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Qiaochu Yuan
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The Bell numbers satisfy $\frac{\ln B_n}{n} \sim \ln n$ which is faster than exponential, so the ordinary generating function $\sum B_n x^n$ has zero radius of convergence. As a more elementary argument, Dobinski's formula

$$B_n = \frac{1}{e} \sum_{k \ge 0} \frac{k^n}{k!}$$

establishes that $B_n$ grows at least as fast as $k^n$ for any positive integer $k$, which also establishes that $B_n$ grows faster than exponentially and so $\sum B_n x^n$ has zero radius of convergence.

This does not imply it is nonsense to study this series; formal power series can be studied abstractly and it's common practice to do so in combinatorics. $x$ is just never specialized to a concrete value.

For example $\sum n! x^n$ makes sense as a formal power series also despite having zero radius of convergence, and there are various interesting things to say about it, e.g. its logarithm counts subgroups of the free group $F_2$.

Qiaochu Yuan
  • 118.2k
  • 40
  • 447
  • 741