3
$\begingroup$

Let $$f(n) = 2 \sum\limits_{a = 2}^{n - 1} \sum\limits_{b = n + 1}^{n + a - 1}\frac{1}{ab} .$$

One can see that $$\lim\limits_{n \to \infty}f(n) = 2\int\limits_0^1 \frac{dx}{x} \int\limits_1^{1 + x}\frac{dy}{y} = \frac{\pi^2}{6}.$$ This suggests that the double sum defining $f(n)$ can be transformed into a single sum resembling the inverse square sum (although I didn't quite manage to do it after a few minutes with pencil and paper).

Question: Is there a simple closed form for $f(n)$ so that the limit value (or existence, for that matter) is evident?

Motivation: consider a random "wannabe-graceful-tree" graph $G = (V, E)$ with $V = [n]$, and $E$ containing a single random pair $\{x, x + d\}$ for each $d$ from $1 \to n - 1$. Then $f(n)$ is (almost) the expectation of the number of triangles in $G$.

$\endgroup$
1
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ $$f(n) = 2\int_0^1 dy \frac{y^{n-1}}{1-y} \int_y^1 dx\frac{x-x^{n-1}}{1-x}~~~ -~~~ 2\frac{H_{n-1}-1}{n}$$ $$ = 2\int_0^1 dx \frac{x-x^{n-1}}{1-x} \int_0^x dy \frac{y^{n-1}}{1-y}~~~ -~~~ 2\frac{H_{n-1}-1}{n}.$$ $\endgroup$ Jun 28, 2018 at 13:39

1 Answer 1

7
$\begingroup$

We have $$f(n+1)-f(n)=\frac1{n^2}+\frac2{n}\left(1+\frac 12+\ldots+\frac 1{n-1}\right)-\frac2{n+1}\left(1+\frac 12+\ldots+\frac 1{n}\right),$$ and $f(2)=0$. So \begin{gather*} f(m)=\sum_{n=2}^{m-1}(f(n+1)-f(n))=\sum_{n=2}^{m-1}\frac1{n^2}-\frac2{m}\left(1+\frac 12+\ldots+\frac 1{m-1}\right)+1=\\=\sum_{n=1}^{m-1}\frac1{n^2}-\frac2{m}\left(1+\frac 12+\ldots+\frac 1{m-1}\right). \end{gather*}

$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ Nice!! It might be useful to mention the generating function:$$\sum_nf(n)t^{n-1}=\frac{\operatorname{Li}_2(t)}{1-t}-\frac{\log^2(1-t)}t$$ $\endgroup$ Jul 1, 2018 at 12:15

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.