An asymptotic series with Nörlund-number coefficients for higher-order Fubini numbers with a parameter
For real parameters r, α > 0, let F_n^{(r)}(α) denote the sequence built from Stirling numbers of the second kind by weighting with rising factorials of r and powers of α. Three familiar specializations sit inside this family: the Fubini numbers (r = α = 1), the higher-order Fubini numbers (α = 1, r a positive integer), and—after rescaling α in terms of p—the integer moments of a negative-binomial random variable. Our main theorem is an asymptotic expansion for F_n^{(r)}(α) in which the successive coefficients turn out to be the Nörlund (higher-order Bernoulli) numbers. A finite-termination phenomenon occurs at positive integer r: the algebraic singular expansion at the dominant singularity has exactly r nonzero terms, and the resulting r-term approximation agrees with F_n^{(r)}(α) to within an exponentially small relative error. We also prove a linear recurrence that holds for all real r, α > 0; it powers the numerical experiments at the end of the paper.
Authors
- Susanna Spektor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8314-1751)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Notes on Number Theory and Discrete Mathematics
- Published
- 2026-11-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.7546/nntdm.2026.32.3.642-652
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Combinatorial Mathematics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00