From Fibonacci Sequence to the Golden Ratio

We consider the well-known characterization of the Golden ratio as limit of the ratio of consecutive terms of the Fibonacci sequence, and we give an explanation of this property in the framework of the Difference Equations Theory. We show that the Golden ratio coincides with this limit not because i...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alberto Fiorenza, Giovanni Vincenzi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2013-01-01
Series:Journal of Mathematics
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/204674
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Summary:We consider the well-known characterization of the Golden ratio as limit of the ratio of consecutive terms of the Fibonacci sequence, and we give an explanation of this property in the framework of the Difference Equations Theory. We show that the Golden ratio coincides with this limit not because it is the root with maximum modulus and multiplicity of the characteristic polynomial, but, from a more general point of view, because it is the root with maximum modulus and multiplicity of a restricted set of roots, which in this special case coincides with the two roots of the characteristic polynomial. This new perspective is the heart of the characterization of the limit of ratio of consecutive terms of all linear homogeneous recurrences with constant coefficients, without any assumption on the roots of the characteristic polynomial, which may be, in particular, also complex and not real.
ISSN:2314-4629
2314-4785