English

Asymptotic expansions of integrals and Nielsen's polylogarithms

Number Theory 2026-04-08 v1 Combinatorics

Abstract

This article derives full asymptotic expansions for integrals of the form 01f(u)(1+qun)w/ndu \int_{0}^{1}f(u)(1+q\cdot u^{n})^{w/n}du as nn\rightarrow\infty, with parameters real w0w\neq 0 and q(1,1]q\in(-1,1], or positive ww for q=1q=-1. We relate the coefficients of the asymptotic expansions to Nielsen's generalized polylogarithms. For q=1q=-1, we obtain an expansion in terms of multiple zeta values, which in this setting, reduce to ordinary zeta values. A key point is that for q=1q=1, the integrals typically produce alternating multiple zeta values; we formulate a precise symmetry constraint on the relevant coefficient sequence under which all coefficients reduce to polynomials in ordinary zeta values. We also translate this symmetry into a statement about a binomial transform, and we verify the condition for several classical Appell-type families, like Euler, Bernoulli, Genocchi, and Hermite. Finally, we obtain precise results about the convergence of norms of random variables.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2604.05895,
  title  = {Asymptotic expansions of integrals and Nielsen's polylogarithms},
  author = {Markus Kuba and Moti Levy},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.05895},
  year   = {2026}
}

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19 pages