5 Gamma FunctionNotation

§5.1 Special Notation

(For other notation see Notation for the Special Functions.)

j,m,n nonnegative integers.
k nonnegative integer, except in §5.20.
x,y real variables.
z=x+i⁢y complex variable.
a,b,q,s,w real or complex variables with |q|<1.
δ arbitrary small positive constant.
γ Euler’s constant (§5.2(ii)).
primes derivatives with respect to the variable.

The main functions treated in this chapter are the gamma function Γ⁡(z), the psi function (or digamma function) ψ⁡(z), the beta function B⁡(a,b), and the q-gamma function Γq⁡(z).

The notation Γ⁡(z) is due to Legendre. Alternative notations for this function are: Π⁡(z−1) (Gauss) and (z−1)!. Alternative notations for the psi function are: Ψ⁡(z−1) (Gauss) Jahnke and Emde (1945); Ψ⁡(z) Davis (1933); 𝖥⁡(z−1) Pairman (1919).