On the connection between Stirling numbers and Bessel numbers (Q2121779)

The unsigned Stirling numbers of the first kind are defined for any $n\geq 1$ and $0\leq k\leq n$ as the number of permutations of $\{1,2,\dots,n\}$ with exactly $k$ cycles. The signed Stirling numbers of the first kind arise in the study of permutations as well. In particular, the signed Stirling numbers of the first kind count permutations according to their number of cycles (counting fixed points as cycles of length one). A Stirling number of the second kind (or Stirling partition number) is the number of ways to partition a set of n objects into $k$ non-empty subsets and they occur in combinatorics, more specifically in the study of partitions. Stirling numbers and Bessel numbers have a long history, and both have been generalized in a variety of directions. The Bessel polynomials are an orthogonal sequence of polynomials. There are a number of different but closely related definitions. In the related paper, the authors have presented new proofs for some summation identities involving Stirling numbers of both first and second kind. They have provided two main identities giving a connection between Stirling numbers and Bessel numbers. The method of the authors is based on solving a particular recurrence relation in two different ways and comparing the coefficients in the resulting polynomial expressions. They have also briefly discussed a probabilistic setting where this recurrence relation occurs.