The Newton integral and the Stirling formula

2019/07/04 by Klazar, Martin
#26A36 #Classical Analysis and ODEs (math.CA) #Combinatorics (math.CO) #FOS: Mathematics #History and Overview (math.HO)

paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1907.02553

Abstract

We present details of logically simplest integral sufficient for deducing the Stirling asymptotic formula for n!. It is the Newton integral, defined as the difference of values of any primitive at the endpoints of the integration interval. We review in its framework in detail two derivations of the Stirling formula. The first approximates log(1)+log(2)+...+log(n) with an integral and the second uses the classical gamma function and a Fubini-type result. We mention two more integral representations of n!.

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