arXiv · 2503.01349
Hecke's inverse cotangent numbers
Abstract
In connection with Eisenstein series for the principal congruence subgroup $\Gamma(n)$, Hecke introduced certain numbers, of which he said that they are rational and cumbersome to calculate. We show, however, that these numbers are (essentially) generators of the $n$th cyclotomic field or its maximal real subfield. They arise from the well investigated {\em cotangent numbers} by matrix inversion, which is why we call them {\em inverse cotangent numbers}. We describe them as linear combinations of roots of unity with rational coefficients in a fairly closed form, provided that $n$ is square-free. We also exhibit a formula for these numbers in terms of generalized Bernoulli numbers and Gauss sums.
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Kurt Girstmair. 2025-03-03. Hecke's inverse cotangent numbers. https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.01349
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