Eigenfunction

If is a linear operator on a function space, then is an eigenfunction for and is the associated eigenvalue whenever .

Renteln and Dundes (2005) give the following (bad) mathematical joke about eigenfunctions:

Q: What do you call a young eigensheep? A: A lamb, duh!

See also

Eigen Decomposition, Eigenvalue, Eigenvector, Functional

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References

Renteln, P. and Dundes, A. "Foolproof: A Sampling of Mathematical Folk Humor." Notices Amer. Math. Soc. 52, 24-34, 2005.

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Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W. "Eigenfunction." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Eigenfunction.html

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