SIAM J. APPL. MATH.

Downloaded 12/30/12 to 132.206.27.25. Redistribution subject to SIAM license or copyright; see http://www.siam.org/journals/ojsa.php

Vol. 18, No. 2, March 1970

ON APPROXIMATION BY POSITIVE SUMS OF POWERS*

DAVID G. CANTORf

AND

JOHN W.

EVANS:

The problem of approximating a sequence ofreal numbers 7 (70,7

by the sequence obtained from the values of an expression of the form
N has been studied extensively [2], [4], [7], [9].
0, 1,
ai exp (-2it) at
In some applications the sequence 7 obtained as experimental data is assumed
to arise as a result of several decay processes so that it is appropriate to add the
restriction that the 2i be =>0. In [3] a standard test of gas mixing in the lungs is
analyzed and under the assumptions made the restriction that the ai be __> 0 can
be added. For this application no restriction on the number of exponential components r is indicated. Thus we were led to study the approximation problem with
the ai and 2i 0 and with no restriction on r. The following results are offered
because they may be more widely applicable.
Put ui exp (- 2i) then the condition that 2i shall be _>_ 0 becomes 0 __< ui < 1.
We shall be more general by allowing S to be any nonempty compact subset of
the real line R and requiring that the ui lie in S. We shall call an expression of the
form E
aiu/an exponential polynomial and denote its value at the integer
E
we mean the sequence (E(O),E(1),E(2),..., E(N)). Thus our
n by E(n); by
becomes
that
of finding the exponential polynomial E of the type specified
problem
for which E best approximates 7. We shall study this for various measures of
best approximation.
For the purpose of evaluating exponential polynomials we make the convention that 0
1. With this convention, E(n) is a continuous function of the
and
for
each
n 0. By elementary algebraic operations, any exponeninteger
a ui,
tial polynomial E can be put in the form
aiu where U < /22 < //3
and all ai are nonzero. We shall call this the reduced form of the exponential
polynomial E and say that two exponential polynomials are equivalent if they
have the same reduced form. It is well known that two exponential polynomials
E and F are equivalent if and only if E(n) F(n) for all integral n >_ 0. If E is an
exponential polynomial whose reduced form is
aiu, we shall say that E has
degree r; that E is an S-exponential polynomial if all ui lie in S; and that E is a
positive exponential polynomial if all a are > 0. We note that the exponential polynomial which is 0 for each integer n has r 0 when written in its reduced form and
is a positive S-exponential polynomial for any choice of S. In what follows we shall
frequently refer to a "unique" exponential polynomial; we shall always mean
unique up to equivalence. We shall say that the exponential polynomial E represents the sequence 7 if E 7.
In 1 we study the uniqueness of representation of sequences by positive
S-exponential polynomials. In 2, we study the existence and the uniqueness
of best approximations by positive S-exponential polynomials using various
measures of best approximation. In 3 we give a numerical method for finding

...,

=>

=>

* Received by the editors April 28, 1967, and in final revised form July 24, 1969.
? Department of Mathematics, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90024.
National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20014.

380

381

Downloaded 12/30/12 to 132.206.27.25. Redistribution subject to SIAM license or copyright; see http://www.siam.org/journals/ojsa.php

APPROXIMATION BY POSITIVE SUMS OF POWERS

positive S-exponential polynomials which best approximate a sequence, using

one particular measure of best approximation, and in 4 we give a numerical
example.
1. Representation. in this section we develop those features of the representation of finite sequences by positive S-exponential polynomials which are
needed for later theorems on approximation. For a full account of this representation theory in case S is a closed interval or a discrete set see [6].
We denote by Cs the set of all sequences where E is a positive S-exponential
polynomial. It is clear that Cs is the smallest convex cone containing all sequences
of the form (1, u, HE,
u s) where u S. From the general theory of convex
cones it then follows that for any 7 Cs there is an E of degree __< N + 1 such that
7 (see [9]). Using this fact and a straightforward compactness argument
one sees that CN is closed. We now state the following theorem.
THEOREM 1.1. If7 Cs is on the boundary of Cs, then there is a unique positive
S-exponential polynomial E which represents 7; E has degree <__ N.
Proof. The proof follows the methods of [6]. We need only show that the
choice of distinct ui in the reduced form of the representation is restricted to a
set containing no more than N elements of S. The proof then follows from the
linear independence of N + 1 or fewer distinct elements of the type (1, Hi,

If 7 is on the boundary of Cs, then by standard convexity arguments there

exists (bo, bl, .., bs) in R s + 1, not equal to (0, 0,
b,7, 0
0), such that
and
b,E(n) >__ 0 for every positive S-exponential polynomial E. This implies
that for any E
au7 in reduced form with
7 we have Z,n=o b,u7 O.
Thus the ui must be among the N or fewer roots of the nonzero polynomial
b,x" of degree N; the theorem is proved.

,=o

,=o

=o

...,

Z=I
=<

2. Approximation and existence. Suppose

is a norm on R N + and that
7 (7o, 71,72, "", 7s). If E is a positive S-exponential polynomial, we shall
say that E is a best approximant to 7 in the norm [[. if lIE 7[[ inf [[a 711
where the infimum is over all
Since Cs is closed there always is a positive S-exponential polynomial E
which best approximates 7 if
is strictly convex then, because of the convexity
of Cs, is unique. If 7 is not in Cs, then is necessarily on the boundary of C
and so by Theorem 1.1 has a unique representation. (A norm I" is said to be
strictly convex if the boundary of the solid unit sphere contains no straight-line
segment. See [9, p. 94] .)
Now suppose Wo, wl,w2,...,
and e (eo,a, e2,
w,,lo,lp) lip and define
es)eR u+l define 11 --(
is
note
norm
convex
a
if 1 < p < o. If E is
strictly
11oo max. (w.ll);
II
and exponential polynomial and 1 < p < oe, define

-o

Pe(x, 7, P)

w,t(E(n)

P
n--0

where/(y) lyl p- sgn (y); Pe(x, 7, P) is a polynomial of degree _< N in x which

will be denoted simply Pe(x) whenever 7 and p are understood; Pe(x) is identically

Downloaded 12/30/12 to 132.206.27.25. Redistribution subject to SIAM license or copyright; see http://www.siam.org/journals/ojsa.php

382

__

DAVID G. CANTOR AND JOHN W. EVANS

0 if and only if E 7. If u l,//2, b/3,, Ur are distinct real numbers and

E
aiuT, then liE llp may be considered as a function of the ai. If this
is done, then it is easy to verify that

t?

c3a--.(llE

Tllp)p--- P(ui).

THEOREM 2.1. Suppose 1 < p < o. Then a positive S-exponential polynomial

E is a best approximation to /in the norm I1" p if and only if Pe(x) 0 for all
x S and each Pe(ui) O.
aiu in reduced form is a best approximant
Proof. Suppose first that E
to ?, in the norm I1" p. Suppose b
(b,b2,b3,... ,br)R and that
of b, then its minimum over
is
considered
function
as
a
if
b,u7
b
F 7=
all b _> 0 is attained when b a. Thus t?/t?bi(I Fb 7lip)p 0 when b a; else
a slight change in some of the a would decrease lifo ]lp. This is equivalent to
requiring that each Pe(ui) 0. Next if Uo is any point in S distinct from u l, u2,
aiu]. Then Gc 1 p takes its minimum over all
u3, ..., ur put Gc
CU"o +
0. Thus
c > 0 when c

c%(Ia

>=

__

711)P >= 0

when c 0; else a slight increase in c would decrease Gc

p. This is the same
as saying that Pe(uo)>-0; hence Pe(x)>= 0 for all x S. Conversely, suppose
each Pe(ui) 0 and Pe(x) >_ 0 for all x S. We must show that E is a best approximant to in the norm
p. Suppose not and that F is a positive S-exponential
polynomial for which IIF 7lip < E 7lJp. Choose distinct va, v2,/)3,
/)s for
which there exist nonnegative b and c such that E
bv7 and F
civT.
For y (y, Y2, "", Y), define G r
yv and f(y) (11, 11) p, Then

f(c)

ff

7lip)p < (IE

7lip) p

Now f(y) is a convex function of y; hence if 0 _< 2

f((1

2)b + 2c)__< (1

f(b).

=< 1, then

2)f(b) + 2f(c),

or

f (b + 2(c

b))

f (b) <__ f (c) f (b) < O.

Taking the limit as 2 ---, 0 we see that the directional derivative of f at b in the
direction c- b is negative;i.e., that

(ci- bi)
i=1

3f(b)

t?yi < O,

or, equivalently,

(ci- b)P(vi) < O.

i=1

However, by hypothesis, PF(V) 0 if b 4: O. Hence

cP(vi) < O; but this
is a contradiction because all c __> 0 and all Pv(vi) O.
We now consider the norm I1" and assume throughout the remainder of

>=

Downloaded 12/30/12 to 132.206.27.25. Redistribution subject to SIAM license or copyright; see http://www.siam.org/journals/ojsa.php

383

APPROXIMATION BY POSITIVE SUMS OF POWERS

this section that S consists of only nonnegative real numbers. It is not true in
this case that if E is a best approximation to 7 in the norm 11"1100 and that liE 71100
0, then E is unique. It may easily happen that E is a best approximant to 7 in
the norm II"
and that wo(E(O) 7o) < lIE 7o1100. Then if/l > 0 is sufficiently
small E + 2.0" will also be a best approximant to 7 in the norm I00. We shall
show that this is the only type of nonuniqueness which occurs. With this in mind,
we say that E is a strong best approximant to 7 if E is a best approximant to 7 in
the norm ]l"
and, in addition, if 0 S, then wo(E(O) 70)
liE 71 Any
best approximant to 7 in the norm
can be changed to a strong best approximation to 7 by adding a term of the form 2.0".
THEOREM 2.2. There exists a strong best approximant E to 7. If E 7
0,
then E is unique.
Proof We shall use the fact that if n < n2 < n3 < < ns are nonnegative
integers and ul < u2 < u3 <
< ur are nonnegative real numbers such that
if u
__< r,
0, then n
0, then the matrix M whose (i,j)-entry is uqJ (1
1 __< j __< s) has the rank
min (r, s) (see [6]).
As stated in the introduction to this section there exists a best approximant
Eto 7in the norm II"
By replacingEbyE+2.0"where2>0ischosen
appropriately, we may assume that E is a strong best approximant to 7. If
IE 7t 4: 0, then E is clearly a boundary point of Cv, and by Theorem 1.1, the
degree of E is __< N. Now suppose that E
aiu7 is in reduced form. Put

=<

Mr

{nw.lE.(n)- 7,1

I1 71100}

and put ft,(E) sgn (E(n) 7.) if n Mr; otherwise put/.(E) 0. Then # Mr
r + 1; otherwise by the initial remark in this proof, the equations
xiu
-/,(E) for n Mr would have a solution and then for sufficiently small 2 > 0,
E
(ai + 2x)u] would be a positive S-exponential polynomial for which
lIE 71100 < liE 71 Now suppose that F is another strong best approximant
to 7. Put G (E + F)/2 and suppose G =lbv in reduced form; G is a
strong best approximant to 7 so that

=>

It is clear that/,(G) 1 if and only if 8,(E) =/,(F) 1 and that/,(G) -1

-1. It follows that E(n) F(n) G(n) whenever
if and only if//,(E) =/,(F)
1.
Thus
whenever
n 6 m. We can write E F
[//,(G)[
E(n) F(n)
civ]
0
for
each
and then
n
M. If one of the vi 0, then clearly 0 M.
cv7
Thus, since # Mo >_ s + 1, all ci 0 by the initial remark and E is equivalent
to F. Thus E is unique.
3. Numerical procedure. In this section we study the problem of numerically
finding a best approximant to 7 (70,71,72,"", 7N) in the norm
112 of 2.
Suppose 1 =< r =< n + and ul,u2,u3,..., ur are distinct real numbers. If
Y (Yl, Y2, Y3, "", Yr) Rr, put E r 7=1 y,u and f(y) IIE 11,
LEMM. 3.1. The function f (y) can be written

f(Y)

w,7,2,

f(Y) + f2(Y) +
n=O

where fl(Y) is a positive definite quadratic form and f2(y) is a linear form.

Downloaded 12/30/12 to 132.206.27.25. Redistribution subject to SIAM license or copyright; see http://www.siam.org/journals/ojsa.php

384

DAVID G. CANTOR AND JOHN W. EVANS

Proof. We have
N

f(y)=

w,
n--0

YiU7

7n

i=1

A(y)

w.7.
n=0

where

i=1

and

f2(y) =-2

YiUT.

w,7,
n=0

i=1

It is clear that fa(Y) is a quadratic form which is always =>0 and that fz(Y) is a
linear form. If for some y, fa(y) 0, then
yul 0 if 0 n N. This implies
that y 0 and hence that fa(y) is positive definite.
By standard quadratic programming techniques [5] one can find
a
(a, a2, a3,
at) 0 such that f(a) infre o (f(y)). By Theorem 2.1 each
PEo(ui) is _>_0 and PEa(ui) 0 if ai :/: O. Pro(x) is a nonzero polynomial of degree
N, and hence at most N of the at are nonzero.
If # S _< N + 1, then one application ofthe quadratic programming algorithm
solves the stated problem. We assume throughout the remainder of this section
that #S>N+2.
We now describe our algorithm. We assume as given a positive S-exponential
polynomial E
(a a2
aiui in reduced form, where r < N, and define a
a3, "", at) and Ey and f(y) as before, so that E
E,. We assume that

=< =<

..., =>

=<

=a

f (a)

inf f (y).

y>-0

It follows that each Pe(u) 0. If Pe(x) > 0 for all x e S, then by Theorem 2.1,
E is a best approximant to 7 in the norm
2 and we are done. We remark that
if the point (0, 0,
0) e CN is the best approximation to 7 then the only acceptable
initial choice is the positive S-exponential polynomial of zero degree and we are

...,

done as above.
Otherwise we choose any Uo S such that 2Pe(uo)<= infxs PE(x). Suppose
z (Zo,Zl,Z2,", z,.)e R r+ and F
=o zibli" Sincer+ 1 <N+ 1, wecan
apply the quadratic programming algorithm and obtain b (bo, ba, bE, .", br)
> 0 such that Fz
Then if F0 7, we are done. Otherinfz_> o Fz
z
wise, Pvb(b) is a nonzero polynomial of degree =<N which vanishes at all u for
which b 4: 0. Thus at most N of the bg are nonzero. We renumber those u for
which b 4:0 and call them Ua,UE, U3,
U,, and call the corresponding b,
a,aE,a3,...,a,, We putE=
a(u), and repeat the above process using
E instead of E.

.,

385

Downloaded 12/30/12 to 132.206.27.25. Redistribution subject to SIAM license or copyright; see http://www.siam.org/journals/ojsa.php

APPROXIMATION BY POSITIVE SUMS OF POWERS

Suppose the initial exponential polynomial used above was Eo (a convenient

Eo is 0) and the sequence Eo,E1,E2,... of positive S-exponential
polynomials was generated. If the sequence terminates at Ej, we put Ej /
E/2
Ej / 3
Ej; this will be the case if and only if Ej is a best approximation
F 3)12 and
to in the norm
2. We shall show that limi.o IIE- ll2
that limj_.o IIE F 2 0, where F is a best approximant to in the norm I" 112.
We shall also show that eventually all Ei are close (in a sense to be defined) to
some positive S-exponential polynomial G which represents F (here G depends

choice of

upon E).
THEOREM 3.2. Suppose E
above. Then

7= aiu

liE- 1 22

and E=

112) 2

I1(1, Uo, u,
Uos) 2.
F
Put
Proof.
=0 biu7 where bo

7=1 ai(ui)"

as constructed

4h 2

where h

PE(uo)/(2h 2) and bi

ai for 1

< __<

r.

An easy computation shows that

y I.) 2

(IIF

(liE

112) =

4h 2

and clearly E
IIF y 2"
2
Put
infxs (PEj(x)).
COROLLARY 3.3. We have lim_, j 0.
Proof. Clearly _>_ 0 for all j. If the did not converge to 0, there would be
6 > 0 and infinitely many j with > 6. Put M supus I1(1, u, u2,
u)112. By
Theorem 3.2, we have for infinitely many j,

...,

112) 2

(llE+

112) 2

(llE

t2
4M 2"

is a decreasing sequence, (IIEj- yll2) 2 would eventually be

negative. This contradiction completes the proof.
THEOREM 3.4. Suppose F is a best approximant to in the norm I1" 12. Then

But as

E- 7112

.__

(11- ll2) 2

(IIF

112) 2 + 09F(0).

Proof. By appropriate choice ofva, /)2, /)3,

.=

/)s wecan write Ej

air7
By the construction of E we have
yiv and f(y) (llt3 112) 2, where
PEj(vi) 0 whenever ai 4: O. Put Gr
Ys). Then, just as in the proof of Theorem 2.1, f(y) is a convex
Y (Yl, Y2, Y3,
function of y. Hence, if a (a, a2, a3,
as) and b (b, b2, b3, "", bs), and

and F

biv with all

ai and

bi

=> 0.

if0=<2=< 1, then
f((1

2)a + 2b)

=< (1

2)f(a) + 2f(b)

or

f (a +

2b

a)

f (a) f (b) f (a).

<=

Downloaded 12/30/12 to 132.206.27.25. Redistribution subject to SIAM license or copyright; see http://www.siam.org/journals/ojsa.php

386

DAVID G. CANTOR AND JOHN W. EVANS

Thus

(bi
i=l

ai)Of(a)
f(b)
OYi <=

f(a)

<= f(b)

f(a).

or

(bi- aOPE(vi)
i=1

But if ai

O, then PE(vi)

O, hence
bP(v)

<= f(b)

f(a).

<= f (b)

f (a)

i=1

Then
--Oj
i=1

or

f (a) f (b)

<= %F(O),

completing the proof.

COROLLARY 3.5.

FI]2 )2<(llEj
(llEj _Proof. We have the identity

112) 2 -(IIF

112) 2

%F(0).

(lls

112) 2

(lls 112) 2

ll2) 2

(11

w.(E(n)

F(n))(F(n)

,,),

n=O

but
d
d2

--(ll(a

)F +

ll=)=lz=o

w,(E(n)- F(n))(F(n)-

and since F best approximates y this expression must be nonnegative. This gives
the first inequality. The second inequality is a restatement of the theorem.
Remark 3.6. The preceding theorem and corollary together with Corollary
3.3 establish convergence in terms of the (unknown) quantity F(0). Since 0 is a
positive S-exponential polynomial,

wo(F(O)- ,o) 2 __< (11- 11) 2

< (I 112)

or

IF(0)I 11112( + /x/o).

Suppose F ]=1 b,v and G t=, c,w] are positive S-exponential polynomials in reduced form and 6 is > 0. We shall say that G is ,5-close to F if there
exists a disjoint covering To, T, T2,
T of 1, 2, 3, ..., t} such that
(i) Iv- wjl < 6 whenever j T,
(ii) Ibicj[ < 6 for < < s,
(iii) jTo Cj < 6.
We now prove the following theorem.

...,

r,

387

Downloaded 12/30/12 to 132.206.27.25. Redistribution subject to SIAM license or copyright; see http://www.siam.org/journals/ojsa.php

APPROXIMATION BY POSITIVESUMS OF POWERS

THEOREM 3.7. Suppose is the closest point (in the norm I1" [[2) in CN to 7.
Then for each 6 > O, there exists jo such that if j > ja then there exists a positive
S-exponential polynomial Fj which represents and such that Ej is 6-close to Fj.
Proof. Suppose not. Then there exists 6 > 0 and infinitely many j such that
Ej is not f-close to any positive S-exponential polynomial which represents 7.
Replace the sequence Ej by a subsequence in such a way that the above holds for
all j. Each such Ej can be written in the form
aijuTj where the aij 0 and the
uij S. The aj are bounded by Ej(0). Thus, by replacing the sequence Ej by an
appropriate subsequence, we may assume that limj aj ai and limj_ uij ui
is a positive S-exponential polynomial
exist for each i. Then clearly E
which represents and for all sufficiently large j, Ej is f-close to E. This contradiction completes the proof.

>=

au

4. Numerical example. The following example is included to show the

feasibility of applying the algorithm and some of the limitations of the method.
The programming details will be given in a separate paper and we give here only
an outline of the procedures used. The program was written in PL/I and run
using double precision floating-point arithmetic on an IBM 360 mod 50. No
attempt was made to obtain a highly efficient program. The execution time was
approximately 10 minutes.
We set S 0, 1] and w 1,
0, 1,..., N. For each 7 given we select
the zero exponential polynomial as the initial choice Eo in the algorithm. On
reaching the nth stage of the algorithm we have E,
au?. Let B, be the set
of integer multiples of 1/100 lying in [0, 1] and of integer multiples of 1/10000 lying
in [0, 1] and within 1/1000 of some ui,
1,..., r. We choose Uo B, so that
and
this
choice
use
an approximation to the Uo menas
PE.(Uo) minxn. PE.(x)
tioned in the algorithm.
To obtain E,+I we proceed for convenience with a modification of the
quadratic programming algorithm which will be described below. We continue
until for some n, Pe,,(x) >_ 0 on B, or until liE,+
])[[2 [En )[[ 2 because of
roundoff error.
If F
, then, by Theorem 2.1, Pv has
aiu.? best approximates in
roots of degree 2 or higher at each ui. Thus it is not surprising that at the termination of the above procedure Pe, may have two (single) roots near some of the
double roots of Pv. Because of this we have added a final "cleanup" procedure
designed to replace these paired roots with one double root. The procedure
follows a logic closely related to the basic iterative step and will be described
along with it.
agu and
During the nth stage of the procedure described we have En
then choose Uo such that PE.(Uo) < 0. We set Fz
before.
as
If any
ziuf
subcollection of the zg,
0,..., r, have fixed values, there are unique values
for the remaining z which minimize Fz 7l 2. If z0 is fixed at zero this best
approximation is obtained when zg a > 0,
1,..., r. We increase Zo from
zero, always choosing the remaining zi so that Fz-7 z is minimized until
/ZollFz 7112 0 or until one of the z, 0, becomes zero. In the latter case we
fix this zg at zero and repeat this procedure. Because r is finite and IlFz 7 2 is
decreasing this process must terminate at some finite Zo. We now take E,+ as
the reduced form of F for this terminal z. It is easily seen that if no, or just one, z

= =

Downloaded 12/30/12 to 132.206.27.25. Redistribution subject to SIAM license or copyright; see http://www.siam.org/journals/ojsa.php

388

DAVID G. CANTOR AND JOHN W. EVANS

is fixed at zero during this procedure the final value of z is just that given by the
quadratic programming algorithm. In no more than half the iterations could it
happen that two or more of the zi were fixed at zero so that the proof of convergence
is basically unchanged.
The "cleanup" procedure operates in a similar fashion. Let F(u, z)
ziu.
and assume that for initial ul < u2 <
< u,., u.i S, the best approximant has
1, ..-, r. In this case we move one of the ui in the direction which
zj > 0, j
decreases IF(u,z)- 71 2 as before, always choosing the zj so as to minimize
liE(u, z) 7 2, fixing at zero any z which becomes zero in the process until

c3

c3u

liE(u, z)

or until u is restrained by the boundary of Z [0, 1]. The pairs Zk and Uk are
then eliminated from F(u, z) for all j such that z was fixed at zero.
If the described algorithm terminates with E, of degree r, we arbitrarily
cycle through the u applying this cleanup step a total of 2r times.
Example 4.1. Values of 70,71, "", 723 are taken from C. Lanczos [7, p. 276].
The data is said to be constructed from 0.0951e -kx + 0.8607e -3kx + 1.557e -Skx
given accurately to within one half unit of the second decimal for x 0.05 with
k 0, 1,..., 23. The zero exponential polynomial is taken as Eo. We have
E1 71 22 10.631 and at n 42 the basic procedure terminates with ]42 71122
.000101. E42 has degree 6 and two constants are dropped in the cleanup procedure and the final approximant is E
biu7 with

4=

b
b2
b3

.0066,

tx

.00000000000,

2.0401,

/2

.7954728176,

.3881,

.8934011100,

.0751,

tL

.9488167032,

and lie 1122 .000101. We note that the expression given for the generation
of the data is approximately

1.557(.778801)k + .8607(.860708)k + .0951(.951229)k

for k

0,

..., 23.
REFERENCES

[1] N. I. AKHIEZER, The Classical Moment Problem, Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, 1965.
[2] G. BROWNELL AND A. CALLAHAN, Transform methods for data analysis, Ann. New York Acad.
Sci., 108 (1963), pp. 172-181.
[3] J. W. EVANS, D. G. CANTOR AND J. R. NORMAN, The dead space in a compartmental lung model,
Bull. Math. Biophys., 29 (1967), pp. 711-717.
[4] D. GARDNER, Resolution of multi-component exponential-decay curves using Fourier transforms,
Ann. New York Acad. Sci., 108 (1963), pp. 195-203.
[5] G. HADLEY, Non-Linear and Dynamic Programming, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts,
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]

1964.
S. J. KARLIN AND W. J. STUDDEN, Tchebycheff Systems, Interscience, New York, 1966.
C. LANCZOS, Applied Analysis, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1956.
J. RICE, Chebyshev approximation by exponentials, this Journal, 10 (1962), pp. 149-161.
F. VALENTINE, Convex Sets, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1964.