Stirling set numbers & powers of integers

Shirali, Shailesh (2018) Stirling set numbers & powers of integers. At Right Angles, 71 (1). pp. 26-32.

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Abstract

This article introduces a remarkable class of combinatorial numbers, the Stirling set numbers. They are also known as Stirling numbers of the second kind. (In the literature, you will find many references to this term. Note that there are also Stirling numbers of the first kind.) However, we shall not use this name; the name ‘Stirling set number’ seems more natural. These numbers are named after the 18th-century Scottish mathematician James Stirling, and they are the natural counterparts of the binomial coefficients. Some readers may recall the name ‘Stirling’. Indeed, it is the same Stirling whose name features in “Stirling’s approximation for the factorial function.”

Item Type:	Articles in APF Magazines
Authors:	Shirali, Shailesh
Document Language:	Language English
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Stirling set number, Stirling number of the second kind, sums of powers
Subjects:	Natural Sciences > Mathematics
Divisions:	Azim Premji University - Bengaluru > University Publications > At Right Angles
Full Text Status:	Public
URI:	http://publications.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/id/eprint/1311
Publisher URL:

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