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Basically what I'm asking is if there are any functions $f: \mathbb{R}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$ such that \begin{align}\text{floor}(f(x)) = f(\text{floor}(x)),\text{ or } f \circ \text{floor} = \text{floor} \circ f. \end{align} I am, of course, aware of trivial examples like $f(x) = x$, but I'm wondering if there's a whole class of functions?

For example, for $g(x) = x^b$, any function $f(x) = x^a$ will commute with $g$ in the way stated above; that is, $g\circ f = f\circ g$ for all $x \in \mathbb{R}.$

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    $\begingroup$ A slightly less dull answer is $f(x) = x + n$ where $n$ is an integer. $\endgroup$ – badjohn Jun 18 '20 at 9:31
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    $\begingroup$ Well, there are examples like $f(x)=x-\frac 12\times \{x\}$, where (as usual) $\{x\}$ denotes the fractional part of $x$, $x-\lfloor x\rfloor$. $\endgroup$ – lulu Jun 18 '20 at 9:33
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    $\begingroup$ Hmm, wouldn't any funtion where for all $n\le x < n+1$ then $[f(n)] \le f(x) < [f(n)] + 1$ do. Seems there's lots of variable. $\endgroup$ – fleablood Jul 18 '20 at 22:49
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In order for $f(\lfloor x\rfloor)=\lfloor f(x)\rfloor$ to hold for all $x$, we must have $f(k)\in\mathbb{Z}$ for all $k\in\mathbb{Z}$, with $f(k)\le f(x)\lt f(k)+1$ for $k\le x\lt k+1$. Beyond that the function can behave any way it likes.

Remark: The prime counting function, $\pi(x)$, is a nice example of a function that commutes with the floor function. If you want a continuous example, the (strictly) increasing function

$$f(x)=x+{1\over\pi}\sin(\pi x)$$

fits the bill, since $f(k)=k$ for all $k\in\mathbb{Z}$. (It's increasing since $f'(x)=1+\cos(\pi x)\ge0$ for all $x$.)

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