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Euler summation is essentially an explicit form of analytic continuation. If a power series converges for small complex z and can be analytically continued to the open disk with diameter from −1 / q + 1 to 1 and is continuous at 1, then its value at q is called the Euler or (E,q) sum of the series Σa n. Euler used it before analytic ...
This series was first considered by Euler, who applied summability methods to assign a finite value to the series. [1] The series is a sum of factorials that are alternately added or subtracted. One way to assign a value to this divergent series is by using Borel summation, where one formally writes
Euler's Proof That 1 + 2 + 3 + ⋯ = −1/12 – by John Baez; John Baez (September 19, 2008). "My Favorite Numbers: 24" (PDF). The Euler-Maclaurin formula, Bernoulli numbers, the zeta function, and real-variable analytic continuation by Terence Tao; A recursive evaluation of zeta of negative integers by Luboš Motl
In the mathematics of convergent and divergent series, Euler summation is a summation method. That is, it is a method for assigning a value to a series, different from the conventional method of taking limits of partial sums. Given a series Σa n, if its Euler transform converges to a sum, then that sum is called the Euler sum of the original ...
It is almost certain that Euler meant that the sum of the reciprocals of the primes less than n is asymptotic to log log n as n approaches infinity. It turns out this is indeed the case, and a more precise version of this fact was rigorously proved by Franz Mertens in 1874. [3] Thus Euler obtained a correct result by questionable means.
Euler had already become famous for finding the values of these functions at positive even integers (including the Basel problem), and he was attempting to find the values at the positive odd integers (including Apéry's constant) as well, a problem that remains elusive today.
Because it is a divergent series, it should be interpreted as a formal sum, an abstract mathematical expression combining the unit fractions, rather than as something that can be evaluated to a numeric value. There are many different proofs of the divergence of the harmonic series, surveyed in a 2006 paper by S. J. Kifowit and T. A. Stamps. [13]
The sum of the series is approximately equal to 1.644934. [3] The Basel problem asks for the exact sum of this series (in closed form), as well as a proof that this sum is correct. Euler found the exact sum to be / and announced this discovery in 1735. His arguments were based on manipulations that were not justified at the time, although he ...