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I saw definitions and theorem about power series are in the form of $\sum_{k=0}^n a_k (x-x_0)^k$. And it definitely doesn't include negative or noninteger powers. Nevertheless, I saw the theorems like

  1. If the two series converge to the same value on some interval, then the corresponding coefficients are the same.
  2. The series can be differentiated or integrated termwisely.

be used without justification. I couldn't find relevant theorems.

My question is: are the series containing negative and noninteger power terms still called power series, and thus the theorems could apply? If not, do the theorems I mentioned as well as other common theorems like termwise multiplication (Cauchy product) hold?

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    I don't think the term "power series" is rigorously defined. For instance, the Wikipedia article on "power series" assumes non-negative integer powers, but the article on the Laurent series calls it a "power series" all the same. Any series of powers of something can be called a "power series". Theorems are usually proved for certain kinds of power series, e.g. Taylor series and Laurent series, or for series in general; if you come across a theorem that claims to apply to "power series", you should probably look at its proof to decide whether it assumes non-negative integer powers.2011-02-14

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"Power series" does not have a fixed meaning. Generally, but not always, it means a series with non-negative integer exponents, and most theorems you have seen proved about power series are about this case. Many of these theorems extend to Laurent series with a fixed negative lower bound away from $x_0$, and many of them can be proven just by multiplying by the appropriate power of $x - x_0$ and using the corresponding theorem for ordinary power series. If you want more assurance than this, Laurent series are usually treated in books on complex analysis.

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    @LLS: that depends. There's a big difference between exponents with denominators dividing a fixed positive integer (since you can make a simple substitution to deal with this) and exponents with denominators which get arbitrarily large in lowest terms. I don't know anything about convergence properties of the latter.2011-02-15
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