differentiable Functions
MASTER OF SCIENCE PROGRAMME
Department of Mathematics
2003:320 CIV • ISSN: 1402 - 1617 • ISRN: LTU - EX - - 03/320 - - SE
JOHAN THIM
Continuous Nowhere
Differentiable Functions
Johan Thim
December 2003
Master Thesis
Supervisor: Lech Maligranda
Department of Mathematics
Abstract
In the early nineteenth century, most mathematicians believed that a contin-
uous function has derivative at a significant set of points. A. M. Amp`ere even
tried to give a theoretical justification for this (within the limitations of the
definitions of his time) in his paper from 1806. In a presentation before the
Berlin Academy on July 18, 1872 Karl Weierstrass shocked the mathematical
community by proving this conjecture to be false. He presented a function
which was continuous everywhere but differentiable nowhere. The function
in question was defined by
W (x) =
∞
X
k=0
a
k
cos(b
k
πx),
where a is a real number with 0 < a < 1, b is an odd integer and ab > 1+3π/2.
This example was first published by du Bois-Reymond in 1875. Weierstrass
also mentioned Riemann, who apparently had used a similar construction
(which was unpublished) in his own lectures as early as 1861. However,
neither Weierstrass’ nor Riemann’s function was the first such construction.
The earliest known example is due to Czech mathematician Bernard Bolzano,
who in the years around 1830 (published in 1922 after being discovered a few
years earlier) exhibited a continuous function which was nowhere differen-
tiable. Around 1860, the Swiss mathematician Charles Cell´erier also discov-
ered (independently) an example which unfortunately wasn’t published until
1890 (posthumously).
After the publication of the Weierstrass function, many other mathemati-
cians made their own contributions. We take a closer look at many of these
functions by giving a short historical perspective and proving some of their
properties. We also consider the set of all continuous nowhere differentiable
functions seen as a subset of the space of all real-valued continuous functions.
Surprisingly enough, this set is even “large” (of the second category in the
sense of Baire).
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank my supervisor Lech Maligranda for his guidance, help
and support during the creation of this document. His input was invaluable
and truly appreciated. Also the people I have had contact with (during all
of my education) at the Department of Mathematics here in Lule˚a deserves
a heartfelt thank you.
On another note, I would like to extend my gratitude to Dissection, Chris
Poland and Spawn of Possession for having provided some quality music
that made the long nights of work less grating. Thanks to Jan Lindblom for
helping me with some French texts as well.
Contents
1 Introduction 4
2 Series and Convergence 7
3 Functions Through the Ages 11
3.1 Bolzano function (≈1830) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.2 Cell´erier function (≈1860) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.3 Riemann function (≈1861) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.4 Weierstrass function (1872) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.5 Darboux function (1873) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.6 Peano function (1890) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.7 Takagi (1903) and van der Waerden (1930) functions . . . . . 36
3.8 Koch “snowflake” curve (1904) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.9 Faber functions (1907, 1908) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.10 Sierpi´nski curve (1912) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.11 Knopp function (1918) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.12 Petr function (1920) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.13 Schoenberg function (1938) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.14 Orlicz functions (1947) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
3.15 McCarthy function (1953) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.16 Katsuura function (1991) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.17 Lynch function (1992) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3.18 Wen function (2002) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
4 How “Large” is the Set ND[a, b] 71
4.1 Metric spaces and category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
4.2 Banach-Mazurkiewicz theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
4.3 Prevalence of ND[0, 1] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Bibliography 85
Index 92
Index of Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Index of Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
2
List of Figures
3.1 The three first elements in the “Bolzano” sequence {B
k
(x)}
with [a, b] = [0, 20] and [A, B] = [4, 16]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.2 Cellerier’s function C(x) with a = 2 on [0, π]. . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.3 Riemann’s function R on [−1, 5]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.4 Weierstrass’ function W with a =
1
2
and b = 5 on [0, 3]. . . . . 22
3.5 Darboux’s function D(x) on [0, 3]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.6 First four steps in the geometric generation of Peano’s curve. . 33
3.7 The component φ
p
of Peano’s curve. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3.8 Takagi’s and van der Waerden’s functions on [0, 1]. . . . . . . 36
3.9 First four steps in the construction of Koch’s “snowflake”. . . 40
3.10 The functions f
1
(dashed) and f
2
(whole). . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.11 Faber’s functions F
i
(x) on [0, 1]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.12 Polygonal approximations (of order n) to Sierpi´nski’s curve. . 45
3.13 The “saw-tooth” function φ(x) on [−3, 3]. . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.14 Petr’s function in a 4-adic system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.15 First four approximation polygons in the construction of Scho-
enberg’s curve (sampled at t
k
= m/3
n
, m = 0, 1, . . . , 3
n
). . . . 49
3.16 Schoenberg’s function φ
s
and the auxiliary function p. . . . . . 49
3.17 McCarthy’s function M and the auxiliary function g(x). . . . 56
3.18 The graphs of the first four “iterations” of the Katsuura func-
tion and the corresponding mappings of X (the rectangles). . . 58
3.19 Line segment with band neighborhoods for Lynch’s function. . 63
3.20 Wen’s function W
L
with a
n
= 2
−n
and p
n
= 6
n
for x ∈ [0, 2]. . 65
3.21 Two of Liu Wen’s functions with 0 ≤ x ≤ 1. . . . . . . . . . . 67
3
Chapter 1
Introduction
I turn away with fear and horror from the lamentable plague of continuous
functions which do not have derivatives...
– Hermite, letter to Stieltjes dated 20 May 1893
1
.
Judging by the quote above, some mathematicians didn’t like the possibility
of continuous functions which are nowhere differentiable. Why was these
functions so poorly received?
Observing the situation today, many students still find it strange that there
exists a continuous function which is nowhere differentiable. When I first
heard of it myself I was a bit perplexed, at least by the sheer magnitude of
the number of such functions that actually exist. Usually beginning students
of mathematics get the impression that continuous functions normally are
differentiable, except maybe at a few especially “nasty” points. The standard
example of f(x) = |x|, which only lacks derivative at x = 0, is one such
function. This was also the situation for most mathematicians in the late
18th and early 19th century. They were not interested in the existence of
the derivative of some hypothetical function but rather just calculating the
derivative as some explicit expression. This was usually successful, except at
a few points in the domain where the differentiation failed. These actions led
to the belief that continuous functions have derivatives everywhere, except at
some particular points. Amp`ere even tried to give a theoretical justification
for this statement in 1806 (cf. Amp`ere [1]), although it is not exactly clear
1
Quote borrowed from Pinkus [57].
4
if he attempted to prove this for all continuous functions or for some smaller
subset (for further discussion see Medvedev [48], pages 214-219).
Therefore, with all this in mind, the reaction of a 19th century mathematician
to the news of these functions doesn’t seem that strange anymore. These
functions caused a reluctant reconsideration of the concept of a continuous
function and motivated increased rigor in mathematical analysis. Nowadays
the existence of these functions is fundamental for “new” areas of research
and applications like, for example, fractals, chaos and wavelets.
In this report we present a chronological review of some of the continu-
ous nowhere differentiable functions constructed during the last 170 years.
Properties of these functions are discussed as well as traits of more general
collections of nowhere differentiable functions.
The contents of the thesis is as follows. We start in Chapter 2 with sequences
and series of functions defined on some interval I ⊂ R and convergence of
those. This is important for the further development of the subject since
many constructions are based on infinite series. In Chapter 3 we take a
stroll through the last couple of centuries and present some of the functions
constructed. We do this in a concise manner, starting with a short historical
background before giving the construction of the function and showing that
it has the desired properties. Some proofs has been left out for various
reasons, but in those cases a clear reference to a proof is given instead.
Chapter 4 continues with an examination of the set of all continuous nowhere
differentiable functions. It turns out that the “average” continuous function
normally is nowhere differentiable and not the other way around. We do this
both by a topological argument based on category and also by a measure
theoretic result using prevalence (considered by Hunt, Sauer and York).
Table 1.1 gives a short timeline for development in the field of continuous
nowhere differentiable functions.
5
Discoverer Year Page What
B. Bolzano ≈1830 11 First known example
M. Ch. Cell´erier ≈1830 17 Early example
B. Riemann ≈1861 18 “Nondifferentiable” function
K. Weierstrass 1872 20 First published example
H. Hankel 1870 29 “Condensation of singularities”
H. A. Schwarz 1873 28 Not differentiable on a dense s ubset
M. G. Darboux 1873-5 28 Example (’73) and generalization (’75)
U. Dini 1877 25 Large class including Weierstrass
K. Hertz 1879 27 Generalization of Weierstrass function
G. Peano 1890 32 Space-filling curve (nowhere differentiable)
D. Hilbert 1891 33 Space-filling curve (nowhere differentiable)
T. Takagi 1903 36 Easier (than Weierstrass) example
H. von Koch 1904 39 Continuous curve with tangent nowhere
G. Faber 1907-8 41 “Investigation of continuous functions”
W. Sierpi´nski 1912 44 Space-filling curve (nowhere differentiable)
G. H. Hardy 1916 27 Generalization of Weierstrass conditions
K. Knopp 1918 45 Generalization of Takagi-type functions
M. B. Porter 1919 27 Generalization of Weierstrass function
K. Petr 1922 47 Algebraic/arithmetic example
A. S. Besicovitch 1924 78 No finite or infinite one-sided derivative
B. van der Waerden 1930 36 Takagi-like construction
S. Mazurkiewicz 1931 74 ND[0, 1] is of the second category
S. Banach 1931 74 ND[0, 1] is of the second category
S. Saks 1932 78 The set of Besicovitch-functions is Ist category
I. J. Schoenberg 1938 48 Space-filling curve (nowhere differentiable)
W. Orlicz 1947 52 Intermediate result
J. McCarthy 1953 55 Example with very simple proof
G. de Rham 1957 36 Takagi generalization
H. Katsuura 1991 57 Example based on metric-spaces
M. Lynch 1992 62 Example based on topology
B. R. Hunt 1994 78 ND[0, 1] is a prevalent set
L. Wen 2002 64 Example based on infinite products
Table 1.1: Timelime (partial) of the development in the field of continuous
nowhere differentiable functions.
6
Chapter 2
Series and Convergence
Many constructions of nowhere differentiable continuous functions are based
on infinite series of functions. Therefore a few general theorems about series
and sequences of functions will be of great aid when we continue investigating
the subject at hand. First we need a clear definition of convergence in this
context.
Definition 2.1. A sequence S
n
of functions on the interval I is said to
converge pointwise to a function S on I if for every x ∈ I
lim
n→∞
S
n
(x) = S(x),
that is
∀x ∈ I ∀ > 0 ∃N ∈ N ∀n ≥ N |S
n
(x) − S(x)| < .
The convergence is said to be uniform on I if
lim
n→∞
sup
x∈I
|S
n
(x) − S(x)| = 0,
that is
∀ > 0 ∃N ∈ N ∀n ≥ N sup
x∈I
|S
n
(x) − S(x)| < .
Uniform convergence plays an important role to whether properties of the
elements in a sequence are transfered onto the limit of the sequence. The fol-
lowing two theorems can be of assistance when establishing if the convergence
of a sequence of functions is uniform.
7
Theorem 2.1. The sequence S
n
converges uniformly on I if and only if it
is a uniformly Cauchy sequence on I, that is
lim
m,n→∞
sup
x∈I
|S
n
(x) − S
m
(x)| = 0
or
∀ > 0 ∃N ∈ N ∀m, n ≥ N sup
x∈I
|S
n
(x) − S
m
(x)| < .
Proof. First, assume that S
n
converges uniformly to S on I, that is
∀ > 0 ∃N ∈ N ∀n ≥ N sup
x∈I
|S
n
(x) − S(x)| <
2
.
For such > 0 and for m, n ∈ N with m, n ≥ N we have
sup
x∈I
|S
n
(x) − S
m
(x)| ≤ sup
x∈I
(|S
n
(x) − S(x)| + |S(x) −S
m
(x)|)
≤ sup
x∈I
|S
n
(x) − S(x)| + sup
x∈I
|S(x) − S
m
(x)| < 2
2
= .
Conversely, assume that {S
n
} is a uniformly Cauchy sequence, i.e.
∀ > 0 ∃N ∈ N ∀m, n ≥ N sup
x∈I
|S
n
(x) − S
m
(x)| <
2
.
For any fixed x ∈ I, the sequence {S
n
(x)} is clearly a Cauchy sequence of real
numbers. Hence the sequence converges to a real number, say S(x). From
the assumption and the pointwise convergence just established we have
∀ > 0 ∃N ∈ N ∀m, n ≥ N sup
x∈I
|S
n
(x) − S
m
(x)| <
2
and
∀ > 0 ∀x ∈ I ∃m
x
> N |S
m
x
(x) − S(x)| <
2
.
If > 0 is arbitrary and n > N, then
sup
x∈I
|S
n
(x) − S(x)| ≤ sup
x∈I
(|S
n
(x) − S
m
x
(x)| + |S
m
x
(x) − S(x)|) <
2
+
2
= .
Hence the convergence of S
n
to S is uniform on I.
8
Theorem 2.2 (Weierstrass M-test). Let f
k
: I → R be a sequence of
functions such that sup
x∈I
|f
k
(x)| ≤ M
k
for every k ∈ N. If
P
∞
k=1
M
k
< ∞,
then the series
P
∞
k=1
f
k
(x) is uniformly convergent on I.
Proof. Let m, n ∈ N with n > m. Then
sup
x∈I
|S
n
(x) − S
m
(x)| = sup
x∈I
n
X
k=1
f
k
(x) −
m
X
k=1
f
k
(x)
= sup
x∈I
n
X
k=m+1
f
k
(x)
≤
n
X
k=m+1
sup
x∈I
|f
k
(x)|
≤
n
X
k=m+1
M
k
=
n
X
k=1
M
k
−
m
X
k=1
M
k
.
Since M =
P
∞
k=1
M
k
< ∞ it follows that
n
X
k=1
M
k
−
m
X
k=1
M
k
→ M − M = 0 as m, n → ∞
which gives that {S
n
} is a uniformly Cauchy sequence on I. Using Theo-
rem 2.1 we obtain that the series
P
∞
k=1
f
k
(x) is uniformly convergent on
I.
We are often interested in establishing the continuity of a limit of a sequence
of continuous functions. To accomplish this, the following theorem and its
corollary can be helpful.
Theorem 2.3. If {S
n
} is a sequence of continuous functions on I and S
n
converges uniformly to S on I, then S is a continuous function on I.
Proof. Let x
0
∈ I be arbitrary. By assumption we have
∀ > 0 ∃N ∈ N ∀n ≥ N sup
x∈I
|S
n
(x) − S(x)| <
3
and
∀ > 0 ∃δ > 0 such that |x −x
0
| < δ ⇒ |S
n
(x) − S
n
(x
0
)| <
3
.
9
Let > 0 be given, x ∈ I, n ∈ N with n > N and |x − x
0
| < δ. Then
|S(x)−S(x
0
)| ≤ |S(x)−S
n
(x)|+|S
n
(x)−S
n
(x
0
)|+|S
n
(x
0
)−S(x
0
)| < 3
3
=
and therefore S is continuous at x
0
. Since x
0
∈ I was arbitrary, S is contin-
uous on I.
Corollary 2.4. If f
k
: I → R is a continuous function for every k ∈ N
and
P
∞
k=1
f
k
(x) converges uniformly to S(x) on I, then S is a continuous
function on I.
10
Chapter 3
Functions Through the Ages
3.1 Bolzano function (≈1830; published in
1922)
Probably the first example of a continuous nowhere differentiable function
on an interval is due to Czech mathematician Bernard Bolzano. The his-
tory behind this example is filled with unfortunate circumstances. Due to
these circumstances, Bolzano’s manuscript with the name “Functionenlehre”,
which was written around 1830 and contained the function, wasn’t published
until a century later in 1930. The publication came to since in 1920, after
the first World War, another Czech mathematician Martin Jaˇsek discov-
ered a manuscript in the National Library of Vienna belonging to Bernard
Bolzano (a photocopy is also in the archives of the Czech Academy of Sci-
ences). It was named “Functionenlehre” and it was dated 1830. Originally it
was supposed to be a part of Bolzano’s more extensive work “Gr¨ossenlehre”.
The manuscript “Functionenlehre” was published in Prague in 1930 (in the
“Schriften I”), having 183 pages and containing an introduction and two
parts. Bolzano proved in it that the set of points where the function is non-
differentiable is dense in the interval where it is defined. The continuity was
also deduced, however not completely correct. The full story on “Functio-
nenlehre” can be found in Hyksˇov´a [33] who also has written the following:
The first lecture of M. Jaˇsek reporting on Functionenlehre
was given on December 3, 1921. Already on February 3, 1922
Karel Rychl´ık presented to K
ˇ
CSN [Royal Czech Science Soci-
ety] his treatise [61] where the correct proof of the continuity of
11
Bolzano’s function was given as well as the proof of the assertion
that this function does not have a derivative at any point of the
interval (a,b) (finite or infinite). The same assertion was proved
by Vojtˇech Jarn´ık (1897 - 1970) at the same time but in a differ-
ent way in his paper [34]. Both Jarn´ık and Rychl´ık knew about
the work of the other. Giving reference to Rychl´ık’s paper, Jarn´ık
did not prove the continuity of Bolzano’s function; on the other
hand, Rychl´ık cited the work of Jarn´ık (an idea of another way
to the same partial result).
Unlike many other constructions of nowhere differentiable functions, Bolz-
ano’s function is based on a geometrical construction instead of a series ap-
proach. The Bolzano function, B, is constructed as the limit of a sequence
{B
k
} of continuous functions. We can choose the domain of B
1
(which will
be the domain of B as well) and the range of B
1
. Let the interval [a, b] be
the desired domain and [A, B] the desired range. Each piecewise linear and
continuous function in the sequence is defined as follows.
(i) B
1
(x) = A +
B−A
b−a
(x − a);
(ii) B
2
(x) is defined on the intervals
I
1
=
a, a +
3
8
(b − a)
, I
2
=
a +
3
8
(b − a),
1
2
(a + b)
,
I
3
=
1
2
(a + b), a +
7
8
(b − a)
, I
4
=
a +
7
8
(b − a), b
as the piecewise linear function having the values
B
2
(a) = A, B
2
a +
3
8
(b − a)
= A +
5
8
(B − A),
B
2
1
2
(a + b)
= A +
1
2
(B − A),
B
2
a +
7
8
(b − a)
= B +
1
8
(B − A), B
2
(b) = B
at the endpoints;
12
(iii) B
3
(x) is constructed by the same procedure as in (ii) on each of the
four subintervals I
i
(with the corresponding values for a, b, A and B).
This continues for k = 4, 5, 6, . . . and the limit of B
k
(x) as k → ∞ is
the Bolzano function B(x).
B
k
(x)
x
10
20
10 20
(a) B
1
and B
2
.
B
k
(x)
x
10
20
10 20
(b) B
1
(dotted), B
2
(dashed) and
B
3
(whole).
Figure 3.1: The three first elements in the “Bolzano” sequence {B
k
(x)} with
[a, b] = [0, 20] and [A, B] = [4, 16].
A fitting closing remark, before the proof of continuity and nowhere differ-
entiability, can be found in Hyksˇov´a [33]:
“Already the fact that it occurred to Bolzano at all that such a
function might exist, deserves our respect. The fact that he actu-
ally succeeded in its construction, is even more admirable”.
Theorem 3.1. The Bolzano function B is continuous and nowhere differ-
entiable on the interval [a, b].
Proof. First we want to show that the function B is continuous. For fixed
k ∈ N consider the function B
k
. Let us find the slopes M
k
= {M
k,m
} of each
of the linear functions on the subintervals. Not to have too many indices
we will just write M
k
instead of M
k,m
. For k = 1 it is immediate from the
definition that M
1
=
B−A
b−a
for all of [a, b]. Let k ≥ 2. For each linear part
[a
k
, b
k
] of B
k
we have the following
13
1. For I = [t
1
, t
2
] =
a
k
, a
k
+
3
8
(b
k
− a
k
)
,
M
(1)
k+1
=
B
k
(t
2
) − B
k
(t
1
)
t
2
− t
1
=
5
8
(B
k
− A
k
)
3
8
(b
k
− a
k
)
=
5
3
B
k
− A
k
b
k
− a
k
=
5
3
M
k
;
2. for I = [t
2
, t
3
] =
a
k
+
3
8
(b
k
− a
k
),
1
2
(a
k
+ b
k
)
,
M
(2)
k+1
=
B
k
(t
3
) − B
k
(t
2
)
t
3
− t
2
=
1
2
−
5
8
(B
k
− A
k
)
1
2
−
3
8
(b
k
− a
k
)
=
−
1
8
1
8
B
k
− A
k
b
k
− a
k
= −M
k
;
3. for I = [t
3
, t
4
] =
1
2
(a
k
+ b
k
), a
k
+
7
8
(b
k
− a
k
)
,
M
(3)
k+1
=
B
k
(t
4
) − B
k
(t
3
)
t
4
− t
3
=
1+
1
8
−
1
2
(B
k
−A
k
)
7
8
−
1
2
(b
k
−a
k
)
=
5
8
3
8
B
k
−A
k
b
k
−a
k
=
5
3
M
k
;
4. for I = [t
4
, t
5
] =
a
k
+
7
8
(b
k
− a
k
), b
k
,
M
(4)
k+1
=
B
k
(t
5
) − B
k
(t
4
)
t
5
− t
4
=
−
1
8
(B
k
− A
k
)
1 −
7
8
(b
k
− a
k
)
=
−
1
8
1
8
B
k
− A
k
b
k
− a
k
= −M
k
.
Let {I
n,k
} = {[I
n
(s
k
), I
n
(t
k
)]} be the collection of subintervals of [a, b] where
B
n
is linear and define
L
n
= sup
I∈{I
n+1,k
}
(I(t
k
) − I(s
k
)) and M
n
= sup
I∈{I
n+1,k
}
i=1,2,3,4
|M
(i)
n
(I)|.
That is, L
n
is the maximal length of an interval where B
n+1
is linear and M
n
is the maximum slope (to the absolute value) of B
n+1
. Clearly
L
n
≤
3
8
n+1
|b − a| and M
n
≤
5
3
n+1
B − A
b − a
which gives that the maximum increase/decrease of the function from step
n to n + 1 is bounded by M
n
L
n
≤
5
8
n+1
|B − A|. Hence, for k ∈ N,
sup
x∈[a,b]
|B
k+1
(x) − B
k
(x)| ≤
5
8
k+1
|B − A|.
14
Let m, n ∈ N with m > n. We have
sup
x∈[a,b]
|B
m
(x) − B
n
(x)| ≤ sup
x∈[a,b]
m
X
k=n+1
|B
k
(x) − B
k−1
(x)|
!
≤
m
X
k=n+1
sup
x∈[a,b]
|B
k
(x) − B
k−1
(x)|
≤
m
X
k=n+1
5
8
k
|B − A|
= |B − A|
m
X
k=1
5
8
k
−
n
X
k=1
5
8
k
!
→ |B −A|
5
3
−
5
3
= 0 as m, n → ∞.
Thus {B
k
} is a uniformly Cauchy sequence on the interval [a, b] and since
each B
k
is continuous it follows from Theorems 2.1 and 2.3 that Bolzano’s
function is continuous on [a, b].
Secondly, we show that B is not differentiable at any x ∈ [a, b]. Again, let
{I
n,k
} = {[I
n
(s
k
), I
n
(t
k
)]} be the collection of subintervals of [a, b] where B
n
is linear and define M as the set of all endpoints in {I
n,k
}, i.e.
M = {s, t |[s, t] ∈ {I
n,k
}}.
We show that M is dense in [a, b]. That is, for any x
0
∈ [a, b], ∃x
n
∈ M such
that x
n
→ x
0
. Let x
0
∈ [a, b] be arbitrary but fixed. If x
0
= b we are done
since b ∈ M. Assume that x
0
6= b, we proceed as follows.
(i) Step 1: let L = b − a and define
J
(0)
0
=
a, a +
3
8
L
, J
(1)
0
=
a +
3
8
L, a +
1
2
L
,
J
(2)
0
=
a +
1
2
L, a +
7
8
L
and J
(3)
0
=
a +
7
8
L, b
.
Clearly there exists i
0
∈ {0, 1, 2, 3} such that x
0
∈ J
(i
0
)
0
. We take
J
0
= J
(i
0
)
0
.
15
(ii) Step n: we have x
0
∈ I
n−1
= [a
n
, b
n
]. Let L
n
= b
n
− a
n
and define
J
(0)
n
=
a
n
, a
n
+
3
8
L
n
, J
(1)
n
=
a
n
+
3
8
L
n
, a
n
+
1
2
L
n
,
J
(2)
n
=
a
n
+
1
2
L
n
, a
n
+
7
8
L
n
and J
(3)
n
=
a
n
+
7
8
L
n
, b
n
.
As before, there exists i
n
∈ {0, 1, 2, 3} such that x
0
∈ J
(i
n
)
n
. We take
J
n
= J
(i
n
)
n
.
Hence M is dense in [a, b] since
|x
0
− a
n+1
| ≤
3
8
n+1
|b − a| → 0 as n → ∞
1
.
Now we show that B is non-differentiable for every x
0
∈ M. Let x
0
∈ M be
arbitrary but fixed, we consider two cases that exhaust all possibilities.
For x
0
= a: Let x
n
= a +
3
8
n
|b − a|. Then x
n
→ a as n → ∞ and
x
n
∈ M for every n ∈ N. By the construction of the function B it is clear
that B(x
n
) = B
n+1
(x
n
) for every n ∈ N. Also, B(a) = A and B
n+1
(x
n
) =
A +
5
3
n
3
8
n
|b − a|. Hence
B(x
n
) − B(a)
x
n
− a
=
A +
5
3
n
3
8
n
|b − a| −A
3
8
n
|b − a|
=
5
3
n
→ ∞ as n → ∞
and therefore B
0
(x
0
) does not exist.
For x
0
∈ M \ {a}: let x
n
= x
0
−
1
8
n+q
|b − a|, q ∈ N . Since x
0
∈ M,
there exists r ∈ N such that B(x
0
) = B
p
(x
0
) for all p ≥ r. We can choose
q > r so that x
n
∈ (a, b] for every n ∈ N. From the construction of B we
see that B(x
n
) = B
n+1
(x
n
) = B
n
(x
0
) + (−1)
n
K
1
8
n+q
where K ∈ R with
K ≥ |b − a|/|B − A| 6= 0. Moreover, since q > r, B(x
0
) = B
n
(x
0
) for every
n ∈ N. This implies that
(B(x
0
) − B
n
(x
0
)) 8
n+q
= (B
n
(x
0
) − B
n
(x
0
)) 8
n+q
= 0.
So for n ∈ N,
B(x
0
) − B(x
n
)
x
0
− x
n
= 8
n+q
B(x
0
) − B
n
(x
0
) − (−1)
n
K
1
8
n+q
!
= (B(x
0
) − B
n
(x
0
)) 8
n+q
− (−1)
n
K = (−1)
n+1
K.
1
And also |x
0
− b
n+1
| → 0 as n → ∞.
16
But (−1)
n+1
K does not converge as n → ∞ and thus B
0
(x
0
) does not exist.
In no way is it clear from this that B is nowhere differentiable, only that it is
non-differentiable on a dense subset of [a, b] (which theoretically means that
it might still be possible that B is differentiable almost everywhere). We will
not complete the proof here but merely give a reference: the complete proof
can be found in Jarn´ık [34].
3.2 Cell´erier function (≈1860; published in
1890)
Charles Cell´erier had proposed the function C defined as
C(x) =
∞
X
k=1
1
a
k
sin(a
k
x), a > 1000
earlier than 1860 but the function wasn’t published until 1890 (posthu-
mously) in Cell´erier [10]. When the manuscripts were opened after his death
they were found to be containing sensational material. In an undated folder
(according to the historians it is from around 1860) with heading
“Very important and I think new. Correct. Can be published as
it is written.”
there was a proof of the fact that the function C is continuous and nowhere
differentiable if a is a sufficiently large even number. The publication of
Cell´eriers example in 1890 came as only a curiosity since it was already
generally known from Weierstrass (see Section 3.4). Cell´erier’s function is
strikingly similar to Weierstrass’ function and its nowhere differentiability
follows from Hardy’s generalization of that function (see the remark to The-
orem 3.4).
In Cell´erier’s paper (which, roughly translated, has the title “Notes on the
fundamental principles of analysis”) there is a section called “Example de
fonctions faisant exception aux r`egles usuelles” – “Example of functions mak-
ing departures from the usual rules”. In this section Cell´erier proposed the
function C defined above and states that this function will provide an ex-
ample of a function that is continuous, differentiable nowhere and never has
any periods of growth or decay.
17
Cell´erier’s original condition on a was a > 1000 where a is an even integer
(for nowhere differentiability) or a > 1000 where a is an odd integer (for no
periods of growth or decay). According to Hardy [27], for the case of nowhere
differentiability, the condition can be weakened to a > 1 (not necessarily an
integer).
C(x)
x
0.5
−0.5
2.0
Figure 3.2: Cellerier’s function C(x) with a = 2 on [0, π].
Theorem 3.2. The Cell´erier function
C(x) =
∞
X
k=1
1
a
k
sin(a
k
x), a > 1
is continuous and nowhere differentiable on R.
Proof. The continuity of C follows exactly like in the proof for Weierstrass’
function (Theorem 3.4). That C is nowhere differentiable follows from Hardy
[27] (see the remark to Theorem 3.4) since a · a
−1
≥ 1 and that if g(x) is
nowhere differentiable than so is g(x/π).
3.3 Riemann function (≈1861)
In a thesis from 1854 (Habilitationsschrift), Riemann [59] attempted to find
necessary and sufficient conditions for representation of a function by Fourier
series. In this paper he also generalized the definite integral and gave an
example of a function that between any two points is discontinuous infinitely
18
often but still is integrable (with respect to the Riemann-integral). The
function he defined was
f(x) =
∞
X
k=1
(nx)
n
2
, where (x) =
(
0, if x =
p
2
, p ∈ Z
x − [x], elsewhere,
and [x] is the integer part of x. This function is interesting in this context for
another reason. Consider, for x ∈ [a, b], the function F : [a, b] → R defined
by the indefinite integral of f,
F (x) =
Z
x
a
f(τ) dτ.
It can quite easily be seen that this function is continuous and it is also
clear that it is not differentiable on a dense subset of [a, b]. This, however,
is not the function we will be concerned with here. What we will refer to as
Riemann’s function in this framework is the function R : R → R defined by
R(x) =
∞
X
k=1
1
k
2
sin(k
2
x).
Interesting to note is that there seems to be no other known sources for the
claim that this was Riemann’s construction than those that can be traced
back to Weierstrass (cf. Butzer and Stark [7], Ullrich [74] and Section 3.4).
Riemann’s function isn’t actually a nowhere differentiable function. It has
been shown that R possess a finite derivative (R
0
(x
0
) = −
1
2
) at points of the
form
x
0
= π
2p + 1
2q + 1
, p, q ∈ Z.
These points however, are the only points where R has a finite derivative (cf.
Gerver [24], [25] and Hardy [27] or for a more concise proof based on number
theory see Smith [71]).
According to Weierstrass, Riemann used this function as an example of a
“nondifferentiable” function in his lectures as early as 1861. It is unclear
whether he meant that the function was nowhere differentiable or something
else. Riemann claimed to have a proof, obtained from the theory of elliptic
functions, but it was never presented nor was it found anywhere in his notes
after his death (cf. Neuenschwander [49] and Segal [68]).
19
R(x)
x
1.0
−1.0
2.0 4.0
Figure 3.3: Riemann’s function R on [−1, 5].
Theorem 3.3. The Riemann function
R(x) =
∞
X
k=1
1
k
2
sin(k
2
x)
is continuous on all of R and only has a derivative at points of the form
x
0
= π
2p + 1
2q + 1
, p, q ∈ Z.
Proof. We start with showing that the function R is continuous. Since
P
∞
k=1
1
k
2
=
π
2
6
< ∞ and sup
x∈R
|
1
k
2
sin(k
2
x)| =
1
k
2
, the Weierstrass M-test
(Theorem 2.2) proves that the convergence is uniform and the Corollary 2.4
gives the continuity of R on R. Secondly, the only points where R has a
finite derivative (cf. Gerver [24], [25] and Hardy [27] or Smith [71]) is points
of the form
x
0
= π
2p + 1
2q + 1
, p, q ∈ Z.
3.4 Weierstrass function (1872; published in
1875 by du Bois-Reymond)
On July 18, 1872 Karl Weierstrass presented in a lecture at the Royal Aca-
demy of Science in Berlin an example of a continuous nowhere differentiable
20
function,
W (x) =
∞
X
k=0
a
k
cos(b
k
πx),
for 0 < a < 1, ab > 1 + 3π/2 and b > 1 an odd integer. On the lecture
Weierstrass said
As I know from some pupils of Riemann, he as the first one
(around 1861 or earlier) suggested as a counterexample to Am-
p`ere’s Theorem [which perhaps could be interpreted
2
as: every
continuous function is differentiable except at a few isolated poi-
nts]; for example, the function R does not satisfy this theorem.
Unfortunately, Riemann’s proof was unpublished and, as I think,
it is neither in his notes nor in oral transfers. In my opinion
Riemann considered continuous functions without derivatives at
any point, the proof of this fact seems to be difficult...
Weierstrass’ function was the first continuous nowhere differentiable function
to be published, which happened in 1875 by Paul du Bois-Reymond [19].
At this time, du Bois-Reymond was a professor at Heidelberg University in
Germany and in 1873 he sent a paper to Borchardt’s Journal [“Journal f¨ur
die reine und angewandte Mathematik”]. This paper dealt with the function
Weierstrass had discussed earlier (among several other topics). Borchardt
gave the paper to Weierstrass to read through. Weierstrass wrote in a letter
to du Bois-Reymond (dated 23 of November, 1873; cf. Weierstrass [77]) that
he had made no new progress, except for some remarks about Riemann’s
function. In the letter, du Bois-Reymond had Weierstrass’ function presented
in the form
f(x) =
∞
X
k=0
sin(a
n
x)
b
n
,
a
b
> 1,
which apparently was changed before the paper was published. Du Bois-
Reymond accepted Weierstrass’ remarks and put them in his paper together
with some more historical notes about the subject and in 1875 the paper was
published in Borchardt’s Journal.
Since this was the first published continuous nowhere differentiable function
it has been regarded by many as the first such function exhibited. This
regardless of the fact that Weierstrass’ function was not the earliest such
2
See Medvedev [48], pages 214-219.
21
construction. Several others
3
had done it earlier, although non of those are
believed to have been published before the publication of the Weierstrass
function.
W (x)
x
1.0
−1.0
1.0
2.0
Figure 3.4: Weierstrass’ function W with a =
1
2
and b = 5 on [0, 3].
In 1916, Hardy [27] proved that the function W defined above is continuous
and nowhere differentiable if 0 < a < 1, ab ≥ 1 and b > 1 (not necessarily an
odd integer).
Theorem 3.4. The Weierstrass function,
W (x) =
∞
X
k=0
a
k
cos(b
k
πx),
for 0 < a < 1, ab ≥ 1 and b > 1, is continuous and nowhere differentiable on
R.
Proof. Starting with establishing the continuity, observe that 0 < a < 1
implies
P
∞
k=0
a
k
=
1
1−a
< ∞. This together with sup
x∈R
|a
n
cos(b
n
πx)| ≤ a
n
gives, using the Weierstrass M-test (Theorem 2.2), that
P
∞
k=0
a
n
cos(b
n
πx)
converges uniformly to W (x) on R. The continuity of W now follows from
the uniform convergence of the series just established and from the Corollary
2.4.
During the rest of this proof we assume that Weierstrass original assumptions
hold, i.e. ab > 1 +
3
2
π and b > 1 an odd integer. For a general proof with
ab ≥ 1 and b > 1 we refer to Hardy [27]. The rest of the proof follows,
3
For example, Cell´erier’s and Bolzano’s functions both described in earlier sections were
constructed much earlier than Weierstrass’ function.
22
quite closely, from the original proof of Weierstrass (as it is presented in du
Bois-Reymond [19]).
Let x
0
∈ R be arbitrary but fixed and let m ∈ N be arbitrary. Choose α
m
∈ Z
such that b
m
x
0
− α
m
∈
−
1
2
,
1
2
and define x
m+1
= b
m
x
0
− α
m
. Put
y
m
=
α
m
− 1
b
m
and z
m
=
α
m
+ 1
b
m
.
This gives the inequality
y
m
− x
0
= −
1 + x
m+1
b
m
< 0 <
1 − x
m+1
b
m
= z
m
− x
0
and therefore y
m
< x
0
< z
m
. As m → ∞, y
m
→ x
0
from the left and z
m
→ x
0
from the right.
First consider the left-hand difference quotient,
W (y
m
) − W (x
0
)
y
m
− x
0
=
∞
X
n=0
a
n
cos(b
n
πy
m
) − cos(b
n
πx
0
)
y
m
− x
0
=
m−1
X
n=0
(ab)
n
cos(b
n
πy
m
) − cos(b
n
πx
0
)
b
n
(y
m
− x
0
)
+
∞
X
n=0
a
m+n
cos(b
m+n
πy
m
) − cos(b
m+n
πx
0
)
y
m
− x
0
= S
1
+ S
2
.
We treat these sums separately, starting with S
1
. Since
sin(x)
x
≤ 1 we can,
using a trigonometric identity, bound the sum by
|S
1
| =
m−1
X
n=0
(ab)
n
(−π) sin
b
n
π(y
m
+ x
0
)
2
sin
b
n
π(y
m
−x
0
)
2
b
n
π
y
m
−x
0
2
≤
m−1
X
n=0
π(ab)
n
=
π((ab)
m
− 1)
ab − 1
≤
π(ab)
m
ab − 1
.
(3.1)
Considering the sum S
2
we can use (since b > 1 is an odd integer and α
m
∈ Z)
cos(b
m+n
πy
m
) = cos
b
m+n
π
α
m
− 1
b
m
= cos(b
n
π(α
m
− 1))
=
(−1)
b
n
α
m
−1
= −(−1)
α
m
23
and
cos(b
m+n
πx
0
) = cos
b
m+n
π
α
m
+ x
m+1
b
m
= cos(b
n
πα
m
) cos(b
n
πx
m+1
) − sin(b
n
πα
m
) sin(b
n
πx
m+1
)
=
(−1)
b
n
α
m
cos(b
n
πx
m+1
) − 0 = (−1)
α
m
cos(b
n
πx
m+1
)
to express the sum as
S
2
=
∞
X
n=0
a
m+n
−(−1)
α
m
− (−1)
α
m
cos(b
n
πx
m+1
)
−
1+x
m+1
b
m
= (ab)
m
(−1)
α
m
∞
X
n=0
a
n
1 + cos(b
n
πx
m+1
)
1 + x
m+1
.
Each term in the series above is non-negative and x
m+1
∈
−
1
2
,
1
2
so we can
find a lower bound by
∞
X
n=0
a
n
1 + cos(b
n
πx
m+1
)
1 + x
m+1
≥
1 + cos(πx
m+1
)
1 + x
m+1
≥
1
1 +
1
2
=
2
3
. (3.2)
The inequalities (3.1) and (3.2) ensures the existence of an
1
∈ [−1, 1] and
an η
1
> 1 such that
W (y
m
) − W (x
0
)
y
m
− x
0
= (−1)
α
m
(ab)
m
η
1
2
3
+
1
π
ab − 1
.
As with the left-hand difference quotient, for the right-hand quotient we do
pretty much the same, starting by expressing the said fraction as
W (z
m
) − W (x
0
)
z
m
− x
0
= S
0
1
+ S
0
2
.
As before, it can be deduced that
|S
0
1
| ≤
π(ab)
m
ab − 1
. (3.3)
The cosine-term containing z
m
can be simplified as (again since b is odd and
α
m
∈ Z)
cos(b
m+n
πz
m
) = cos
b
m+n
π
α
m
+ 1
b
m
= cos(b
n
π(α
m
+ 1))
=
(−1)
b
n
α
m
+1
= −(−1)
α
m
,
24
which gives
S
0
2
=
∞
X
n=0
a
m+n
−(−1)
α
m
− (−1)
α
m
cos(b
n
πx
m+1
)
1−x
m+1
b
m
= −(ab)
m
(−1)
α
m
∞
X
n=0
a
n
1 + cos(b
n
πx
m+1
)
1 − x
m+1
.
As before, we can find a lower bound for the series by
∞
X
n=0
a
n
1 + cos(b
n
πx
m+1
)
1 − x
m+1
≥
1 + cos(πx
m+1
)
1 − x
m+1
≥
1
1 −
−
1
2
=
2
3
. (3.4)
By the same argument as for the left-hand difference quotient (but by using
the inequalities (3.3) and (3.4) instead), there exists an
2
∈ [−1, 1] and an
η
2
> 1 such that
W (z
m
) − W (x
0
)
z
m
− x
0
= −(−1)
α
m
(ab)
m
η
2
2
3
+
2
π
ab − 1
.
By the assumption ab > 1+
3
2
π, which is equivalent to
π
ab−1
<
2
3
, the left- and
right-hand difference quotients have different signs. Since also (ab)
m
→ ∞
as m → ∞ it is clear that W has no derivative at x
0
. The choice of x
0
∈ R
was arbitrary so it follows that W (x) is nowhere differentiable on R.
Remark 1 (Dini). In a series of publications (cf. Dini [15], [16], [17] and
[18]) in the years 1877-78, Italian mathematician Ulisse Dini proposed a more
general class of continuous nowhere differentiable functions (under which
Weierstrass function happen to fall). Our presentation here is largely based
on Knopp’s summary (cf. Knopp [38], pp. 23-26). Let {f
n
} be a sequence of
differentiable functions f
n
: [0, 1] → R that have bounded derivative on [0, 1]
and such that
W
D
(x) =
∞
X
n=1
f
n
(x)
converges uniformly on [0, 1]. We also require that
(i) each function f
n
has a finite number of extrema and if δ
n
is the maxi-
mum distance between two successive extrema then δ
n
→ 0 as n → ∞;
25
(ii) if γ
n
is the (to the absolute value) greatest difference between two
successive extreme values then
lim
n→∞
δ
n
γ
n
= 0;
(iii) if h
n,x
denotes the two increments (one which is positive and one which
is negative) for which x + h
n,x
gives the first right (respectively left)
extremum for which
|f
n
(x + h
n,x
) − f
n
(x)| ≥
1
2
γ
n
,
then we can define a sequence {r
n
} of positive numbers such that
sup
x∈[0,1]
|R
n
(x + h
n,x
) − R
n
(x)| ≤ 2r
n
where R
n
(x) is the remainder of the series defining the function W
D
;
(iv) if {c
n
} is a sequence of positive numbers such that sup
x∈[0,1]
|f
0
n
(x)| ≤ c
n
then from some index on
4δ
n
γ
n
n
X
k=1
c
k
+
4r
n
γ
n
≤ θ, θ ∈ [0, 1);
(v) the sign of f
n
(x + h
n,x
) − f
n
(x) is independent of h
n,x
from some n
0
onward for all x ∈ [0, 1].
Then the function W
D
is continuous and nowhere differentiable on [0, 1].
As two concrete examples of functions in Dini’s classification, consider for
|a| > 1 + 3π/2
W
D
1
(x) =
∞
X
k=1
a
n
1 · 3 ·5 ···(2n − 1)
cos(1 · 3 ·5 ···(2n − 1)πx)
and for a > 1 + 3π/2
W
D
2
(x) =
∞
X
k=1
a
n
1 · 5 ·9 ···(4n + 1)
sin(1 · 5 ·9 ···(4n + 1)πx).
26
Remark 2 (Hertz). Polish mathematician Karol Hertz gave in his paper
[28] from 1879 a generalization of Weierstrass function, namely
W
H
(x) =
∞
X
k=1
a
k
cos
p
(b
k
πx),
where a > 1, p ∈ N is odd, b an odd integer and ab > 1 +
2
3
pπ.
Remark 3 (Hardy). Hardy proved (in Hardy [27]) that if 0 < a < 1,
b > 1 and ab ≥ 1 then both
W
1
(x) =
∞
X
k=0
a
k
sin(b
k
πx) and W
2
(x) =
∞
X
k=0
a
k
cos(b
k
πx)
are continuous and nowhere differentiable on all of R.
Remark 4 (Porter). M. B. Porter generalized Weierstrass function in an
article (Porter [58]) published in 1919. He proposed two classes of functions
W
i
: [a, b] → R defined by
W
1
(x) =
∞
X
k=0
u
k
(x) sin(b
n
πx) and W
2
(x) =
∞
X
k=0
u
k
(x) cos(b
n
πx)
where {b
n
} is a sequence of integers and {u
k
} is a sequence of differentiable
functions. We have the following requirements:
(i) W
i
converges uniformly on [a, b] for i = 1, 2;
(ii) b
n
divides b
n+1
and for an unlimited number of n’s, b
n+1
/b
n
must be
divisible by four or increase to infinity with n;
(iii)
P
∞
k=0
u
0
n
(x) converge uniformly on [a, b] by the Weierstrass M-test;
(iv) (3π/2)
P
N−1
k=0
|b
n
u
n
(x)| < |b
N
u
N
(x)| for all x ∈ [a, b].
If this holds then both W
1
and W
2
are continuous and nowhere differentiable.
The following concrete functions are examples that falls under Porter’s gen-
27
eralization.
(a)
∞
X
k=0
a
n
n!
sin(n! πx) and
∞
X
k=0
a
n
n!
cos(n! πx), where |a| > 1 +
3
2
π;
(b)
∞
X
k=0
1
a
n
sin(n! a
n
πx) and
∞
X
k=0
1
a
n
cos(n! a
n
πx), where |a| ∈ N \ {1};
(c)
∞
X
k=1
a
k
10
k
sin(10
3k
πx) and
∞
X
k=1
a
k
10
k
cos(10
3k
πx), where a
k
is chosen
such that
P
∞
k=1
a
k
10
k
is a non-terminating decimal. Both Dini functions in the
remark above falls under this generalization as well.
3.5 Darboux function (1873; published in
1875)
Darboux’s function, discovered independently of Weierstrass, was presented
on 19 March 1873 (two years earlier than the first publication of Weierstrass’
function) and was published two years later in Darboux [11]. In this publica-
tion (whose title translates to “paper on the discontinuous functions”) Dar-
boux spends much of the discussion on the subject of Riemann-integration of
discontinuous functions but he also investigated when a continuous function
possess a finite derivative. Contained in this document is his description of
a continuous function which is nowhere differentiable and this function is
defined as the infinite series
D(x) =
∞
X
k=1
1
k!
sin ((k + 1)! x) .
Darboux constructed this function after having analyzed and generalized
results from Schwarz and Hankel, who in the years before had studied and
made suggestions about the subject. One of Schwarz ideas, proposed in 1873
in Schwarz [67], was a function S : (0, ∞) → R defined by
S(x) =
∞
X
k=0
ϕ(2
k
x)
4
k
, where ϕ(x) = [x] +
p
x − [x]
28
and [x] means the integer part of x. The function S is continuous and
monotonically increasing, but there is no derivative at infinitely many points
in any interval so S is not differentiable on a dense subset of (0, M) (which
we will prove). Interesting to note is that Schwarz (and many others) seem to
have considered these types of functions “without derivative”, but today, with
measure theoretic background, we call many of them differentiable almost
everywhere.
Hankel had introduced the concept of “Condensation of singularities” some
years before (cf. Hankel [26]). This is a process where by letting each term
in an absolutely convergent series have a singularity, a function with singu-
larities at all rational points
4
is created. An example of this procedure could
be the function g defined by
g(x) =
∞
X
n=1
ψ(sin(nπx))
n
s
, where ψ(x) =
(
x sin
1
x
, x 6= 0
0, x = 0
and s > 1. Hankel’s treatment of the subject, however, wasn’t entirely
accurate as other mathematicians pointed out after the publication. Darboux
writes in his paper that he thought it was a shame that Hankel had died
before he had a chance to correct some of his ideas himself.
D(x)
x
1.0
−1.0
1.0 2.0
Figure 3.5: Darboux’s function D(x) on [0, 3].
In a subsequent paper (Darboux [12]), Darboux generalized his example. He
4
If x is a rational number, say x = p/q, then sin(nπx) = sin(nπp/q) = sin(±pπ) = 0
for n = q. Hence x is a singular point of ψ(sin(nπx)) (for a special n) and this behavior
can be shown to transfer onto the s um of the series as well.
29
considered the series
ϕ(x) =
∞
X
k=1
f(a
n
b
n
x)
a
n
where a
n
and b
n
are sequences of real numbers and f : R → R is a bounded
continuous function with a bounded second derivative. By adding some re-
strictions to the two sequences {a
n
} and {b
n
},
lim
n→∞
a
n+1
a
n
= 0
and for some fixed k ∈ N
lim
n→∞
P
n−k
m=1
a
m
b
2
m
a
n
= 0,
Darboux states that ϕ is a continuous function. Moreover, it is possible
to make some additional restrictions on the parameters to ensure that ϕ is
nowhere differentiable as well as continuous. For example, with b
n
= 1 and
k = 1 it is enough to have
lim
n→∞
P
n−1
m=1
a
m
a
n
= 0
for ϕ to be nowhere differentiable for an infinite number of functions f.
For example with a
n
= n! and f(x) = cos(x). Another example would be
b
n
= n + 1, a
n
= n!, k = 3 and f(x) = sin(x) which is the function D
introduced by Darboux in his earlier paper (Darboux [11]) and which was
defined at the beginning of this section.
Theorem 3.5. The Darboux function
D(x) =
∞
X
k=1
1
k!
sin ((k + 1)! x)
is continuous and nowhere differentiable on R.
Proof. Since
P
∞
k=0
1
k!
= e it is clear that
P
∞
k=1
1
k!
< ∞. This and the fact that
sup
x∈R
1
k!