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Counterexamples around Cauchy condensation test

According to Cauchy condensation test: for a non-negative, non-increasing sequence (un)nN of real numbers, the series nNun converges if and only if the condensed series nN2nu2n converges.

The test doesn’t hold for any non-negative sequence. Let’s have a look at counterexamples.

A sequence such that nNun converges and nN2nu2n diverges

Consider the sequence un={1n for n{2k ; kN}0 else For nN we have 0nk=1uk2nk=1uk=nk=112k<1, therefore nNun converges as its partial sums are positive and bounded above. However nk=12ku2k=nk=11=n, so nN2nu2n diverges.

A sequence such that nNvn diverges and nN2nv2n converges

Consider the sequence vn={0 for n{2k ; kN}1n else We have 2nk=1vk=2nk=11knk=112k>2nk=11k1 which proves that the series nNvn diverges as the harmonic series is divergent. However for nN, 2nv2n=0 and nN2nv2n converges.

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