Universal higher order Bernoulli numbers and Kummer and related congruences (Q1587422)

Bernoulli numbers \(B_n^{(l)}\) of order \(l\) are defined by the generating function \((t/(e^t-1))^l\). One generalizes this by replacing \(e^t-1\) with the compositional inverse of a power series \(F(t)=1+\sum_{i=1}^\infty c_i(t^{i+1}/(i+1))\) over the polynomial ring \(\mathbb{Q}[c_1,c_2,\dots]\); the numbers \(\widehat B_n^{(l)}\) obtained in this way are called universal Bernoulli numbers of order \(l\). For \(l=1\) these numbers were defined and studied by \textit{F. Clarke} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 315, 591--603 (1989; Zbl 0683.10013)]. The author's main focus is on \(l\in\mathbb{Z}\) (usually \(1\leq l\leq n\)) and \(l\in\mathbb{Z}_p\), the \(p\)-adic integers, but he also takes \(l=x\), a variable, in which case \(\widehat B_n^{(x)}\) is called a universal Nörlund polynomial. In the case \(l=1\) he proves a Kummer congruence which generalizes the classical Kummer congruence mod \(p\) for ordinary Bernoulli numbers. He also obtains a congruence for higher order Bernoulli-Hurwitz numbers \(\widehat{BH}_n^{(l)} = \widehat B_n^{(l+1)}/(n-l)\) \((l=0,\dots,n-1)\). The proofs of these results rely on Clarke's universal von Staudt theorem [op.cit.]. Moreover, the author shows how many of the results about \(B_n^{(l)}\) proved by himself in previous works [e.g., Discrete Math. 204, 5--13 (1999; Zbl 0940.11011)] carry over to \(\widehat B_n^{(l)}\).