English

On an exponential power sum

Number Theory 2023-11-23 v4

Abstract

Using combinatorial techniques, we derive a recurrence identity that expresses an exponential power sum with negative powers in terms of another exponential power sum with positive powers. Consequently, we derive a formula for the power sum of the first kk natural numbers when the power is odd, which when used in combination with Faulhaber's formula for computing power sums helps us to retrieve the Bernoulli numbers in certain cases.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2303.10853,
  title  = {On an exponential power sum},
  author = {Neha Elizabeth Thomas and K Vishnu Namboothiri},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2303.10853},
  year   = {2023}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-28T09:23:26.096Z