Conditions for Uniqueness in the Problem of Moments

e =r(r+2) /Are The question naturally arises, what are the conditions under which a given set of moments determines a frequency distribution uniquely? The question is of great interest to mathematicians, being closely linked with problems in the theory of asymptotic series, continued fractions and quasi-analytic functions; and it also has importance for statisticians since there is sometimes occasion to be satisfied that a problem of finding a frequency distribution has been uniquely solved by the ascertainment of its moments or semi-invariants. Stieltjes himself considered a more general problem: given a set of constants co, 402