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Everything about Recursion
Process of repeating items in a self-similar way
Recursion occurs when the definition of a concept or process depends on a simpler or previous version of itself. Recursion is used in a variety of disciplines ranging from linguistics to logic. The most common application of recursion is in mathematics and computer science, where a function being defined is applied within its own definition. While this apparently defines an infinite number of instances, it is often done in such a way that no infinite loop or infinite chain of references can occur. Wikipedia →
🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path
- Read the overview: RecursionA 5-minute orientation
- Skim a recent paper: Recursion in the classical limit and the neutron-star Compton amplitudeInfluential work since 2022
- Pick up a classic book: Computability and logicThe most-reprinted book on the subject
- Read the landmark paper: Direct Proof of the Tree-Level Scattering Amplitude Recursion Relation in Yang-Mills TheoryCited 1,149 times
- Go sideways: Recursive definitionA closely related topic
- Go sideways: Computable functionA closely related topic
📖 Definitions
Noun The act of recurring.
Noun The act of defining an object (usually a function) in terms of that object itself.
Noun The invocation of a procedure from within itself.
🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)
Direct Proof of the Tree-Level Scattering Amplitude Recursion Relation in Yang-Mills Theory
New recursion relations for tree amplitudes of gluons
Notes on Migdal's recursion formulas
A general recursion method for calculating diffracted intensities from crystals containing planar faults
Renormalization-group methods for critical dynamics: I. Recursion relations and effects of energy conservation
A simple recursion polynomial expansion of the Green’s function with absorbing boundary conditions. Application to the reactive scattering
Instantons and recursion relations in N = 2 SUSY gauge theory
Recursion Relations and Fixed Points for Ferromagnets with Long-Range Interactions
🆕 Influential since 2022
Recursion in the classical limit and the neutron-star Compton amplitude
The off-shell recursion for gravity and the classical double copy for currents
A combined generalized Kaup–Newell soliton hierarchy and its hereditary recursion operator and bi-Hamiltonian structure
New recursion relations for tree-level correlators in anti–de Sitter spacetime
A combined integrable hierarchy with four potentials and its recursion operator and bi-Hamiltonian structure
📚 Books worth reading
Computability and logicGeorge Boolos, Richard C. Jeffrey · 1974
Aufzählbarkeit, Entscheidbarkeit, BerechenbarkeitHans Hermes · 1961
How to Think About AlgorithmsJeff Edmonds · 2008- 📕Rekursive FunktionenRózsa Péter · 1951
Computability & unsolvabilityDavis, Martin · 1958- 📕Complexity, Logic, and Recursion TheoryAndrea Sorbi, Zuhair Nashed · 1997
Computability theoryHerbert B. Enderton · 2010
Higher recursion theoryGerald E. Sacks · 1990
Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.
🔗 Related topics
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