E0004 definition ✓ formal notation E0001

Forward differences and translations

(1) Definition. Let \(X, Y\) be abelian groups, \(g: X \to Y\), \(x \in X\), and directions \(u_\bullet = (u_1, \dots, u_k) \in X^k\).

  • The iterated forward difference is

    \[ \Delta(g; x; u_\bullet) := \sum_{S \subseteq [k]} (-1)^{k-|S|}\, g(x + {\textstyle\sum_{i \in S}} u_i). \]

  • The iterated translation is

    \[ T(g; x; u_\bullet) := g(x + {\textstyle\sum_{i=1}^k} u_i). \]

  • The restricted operators for \(S \subseteq [k]\), with \(u_S = (u_i)_{i \in S}\), are

    \[ \Delta^S(g; x; u_\bullet) := \Delta(g; x; u_S), \qquad T^S(g; x; u_\bullet) := g(x + {\textstyle\sum_{i \in S}} u_i). \]

    \(\Delta\) is invariant under permutation of the directions — a permutation \(\sigma\) of \([k]\) acts on the sum by the bijection \(S \mapsto \sigma(S)\), which preserves \(|S|\) and the arguments \(x + \sum_{i \in S} u_{\sigma(i)} = x + \sum_{j \in \sigma(S)} u_j\) — so \(\Delta^S\) does not depend on the enumeration of \(S\).

  • The repeated direction list for \(\alpha \in \IN_0^k\) is \(u_\bullet^\alpha = (u_1^{\times\alpha_1}, \dots, u_k^{\times\alpha_k})\), with \(u_i\) repeated \(\alpha_i\) times.

  • The multi-index difference and multi-index translation are

    \[ \Delta^\alpha(g; x; u_\bullet) := \Delta(g; x; u_\bullet^\alpha) = \sum_{\beta \leq \alpha} (-1)^{|\alpha|-|\beta|}\, \frac{(\alpha)_\beta}{\beta!}\, g(x + {\textstyle\sum_i} \beta_i u_i), \qquad T^\alpha(g; x; u_\bullet) := g(x + {\textstyle\sum_{i=1}^k} \alpha_i u_i). \]

    The second expression groups the \(2^{|\alpha|}\) Boolean terms by profile: exactly \(\prod_i \binom{\alpha_i}{\beta_i} = (\alpha)_\beta / \beta!\) subsets of the repeated list select \(\beta_i\) copies of \(u_i\).

(2) Validation (AI review, 2026-07-19, claude-fable-5, pass). Checked well-definedness of all five definitions, permutation invariance, and the profile-grouped form of \(\Delta^\alpha\) (count \((\alpha)_\beta/\beta!\) verified; numeric check \(k=1\), \(\alpha=2\)). Edge cases \(k=0\), \(\alpha=0\), \(S=\emptyset\) give evaluation, as they should. Added one-line justifications for the two in-line assertions; notation consistent with E0001.

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