Ryoo et al.

Advances in Difference Equations 2011, 2011:33

http://www.advancesindifferenceequations.com/content/2011/1/33

RESEARCH Open Access

q-Bernoulli numbers and q-Bernoulli polynomials

revisited
Cheon Seoung Ryoo1*, Taekyun Kim2 and Byungje Lee3

* Correspondence: [email protected]
1
Department of Mathematics,
Abstract
Hannam University, Daejeon 306- This paper performs a further investigation on the q-Bernoulli numbers and q-
791, Korea
Full list of author information is
Bernoulli polynomials given by Acikgöz et al. (Adv Differ Equ, Article ID 951764, 9,
available at the end of the article 2010), some incorrect properties are revised. It is point out that the generating
function for the q-Bernoulli numbers and polynomials is unreasonable. By using the
theorem of Kim (Kyushu J Math 48, 73-86, 1994) (see Equation 9), some new
generating functions for the q-Bernoulli numbers and polynomials are shown.
Mathematics Subject Classification (2000) 11B68, 11S40, 11S80
Keywords: Bernoulli numbers and polynomials, q-Bernoulli numbers and polyno-
mials, q-Bernoulli numbers and polynomials

1. Introduction
As well-known definition, the Bernoulli polynomials are given by
 ∞
t xt B(x)t tn
e = e = Bn (x) ,
et − 1 n=0
n!

(see [1-4]),
with usual convention about replacing Bn(x) by Bn(x). In the special case, x = 0, Bn(0)
= Bn are called the nth Bernoulli numbers.
Let us assume that q Î ℂ with |q| <1 as an indeterminate. The q-number is defined by
1 − qx
[x]q = ,
1−q

(see [1-6]).
Note that limq®1[x]q = x.
Since Carlitz brought out the concept of the q-extension of Bernoulli numbers and
polynomials, many mathematicians have studied q-Bernoulli numbers and q-Bernoulli
polynomials (see [1,7,5,6,8-12]). Recently, Acikgöz, Erdal, and Araci have studied to a
new approach to q-Bernoulli numbers and q-Bernoulli polynomials related to q-Bern-
stein polynomials (see [7]). But, their generating function is unreasonable. The wrong
properties are indicated by some counter-examples, and they are corrected.
It is point out that Acikgöz, Erdal and Araci’s generating function for q-Bernoulli
numbers and polynomials is unreasonable by counter examples, then the new generat-
ing function for the q-Bernoulli numbers and polynomials are given.

© 2011 Ryoo et al; licensee Springer. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
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2. q-Bernoulli numbers and q-Bernoulli polynomials revisited

In this section, we perform a further investigation on the q-Bernoulli numbers and q-
Bernoulli polynomials given by Acikgöz et al. [7], some incorrect properties are revised.
Definition 1 (Acikgöz et al. [7]). For q Î ℂ with |q| <1, let us define q-Bernoulli
polynomials as follows:
∞
 ∞
 tn
Dq (t, x) = −t qy e[x+y]q t = Bn,q (x) , where —t + log q— ¡ 2π . (1)
y=0 n=0
n!

In the special case, x = 0, Bn,q(0) = Bn,q are called the nth q-Bernoulli numbers.
Let Dq(t, 0) = Dq(t). Then
∞
 ∞
 tn
Dq (t) = −t qy e[y]q t = Bn,q . (2)
y=0 n=0
n!

Remark 1. Definition 1 is unreasonable, since it is not the generating function of q-

Bernoulli numbers and polynomials.
Indeed, by (2), we get
∞
 ∞
 x
Dq (t, x) = −t qy e[x+y]q t = −t qy e[x]q t eq [y]q t
y=0 y=0
⎛ ⎞
∞
qx t  y qx [y]q t ⎠ [x]q t
= ⎝− qe e
qx y=0
1 [x]q t (3)
= e Dq (qx t)
qx
∞  ∞ 
 [x]m q m
 q(l−1)x Bl,q
l
= t t
m=0
m! l!
l=0
∞
 n

  n tn
= [x]qn−l q(l−1)x Bl,q .
l n!
n=0 l=0

By comparing the coefficients on the both sides of (1) and (3), we obtain the follow-
ing equation
n

 n
Bn,q (x) = [x]qn−l q(l−1)x Bl,q . (4)
l
l=0

From (1), we note that

∞

Dq (t, x) = −t qy e[x+y]q t
y=0
⎛ ⎞
∞
 ∞

⎝−t tn
= y
q [x + y]nq ⎠
n=0 y=0
n!
⎛ ⎞ (5)
∞
 n
∞
n+1  n  tn+1
=− ⎝ n
l
(−1) q lx
q (l+1)y ⎠
n=0
(1 − q) l
y=0
(n + 1)!
l=0
∞


 n
 −n 
n−1
n−1 l lx 1 t
= (−1) q .
n=1
(1 − q)n−1 l 1 − ql+1 n!
l=0
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By comparing the coefficients on the both sides of (1) and (5), we obtain the follow-
ing equation
B0,q = 0,
n−1


−n n−1 1 (6)
Bn,q = (−1)l qlx if n > 0.
(1 − q) n−1 l 1 − ql+1
l=0

By (6), we see that Definition 1 is unreasonable because we cannot derive Bernoulli

numbers from Definition 1 for any q.
In particular, by (1) and (2), we get
qDq (t, 1) − Dq (t) = t. (7)

Thus, by (7), we have


1, if n = 1,
qBn,q (1) − Bn,q = (8)
0, if n > 1,

and
n

 n
Bn,q (1) = ql−1 Bl,q . (9)
l
l=0

Therefore, by (4) and (6)-(9), we see that the following three theorems are incorrect.
Theorem 1 (Acikgöz et al. [7]). For n Î N*, one has

1, if n = 0,
B0,q = 1, q(qB + 1)n − Bn,q =
0, if n > 0.

Theorem 2 (Acikgöz et al. [7]). For n Î N*, one has

n

 n lx
Bn,q (x) = q Bl,q [x]qn−l .
l
l=0

Theorem 3 (Acikgöz et al. [7]). For n Î N*, one has

n


1 n l+1
Bn,q (x) = n (−1)l qlx .
(1 − q) l [l + 1]q
l=0

In [7], Acikgöz, Erdal and Araci derived some results by using Theorems 1-3. Hence,
the other results are incorrect.
Now, we redefine the generating function of q-Bernoulli numbers and polynomials
and correct its wrong properties, and rebuild the theorems of q-Bernoulli numbers and
polynomials.
Redefinition 1. For q Î ℂ with |q| <1, let us define q-Bernoulli polynomials as fol-
lows:
∞
 ∞

Fq (t, x) = −t q2m+x e[x+m]q t + (1 − q) qm e[x+m]q t
m=0 m=0
∞
(10)
 tn
= βn,q (x) , where —t + log q— < 2π .
n=0
n!
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In the special case, x = 0, bn,q(0) = bn,q are called the nth q-Bernoulli numbers.
Let Fq(t, 0) = Fq(t). Then we have
∞
 tn
Fq (t) = βn,q
n=0
n!
∞ ∞
(11)
 
= −t q 2m [m]q t
e + (1 − q) m [m]q t
q e .
m=0 m=0

By (10), we get
∞
 ∞

βn,q (x) = −n q2m+x [x + m]qn−1 + (1 − q) qm [x + m]nq
m=0 m=0
n−1

l ∞

−n n − 1 (−1) q(l+1)x
= + (1 − q) qm [x + m]nq (12)
(1 − q)n−1 l (1 − ql+2 ) m=0
l=0
n


1 n l+1
= n (−1)l qlx .
(1 − q) l [l + 1]q
l=0

By (10) and (11), we get

Fq (t, x) = e[x]q t Fq (qx t)

∞  ∞ 
 t m  βl,q
= [x]m
q qlx tl
m=0
m! l!
l=0
∞
 n lx 
  q βl,q [x]n−l q n! tn (13)
=
n=0
l!(n − l)! n!
l=0
∞
 n


  n lx tn
= q βl,q [x]n−l
q .
l n!
n=0 l=0

Thus, by (12) and (13), we have

n

n lx
βn,q (x) = q βl,q [x]qn−l
l
l=0
∞ ∞
(14)
 
= −n m
q [x + m]qn−1 + (1 − q)(n + 1) m
q [x + m]nq .
m=0 m=0

From (10) and (11), we can derive the following equation:

qFq (t, 1) − Fq (t) = t + (q − 1). (15)

By (15), we get
⎧
⎨ q − 1, if n = 0,
qβn,q (1) − βn,q = 1, if n = 1, (16)
⎩
0 if n > 1.
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Therefore, by (14) and (15), we obtain


1, if n = 1,
β0,q = 1, q(qβq + 1)n − βn,q = (17)
0 if n > 1,

with the usual convention about replacing βqn by bn,q.

From (12), (14) and (16), Theorems 1-3 are revised by the following Theorems 1’-3’.
Theorem 1’. For n Î ℤ+, we have

1, if n = 1,
β0,q = 1, and q(qβq + 1)n − βn,q =
0 if n > 1.

Theorem 2’. For n Î ℤ+, we have

n

 n lx
βn,q (x) = q βl,q [x]qn−l .
l
l=0

Theorem 3’. For n Î ℤ+, we have

n


1 n l+1
βn,q (x) = (−1)l qlx .
(1 − q)n l [l + 1]q
l=0

From (10), we note that

1  a  x + a
d−1
Fq (t, x) = q Fqd [d]q t, , d ∈ N. (18)
[d]q a=0 d

Thus, by (10) and (18), we have


d−1 x + a
βn,q (x) = [d]qn−1 qa βn,qd , n ∈ Z+ .
a=0
d

For d Î N, let c be Dirichlet’s character with conductor d. Then, we consider the

generalized q-Bernoulli polynomials attached to c as follows:
∞
 ∞

Fq,χ (t, x) = −t χ (m)q2m+x e[x+m]q t + (1 − q) χ (m)qm e[x+m]q t
m=0 m=0
∞
 tn
= βn,χ ,q (x) .
n=0
n!

In the special case, x = 0, bn,c,q(0) = bn,c,q are called the nth generalized Carlitz q-
Bernoulli numbers attached to c (see [8]).
Let Fq,c(t, 0) = F q,c (t). Then we have
∞
 ∞

Fq,χ (t) = −t χ (m)q2m e[m]q t + (1 − q) χ (m)qm e[m]q t
m=0 m=0
∞
(20)
 tn
= βn,χ ,q .
n=0
n!
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From (20), we note that

∞
 ∞

βn,χ ,q = −n q2m χ (m)[m]qn−1 + (1 − q) qm χ (m)[m]nq
m=0 m=0

 ∞
d−1 
= −n q2a+2dm χ (a + dm)[a + dm]qn−1
a=0 m=0

 ∞
d−1 
+ qa+dm χ (a + dm)[a + dm]nq
a=0 m=0
 n−1


d−1
−n  l
n − 1 (−1) q(l+1)a
= χ (a)q a

a=0
(1 − q)n−1 l=0 l (1 − qd(l+2) )
 n



d−1
1  n (−1) l la
q
+ (1 − q) χ (a)qa
a=0
(1 − q)n l (1 − qd(l+1) )
l=0
 n−1


d−1
−n  n − 1 (−1) l (l+1)a
q
= χ (a)qa
a=0
(1 − q)n−1 l=0 l (1 − qd(l+2) )
 n



d−1
1  n (−1)l qla
+ χ (a)q a

a=0 (1 − q)n−1 l=0 l (1 − qd(l+1) )

 n



d−1
1  n (−1)l qla l
= χ (a)q a

a=0
(1 − q)n−1 l=0 l (1 − qd(l+1) )
 n



d−1
1  n (−1)l qla
+ χ (a)q a
(1 − q)n−1 l (1 − qd(l+1) )
a=0 l=0


d−1 n


1−q n l+1
= χ (a)qa (−1)l qla .
a=0
(1 − q)n l 1 − qd(l+1)
l=0

Therefore, by (20) and (21), we obtain the following theorem.

Theorem 4. For n Î ℤ+, we have


d−1 n


1 n l+1
βn,χ ,q = χ (a)q a
n (−1)l qla
a=0
(1 − q) l [d(l + 1)]q
l=0
∞
 ∞

= −n χ (m)qm [m]qn−1 + (1 − q)(1 + n) χ (m)qm [m]nq ,
m=0 m=0

and
∞
 ∞

βn,χ ,q (x) = −n χ (m)qm [m + x]qn−1 + (1 − q)(1 + n) χ (m)qm [m + x]nq .
m=0 m=0

From (19), we note that

1 
d−1  x + a
Fq,χ (t, x) = χ (a)qa Fqd [d]q t, . (22)
[d]q a=0 d

Thus, by (22), we obtain the following theorem.

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Theorem 5. For n Î ℤ+, we have


d−1 x + a
βn,χ ,q (x) = [d]qn−1 χ (a)qa βn,qd .
a=0
d

For s Î ℂ, we now consider the Mellin transform for Fq(t, x) as follows:

∞ ∞ ∞
1 q2m+x 1−q qm
Fq (−t, x)ts−2 dt = + , (23)
(s) m=0
[m + x]q s − 1 m=0 [m + x]qs−1
s
0

where x ≠ 0, -1, -2,....

From (23), we note that
∞
1
Fq (−t, x)ts−2 dt
(s)
0 (24)
∞

∞
qm 2−s  qm
= + (1 − q) ,
m=0
[m + x]sq s − 1 m=0 [m + x]s−1
q

where s Î ℂ, and x ≠ 0, -1, -2,....

Thus, we define q-zeta function as follows:
Definition 2. For s Î ℂ, q-zeta function is defined by
∞
∞
qm 2−s  qm
ζq (s, x) = + (1 − q) , Re(s) > 1,
m=0
s
[m + x]q s − 1 m=0 [m + x]qs−1

where x ≠ 0, -1, -2,....

By (24) and Definition 2, we note that
βn,q (x)
ζq (1 − n, x) = (−1)n−1 , n ∈ N.
n
Note that
Bn (x)
lim ζq (1 − n, x) = − ,
q→1 n

where Bn(x) are the nth ordinary Bernoulli polynomials.

Acknowledgements
The authors express their gratitude to the referee for his/her valuable comments.

Author details
1
Department of Mathematics, Hannam University, Daejeon 306-791, Korea 2Division of General Education-Mathematics,
Kwangwoon University, Seoul 139-701, Korea 3Department of Wireless Communications Engineering, Kwangwoon
University, Seoul 139-701, Korea

Authors’ contributions
All authors contributed equally to the manuscript and read and approved the finial manuscript.

Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Received: 26 February 2011 Accepted: 18 September 2011 Published: 18 September 2011

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doi:10.1186/1687-1847-2011-33
Cite this article as: Ryoo et al.: q-Bernoulli numbers and q-Bernoulli polynomials revisited. Advances in Difference
Equations 2011 2011:33.

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