The Life and Work of Srinivasa Ramanujan

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Rahul Mehta
 “I beg to introduce myself to you as a clerk in the Accounts Department of the Port Trust Office

at Madras on a salary of only £20 per annum…” ~Srinivasa Ramanujan in a letter to G.H. Hardy at

Cambridge University

Mathematics, unlike other disciplines, is a field that is accessible to all. One does not

necessarily need a formal training or background in mathematics to make monumental

advancements in the field. This is exemplified by Srinivasa Ramanujan, a man with from a rural

town in India background who greatly influenced the field of mathematics within his short life

span. His advances in the areas of mathematical analysis and number theory were

groundbreaking at the time, and many of his theorems and conjectures have not been proven to

this date. The work that this essay will focus on is his advancements in the field of infinite series,

specifically assigning a sum to infinite divergent series (later named Ramanujan Summation), as

well as his work in finding an infinite series to represent π. Ramanujan’s lack of a formal

background or training did not hinder his efforts in becoming one of the most revolutionary

figures in modern mathematics, specifically in the fields of infinite series.

Srinivasa Ramanujan Iyengar was born in the small town of Erode in the South Indian

state of Tamil-Nadu on December 22, 1887. His mother, Komalatammal, and his father,

Srinivasa, were both members of the Brahmin caste, the highest group in the traditional Indian

caste system. However, despite his family’s societal standing, the family was quite poor; his

father was employed as an accountant for a cloth and textile merchant.

Despite his family’s lack of monetary resources, Ramanujan was able to attend school

from a young age. At age six, his mother enrolled him in the Kangayan Primary School in Erode.

He was a stellar student there, scoring first in the entire district. These scores enabled him enroll
at Town High School, a premier secondary school located in the town of Kumbakonam, towards

the western coast of South India.

At Town High, Ramanujan’s mathematical prowess was noted by many of his

classmates and teachers, as he often challenged the lectures and solved problems that students

two years senior to him found difficult. In one interaction with a teacher, a math teacher pointed

out that any number divided by itself was one; “Divide three fruits among three people, and each

would get one.” Ramanujan retorted, “But is zero divided by zero also one? If no fruits are

divided among no one, will each still get one?”

Ramanujan’s abilities in mathematics continued to develop during his years in secondary

school, as he gained access to books about far more advanced topics of mathematics. At thirteen,

he mastered S.L. Loney’s Trigonometry, which contained many topics that ranged into far more

advanced levels of mathematics. His methodology for understanding and utilizing trigonometry,

even at this young age, formed a foundation for his most influential work in his adult years.

Instead of thinking of trigonometric functions as ratios between the legs and the hypotenuse of a

right triangle, he conceptualized them instead using the infinite series definition.

Throughout Ramanujan’s years at Town High, he maintained an extremely high level of

academic excellence. He won numerous awards and accolades, and his headmaster believed that

if there ever was a student who deserved more than maximum marks, it was Ramanujan. More

importantly, in the weeks prior to his departure from Town High, he received the book A

Synopsis of Elementary Results in Pure and Applied Mathematics by George Carr. This book

was essentially a compilation of five thousand theorems and formulae. This book ignited a spark
in Ramanujan’s mind, and from that point on, the entirety of his focus and energy would be

devoted to the study of mathematics, letting all other interests and endeavors go by the wayside.

Ramanujan’s exceptional marks and academic accolades at Town High enabled him to

gain a full scholarship to attend Kumbakonam Government College. However, as he dedicated

all his time to mathematics, Ramanujan was unable to pass the exams in physiology and classics.

He consequently lost his scholarship at the college.

Unable to bear this humiliation, Ramanujan left home, and went to Madras, a bustling

port city. Here, he wasn’t distracted by other endeavors. He was able to focus on nothing but his

notebooks. It was in these that he wrote down thousands of theorems, conjectures, and proofs in

the two hundred pages of his notebook. He constantly revised and edited his notebooks, working

towards more and more organized iterations that would later be used to convince G.H. Hardy of

his mathematical genius.

Now, Ramanujan began to seek a job in Madras. He went door to door searching for

employment tutoring students in mathematics who were preparing for their F.A. exams (the same

ones he failed back at Kumbakonam). He was able to make enough money to pay for a train

ticket to Villupuram, which was home to the Indian Mathematical Society.

At Villupuram, Ramanujan met with V. Ramaswamy Aiyer who had founded the society.

He was referred to Ramachandra Rao, but Rao doubted that it was Ramanujan’s own work.

However, after one of Ramanujan’s friends vouched for him, Rao gave him another chance. He

listened to Ramanujan’s theories on hypergeometric series and his summation theories for

divergent series, and was convinced that the work was definitely Ramanujan’s own. He agreed to
help publish Ramanujan’s first paper, a generalization to solve the infinitely nested radicals

problem.

Ramanujan was also able to secure a temporary job as a clerk at the Port Trust Office.

The £20 salary was enough to support his sparse living style, and he was able to complete the

work with ease, spending any free time on this mathematical research. At the same time, Rao and

Aiyer attempted to present some of Ramanujan’s work to English mathematicians. The first two,

H.F. Baker and E.W. Hobson, rejected them, claiming them to be fraud. However, the third

mathematician, G.H. Hardy took an immediate interest in Ramanujan’s work. In a letter dated

Madras, 16th January, 1961, Ramanujan wrote, “I beg to introduce myself to you as a clerk in the

Accounts Department of the Port Trust Office at Madras on a salary of only £20 per annum...I

would request you to…have my theorems published…Requesting to be excused from the trouble

I give you. I remain, Dear Sir, Yours truly, S. Ramanujan.” This letter and the accompanying

notebooks confirmed to Hardy Ramanujan’s genius, and he immediately summoned Ramanujan

to Cambridge.

Once at Cambridge University, Ramanujan was able to accomplish his most

groundbreaking work. He worked with Hardy for more than five years, dissecting the theorems

provided in Ramanujan’s overflowing notebooks. While Hardy noted that some theorems had

already been discovered, or were plainly incorrect, he was astounded at the sheer volume of new

mathematical discoveries that had come from Ramanujan.

Ramanujan’s most impressive work, however, was done in the fields of infinite series.

This was an area of great interest to Ramanujan from his youth, and his notebooks were filled

with many theorems and conjectures about the nature of these series and their relationships with
other areas of math. Ramanujan’s most notable work in this field was his theory that it is possible

to assign a sum to an infinite divergent series.

The idea behind assigning a sum to a series that diverges is finding a “constant” for the

series, which then is used in a succession of formulas to describe the long term behavior of the

series other than simply saying that it “diverges.” Ramanujan’s explanation for these properties

surrounding divergent series are based off of the Euler-Maclaurin summation formula (Figure 1),

which represents the sum of the series as the discrete derivative of the series. It utilizes the

definite integral of the series function when coupled with a couple error terms (usually values of

the Riemann-zeta function) to provide a “sum” for an infinite series.

However, Ramanujan took Euler’s findings a step further. In Euler’s formula, the definite

integral of a summation is taken as the “sum.” In Ramanujan’s summation formula, he proposed

the use ofC, the “center of gravity” of the series, as the representation of the sum. The formula

Ramanujan derived from the Euler-Maclaurin formula (Figure 2) included theC constant and

wrote it for the case where R p from Euler’s formula goes to infinity. When he compared both

formulae, he found a general case for series with no divergence atn=0 (Figure 3) where

Ramanujan assumed that thea variable in the integral was equal to zero.

When using Euler’s formula, one would find that the whena=∞ in the integral, the sum

of a convergent series is found. However, with divergent series, Ramanujan proposed that the

sum should be assigned whena=0. This formula, the first of its kind, provided a “bridge between

summation and integration.” Ramanujan demonstrated his method using standard series

extensions for divergent series. For example, the fact that the series Sn=1−2+3−4+ …−… n

diverges is well-known. Utilizing Ramanujan’s summation formula, the “sum” for this series can
 ❑
1 −1
be expressed as∑ 1+2−3+…−… 2
= , where denotes the Ramanujan Summation
n ≥1 (1−x ) 12

process (See Figure 4 for full derivation). One notable special case of Ramanujan Summation is

the sum of the Harmonic series, which, interestingly enough yields the Euler-Mascheroni

constant (Figure 5).

Ramanujan’s other works included finding an infinite series for π (Figure 6) as well as a

multitude of work on continued fractions and number theory.

Ramanujan remained at Cambridge until 1919, when he returned to his native India. He

enjoyed a wealth of success in England, as he was elected to the London Mathematical Society

as well as a Fellow of the Royal Society. However, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and a

severe vitamin deficiency. He returned to Kumbakonam that same year, and passed away soon

after from 32.

Srinivasa Ramanujan was a mathematician whose work was far ahead of his time. The

majority of his theorems and conjectures were not understood at his time, and some still haven’t

been solved. His advancements in the field of infinite series have been unparalleled, as well as

his work in the areas of continued fractions and number theory. His little amount of formal

training didn’t hinder his progress as one of the most innovative and influential mathematicians

of his time. He was truly a diamond in the rough, coming from the small port city of Madras to

being inducted into the annals of history as one of the greatest thinkers of his generation and the

20th century.
 Appendix A: Equations and Proofs

Figure 1: Euler-Maclaurin Summation Formula

n n p
B 2 k ( 2 k−1)
∑ f ( i )=∫ f ( x ) dx−B 1 ( f ( n ) +f ( 0 )) + ¿ ∑ (f ( n )−f (2 k−1) ( 0 ) ) + R ¿
i=0 0 k=1 ( 2 k ) !

Figure 2: Ramanujan’s Derivation from the Euler-Maclaurin Formula with the series

constant,C.

Figure 3: Ramanujan’s Formula for x=1

1
Figure 4: Ramanujan Summation of Sn=
( 1−x )2

S=r−2 r 2 +3 r 3−4 r 4 + …−…

Sr =0+r 2 −2r 3 +3 r 4−…+ …

S+ Sr =r −r 2+ r 3−r 4+ …−…

r
S(1 +r) =
1+r
 2
r
S= ( )
1+r
2
r
lim S=lim
r→∞ r→∞
( )
1+r

1
1−2 ( 1 )2 +3 (1 )3 −4 (1 ) 4 +…−…=
4

1
1−2+3−4 +…−…=
4

Now, if T =1+2+3+… then,

2 T =2(1+2+3+…)

4 T =4 ( 1+2+3+ … )=2(2+ 4+ 6+…)

1
Therefore, + 4 T =T
4

−1
T=
12

Therefore, the sum of the series can be represented as

Figure 5: Ramanujan Summation for the Harmonic Series

Figure 6: Ramanujan’s Infinite Series for π