In mathematics, the -function, typically denoted K(z), is a generalization of the hyperfactorial to complex numbers, similar to the generalization of the factorial to the gamma function.

Definition

There are multiple equivalent definitions of the -function.

The direct definition:

Definition via

where denotes the derivative of the Riemann zeta function, denotes the Hurwitz zeta function and

Definition via polygamma function:

Definition via balanced generalization of the polygamma function:

where is the Glaisher constant.

It can be defined via unique characterization, similar to how the gamma function can be uniquely characterized by the Bohr-Mollerup Theorem:Let be a solution to the functional equation , such that there exists some , such that given any distinct , the divided difference .

Such functions are precisely , where is an arbitrary constant.

Properties

For :

Functional equations The -function is closely related to the gamma function and the Barnes -function. For all complex ,

Multiplication formula Similar to the multiplication formula for the gamma function:

there exists a multiplication formula for the K-Function involving Glaisher's constant:

Integer values For all non-negative integers,where is the hyperfactorial.

The first values are 1, 4, 108, 27648, 86400000, 4031078400000, 3319766398771200000, ... . References

External links