where n! denotes the factorial of n and ƒ (n)(a) denotes the nth derivative of ƒ evaluated at the point a. The derivative of order zero ƒ is defined to be ƒ itself and and 0! are both defined to be 1. In the case that , the series is also called a Maclaurin series. A Taylor series of f about point a may diverge, converge at only the point a, converge for all x such that (the largest such R for which convergence is guaranteed is called the radius of convergence), or converge on the entire real line. Even a converging Taylor series may converge to a value different from the value of the function at that point. If the Taylor series at a point has a nonzero radius of convergence, and sums to the function in the disc of convergence, then the function is analytic. The analytic functions have many fundamental properties. In particular, an analytic function of a real variable extends naturally to a function of a complex variable. It is in this way that the exponential function, the logarithm, the trigonometric functions and their inverses are extended to functions of a complex variable. Fourier series Fourier series decomposes periodic functions or periodic signals into the sum of a (possibly infinite) set of simple oscillating functions, namely sines and cosines (or complex exponentials). The study of Fourier series typically occurs and is handled within the branch mathematics > mathematical analysis > Fourier analysis. Integration Integration is a formalization of the problem of finding the area bound by a curve and the related problems of determining the length of a curve or volume enclosed by a surface. The basic strategy to solving problems of this type was known to the ancient Greeks and Chinese, and was known as the method of exhaustion. Generally speaking, the desired area is bounded from above and below, respectively, by increasingly accurate circumscribing and inscribing polygonal approximations whose exact areas can be computed. By considering approximations consisting of a larger and larger ("infinite") number of smaller and smaller ("infinitesimal") pieces, the area bound by the curve can be deduced, as the upper and lower bounds defined by the approximations converge around a common value. The spirit of this basic strategy can easily be seen in the definition of the Riemann integral, in which the integral is said to exist if upper and lower