English

Repeated principal indefinite summation

Classical Analysis and ODEs 2026-02-27 v1 Discrete Mathematics Combinatorics

Abstract

Under suitable asymptotic and convexity conditions on a function g ⁣:R+Rg\colon\mathbb{R}_+\to\mathbb{R}, the solution to Δf=g\Delta f=g, where Δ\Delta is the forward difference operator, is unique up to an additive constant and is called the principal indefinite sum of gg, generalizing the additive form of Bohr-Mollerup's theorem. We consider the map Σ\Sigma, which assigns to each admissible function gg its principal indefinite sum that vanishes at 11, and we naturally explore its iterates, which produce repeated principal indefinite sums, in analogy with the concept of repeated indefinite integrals. Explicit formulas and convergence results are established, highlighting connections with classical combinatorial and special functions, including the multiple gamma functions, for which we also provide integral representations.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2602.23025,
  title  = {Repeated principal indefinite summation},
  author = {Thomas Lamby and Jean-Luc Marichal},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2602.23025},
  year   = {2026}
}
R2 v1 2026-07-01T10:53:56.382Z