Saturday, October 1, 2016

notation - Is there a way to denote the calculation 1+2+3+dots+n?




Since n! represents 123n, I am wondering if there is a way to represent 1+2+3++n?
What are some usual notations for the computation of some common sequences? Any other examples?


Answer



One way to write it would be simply by using the sumation notation, meaning
1+2+3++n=nk=1k.
Of course, that is equivalent to writing the factorials with the product notation, meaning
n!=nk=1k,

so I don't think that is what you were asking.



If you already know that 1+2++n=n(n+1)2, then you can just write n(n+1)2 instead of the sum. The fact that the sum can be expressed as this rather short fraction is in my oppinion the real reason why a shortened notation does not exist. Unlike in the case of n!, which cannot be expressed by a polynomial in n, this one can be, thus shortening the notation is not needed.



EDIT: I was of course proven wrong by Chris Culter in his answer. However, I would like to add that the notation Tn, where T stands for triangular, is not as common as n!. Any mathematitian in the world will know that if you write 5!, you really mean 54321, however, if you say Tn, that notation can be used for other things, such as Chebyshev polynomials.


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