pith. sign in
theorem

dAlembert_to_ODE_general_theorem

proved
show as:
module
IndisputableMonolith.Cost.FunctionalEquation
domain
Cost
line
882 · github
papers citing
10 papers (below)

plain-language theorem explainer

Smooth functions H satisfying the d'Alembert equation H(t+u) + H(t-u) = 2 H(t) H(u) obey the linear ODE H''(t) = H''(0) H(t) for all t. Recognition Science cost theorists cite this when reducing the Recognition Composition Law to a differential equation inside the T5 J-uniqueness argument. The proof fixes t, equates second derivatives at zero of the two sides of the functional equation, and evaluates the left side via the chain rule on shifted arguments to obtain twice the second derivative at t.

Claim. If $H : ℝ → ℝ$ is $C^∞$ and satisfies $H(t + u) + H(t - u) = 2 H(t) H(u)$ for all real $t, u$, then $H''(t) = H''(0) · H(t)$ for all $t ∈ ℝ$.

background

In the Cost.FunctionalEquation module, which supplies helpers for the T5 J-uniqueness argument, H is the shifted cost H_F(t) := G_F(t) + 1. This reparametrization converts the Recognition Composition Law into the classical d'Alembert equation. Upstream, the CostAlgebra module defines the unshifted H(x) = J(x) + 1 = (x + x^{-1})/2, whose multiplicative property yields exactly this additive form after the change of variables x = e^t.

proof idea

The proof first extracts C² differentiability from the C^∞ hypothesis. It fixes arbitrary t and equates the second derivatives at zero of f(u) = H(t+u) + H(t-u) and g(u) = 2 H(t) H(u). Direct computation of the second derivative of f at 0, using HasDerivAt on the shifted arguments together with the chain rule and additivity, yields 2 H''(t). The corresponding computation for g yields 2 H(t) H''(0). Equating and rearranging produces the ODE.

why it matters

This result is invoked by the AxiomDischargePlan module inside aczel_kannappan_via_cases and the wrapper dAlembert_to_ODE_general. It supplies the universal-coefficient form needed for the T5 forcing chain, where J-uniqueness follows once solutions to the cost equation are shown to satisfy the ODE whose solutions are classified by the eight-tick octave. The calculation closes the reduction from the Recognition Composition Law to the differential equation without requiring normalization of H''(0).

Switch to Lean above to see the machine-checked source, dependencies, and usage graph.