arXiv:1409.6411v1 [math.CA] 23 Sep 2014 SEVERAL COMPLETELY MONOTONE FUNCTIONS RELATED TO DETEMPLE’S SEQUENCE ZHEN-HANG YANG Abstract. In this paper, we present the necessary and sufficient conditions such that several functions involving R (x) = ψ (x + 1/2) − ln x with a parameter are completely monotone on (0, ∞), where ψ is the digamma function. This generalizes some known results and verifies a conjecture posed by Chen. 1. Introduction A function f is said to be completely monotonic on an interval I , if f has derivatives of all orders on I and satisfies (1.1) (−1)n f (n) (x) ≥ 0 for all x ∈ I and n = 0, 1, 2, .... If the inequality (1.1) is strict, then f is said to be strictly completely monotonic on I. It is known (Bernstein’s Theorem) that f is completely monotonic on (0, ∞) if and only if f (x) = Z ∞ e−xt dµ (t) , 0 where µ is a nonnegative measure on [0, ∞) such that the integral converges for all x > 0, see [1, p. 161]. For x > 0 the classical Euler’s gamma function Γ and psi (digamma) function ψ are defined by Z ∞ Γ′ (x) , (1.2) Γ (x) = tx−1 e−t dt, ψ (x) = Γ (x) 0 respectively. The derivatives ψ ′ , ψ ′′ , ψ ′′′ , ... are known as polygamma functions. As the important role played in many branches, such as mathematical physics, probability, statistics, engineering, the gamma and polygamma functions have attracted the attention of many scholars. In particular many authors published numerous interesting inequalities for the Euler-Mascheroni constant defined by ! n X 1 γ = lim Dn := lim − ln n = 0.577215664..., n→∞ n→∞ k k=1 as well as digamma (psi) function ψ due to ψ (n + 1) = Hn − γ. Date: July 15, 2014. 2010 Mathematics Subject Classification. 33B15, 26D15. Key words and phrases. Psi function, completely monotone function, inequality. This paper is in final form and no version of it will be submitted for publication elsewhere. 1 2 ZHEN-HANG YANG It is known that the sequence Dn converges very slowly to its limit, due to 1 1 < Dn − γ < 2 (n + 1) 2n (see [2], [3]). Some quicker approximations to the Euler-Mascheroni constant were established in [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24], [25], [26], [27]. In 1993, DeTemple [7] defined a modified sequence n X 1 1 (1.3) Rn = − ln n + k 2 k=1 to approximate to γ, which converges faster since 1 1 (1.4) 2 < Rn − γ < 24n2 , 24 (n + 1) and (1.5) 1 1 7 7 1 < Rn − γ − < . 4 2 960 (n + 1) 24n 960 n4 Villarino [14, Theorem 1.7] proved that for n ∈ N, the following inequality (1.6) 1 24(n+1/2)2 +21/5 < Rn − γ < 1 24(n+1/2)2 +1/(1−ln 3+ln 2−γ)−54 is valid with the best constants 21/5 and 1/ (1 − ln 3 + ln 2 + Psi (1))−54 ≈ 3.7393. Chen [18] proved that −2 1 1 −2 1 n+ , (1.7) < Rn − γ < 24 (n + λ) 24 2 where 1 − 1 ≈ 0.551 07 λ= p 2 6 (1 + Psi (1) − ln 3 + ln 2) and 1/2 are the best constants. Mortici [28, Theorem 2.1] gave new bounds as follows: −2 −2 1 1 1 1 7 (1.8) n+ + n+ < Rn − γ < . 24 2 80n 24 2 In [29], [30] (also see [31]), it was established that γ + ln n + which is equivalent to 1 2 < n X 1 ≤ γ + ln n + e1−γ − 1 , k k=1 0 < Rn − γ ≤ ln n + e1−γ − 1 . n + 1/2 On the other hand, Karatsuba [32] proved that for all integers n ≥ 1, H(n) < H(n + 1), where H(n) is defined by (1.9) H(n) = (Rn − γ) n2 . In view of ψ (n + 1) = Hn − γ, we see that 1 2 n2 . H(n) = (Rn − γ) n = ψ (n + 1) − ln n + 2 SEVERAL COMPLETELY MONOTONE FUNCTIONS 3 As mentioned in [33], some computer experiments also seem to indicate that (1 + 1/n)2 H(n) is a decreasing convex function. Chen [15, Theorem 2] proved that for all integers n ≥ 1, H(n) and ((n + 1/2) /n)2 H(n) are both strictly increasing 2 concave sequences, while [((n + 1)/n) H(n) is strictly decreasing convex sequence. Also, he conjectured in [15, Cojecture 1] that (i) the functions H(x) and ((x + 1/2) /x)2 H(x) are both so-called Bernstein function on (0, ∞). That is, n H(x) (n+1) > 0, (−1) [H(x)] > 0, (n+1) n > 0, (−1) ((x + 1/2) /x)2 H(x) >0 ((x + 1/2) /x)2 H(x) hold for x > 0 and n ∈ N. 2 (ii) The function ((x + 1)/x) H(x) is strictly completely monotonic on (0, ∞). We remark that the functions H(x) is not Bernstein function on (0, ∞) due to −H ′′ (0+ ) = 2 ln 2 − 2γ ≈ −0.231 86 < 0, 7 7 −H ′′ (1/2) = 2γ + 4 ln 2 + ζ (3) − π 2 + ≈ 0.014615 > 0. 2 4 The aim of this paper is to prove the complete monotonicity of certain functions involving (1.10) R (x) = ψ (x + 1/2) − ln x. In Section 2, some useful lemmas are given. Our main results are presented in Section 3, in which Theorem 1 indicates that the second conjecture posed by Chen is valid, while Theorems 2–4 show the necessary and sufficient conditions such that three functions involving R (x) with a parameter are completely monotone on (0, ∞). In the last section, some remarks, conjecture and open problem are presented. 2. Lemmas In order to prove our results, we need some lemmas. Lemma 1. For t > 0, let the function Q defined by (2.1) Q (t) = 1 1 − . t 2 sinh 2t Then (2.2) R (x) = Z ∞ e−xt Q (t) dt, 0 (2.3) xR (x) = (2.4) x2 R (x) = (2.5) x3 R (x) = (2.6) x4 R (x) = Z ∞ e−xt Q′ (t) dt, 0 Z ∞ 1 + e−xt Q′′ (t) dt, 24 0 Z ∞ 1 x+ e−xt Q′′′ (t) dt, 24 0 Z ∞ 7 1 2 e−xt Q(4) (t) dt. x − + 24 960 0 4 ZHEN-HANG YANG Proof. Using the integral representations [34, p. 259] Z ∞ −t Z ∞ −t e − e−xt e−xt e dt and ln x = − dt ψ(x) = t 1 − e−t t 0 0 gives R (x) = = Z ∞ −xt e e−(x+1/2)t ψ(x + 21 ) − ln x = dt − t 1 − e−t 0 Z ∞ Z ∞ 1 1 dt = e−xt Q (t) dt. e−xt − t 2 sinh 2t 0 0 An integration by part yields Z ∞ Z ∞ −xt Q (t) de−xt e Q (t) dt = − xR (x) = x 0 0 Z ∞ Z ∞ −xt ′ = −e−xt Q (t) |∞ + e Q (t) dt = e−xt Q′ (t) dt, 0 0 0 where the last equality holds due to limt→∞ (e−xt Q (t)) = limt→0 (e−xt Q (t)) = 0. Integrations by parts again and noticing that 1 lim e−xt Q′ (t) = 0 and lim e−xt Q′ (t) = − t→∞ t→0 24 lead to Z ∞ Z ∞ e−xt Q′′ (t) dt e−xt Q′ (t) dt = −e−xt Q′ (t) |∞ + x2 R (x) = x 0 0 0 Z ∞ 1 −xt ′′ + e Q (t) dt. = 24 0 Similarly, we have x3 R (x) = = Z ∞ Z ∞ 1 1 x+x e−xt Q′′ (t) dt = x − e−xt Q′′ (t) |∞ + e−xt Q′′′ (t) dt 0 24 24 0 Z ∞0 1 −xt ′′′ e Q (t) dt x+ 24 0 due to limt→∞ (e−xt Q′′ (t)) = limt→0 (e−xt Q′′ (t)) = 0 and Z ∞ Z ∞ 1 2 1 2 x4 R (x) = x +x e−xt Q′′′ (t) dt = x − e−xt Q′′′ (t) |∞ + e−xt Q(4) (t) dt 0 24 24 0 0 Z ∞ 7 1 2 −xt (4) x − + e Q (t) dt = 24 960 0 due to 7 lim e−xt Q′′′ (t) = 0 and lim e−xt Q′′′ (t) = − . t→∞ t→0 960 This completes the proof. In the same method as Lemma 5 in [35], we can prove the following statement. Lemma 2 ([35, Lemma 5]). Let P (t) be a power series which is convergent on (0, ∞) defined by m ∞ X X i a i ti , ai t − P (t) = i=m+1 i=0 SEVERAL COMPLETELY MONOTONE FUNCTIONS 5 where ai ≥ 0 for i ≥ m + 1 with maxi≥m+1 (ai ) > 0 and am > 0, ai ≥ 0 for 0 ≤ i ≤ m − 1. Then there is a unique number t0 ∈ (0, ∞) to satisfy P (t) = 0 such that P (t) < 0 for t ∈ (0, t0 ) and P (t) > 0 for t ∈ (t0 , ∞). Using Lemma 2 we can prove the following Lemma 3. Let the function Q defined by (2.1). Then Q′ (t) ≥ c0 Q (t) for t > 0, where ′ Q (t) ≈ −0.061875. (2.7) c0 = min t>0 Q (t) Proof. Differentiation yields t Q′ (t) = Q (t) Q′ (t) Q (t) ′ = : where p (t) 1 cosh 2 1 4 sinh2 2t − t2 1 1 t − 2 sinh 2t = t2 cosh 2t − 4 sinh2 4t sinh2 t 2 t 2 − 2t2 sinh 2t , t t t + t4 cosh2 + 2t3 sinh3 2 2 2 t t 4 t 2 t 2 t 2 t 2 3 4 + 16 sinh + 8t cosh sinh − 4t cosh sinh ) −t sinh 2 2 2 2 2 2 p 2t = , 2 4t2 t − 2 sinh 2t sinh2 2t 1 2 4t2 (t−2 sinh 2t ) sinh2 t 2 (−16t sinh3 = 16(t4 cosh2 t + t3 sinh3 t − t4 sinh2 t + sinh4 t − 2t sinh3 t +2t2 cosh t sinh2 t − 2t3 cosh2 t sinh t. If we prove that there is a unique number t0 > 0 such that Q′ /Q is decreasing on (0, t0 ) and increasing on (t0 , ∞), then we have Q′ (t) /Q (t) ≥ Q′ (t0 ) /Q (t0 ) for all t > 0. For this end, we use the ”product into sum” formulas and Taylor expansion to get 1 p (t) 2 = cosh 4t + 4t2 cosh 3t − 2t3 sinh 3t − 4t sinh 3t − 4 cosh 2t −4t2 cosh t − 10t3 sinh t + 12t sinh t + 8t4 + 3 ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ X X X X 42n t2n 32n−2 t2n 32n−3 t2n 32n−1 t2n = +4 −2 −4 (2n)! (2n − 2)! (2n − 3)! (2n − 1)! n=0 n=1 n=2 n=1 −4 ∞ ∞ ∞ X X X 22n t2n t2n t2n −4 − 10 (2n)! (2n − 2)! (2n − 3)! n=0 n=1 n=2 +12 : where ∞ X t2n + 8t4 + 3 (2n − 1)! n=1 ∞ X un 2n = t , (2n)! n=3 un = 42n − 8n 2n2 − 9n + 13 32n−3 − 22n+2 − 8n 10n2 − 13n + 1 . 6 ZHEN-HANG YANG A direct verification gives u3 = 0, un < 0 for 4 ≤ n ≤ 10, and we now show that un ≥ 0 for n ≥ 11. It is easy to check that un satisfies the recursive relation un+1 − 16un = 8 14n3 − 117n2 + 199n − 54 32n−3 + 48 × 22n +1200n3 − 1800n2 + 88n + 16 > 0 for n ≥ 11, which together with u11 = 1636 643 754 240 > 0 indicates that un ≥ 0 for n ≥ 11. By Lemma 2 we see that there is a unique t′0 > 0 such that p (t) < 0 for t ∈ (0, t′0 ) and p (t) < 0 for t ∈ (t′0 , ∞), which implies that Q′ /Q is decreasing on (0, 2t′0 ) and increasing on (2t′0 , ∞). Numeric calculation shows that t0 = 2t′0 = 15.40151..., and so Q′ (t0 ) /Q (t0 ) ≈ −0.061875. This completes the proof. To simplify the proofs of some crucial inequalities, we need to the following lemma. Lemma 4. For t > 0, the following inequalities hold: sinh t t sinh t t sinh t t (2.8) (2.9) (2.10) > > < 2 cosh t + 3 , cosh t + 14 2 cosh2 t + 10 cosh t + 9 , 15 2 cosh2 t + 101 cosh t + 212 18 cosh2 t + 160 cosh t + 179 15 cosh t. 1159 cosh2 t + 4192 cosh t + 4 3 Proof. The inequality (2.8) has been proven in [36, Theorem 18]. To prove (2.9), it suffices to show that for t > 0 p1 (t) := 2 cosh2 t + 101 cosh t + 212 sinh t − 15t > 0. 2 cosh2 t + 10 cosh t + 9 Differentiating and factoring give p′1 (t) = 2 cosh2 t+101 cosh t+212 2 cosh2 t+10 cosh t+9 2 cosh t+116 cosh t+173 cosh t − 7 26 sinh2 t − 15 (2 cosh2 t+10 cosh t+9)2 5 = 4 (cosh t − 1) 2 cosh2 t + 10 cosh t + 9 2 > 0, which yields p1 (t) > p1 (0) = 0. Similarly, inequality (2.10) is equivalent to p2 (t) := 1159 cosh2 t + 4192 cosh t + 4 sinh t − 15t < 0. 18 cosh2 t + 160 cosh t + 179 cosh t Differentiating and factoring lead us to p′2 (t) = = 1159 cosh2 t+4192 cosh t+4 (18 cosh2 t+160 cosh t+179) cosh t − 4 (1215x + 179) (x − 1)5 2 x2 (18x2 + 160x + 179) cosh t + sinh2 t < 0, d 1159x2 +4192x+4 − 15 2 dx (18x +160x+179)x where x = cosh t > 1. This implies that p2 (t) < p2 (0) = 0. SEVERAL COMPLETELY MONOTONE FUNCTIONS 7 Lemma 5. The function Q defined by (2.1) satisfies q1 (t) := Q′′ (t) + 7 Q (t) > 0 40 for all t > 0. Proof. Differentiation yields 2 t 2 t 2 1 cosh 1 − 4 sinh3 8 sinh 2t Q′′ (t) = (2.11) 2 , t3 + and then q1 (t) = − 2 t 2 1 20t3 cosh 80 − 14t2 sinh3 t 2 − 3t3 sinh2 t 2 − 160 sinh3 t3 sinh3 2t t 2 . To prove the desired inequality, we write q1 (2t) in the form of 3 sinh t sinh t 80 sinh3 t q1 (2t) = 20 + 7 sinh2 t + 3 sinh2 t − 20 cosh2 t. t t Employing inequality (2.8), we get 3 2 cosh t + 3 2 cosh t + 3 + 7 cosh2 t − 1 3 80 sinh3 t q1 (2t) > 20 3 cosh t + 14 cosh t + 14 2 2 +3 cosh t − 1 − 20 cosh t = 25 cosh2 t + 24 cosh t + 240 which proves the desired inequality. (cosh t − 1)3 3 (cosh t + 14) > 0, Lemma 6. The function Q defined by (2.1) satisfies q2 (t) := Q(4) (t) − 31 Q (t) < 0 336 for all t > 0. Proof. Differentiation yields (2.12) Q(4) (t) = 2 4 7 cosh 12 t 3 cosh 12 t 5 24 − − + 5, 8 sinh3 21 t 4 sinh5 12 t t 32 sinh 21 t and then 1 q2 (t) = − 336 252t5 cosh4 4 t 2 +31t sinh5 5 t 2 +37t sinh4 2t −8064 sinh5 t5 sinh5 2t 5 t 2 −294t cosh2 t 2 sinh2 t 2 . A simple identical transformation gives 5 sinh t sinh t + 31 sinh4 t − 672 sinh5 t q2 (2t) = −504 t t +504 cosh4 t − 588 cosh2 t sinh2 t + 74 sinh4 t. In order to prove the desired inequality, we define U (y) = −504y 5 + 31(sinh4 t)y + 504 cosh4 t − 588 cosh2 t sinh2 t + 74 sinh4 t, and it suffices to prove that U ((sinh t) /t) > 0 for t > 0. 8 ZHEN-HANG YANG ′ An easy computation = 31 sinh4 t − 2520y 4, which reveals that U is p yields U (y) p increasing for y ∈ 1, 4 31/2520 sinh t and decreasing for y ∈ [ 4 31/2520 sinh t, ∞). We now distinguish two cases to prove U ((sinh t) /t) > 0 for t > 0. p In the case when t ∈ 4 2520/31, ∞ , by inequality (2.8), we have r sinh t 2 cosh t + 3 31 4 < < sinh t, 1<3 cosh t + 14 t 2520 that is, 2 cosh t + 3 sinh t p 3 , ∈ 1, 4 31/2520 sinh t , cosh t + 14 t and so 2 cosh t + 3 sinh t U > U 3 = 504 cosh4 t − 588 cosh2 t sinh2 t + 74 sinh4 t t cosh t + 14 5 2 cosh t + 3 2 cosh t + 3 4 +31 sinh t × 3 . − 504 3 cosh t + 14 cosh t + 14 Putting cosh t = x, then sinh2 t = x2 − 1, and factoring yield 3 (x − 1) sinh t > U 5 U1 (x) t (x + 14) where U1 (x) = 176x6 + 10 523x5 + 245 869x4 + 2810 864x3 +12 467 224x2 + 12 511 688x − 20 756 344. It is easy to verify that U1 (x) > U1 (1) = 7290 000 > 0, which implies that p 4 2520/31, ∞ . p In the case of when t ∈ (0, 4 2520/31], from inequality (2.10) we see that r 31 sinh t 18 cosh2 t + 160 cosh t + 179 4 cosh t > ∞ > 15 > sinh t. 2 t 2520 1159 cosh t + 4192 cosh t + 4 p Using the decreasing property of U for u ∈ 4 31/2520 sinh t, ∞ , we have 18 cosh2 t + 160 cosh t + 179 sinh t cosh t . > U 15 U t 1159 cosh2 t + 4192 cosh t + 4 Letting cosh t = x and factoring indicate that (x − 1)4 18x2 + 160x + 179 x = U 15 5 U2 (x) , 1159x2 + 4192x + 4 (1159x2 + 4192x + 4) U ((sinh t) /t) > 0 for t ∈ where U2 (x) = 14 379 675 269 523 570x11 + 357 214 567 270 415 330x10 +3604 910 878 299 956 955x9 + 19 027 526 850 473 930 600x8 +55 570 610 110 726 848 080x7 + 85 295 682 448 077 545 696x6 +54 079 668 524 631 977 864x5 + 560 130 320 580 220 160x4 +1016 873 963 329 280x3 + 923 378 178 560x2 + 418 677 504x + 75 776. p Evidently, U2 (x) > 0, and so U ((sinh t) /t) > 0 for t ∈ (0, 4 2520/31]. SEVERAL COMPLETELY MONOTONE FUNCTIONS This proof is completed. 9 Lemma 7. The function Q defined by (2.1) satisfies 199 849 11 165 ′′ Q (t) + Q (t) > 0 q3 (t) := Q(4) (t) + 8284 1391 712 for all t > 0. Proof. From (2.1), (2.11) and (2.12) it is obtained that t t t q3 (t) = 2783 424t15 sinh5 t (−2087 568t5 cosh4 + 1497 636t5 cosh2 sinh2 2 2 2 2 t t −165 829t5 sinh4 + 399 698t4 sinh5 2 2 t t +7502 880t2 sinh5 + 66 802 176 sinh5 ). 2 2 We write q3 (2t) as 2783 424 sinh5 t q3 (2t) = − 2087 568 cosh4 t + 165 829 sinh4 t − 1497 636 cosh2 t sinh2 t t t 3 t 5 +199 849 sinh4 t sinh + 937 860 sinh2 t sinh + 2087 568 sinh . t t t Utilizing inequality (2.9) and putting cosh t = x > 1 and then factoring yield 2 2783 424 sinh5 t q3 (2t) > − 2087 568x4 + 165 829 x2 − 1 − 1497 636x2 x2 − 1 2 2x2 + 10x + 9 15 2 +199 849 x2 − 1 2x + 101x + 212 3 2x2 + 10x + 9 2 +937 860 x − 1 15 2 2x + 101x + 212 5 2 2x + 10x + 9 +2087 568 15 2 2x + 101x + 212 5 = 7 (x − 1) 5 q4 (2x2 + 101x + 212) where the last inequality holds due to q4 (x) (x) > 0, = 10 249 024x9 + 2015 594 800x8 + 163 876 520 192x7 + 6681 271 280 040x6 +136 012 433 414 956x5 + 1069 481 086 377 851x4 + 4121 483 475 973 500x3 +8450 810 874 059 188x2 + 8899 895 239 232 240x + 3802 278 457 617 584. This completes the proof. 3. Main Results Now we state and prove the first result, which shows that the second conjecture posed by Chen is valid. Theorem 1. Let the function R be defined on (0, ∞) by (1.10). Then the function ha (x) = (x + a)2 R (x) is strictly completely monotonic on (0, ∞) if a ≥ a0 = where c0 ≈ −0.061875 is defined by (2.7). p c20 + 7/40 − c0 ≈ 0.48476, 10 ZHEN-HANG YANG Proof. Using the relations (2.2)–(2.4) we get that ha (x) = = = (x + a)2 R (x) = x2 R (x) + 2axR (x) + a2 R (x) Z ∞ Z ∞ Z ∞ 1 e−xt Q′ (t) dt + a2 e−xt Q′′ (t) dt + 2a e−xt Q (t) dt + 24 0 0 0 Z ∞ 1 + e−xt Q′′ (t) + 2aQ′ (t) + a2 Q (t) dt 24 0 Z ∞ △ 1 = + e−xt Q (t) δ a (t) dt. 24 0 Evidently, for t > 0, Q (t) > 0 and by Lemmas 3 and 5, δ a (t) = = if a ≥ Q′ (t) 7 Q′′ (t) + 2a + a2 ≥ a2 + 2ac0 − Q (t) Q (t) 40 ! ! r r 7 7 a + c0 + c20 + a + c0 − c20 + ≥0 40 40 p c20 + 7/40 − c0 , which proves the desired result. Taking a = 1/2 and replacing x by (x + 1/2) in the above theorem, we have Corollary 1. The function ((x + 1)/x)2 H(x) is strictly completely monotonic on (−1/2, ∞). Remark 1. Evidently, Theorem 1 reveals that the second conjecture posed by Chen in [15, Theorem 2] is true. Our second result states that Theorem 2. Let the function R be defined on (0, ∞) by (1.10). Then the function x 7→ Fa (x) = 24 x2 + a R (x) − 1 is strictly completely monotonic on (0, ∞) if and only if a ≥ a1 = 17/40. Proof. The necessity follows from 24 x2 + a (ψ (x + 1/2) − ln x) − 1 7 Fa (x) = lim =a− ≥ 0. lim −2 x→∞ x→∞ x−2 x 40 Using the relations (2.2) and (2.4) we obtain that Fa (x) = 24 x2 + a R (x) − 1 = 24x2 R (x) + 24aR (x) − 1 Z ∞ Z ∞ 1 −xt ′′ = 24 + e Q (t) dt + 24a e−xt Q (t) dt − 1 24 0 0 Z ∞ e−xt (Q′′ (t) + aQ (t)) dt. = 24 0 If a ≥ 7/40, then by Lemma 5 it follows that Q′′ (t) + aQ (t) ≥ Q′′ (t) + for t > 0, which proves the sufficiency. 7 Q (t) > 0 40 SEVERAL COMPLETELY MONOTONE FUNCTIONS 11 Noting that 1 = 24 (n + 1/2)2 + 7/40 Rn − 1 F7/40 n + 2 and the facts that 286 291 3 291 − ln − γ ≈ 0.007979 and F7/40 (∞) = 0, 5 5 2 5 by Theorem 3 we get immediately F7/40 (3/2) = Corollary 2. Let Rn be defined by (1.3). Then the double inequality (3.1) 1 1 + λ1 < Rn − γ < 2 2 24 (n + 1/2) + 7/40 24 (n + 1/2) + 7/40 holds for n ∈ N, where λ1 = f7/40 (3/2) ≈ 0.007979 is the best constant. Our third result is contained in the following theorem. Theorem 3. Let the function R be defined on (0, ∞) by (1.10). Then the function 7 x 7→ fa (x) = −24 x4 + a R (x) + x2 − , 40 is strictly completely monotonic on (0, ∞) is and only if a ≤ a2 = −31/336. Proof. The necessity can be deduced by 7 −24 x4 + a (ψ (x + 1/2) − ln x) + x2 − 40 31 fa (x) = lim = −a − ≥ 0. lim −2 x→∞ x→∞ x−2 x 336 By the relations (2.2), (2.4) and (2.6), we obtain that 7 fa (x) = −24x4 R (x) − 24aR (x) + x2 − 40 Z ∞ Z ∞ 7 7 1 2 −xt (4) x − + e Q (t) dt − 24a e−xt Q (t) dt + x2 − = −24 24 960 40 0 0 Z ∞ = 24 e−xt −Q(4) (t) − aQ (t) dt. 0 If a ≤ a2 = −31/336, then by Lemma 6 it follows that 31 Q (t) > 0, −Q(4) (t) − aQ (t) ≥ −Q(4) (t) + 336 which proves the sufficiency. Utilizing the decreasing property of fa2 and noting the facts that 3 835 835 3 32 819 f a2 = γ+ ln − ≈ 0.0090636 and fa2 (∞) = 0, 2 7 7 2 280 we have Corollary 3. Let Rn be defined by (1.3). Then the double inequality 2 2 7 7 − λ2 1 n + 21 − 40 1 n + 21 − 40 < R − γ < (3.2) n 4 24 24 n + 1 4 − 31 n + 1 − 31 2 336 2 336 holds for n ∈ N, where λ2 = fa2 (3/2) ≈ 0.0090636 is the best constant. 12 ZHEN-HANG YANG Remark 2. The upper bound for Rn − γ given in (3.2) is better than the one given in (1.5), because 2 7 1 n + 21 − 40 7 1 1 + − 24 n + 1 4 − 31 24n2 960 n4 2 336 6720n5 + 10 752n4 + 5712n3 + 1564n2 + 588n − 35 = − < 0. 960n4 (168n4 + 336n3 + 252n2 + 84n − 5) The last result is the following theorem Theorem 4. Let the function R be defined on (0, ∞) by (1.10). Then the function 7 7 31 2 4 2 R (x) − x − (3.3) x 7→ Ga (x) = 24 x + ax + a − +a 40 336 40 is strictly completely monotonic on (0, ∞) if and only if a ≥ a3 = 11165/8284. Proof. The necessity can be deduced by Ga (x) x→∞ x−4 = lim = 7 7 31 24(x4 +ax2 + 40 a− 336 +a) )(Psi(x+1/2)−ln x)−(x2 − 40 −4 x x→∞ 2071 11 165 ≥ 0. 33 600 a − 8284 lim By the relations (2.2), (2.4) and (2.6) we obtain that 31 7 7 2 4 2 a− +a R (x) − x − Ga (x) = 24x R (x) + 24ax R (x) + 24 40 336 40 Z ∞ Z ∞ 7 1 1 2 −xt (4) −xt ′′ e Q (t) dt + 24a e Q (t) dt x − + + = 24 24 960 24 Z 0∞ 0 7 31 7 +24 a− +a e−xt Q (t) dt − x2 − 40 336 40 0 Z ∞ 7 31 (4) ′′ −xt Q (t) + aQ (t) + e = 24 Q (t) dt a− 40 336 0 Z ∞ △ = 24 e−xt ga (t) dt. 0 If a ≥ a3 = 11165/8284, then it follows from Lemmas 5 and 7 that 31 7 (4) ′′ ga (t) = Q (t) − Q (t) + a Q (t) + Q (t) 336 40 7 31 ′′ (4) 11 165 Q (t) + 8284 Q (t) + Q (t) ≥ Q (t) − 336 40 199 849 (4) 11 165 ′′ = Q (t) + 8284 Q (t) + Q (t) > 0, 1391 712 which proves the sufficiency. Application of the decreasing property of Ga3 and notice the facts that 112 672 809 11 465 761 3 11 465 761 3 = − ln − γ ≈ 0.0016903 and Ga3 (∞) = 0, Ga3 2 579 880 57 988 2 57 988 we have SEVERAL COMPLETELY MONOTONE FUNCTIONS 13 Corollary 4. Let Rn be defined by (1.3). Then the double inequality (3.4) 2 2 153 153 1 1 (n+ 12 ) + 97 (n+ 21 ) + 97 82 840 82 840 +λ3 < Rn − γ < 2 1 2 11 165 199 849 11 165 199 849 1 4 1 4 24 (n+ 2 ) + 8284 (n+ 2 ) + 1391 712 24 (n+ 2 ) + 8284 (n+ 12 ) + 1391 712 holds for n ∈ N, where λ3 = Ga3 (3/2) ≈ 0.0016903 is the best constant. 4. Remarks Remark 3. The function Ga defined by (3.3) can be written as F−31/336 (x) (4.1) Ga (x) = a × f7/40 (x) − F−31/336 (x) = f7/40 (x) × a − . f7/40 (x) Theorem 4 tell us that 7 31 F−31/336 (x) F−31/336 (x) 11 165 −24(x4 − 336 )R(x)+x2 − 40 ≤ (4.2) ≤ lim = lim . 7 2 24(x + 40 )R(x)−1 x→∞ x→∞ f7/40 (x) f7/40 (x) 8284 On the other hand, we can prove that F−31/336 (x) F−31/336 (x) (4.3) ≥ lim = lim + f7/40 (x) f7/40 (x) x→0 x→0+ 7 31 −24(x4 − 336 )R(x)+x2 − 40 7 24(x2 + 40 )R(x)−1 ≥ 155 . 294 It suffices to prove the function x 7→ V (x) = ψ (x + 1/2) − ln x − is increasing on (0, ∞). Differentiation gives V ′ (x) = ψ ′ (x + 1/2) − 2071 1 x2 + 5880 2 2 24 x x + 155 294 1 1728 720x4 + 1217 748x2 + 321 005 . + 2 x 10x3 (294x2 + 155) Utilizing ψ ′ (x + 1) − ψ ′ (x) = −1/x2 yields V ′ (x + 1) − V ′ (x) = 1 − (x+1/2) 2 − + x1 − = 1 x+1 + 1728 720(x+1)4 +1217 748(x+1)2 +321 005 2 10(x+1)3 (294(x+1)2 +155) 1728 720x4 +1217 748x2 +321 005 10x3 (294x2 +155)2 (x) , − 10x3 (2x+1)2 (294x2 +155)V21 (x+1) 3 (294x2 +588x+449)2 where V1 (x) = 1718 371 882 080x12 + 10 310 231 292 480x11 + 29 399 355 669 600x10 +52 486 324 833 600x9 + 66 690 983 696 400x8 + 65 258 530 001 280x7 +51 909 045 513 612x6 + 34 352 301 620 196x5 + 18 881 999 450 054x4 +8378 736 976 048x3 + 2808 871 359 013x2 + 622 502 847 155x + 64 714 929 005. It is evident that V1 (x) > 0 for x > 0, and so V ′ (x + 1) − V ′ (x) < 0 for x > 0. This leads us to V ′ (x) > V ′ (x + 1) > V ′ (x + 2) > · · · > lim V ′ (x + n) = 0, n→∞ which reveals that V is increasing on (0, ∞). Meanwhile, (4.1) implies that an necessary condition such that the function −Ga is completely monotone on (0, ∞) is 7 31 F−31/336 (x) 155 −24(x4 − 336 )R(x)+x2 − 40 = lim . = 7 2 24(x + 40 )R(x)−1 x→0+ x→0+ f7/40 (x) 294 a ≤ lim 14 ZHEN-HANG YANG This together with inequalities (4.2) and (4.3) yield two conjectures. Conjecture 1. Let the function R be defined on (0, ∞) by (1.10). Then (i) the function 7 31 R (x) + x2 − 40 −24 x4 − 336 x 7→ 7 R (x) − 1 24 x2 + 40 is increasing on (0, ∞); (ii) the function −Ga is completely monotone on (0, ∞) if and only if a ≤ 155/294. Remark 4. In addition, using the increasing property of the function V proved in Remark 3, and noting that 3 866 519 3 V = − ln − γ ≈ −0.000032387 and V (∞) = 0 2 881 820 2 we have 2071 1 1 (n+21 )2 + 5880 (n+21 )2 + 2071 5880 + λ4 < Rn − γ < , 2 1 2 155 155 1 2 1 2 24 (n+ 2 ) (n+ 2 ) + 294 24 (n+ 2 ) (n+ 12 ) + 294 where λ4 ≈ −0.000032387 is the best possible. Clearly, it is an improvement of (3.2), since 2 2071 2 7 n + 12 + 5880 1 1 n + 21 − 40 − 4 24 n + 1 2 n + 1 2 + 155 24 n + 1 − 31 2 336 2 2 294 = − 64 201 2 120 (2n + 1) (588n2 + 588n + 457) (168n4 + 336n3 + 252n2 + 84n − 5) < 0. Remark 5. Theorems 3 and 4 and Remark 3 offer in fact three new sequences convergent to γ with increasingly higher speed. Denote by 2 n 7 X 1 n + 12 − 40 1 − ln (n + 1/2) − , wn = 4 k 24 n + 1 − 31 k=1 yn = zn = 2 336 n 2 X 153 1 1 (n+ 12 ) + 97 82 840 , − ln (n + 1/2) − 4 165 199 849 (n+ 12 )2 + 1391 k 24 (n+ 12 ) + 118284 712 k=1 2 2071 n X n + 12 + 5880 1 1 − ln (n + 1/2) − k 24 n + 1 2 n + 1 2 + 155 k=1 2 2 294 Then by Theorems 3 and 4 and Remark 4 we have wn < zn < γ < yn . 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