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Summation
In mathematics, summation is the addition of a sequence of any kind of numbers, called
addends or summands; the result is their sum or total. Beside numbers, other types of values can
be summed as well: functions, vectors, matrices, polynomials and, in general, elements of any type
of mathematical objects on which an operation denoted "+" is defined.

Summations of infinite sequences are called series. They involve the concept of limit, and are not
considered in this article.

The summation of an explicit sequence is denoted as a succession of additions. For example,

summation of [1, 2, 4, 2] is denoted 1 + 2 + 4 + 2, and results in 9, that is, 1 + 2 + 4 + 2 = 9.
Because addition is associative and commutative, there is no need of parentheses, and the result is
the same irrespective of the order of the summands. Summation of a sequence of only one element
results in this element itself. Summation of an empty sequence (a sequence with no elements), by
convention, results in 0.

Very often, the elements of a sequence are defined, through a regular pattern, as a function of their
place in the sequence. For simple patterns, summation of long sequences may be represented with
most summands replaced by ellipses. For example, summation of the first 100 natural numbers
may be written as 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + ⋯ + 99 + 100. Otherwise, summation is denoted by using Σ
notation, where is an enlarged capital Greek letter sigma. For example, the sum of the first n
natural numbers can be denoted as

For long summations, and summations of variable length (defined with ellipses or Σ notation), it is
a common problem to find closed-form expressions for the result. For example,[a]

Although such formulas do not always exist, many summation formulas have been discovered—
with some of the most common and elementary ones being listed in the remainder of this article.

Contents
Notation
Capital-sigma notation
Special cases
Formal definition
Measure theory notation
Calculus of finite differences
Approximation by definite integrals
Identities
General identities
Powers and logarithm of arithmetic progressions
Summation index in exponents

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Binomial coefficients and factorials

Involving the binomial theorem
Involving permutation numbers
Others
Harmonic numbers
Growth rates
History
See also
Notes
References
Bibliography
External links

Notation

Capital-sigma notation

Mathematical notation uses a symbol that compactly represents summation of

many similar terms: the summation symbol, , an enlarged form of the upright
capital Greek letter sigma. This is defined as
The summation
symbol

where i is the index of summation; ai is an indexed variable representing each term of the sum;
m is the lower bound of summation, and n is the upper bound of summation. The "i = m"
under the summation symbol means that the index i starts out equal to m. The index, i, is
incremented by one for each successive term, stopping when i = n.[b]

This is read as "sum of ai, from i = m to n".

Here is an example showing the summation of squares:

In general, while any variable can be used as the index of summation (provided that no ambiguity
is incurred), some of the most common ones include letters such as ,[c] , , and ; the latter is
also often used for the upper bound of a summation.

Alternatively, index and bounds of summation are sometimes omitted from the definition of
summation if the context is sufficiently clear. This applies particularly when the index runs from 1
to n.[1] For example, one might write that:

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Generalizations of this notation are often used, in which an arbitrary logical condition is supplied,
and the sum is intended to be taken over all values satisfying the condition. For example:

is an alternative notation for the sum of over all (integers) in the specified
range. Similarly,

is the sum of over all elements in the set , and

is the sum of over all positive integers dividing .[d]

There are also ways to generalize the use of many sigma signs. For example,

is the same as

A similar notation is used for the product of a sequence, where , an enlarged form of the Greek
capital letter pi, is used instead of

Special cases

It is possible to sum fewer than 2 numbers:

If the summation has one summand , then the evaluated sum is .

If the summation has no summands, then the evaluated sum is zero, because zero is the
identity for addition. This is known as the empty sum.

These degenerate cases are usually only used when the summation notation gives a degenerate
result in a special case.
For example, if in the definition above, then there is only one term
in the sum; if , then there is none.

Formal definition
Summation may be defined recursively as follows:

, for b < a;

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, for b ≥ a.

Measure theory notation

In the notation of measure and integration theory, a sum can be expressed as a definite integral,

where is the subset of the integers from to , and where is the counting measure.

Calculus of finite differences

Given a function f that is defined over the integers in the interval [m, n], the following equation
holds:

This is the analogue of the fundamental theorem of calculus in calculus of finite differences, which
states that:

where

is the derivative of f.

An example of application of the above equation is the following:

Using binomial theorem, this may be rewritten as:

The above formula is more commonly used for inverting of the difference operator , defined by:

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where f is a function defined on the nonnegative integers.

Thus, given such a function f, the
problem is to compute the antidifference of f, a function such that . That is,

This function is defined up to the addition of a constant, and may be
chosen as[2]

There is not always a closed-form expression for such a summation, but Faulhaber's formula
provides a closed form in the case where and, by linearity, for every polynomial
function of n.

Approximation by definite integrals

Many such approximations can be obtained by the following connection between sums and
integrals, which holds for any increasing function f:

and for any decreasing function f:

For more general approximations, see the Euler–Maclaurin formula.

For summations in which the summand is given (or can be interpolated) by an integrable function
of the index, the summation can be interpreted as a Riemann sum occurring in the definition of
the corresponding definite integral. One can therefore expect that for instance

since the right-hand side is by definition the limit for of the left-hand side. However, for a
given summation n is fixed, and little can be said about the error in the above approximation
without additional assumptions about f: it is clear that for wildly oscillating functions the Riemann
sum can be arbitrarily far from the Riemann integral.

Identities
The formulae below involve finite sums; for infinite summations or finite summations of
expressions involving trigonometric functions or other transcendental functions, see list of
mathematical series.

General identities

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(distributivity)[3]

(commutativity and associativity)[3]

(index shift)

for a bijection σ from a finite set A onto a set B (index change);

this generalizes the preceding formula.

(splitting a sum, using associativity)

(a variant of the preceding formula)

(the sum from the first term up to the last is equal to the sum

from the last down to the first)

(a particular case of the formula above)

(commutativity and associativity, again)

(another application of

commutativity and associativity)

(splitting a sum into its odd and even parts, for

even indexes)

(splitting a sum into its odd and even

parts, for odd indexes)

(distributivity)

(distributivity allows factorization)

(the logarithm of a product is the sum of the logarithms of

the factors)

(the exponential of a sum is the product of the exponential of the

summands)

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Powers and logarithm of arithmetic progressions

for every c that does not depend on i

(Sum of the simplest arithmetic progression, consisting of

the first n natural numbers.)[2]: 52 

(Sum of first odd natural numbers)

(Sum of first even natural numbers)

(A sum of logarithms is the logarithm of the product)

(Sum of the first squares, see

square pyramidal number.) [2]: 52 

(Nicomachus's theorem)

[2]: 52 

More generally, one has Faulhaber's formula for

where denotes a Bernoulli number, and is a binomial coefficient.

Summation index in exponents

In the following summations, a is assumed to be different from 1.

(sum of a geometric progression)

(special case for a = 1/2)

(a times the derivative with respect to a of the geometric

progression)

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(sum of an arithmetico–geometric sequence)

Binomial coefficients and factorials

There exist very many summation identities involving binomial coefficients (a whole chapter of
Concrete Mathematics is devoted to just the basic techniques). Some of the most basic ones are
the following.

Involving the binomial theorem

the binomial theorem

the special case where a = b = 1

, the special case where p = a = 1 − b, which, for

expresses the sum of the binomial distribution

the value at a = b = 1 of the derivative with respect to a of the

binomial theorem

the value at a = b = 1 of the antiderivative with respect to a of the

binomial theorem

Involving permutation numbers

In the following summations, is the number of k-permutations of n.

, where and denotes the floor function.

Others
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Harmonic numbers

(that is the nth harmonic number)

(that is a generalized harmonic number)

Growth rates
The following are useful approximations (using theta notation):

for real c greater than −1

(See Harmonic number)

for real c greater than 1

for non-negative real c

for non-negative real c, d

for non-negative real b > 1, c, d

History
In 1675, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, in a letter to Henry Oldenburg, suggests the symbol ∫ to
mark the sum of differentials (Latin: calculus summatorius), hence the S-shape.[4][5][6] The
renaming of this symbol to integral arose later in exchanges with Johann Bernoulli.[6]
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In 1755, the summation symbol Σ is attested in Leonhard Euler's Institutiones calculi

differentialis.[7][8] Euler uses the symbol in expressions like:

In 1772, usage of Σ and Σn is attested by Lagrange.[7][9]

In 1823, the capital letter S is attested as a summation symbol for series. This usage was
apparently widespread.[7]
In 1829, the summation symbol Σ is attested by Fourier and C. G. J. Jacobi.[7] Fourier's use
includes lower and upper bounds, for example:[10][11]

See also
Capital-pi notation
Einstein notation
Iverson bracket
Iterated binary operation
Kahan summation algorithm
Product (mathematics)
Summation by parts
∑ the summation single glyph (U+2211 N-ARY SUMMATION)
⎲ the paired glyph's beginning (U+23B2 SUMMATION TOP)
⎳ the paired glyph's end (U+23B3 SUMMATION BOTTOM)

Notes
a. For details, see Triangular number.
b. For a detailed exposition on summation notation, and arithmetic with sums, see Graham,
Ronald L.; Knuth, Donald E.; Patashnik, Oren (1994). "Chapter 2: Sums". Concrete
Mathematics: A Foundation for Computer Science (http://www.cse.iitb.ac.in/~vsevani/Concret
e%20Mathematics%20-%20R.%20Graham,%20D.%20Knuth,%20O.%20Patashnik.pdf) (PDF)
(2nd ed.). Addison-Wesley Professional. ISBN 978-0201558029.
c. in contexts where there is no possibility of confusion with the imaginary unit
d. Although the name of the dummy variable does not matter (by definition), one usually uses
letters from the middle of the alphabet ( through ) to denote integers, if there is a risk of
confusion. For example, even if there should be no doubt about the interpretation, it could look
slightly confusing to many mathematicians to see instead of in the above formulae
involving . See also typographical conventions in mathematical formulae.

References
1. "Summation Notation" (http://www.columbia.edu/itc/sipa/math/summation.html).
www.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
2. Handbook of Discrete and Combinatorial Mathematics, Kenneth H. Rosen, John G. Michaels,
CRC Press, 1999, ISBN 0-8493-0149-1.

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3. "Calculus I - Summation Notation" (https://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/classes/calci/summationnota

tion.aspx). tutorial.math.lamar.edu. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
4. Burton, David M. (2011). The History of Mathematics: An Introduction (7th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
p. 414. ISBN 978-0-07-338315-6.
5. Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm (1899). Gerhardt, Karl Immanuel (ed.). Der Briefwechsel von
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz mit Mathematikern. Erster Band (http://name.umdl.umich.edu/AAX27
62.0001.001). Berlin: Mayer & Müller. p. 154 (https://quod.lib.umich.edu/u/umhistmath/aax276
2.0001.001/185?page=root;size=100;view=image).
6. Cajori (1929), pp. 181-182 (https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.88254/page/n203).
7. Cajori (1929), p. 61 (https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.88254/page/n83).
8. Euler, Leonhard (1755). Institutiones Calculi differentialis (https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/
en/view/bsb10053431?page=54,55) (in Latin). Petropolis. p. 27 (https://www.digitale-sammlun
gen.de/en/view/bsb10053431?page=54,55).
9. Lagrange, Joseph-Louis (1867–1892). Oeuvres de Lagrange. Tome 3 (https://gallica.bnf.fr/ar
k:/12148/bpt6k229222d/f452.item) (in French). Paris. p. 451 (https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bp
t6k229222d/f452.item).
10. Mémoires de l'Académie royale des sciences de l'Institut de France pour l'année 1825, tome
VIII (https://books.google.com/books?id=Mpu9XDBOmagC&pg=583) (in French). Paris: Didot.
1829. pp. 581-622 (https://books.google.se/books?id=Mpu9XDBOmagC&pg=583&view=theate
r#v=onepage&q&f=false).
11. Fourier, Jean-Baptiste Joseph (1888–1890). Oeuvres de Fourier. Tome 2 (https://gallica.bnf.fr/
ark:/12148/bpt6k33707/f154.item) (in French). Paris: Gauthier-Villars. p. 149 (https://gallica.bn
f.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k33707/f154.item).

Bibliography
Cajori, Florian (1929). A History Of Mathematical Notations Volume II (https://archive.org/detail
s/in.ernet.dli.2015.88254). Open Court Publishing. ISBN 978-0-486-67766-8.

External links
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