Basel Problem

Vivek Kaushik
September 15, 2017

Consider where S = {f (x) L2 [0, 1] : f (0) = f (1) = 0}. We assume for simplicity L2 [0, 1] is
the set of square integrable real-valued functions on [0, 1].
Consider L(f ) : L2 [0, 1] L2 [0, 1], where

L(f ) = f 00 .
R1
Theorem 1. L(f ) is a self-adjoint operator with respect to the inner product hu, vi = 0
u(x)v(x) dx.
Proof. Integrating by parts twice, we see
Z 1
hL(f ), gi = f 00 (x)g(x) dx
0
x=1 Z
 1
= f 0 (x)g(x) + f 0 (x)g 0 (x) dx

 0
x=0
Z 1
= f 0 (x)g 0 (x) dx
0
x=1 Z
 1
= f (x)g 0 (x) f (x)g 00 (x) dx

 0
x=0
Z 1
= f (x)g 00 (x) dx = hf, L(g)i.
0

Thus, we see any eigenvalue of L must be real.

It turns out L(f ) is also compact. By the spectral theorem, L will have eigenfunctions.
Let R be an eigenvalue. The resulting differential equation is

y 00 = y, y(0) = y(1) = 0,

and solutions which form an orthonormal basis are

fn (x) = 2 sin(nx),

corresponding to eigenvalue n = n2 2 , n N.
Let write L(f ) for each f S as a linear combination of {fn (x)}nN . The Fourier Coefficient
would be

n = hL(f ), fn i
= hf, L(fn )i
= n hf, fn i
Z 1
= n2 2 2f (x) sin(nx) dx.
0

Now consider f (x) = x(1 x). Clearly f S. Then

Z 1 Z 1
L(f ) dx = 2 dx = 2.
0 0

1
On the other hand
2 2 2 2 cos(n)
n = .
n
Thus,

X (1 cos(n)) sin(nx)
L(f ) = 4 ,
n=1
n
and
1 1
(1 cos(n)) sin(nx)
Z Z X
L(f ) dx = 4 dx
0 0 n=1
n

X (1 cos(n))2
=4
n=1
n2 2

X (2 2 cos(n))
=4
n=1
n2 2

X 1
= 16 .
n=1
(2n 1)2 2

Thus, we see

2 X 1
= .
8 n=1
(2n 1)2
2
Thus, we have (2) = 6 . upon rewriting

(2) X 1
(2) = + ,
4 n=1
(2n 1)2

and rearranging terms.

Other values of (2k) can be obtained by considering L2k (g), where

g(x) = x2k+1 (1 x)

and repeating the same process.

Remark. This is quite similar to Noam Elkiess [2] spectral analysis of the convex polytope dis-
covered by Beukers, Calabi, and Kolk [1].

References
[1] F. Beukers, E. Calabi, and J. A. Kolk, Sums of generalized harmonic series and volumes,
Nieuw Archief voor Wiskunde, (1993), pp. 561573.
P
[2] N. D. Elkies, On the sums k= (4k + 1)n , The American Mathematical Monthly, 110
(2003), pp. 561573.