English

Arbitrary-precision computation of the gamma function

Mathematical Software 2021-09-20 v1 Classical Analysis and ODEs

Abstract

We discuss the best methods available for computing the gamma function Γ(z)\Gamma(z) in arbitrary-precision arithmetic with rigorous error bounds. We address different cases: rational, algebraic, real or complex arguments; large or small arguments; low or high precision; with or without precomputation. The methods also cover the log-gamma function logΓ(z)\log \Gamma(z), the digamma function ψ(z)\psi(z), and derivatives Γ(n)(z)\Gamma^{(n)}(z) and ψ(n)(z)\psi^{(n)}(z). Besides attempting to summarize the existing state of the art, we present some new formulas, estimates, bounds and algorithmic improvements and discuss implementation results.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2109.08392,
  title  = {Arbitrary-precision computation of the gamma function},
  author = {Fredrik Johansson},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2109.08392},
  year   = {2021}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-24T06:03:54.285Z