Trigonometric identities: from Hermite via Meijer, Nørlund, and Braaksma to Chu and Johnson and beyond (Q6133608)

In [\textit{W. Chu}, Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 136, No. 1, 229--237 (2008; Zbl 1141.42003)] a partial fraction expansion is given for an expression of the form \[\frac{P(e^{iz})}{\prod_{j=1}^n \sin(z-a_j)},\] where \(P\) is a Laurent polynomial of degree at most \(n\) and \(a_j\in\mathbb{R}\). Similar identities were discovered independently in [\textit{W. P. Johnson}, Am. Math. Mon. 117, No. 4, 311--327 (2010; Zbl 1205.42002)] where \(P(e^{iz})\) is replaced by \(F(\sin(z),\cos(z))\), with \(F\) some bivariate polynomial. Other such trigonometric identities inspired by classical results by Hermite were considered much earlier in [\textit{C. S. Meijer}, Nederl. Akad. Wet., Proc. 49, 227--237, 344--356, 457--469, 632--641, 765--772, 936--943, 1063--1072, 1165--1175 (1946); Indag. Math. 8, 124--134, 213--225, 312--324, 391--400, 468--475, 595--602, 661--670, 713--723 (1946; Zbl 0060.19901); \textit{N. E. Nørlund}, Acta Math. 94, 289--349 (1955; Zbl 0067.29402); \textit{B. L. J. Braaksma}, Compos. Math. 15, 239--341 (1963; Zbl 0129.28604)]. In this survey-like paper, the authors explain first the link among the results in the three older papers by C. S. Meijer, N. E. Nørlund, and B. L. J. Braaksma, and then the link among the identities in the papers by W. Chu and by W. P. Johnson. As a consequence of this connections some new generalizations can be obtained by manipulation of the summations along with some tools from complex analysis.