Incomplete Cauchy numbers (Q2400099)

There is literature studying the following generalizations of the Stirling numbers of the second kind \(n \brace k\): the number of partitions of an \(n\)-element set into \(k\) non-empty classes, such that (a) every class has at most \(m\) elements, \({n \brace k}_{\leq m}\) (b) every class has at least \(m\) elements \({n \brace k}_{\geq m}\). There are also corresponding sequences (a) restricted Stirling numbers of the first kind \({{n}\brack{k}}_{\leq m}\) and (b) associated Stirling numbers of the first kind \({n \brack {k}}_{\geq m}\), counting permutations of \(n\) elements with \(k\) cycles, with at most (at least) \(m\) elements in every cycle. Recall that Cauchy numbers of the first kind \(c_n\) can be expressed as \(c_n= \sum_{k=0}^n {n \brack{k}} \frac{(-1)^{n-k}}{k+1}\). The paper under review defines restricted Cauchy numbers and the associated Cauchy numbers of the first kind, by changing \(n \brack{k}\) to \( { n \brack{k}}_{\leq m}\) (resp. \({n \brack{k}}_{\geq m}\)). The paper also considers Cauchy numbers of the second kind, and its restricted and associated versions, where Stirling numbers of the second kind, with analogous restriction, are being used instead of Stirling numbers of the first kind. Generating functions for all these variants have been provided.