Preprint
Article

This version is not peer-reviewed.

Evaluation of Harmonic Number Series Involving the Binomial Coefficient $C(3n, N)$ in the Denominator by Integration

A peer-reviewed article of this preprint also exists.

Submitted:

17 November 2024

Posted:

18 November 2024

You are already at the latest version

Abstract
Two classes of infinite series involving harmonic numbers and the binomial coefficient $C(3n,n)$ are evaluated in closed form using integrals. Several remarkable integral values and difficult series identities are stated as special cases of the main results.
Keywords: 
;  ;  

1. Introduction, Motivation and Preliminaries

Integration is a classical tool in the evaluation of infinite series. The approach was revived recently in the papers by Sofo and Nimbran [7], Stewart [9], and Li and Chu [3,4,5,6]. For instance, Li and Chu review in [6] a few (known) series involving harmonic numbers H n and odd harmonic numbers O n such as
n = 1 H n n 2 , n = 1 ( 1 ) n 1 H n n 2 , n = 1 O n n 2 , n = 1 ( 1 ) n 1 O n n 2 ,
obtained by using definite integrals. The authors evaluate difficult addition series involving alternating harmonic and odd harmonic numbers in closed form by employing calculus and complex analysis. Here, as usual, harmonic numbers H n and odd harmonic numbers O n are defined by H 0 = 0 , O 0 = 0 , and
H n = k = 1 n 1 k , O n = k = 1 n 1 2 k 1 .
Obvious relations between harmonic numbers H n and odd harmonic numbers O n are the following:
H 2 n = 1 2 H n + O n and H 2 n 1 = 1 2 H n 1 + O n .
In this paper, we proceed in the same direction. Using integrals in combination with complex analysis and partial fraction decompositions we will evaluate in closed form the Euler-type series
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k m z k and k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k m z k ,
for all m 0 and all z C with | z | < 1 . For instance, we will prove that
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k 2 k + 1 = π 2 48 ln 2 2 10 + 2 5 G ,
where G = j = 0 ( 1 ) j / ( 1 + 2 j ) 2 is Catalan’s constant. Another difficult evaluation that will be derived is
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k ( 1 ) k k 4 k + 1 = 3 448 ln 2 9 512 ln 2 2 3 128 arctan 2 7 5 1 224 89 6272 ln 2 7 arctan 7 5 .
We proceed wit two special functions that will be needed. Let Li 2 ( z ) be the dilogarithm defined by (see Lewin [2])
Li 2 ( z ) = k = 1 z k k 2 , | z | 1 ,
having the special values
Li 2 ( 1 ) = π 2 6 , and Li 2 1 2 = π 2 12 ln 2 ( 2 ) 2 .
Let also Cl 2 ( z ) be the Clausen’s function defined by [2,10]
Cl 2 ( z ) = n = 1 sin ( n z ) n 2 = 0 z ln | 2 sin ( θ / 2 ) | d θ .
This function has the functional relations
Cl 2 ( π + θ ) = Cl 2 ( π θ ) ,
Cl 2 ( θ ) = Cl 2 ( 2 π θ ) ,
1 2 Cl 2 ( 2 θ ) = Cl 2 ( θ ) Cl 2 ( π θ ) ;
and the special values
Cl 2 ( n π ) = 0 , n Z + ,
and
Cl 2 ( π / 2 ) = G = Cl 2 ( 3 π / 2 ) ,
where G is Catalan’s constant.
We conclude this section with a motivation of our approach. We start with the Beta integral [8]:
0 1 x a 1 ( 1 x ) b 1 d x = B ( a , b ) = Γ ( a ) Γ ( b ) Γ ( a + b ) , a , b > 0 .
Differentiating the above definition with respect to a and using the fact that
d d a x a 1 = x a 1 ln ( x )
we get
0 1 x a 1 ( 1 x ) b 1 ln ( x ) d x = Γ ( a ) Γ ( b ) Γ ( a + b ) ψ ( a ) ψ ( a + b ) ,
where ψ ( x ) = Γ ( x ) / Γ ( x ) is the psi or digamma function, Γ ( x ) being the Gamma function. This function is related to harmonic numbers via ψ ( n + 1 ) = H n γ , where γ is the Euler-Mascheroni constant. From here we can make the transformations a k a + 1 and b 2 k b + 1 to obtain
0 1 x k a ( 1 x ) 2 k b ln ( x ) d x = Γ ( k a + 1 ) Γ ( 2 k b + 1 ) Γ ( k ( a + 2 b ) + 2 ) ψ ( k a + 1 ) ψ ( k ( a + 2 b ) + 2 ) = H k a H k ( a + 2 b ) + 1 ( k ( a + 2 b ) + 1 ) k ( a + 2 b ) k a .
Also, by symmetry or by applying the transformations a 2 k a + 1 and b k b + 1 we obtain
0 1 x 2 k a ( 1 x ) k b ln ( x ) d x = H 2 k a H k ( 2 a + b ) + 1 ( k ( 2 a + b ) + 1 ) k ( 2 a + b ) k b .
Now, let a = b = 1 . Then
0 1 x k ( 1 x ) 2 k ln ( x ) d x = H k H 3 k + 1 ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k ,
and we can consider the series (for all z C with | z | 1 )
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k z k = 0 1 ln ( x ) 1 z x ( 1 x ) 2 d x ,
which can also be written as
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k 1 z k + 1 = 0 1 ln x x ( 1 x ) 2 z d x , | z | 1 .
In particular,
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k 1 2 k + 1 = 0 1 ln ( x ) ( x 2 ) ( x 2 + 1 ) d x
and
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k ( 1 ) k 4 k + 1 = 0 1 ln ( x ) ( x + 1 ) ( x 2 3 x + 4 ) d x .
Similarly, we obtain
0 1 x 2 k a ( 1 x ) k a ln ( x ) d x = 1 0 ( 1 x ) 2 k a x k a ln ( 1 x ) d x = H 2 k a H k ( 2 a + b ) + 1 ( k ( 2 a + b ) + 1 ) k ( 2 a + b ) k b .
This gives for all z C with | z | 1
k = 0 H k a H 2 k a ( 3 k a + 1 ) 3 k a k a z k = 0 1 ln x 1 x 1 z x a ( 1 x ) 2 a d x
or the particular relation
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k z k = 0 1 ln x 1 x 1 z x ( 1 x ) 2 d x .
The evaluation of the integrals is not trivial but can be done by applying some additional theory.

2. Main Results, Part 1

In this section, we explicitly deal with the series on the left hand side of (7).
Lemma 1.
For λ [ 0 , 1 ) we have
0 1 ln x x λ d x = Li 2 1 λ ,
0 1 ln ( x / ( 1 x ) ) x λ d x = 1 2 ln 2 λ 1 λ .
Proof. 
Identity (12) follows immediately from the fact that
ln x x λ d x = Li 2 x λ + ln x ln λ x λ + c o n s t .
Now,
0 1 ln ( x / ( 1 x ) ) x λ d x = 0 1 ln x x λ d x 0 1 ln ( 1 x ) x λ d x .
Let
I = 0 1 ln ( 1 x ) x λ d x .
A change of variable u = 1 x gives
I = 0 1 ln u u ( 1 λ ) d u = Li 2 1 1 λ
on account of (12). Thus
0 1 ln ( x / ( 1 x ) ) x λ d x = Li 2 1 λ + Li 2 1 1 λ = 1 2 ln 2 λ 1 λ
since [2, (8), p. 283]
Li 2 ( x ) + Li 2 x x 1 = 1 2 ln 2 ( 1 x ) , x < 1 .
Lemma 2.
([2, p. 29]). For θ [ 2 π , 2 π ] , we have
Li 2 e i θ = π 2 6 + θ 2 2 π | θ | 4 + i Cl 2 ( θ ) ,
where Cl 2 ( z ) is Clausen’s function.
Proposition 1.
We have
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k 2 k + 1 = π 2 48 ln 2 ( 2 ) 10 + 2 5 G .
Proof. 
Using the decomposition
1 ( x 2 ) ( x 2 + 1 ) = 1 ( 4 i 2 ) 1 x + i 1 ( 4 i + 2 ) 1 x i + 1 5 1 x 2
we have
0 1 ln x ( x 2 ) ( x 2 + 1 ) d x = 1 4 i 2 0 1 ln x x + i d x 1 4 i + 2 0 1 ln x x i d x + 1 5 0 1 ln x x 2 d x = 1 4 i 2 Li 2 e i π / 2 1 4 i + 2 Li 2 e i π / 2 + 1 5 Li 2 1 2 ,
in view of (12). Now, (15) gives
Li 2 ( e i π / 2 ) = π 2 48 + i G , Li 2 ( e i π / 2 ) = π 2 48 + i Cl 2 ( π / 2 ) .
Using (4) with θ = π / 2 gives
Cl 2 ( π / 2 ) = Cl 2 ( 3 π / 2 ) = G , by ( 6 ) ;
so that
Li 2 ( e i π / 2 ) = π 2 48 i G .
Thus, using (17), (19) and the evaluation of Li 2 ( 1 / 2 ) from (1), we have
0 1 ln x ( x 2 ) ( x 2 + 1 ) d x = 1 4 i 2 π 2 48 + i G 1 4 i + 2 π 2 48 i G + 1 5 π 2 12 1 2 ln 2 2
and hence (16), in view of (9). □
Alternative proof of Proposition 1. 
We begin with the partial fraction decomposition
1 ( x 2 ) ( x 2 + 1 ) = 1 5 1 x 2 x + 2 x 2 + 1 .
Hence,
0 1 ln x ( x 2 ) ( x 2 + 1 ) d x = 1 5 0 1 ln x x 2 d x 0 1 ( x + 2 ) ln x x 2 + 1 d x .
As
ln x x 2 d x = ln ( 2 ) ln ( | x 2 | ) Li 2 2 x 2 + c o n s t ,
we get
0 1 ln x x 2 d x = π 2 12 ln 2 ( 2 ) 2 .
Next,
x ln x x 2 + 1 d x = 1 2 Li 2 ( i x ) + Li 2 ( i x ) + ln ( x ) ln ( 1 + x 2 ) + c o n s t . ,
and this gives
x ln x x 2 + 1 d x = 1 2 Li 2 ( i ) + Li 2 ( i ) = π 2 48 ,
where the relation (see also [2])
Li 2 ( x ) + Li 2 ( x ) = 1 2 Li 2 ( x 2 ) ,
was used. Finally, from the indefinite integral
2 ln x x 2 + 1 d x = i Li 2 ( i x ) Li 2 ( i x ) + ln ( x ) ln i + x i x + c o n s t ,
we get
2 0 1 ln x x 2 + 1 d x = i ( Li 2 ( i ) Li 2 ( i ) ) = 2 j = 0 ( 1 ) j ( 1 + 2 j ) 2 = 2 G .
Putting everything together we obtain the claimed result. □
Proposition 2.
We have
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k ( 1 ) k 4 k + 1 = π 2 96 + 1 8 Li 2 3 8 + i 7 8 + 5 7 56 Li 2 3 8 + i 7 8 .
Proof. 
Consider the partial fraction decomposition
1 x ( 1 x ) 2 + 4 = 1 ( x + 1 ) ( x 2 3 x + 4 ) = 1 8 1 x + 1 1 112 7 + 5 i 7 x ( 3 + i 7 ) / 2 1 112 7 5 i 7 x ( 3 i 7 ) / 2 ;
which allows the integral on the rhs of (10) to be written as
0 1 ln x d x ( x + 1 ) ( x 2 3 x + 4 ) = 1 8 0 1 ln x d x x + 1 7 + 5 i 7 112 0 1 ln x d x x ( 3 + i 7 ) / 2 7 5 i 7 112 0 1 ln x d x x ( 3 i 7 ) / 2 ,
which upon using (12) gives
0 1 ln x d x ( x + 1 ) ( x 2 3 x + 4 ) = 1 8 Li 2 ( 1 ) 7 + 5 i 7 112 Li 2 2 3 + i 7 7 5 i 7 112 Li 2 2 3 i 7 = 1 8 Li 2 ( 1 ) 1 56 ( 7 + 5 i 7 ) Li 2 2 3 + i 7 .
Use of (21) in (10) gives (20), after simplification. In taking the real part in (21), it is convenient to use the fact that ( f g ) = f g f g for arbitrary f and g. □
Differentiating (7) m times with respect to z and thereafter replacing z with 1 / z gives
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k m z k + 1 = ( 1 ) m 0 1 x m ( 1 x ) 2 m ln x x ( 1 x ) 2 z m + 1 d x , | z | 1 .
Theorem 1.
Let m be a non-negative integer and let z 1 , z 2 and z 3 be the distinct roots of x ( 1 x ) 2 z = 0 where z is a real number such that | z | 1 . Then
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k m z k + 1 = ( 1 ) m k = 1 3 j = 0 m a j ( z k ) C j ( z k ) ;
where, for 0 r m ,
a r ( λ ) = 1 ( m r ) ! d m r d x m r x m ( 1 x ) 2 m ( x λ ) m + 1 x ( 1 x ) 2 z m + 1 x = λ ,
C 0 ( λ ) = Li 2 1 λ ,
and for r a positive integer and λ [ 0 , 1 ] ,
C r ( λ ) = ( 1 ) r r p = 1 r 1 1 p λ r p 1 ( λ 1 ) p 1 λ p ( 1 ) r r λ r ln λ 1 λ .
Proof. 
We start with the partial fraction decomposition
x m ( 1 x ) 2 m x ( 1 x ) 2 z m + 1 = j = 0 m a j ( z 1 ) ( x z 1 ) j + 1 + a j ( z 2 ) ( x z 2 ) j + 1 + a j ( z 3 ) ( x z 3 ) j + 1 = k = 1 3 j = 0 m a j ( z k ) ( x z k ) j + 1 ,
where, for 0 r m , the coefficients a r ( z 1 ) , a r ( z 2 ) , a r ( z 3 ) are found from (24).
We therefore have
0 1 x m ( 1 x ) 2 m ln x x ( 1 x ) 2 z m + 1 d x = k = 1 3 j = 0 m a j ( z k ) 0 1 ln x ( x z k ) j + 1 d x .
Differentiating (12) j times with respect to λ gives
0 1 ln x ( x λ ) j + 1 d x = ( 1 ) j j p = 1 j 1 1 p λ j p 1 ( λ 1 ) p 1 λ p ( 1 ) j j λ j ln λ 1 λ = C j ( λ ) , j 0 ,
which, when utilized in (28) yields an evaluation of the integral on the right hand side of (22) and hence (23). □
Corollary 2.
Let m be a non-negative integer and let ( λ 1 , λ 2 , λ 3 ) = ( 2 , i , i ) where i is the imaginary unit. Then
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k m 2 k + 1 = ( 1 ) m k = 1 3 j = 0 m a j ( λ k ) C j ( λ k ) ;
where, for 0 r m , the coefficients are given by
a r ( 2 ) = 1 ( m r ) ! d m r d x m r x m ( 1 x ) 2 m ( x 2 + 1 ) m + 1 x = 2 ,
a r ( i ) = 1 ( m r ) ! d m r d x m r x m ( 1 x ) 2 m ( x 2 ) ( x i ) m + 1 x = i ,
a r ( i ) = 1 ( m r ) ! d m r d x m r x m ( 1 x ) 2 m ( x 2 ) ( x + i ) m + 1 x = i ;
C 0 ( 2 ) = Li 2 1 2 = π 2 12 1 2 ln 2 2 , C 0 ( i ) = π 2 48 + i G , C 0 ( i ) = π 2 48 i G , by ( 25 ) ;
and for 1 r m , C r ( 2 ) , C r ( i ) and C r ( i ) are found from (26).
Proof. 
Set z = 2 in Theorem 1. □
We now list some examples from (30):
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k 2 k + 1 = 3 π 100 3 π 2 400 + 3 25 ln 2 + 9 250 ln 2 2 13 125 G ,
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k ( k 1 ) 2 k + 2 = 3 100 29 π 1250 + 149 π 2 30000 58 625 ln 2 149 6250 ln 2 2 + 243 3125 G ,
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k 3 2 k + 1 = 13 375 + 1529 π 75000 577 π 2 150000 + 752 9375 ln 2 + 577 31250 ln 2 2 1903 31250 G .
Corollary 3.
Let m be a non-negative integer and let ( γ 1 , γ 2 , γ 3 ) = ( 1 , ( 3 + i 7 ) / 2 , ( 3 i 7 ) / 2 ) where i is the imaginary unit. Then
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k ( 1 ) k k m 4 k + 1 = ( 1 ) m + 1 k = 1 3 j = 0 m a j ( γ k ) C j ( γ k ) ;
where, for 0 r m , the coefficients are given by
a r ( γ 1 ) = 1 ( m r ) ! d m r d x m r x m ( 1 x ) 2 m ( x 2 3 x + 4 ) m + 1 x = 1 ,
a r ( γ 2 ) = 1 ( m r ) ! d m r d x m r x m ( 1 x ) 2 m ( x + 1 ) ( x ( 3 i 7 ) / 2 ) m + 1 x = ( 3 + i 7 ) / 2 ,
a r ( γ 3 ) = 1 ( m r ) ! d m r d x m r x m ( 1 x ) 2 m ( x + 1 ) ( x ( 3 + i 7 ) / 2 ) m + 1 x = ( 3 i 7 ) / 2 ;
C 0 ( γ 1 ) = Li 2 ( 1 ) = π 2 12 , C 0 ( γ 2 ) = Li 2 2 3 + i 7 , C 0 ( γ 3 ) = Li 2 2 3 i 7 , by ( 25 ) ;
and for 1 r m , C r ( γ 1 ) , C r ( γ 2 ) and C r ( γ 3 ) are found from (26).
Proof. 
Set z = 4 in Theorem 1. Note that γ 1 = 1 , γ 2 = ( 3 + i 7 ) / 2 and γ 3 = ( 3 i 7 ) / 2 are the roots of x ( 1 x ) 2 + 4 = 0 . □
We give one example from (38). At m = 0 we have
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k 3 k + 1 3 k k ( 1 ) k 4 k + 1 = π 2 96 4 7 Li 2 2 3 + i 7 5 + i 7 ,
since (38) at m = 0 gives
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k 3 k + 1 3 k k ( 1 ) k 4 k + 1 = π 2 96 + 2 i 7 Li 2 2 / 3 + i 7 5 + i 7 2 i 7 Li 2 2 / 3 i 7 5 i 7 ;
the right hand side of which can be simplified using
f g + f * g * = 2 f g 2 f g ,
for arbitrary functions f and g.
Differentiating (8) m times with respect to z gives
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k + m k z k + m + 1 = ( 1 ) m 0 1 ln x x ( 1 x ) 2 z m + 1 d x , | z | 1 .
Note that (44) holds for every real number m that is not a negative integer.
Setting z = 2 in (44) gives
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k + m k 2 k + m + 1 = ( 1 ) m 0 1 ln x ( ( x 2 ) ( x 2 + 1 ) ) m + 1 d x .
Theorem 4.
Let m be a non-negative integer and let z 1 , z 2 and z 3 be the distinct roots of x ( 1 x ) 2 z = 0 where z is a real number with | z | 1 . Then
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k + m k z k + m + 1 = ( 1 ) m k = 1 3 j = 0 m b j ( z k ) C j ( z k ) ;
where, for 0 r m ,
b r ( λ ) = 1 ( m r ) ! d m r d x m r ( x λ ) m + 1 x ( 1 x ) 2 z m + 1 x = λ ,
and C r ( z 1 ) , C r ( z 2 ) and C r ( z 3 ) are calculated using (25) and (26).
Proof. 
Consider the partial fraction decomposition
1 x ( 1 x ) 2 z m + 1 = j = 0 m b j ( z 1 ) ( x z 1 ) j + 1 + b j ( z 2 ) ( x z 2 ) j + 1 + b j ( z 3 ) ( x z 3 ) j + 1 = k = 1 3 j = 0 m b j ( z k ) ( x z k ) j + 1 ,
where, for 0 r m , the coefficients b r ( z 1 ) , b r ( z 2 ) , b r ( z 3 ) are found from (47). We therefore have
0 1 ln x x ( 1 x ) 2 z m + 1 d x = k = 1 3 j = 0 m b j ( z k ) 0 1 ln x ( x z k ) j + 1 d x = k = 1 3 j = 0 m b j ( z k ) C j ( z k ) , by ( 29 ) ;
and hence (46). □
Corollary 3.
Let m be a non-negative integer and let ( λ 1 , λ 2 , λ 3 ) = ( 2 , i , i ) where i is the imaginary unit. Then
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k + m k 2 k + m + 1 = ( 1 ) m k = 1 3 j = 0 m b j ( λ k ) C j ( λ k ) ;
where, for 0 r m , the coefficients are given by
b r ( 2 ) = 1 ( m r ) ! d m r d x m r 1 ( x 2 + 1 ) m + 1 x = 2 ,
b r ( i ) = 1 ( m r ) ! d m r d x m r 1 ( x 2 ) ( x i ) m + 1 x = i ,
b r ( i ) = 1 ( m r ) ! d m r d x m r 1 ( x 2 ) ( x + i ) m + 1 x = i ;
and C r ( 2 ) , C r ( i ) and C r ( i ) can be readily obtained from (25) and (26).
Proof. 
Set z = 2 in Theorem 4. □
Here are a couple of evaluations using (50):
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k + 1 2 k + 2 = 3 π 200 + π 2 150 + 3 50 ln 2 4 125 ln 2 2 + 37 G 250 ,
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k ( k + 1 ) ( k + 2 ) 2 k + 4 = 3 400 + 23 π 2500 + 27 π 2 10000 + 23 625 ln 2 81 6250 ln 2 2 + 843 G 12500 ,
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k + 3 k 2 k + 4 = 83 12000 + 3059 π 600000 + 11 π 2 9375 + 1517 75000 ln 2 88 15625 ln 2 2 + 8137 G 250000 .
Corollary 6.
Let m be a non-negative integer and let ( γ 1 , γ 2 , γ 3 ) = ( 1 , ( 3 + i 7 ) / 2 , ( 3 i 7 ) / 2 ) where i is the imaginary unit. Then
k = 0 H 3 k + 1 H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k ( 1 ) k k + m k 4 k + m + 1 = k = 1 3 j = 0 m b j ( γ k ) C j ( γ k ) ;
where, for 0 r m , the coefficients are given by
b r ( γ 1 ) = 1 ( m r ) ! d m r d x m r 1 ( x 2 3 x + 4 ) m + 1 x = 1 ,
b r ( γ 2 ) = 1 ( m r ) ! d m r d x m r 1 ( x + 1 ) ( x ( 3 i 7 ) / 2 ) m + 1 x = ( 3 + i 7 ) / 2 ,
b r ( γ 3 ) = 1 ( m r ) ! d m r d x m r 1 ( x + 1 ) ( x ( 3 + i 7 ) / 2 ) m + 1 x = ( 3 i 7 ) / 2 ;
C 0 ( γ 1 ) = Li 2 ( 1 ) = π 2 12 , C 0 ( γ 2 ) = Li 2 2 3 + i 7 , C 0 ( γ 3 ) = Li 2 2 3 i 7 , by ( 25 ) ;
and for 1 r m , C r ( γ 1 ) , C r ( γ 2 ) and C r ( γ 3 ) are found from (26).
Proof. 
Theorem 4 with z = 4 . □

3. Main Results, Part 2

This section deals with the second category of series, i.e., series of the form
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k z k = 0 1 ln x 1 x 1 z x ( 1 x ) 2 d x .
Differentiating (62) m times with respect to z and thereafter replacing z with 1 / z gives
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k m z k + 1 = ( 1 ) m 0 1 x m ( 1 x ) 2 m ln ( x / ( 1 x ) ) x ( 1 x ) 2 z m + 1 d x .
Theorem 7.
Let m be a non-negative integer and let z 1 , z 2 and z 3 be the distinct roots of x ( 1 x ) 2 z = 0 where z is a real number such that | z | 1 . Then
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k m z k + 1 = ( 1 ) m k = 1 3 j = 0 m a j ( z k ) C j ( z k ) + ( 1 ) j C j ( 1 z k ) ,
where a r ( z 1 ) , a r ( z 2 ) , a r ( z 3 ) are as defined in Theorem 1 and C 0 and C r can be found from (25) and (26) in Theorem 1.
Proof. 
The proof is similar to that of Theorem 1. Note that
0 1 ln ( x / ( 1 x ) ) ( x λ ) r + 1 d x = 0 1 ln x ( x λ ) r + 1 d x + ( 1 ) r 0 1 ln x ( x ( 1 λ ) ) r + 1 d x = C r ( λ ) + ( 1 ) r C r ( 1 λ ) .
Corollary 8.
Let m be a non-negative integer and let ( λ 1 , λ 2 , λ 3 ) = ( 2 , i , i ) where i is the imaginary unit. Then
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k m 2 k + 1 = ( 1 ) m k = 1 3 j = 0 m a j ( λ k ) C j ( λ k ) + ( 1 ) j C j ( 1 λ k ) ,
where a r ( 2 ) , a r ( i ) , a r ( i ) are as defined in (31)–(33) in Corollary 2 and C r are found from (25) and (26).
Proof. 
Theorem 7 with z = 2 . □
Examples from Corollary 8 include
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k 2 k + 1 = π 200 + 9 π 2 4000 + 3 100 ln 2 + 27 1000 ln 2 2 13 1000 π ln 2 ,
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k ( k 1 ) 2 k + 2 = 2 π 625 149 π 2 100000 51 5000 ln 2 447 25000 ln 2 2 + 243 25000 π ln 2 .
Corollary 6.
Let m be a non-negative integer and let ( γ 1 , γ 2 , γ 3 ) = ( 1 , ( 3 + i 7 ) / 2 , ( 3 i 7 ) / 2 ) where i is the imaginary unit. Then
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k ( 1 ) k k m 4 k + 1 = ( 1 ) m + 1 k = 1 3 j = 0 m a j ( γ k ) C j ( γ k ) + ( 1 ) j C j ( 1 γ k ) ,
where a r ( γ 1 ) , a r ( γ 2 ) , a r ( γ 3 ) are as defined in (39)–(41) in Corollary 3 and C r are found from (25) and (26).
Proof. 
Theorem 7 with z = 4 . □
Here we present a couple of examples from (68).
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k ( 1 ) k k 4 k + 1 = 3 448 ln 2 9 512 ln 2 2 3 128 arctan 2 7 5 1 224 89 6272 ln 2 7 arctan 7 5 ,
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k ( 1 ) k k ( k 1 ) 4 k + 1 = 219 25088 ln 2 + 93 4096 ln 2 2 + 31 1024 arctan 2 7 5 + 1 256 6651 351232 ln 2 7 arctan 7 5 .
As counterpart of (44), we have
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k + m k z k + m + 1 = ( 1 ) m 0 1 ln x 1 x x ( 1 x ) 2 z m + 1 d x , | z | 1 .
Note that (71) holds for every real number m that is not a negative integer.
Setting z = 2 in (71) gives
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k + m k 2 k + m + 1 = ( 1 ) m 0 1 ln x 1 x ( ( x 2 ) ( x 2 + 1 ) ) m + 1 d x ,
while setting z = 4 gives
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k ( 1 ) k k + m k 4 k + m + 1 = 0 1 ln x 1 x ( ( x + 1 ) ( x 2 3 x + 4 ) ) m + 1 d x .
Proposition 3.
We have
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k 2 k + 1 = π ln ( 2 ) 20 3 40 ln 2 ( 2 ) π 2 160 .
Proof. 
Using (2) and (13), we have
0 1 ln x 1 x ( x 2 ) ( x 2 + 1 ) d x = 1 4 i 2 0 1 ln x 1 x x + i d x 1 4 i + 2 0 1 ln x 1 x x i d x + 1 5 0 1 ln x 1 x x 2 d x = 1 4 i 2 1 2 ln 2 i 1 i 1 4 i + 2 1 2 ln 2 i 1 i + 1 5 1 2 ln 2 2 1 2 = 1 4 i 2 1 2 ln 2 ( 1 i ) 1 4 i + 2 1 2 ln 2 ( 1 + i ) + 1 5 1 2 ln 2 2 ,
which simplifies to (74). □
Setting m = 0 in (73) gives
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k ( 1 ) k 4 k + 1 = 0 1 ln ( x / ( 1 x ) ) d x ( x + 1 ) ( x 2 3 x + 4 ) .
The integral occuring on the RHS can be evaluated. The result is stated in Proposition 4.
Proposition 4.
We have
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k ( 1 ) k 4 k + 1 = 3 64 ln 2 2 + 1 16 arctan 2 7 5 5 7 112 ln 2 arctan 7 5 .
Proof. 
We wish to evaluate the integral in (75). Proceeding as in Proposition 2, we have
0 1 ln ( x / ( 1 x ) ) d x ( x + 1 ) ( x 2 3 x + 4 ) = 1 8 0 1 ln ( x / ( 1 x ) ) d x x + 1 7 + 5 i 7 112 0 1 ln ( x / ( 1 x ) ) d x x ( 3 + i 7 ) / 2 7 5 i 7 112 0 1 ln ( x / ( 1 x ) ) d x x ( 3 i 7 ) / 2 ,
so that upon using (13) we obtain
0 1 ln ( x / ( 1 x ) ) d x ( x + 1 ) ( x 2 3 x + 4 ) = 1 16 ln 2 2 + 7 + 5 i 7 224 ln 2 1 + i 7 3 + i 7 + 7 5 i 7 224 ln 2 1 i 7 3 i 7 = 1 16 ln 2 2 + 1 112 ( 7 + 5 i 7 ) ln 2 1 + i 7 3 + i 7 ;
which simplifies to the RHS of (76) upon using ( f g ) = f g f g . □
Theorem 4.
Let m be a non-negative integer and let z 1 , z 2 and z 3 be the distinct roots of x ( 1 x ) 2 z = 0 where z is a real number such that | z | 1 . Then
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k + m k z k + m + 1 = ( 1 ) m k = 1 3 j = 0 m b j ( z k ) C j ( z k ) + ( 1 ) j C j ( 1 z k ) ,
where b r ( z 1 ) , b r ( z 2 ) , b r ( z 3 ) are as defined in Theorem 4 and C 0 and C r can be found from (25) and (26) in Theorem 1.
Proof. 
The proof is similar to that of Theorem 4. We evaluate the integral on the RHS of (71). □
Corollary 7.
Let m be a non-negative integer and let ( λ 1 , λ 2 , λ 3 ) = ( 2 , i , i ) where i is the imaginary unit. Then
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k + m k 2 k + m + 1 = ( 1 ) m k = 1 3 j = 0 m b j ( λ k ) C j ( λ k ) + ( 1 ) j C j ( 1 λ k ) ,
where b r ( 2 ) , b r ( i ) , b r ( i ) are as defined in (51)–(53) in Corollary 5 and C r are found from (25) and (26).
Proof. 
Theorem 10 with z = 2 . □
At m = 1 and m = 2 in (78) we obtain
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k + 1 2 k + 2 = π 400 + 37 2000 π ln 2 π 2 500 + 3 200 ln 2 3 125 ln 2 2
and
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k k + 2 k 2 k + 3 = 17 π 10000 + 843 100000 π ln 2 81 π 2 100000 + 249 20000 ln 2 243 25000 ln 2 2 .
Corollary 12.
Let m be a non-negative integer and let ( γ 1 , γ 2 , γ 3 ) = ( 1 , ( 3 + i 7 ) / 2 , ( 3 i 7 ) / 2 ) where i is the imaginary unit. Then
k = 0 H 2 k H k ( 3 k + 1 ) 3 k k ( 1 ) k k + m k 4 k + m + 1 = k = 1 3 j = 0 m b j ( γ k ) C j ( γ k ) + ( 1 ) j C j ( 1 γ k ) ,
where b r ( γ 1 ) , b r ( γ 2 ) , b r ( γ 3 ) are as defined in (58)–(60) in Corollary 6 and C r are found from (25) and (26).
Proof. 
Use Theorem 10 with z = 4 . □

4. Concluding Remarks

Theorems similar to those in the previous section can be stated for alternating sums. There does not appear to be values of z, however, for which the integrals can be evaluated in terms of elementary functions. For a slightly different direction of future research we mention that replacing z by i z and comparing the real and imaginary parts we get integral relations of the form
k = 0 ( 1 ) k H 6 k + 1 H 2 k ( 6 k + 1 ) 6 k 2 k z k = 0 1 ln ( x ) 1 + z 2 x 2 ( 1 x ) 4 d x ,
k = 0 ( 1 ) k H 6 k + 4 H 2 k + 1 ( 6 k + 4 ) 6 k + 3 2 k + 1 z k = z 0 1 x ( 1 x ) 2 ln ( x ) 1 + z 2 x 2 ( 1 x ) 4 d x ,
k = 0 ( 1 ) k H 4 k H 2 k ( 6 k + 1 ) 6 k 2 k z k = 0 1 ln x 1 x 1 + z 2 x 2 ( 1 x ) 4 d x ,
and
k = 0 ( 1 ) k H 4 k + 2 H 2 k + 1 ( 6 k + 4 ) 6 k + 3 2 k + 1 z k = z 0 1 x ( 1 x ) 2 ln x 1 x 1 + z 2 x 2 ( 1 x ) 4 d x .
In all cases one can attempt to evaluate the integrals appearing on the right hand sides.

References

  1. M. Abramowitz and I. A. Stegun (Eds), Handbook of Mathematical Functions with Formulas, Graphs, and Mathematical Tables, National Bureau of Standards, Applied Mathematics Series 55, 10th edition, Washington, 1972.
  2. L. Lewin, Polylogarithms and Associated Functions, Elsevier/North-Holland, 1981.
  3. C. Li and W. Chu, Evaluation of infinite series by integrals, Mathematics 10, 2022, 2444. [CrossRef]
  4. C. Li and W. Chu, Improper integrals involving powers of inverse trigonometric and hyperbolic functions, Mathematics 10, 2022, 2980. [CrossRef]
  5. C. Li and W. Chu, Infinite triple series by integrals, PUBLICATIONS DE L’INSTITUT MATHÉMATIQUE Nouvelle série 112 (126), 2022, 131–142.
  6. C. Li and W. Chu, Evaluating infinite series involving harmonic numbers by integration, Mathematics 12, 2024, 589. [CrossRef]
  7. A. Sofo and A. S. Nimbran, Euler sums and integral connections, Mathematics 7, 2019, 833. [CrossRef]
  8. H. M. Srivastava and J. Choi, Series Associated with the Zeta and Related Functions, Springer Science+Media, B.V., 2001.
  9. S. M. Stewart, Explicit evaluation of some quadratic Euler-type sums containing double-index harmonic numbers, Tatra Mt. Math. Publ. 77, 2020, 73–98. [CrossRef]
  10. S. B. Tric̆ković and M. S. Stanković, On the closed form of Clausen functions, Integral Transforms Spec. Funct. 34 (6) (2023), 469–477. [CrossRef]
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.
Copyright: This open access article is published under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, which permit the free download, distribution, and reuse, provided that the author and preprint are cited in any reuse.
Prerpints.org logo

Preprints.org is a free preprint server supported by MDPI in Basel, Switzerland.

Subscribe

Disclaimer

Terms of Use

Privacy Policy

Privacy Settings

© 2025 MDPI (Basel, Switzerland) unless otherwise stated