Eulerian numbers with fractional order parameters

Summary The aim of this paper is to generalize the well-known Eulerian numbers, defined by the recursion relationE(n, k) = (k + 1)E(n – 1, k) + (n – k)E(n – 1, k – 1), to the case thatn is replaced by . It is shown that these Eulerian functionsE(, k), which can also be defined in terms of a generating function, can be represented as a certain sum, as a determinant, or as a fractional Weyl integral. TheE(, k) satisfy recursion formulae, they are monotone ink and, as functions of , are arbitrarily often differentiable. Further, connections with the fractional Stirling numbers of second kind, theS(, k), > 0, introduced by the authors (1989), are discussed. Finally, a certain counterpart of the famous Worpitzky formula is given; it is essentially an approximation ofx in terms of a sum involving theE(, k) and a hypergeometric function.Dedicated to the memory of Alexander M. Ostrowski on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth.