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

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.