Rota–Baxter algebra

Summary

In mathematics, a Rota–Baxter algebra is an associative algebra, together with a particular linear map $R$ which satisfies the Rota–Baxter identity. It appeared first in the work of the American mathematician Glen E. Baxter in the realm of probability theory. Baxter's work was further explored from different angles by Gian-Carlo Rota, Pierre Cartier, and Frederic V. Atkinson, among others. Baxter’s derivation of this identity that later bore his name emanated from some of the fundamental results of the famous probabilist Frank Spitzer in random walk theory.