Bernoulli–Dedekind sums

Abstract

Let $p_1,p_2,\dots,p_n, a_1,a_2,\dots,a_n \in \N$, $x_1,x_2,\dots,x_n \in \R$, and denote the $k$th periodized Bernoulli polynomial by $\B_k(x)$. We study expressions of the form \[ \sum_{h \bmod{a_k}} \prod_{\substack{i=1 i\not=k}}^{n} \B_{p_i}\left(a_i \frac{h+x_k}{a_k}-x_i\right). \] These \highlight{Bernoulli--Dedekind sums} generalize and unify various arithmetic sums introduced by Dedekind, Apostol, Carlitz, Rademacher, Sczech, Hall--Wilson--Zagier, and others. Generalized Dedekind sums appear in various areas such as analytic and algebraic number theory, topology, algebraic and combinatorial geometry, and algorithmic complexity. We exhibit a reciprocity theorem for the Bernoulli--Dedekind sums, which gives a unifying picture through a simple combinatorial proof.