On the stability of a class of convergence acceleration methods for power series

In this paper we study the problem of evaluating the sum of a power series whose terms are given numerically with a moderate accuracy. For a large class of divergent series a sum may be defined using analytic continuation. This sum may be estimated using the values of a finite number of terms. However, it is established here that the accuracy of this estimate will generally deteriorate if we use an ever-growing number of terms. A result on the stability of product quadrature is also obtained as a corollary of our main stability theorem.Dedicated to professor Germund Dahlquist, on the occasion of his 60th birthday