The Frobenius problem, sums of powers of integers, and recurrences for the Bernoulli numbers (Q2488826): Difference between revisions

For two given positive integers \(a\) and \(b\) that are relative prime let \(NR\) denote the set of positive integers which could not be represented as \(ax+by\) with \(x,y\) nonnegative integers. It is well known that \(NR\) is finite and contains exactly \( \frac12(a-1)(b-1)\) numbers. In the note under review the authors gives an elementary proof of closed-form expression for \[ S_m(a,b)=\sum_{n \in NR} n^m \] in terms of the Bernoulli numbers. Sums of this form are called Sylvester sums. The essential tool is the remarkable identity \[ \sum_{n \in NR}[f(n+a)-f(n)]=\sum_{n=1}^{a-1}[f(nb)-f(n)], \] which holds for every function \(f\). Some special functions such as \(f(n)=n^m\), \(f(n)=\log n\), or \(f(n)=[n/a]\) and others are discussed.