Bell numbers
From Encyclopedia of Mathematics
The Bell numbers are given by
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or by
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Also,
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where are Stirling numbers (cf. Combinatorial analysis) of the second kind, so that
is the total number of partitions of an
-set.
They are equal to .
The name honours E.T. Bell.
References
[a1] | L. Comtet, "Advanced combinatorics" , Reidel (1974) |
How to Cite This Entry:
Bell numbers. Encyclopedia of Mathematics. URL: http://encyclopediaofmath.org/index.php?title=Bell_numbers&oldid=31865
Bell numbers. Encyclopedia of Mathematics. URL: http://encyclopediaofmath.org/index.php?title=Bell_numbers&oldid=31865
This article was adapted from an original article by N.J.A. Sloane (originator), which appeared in Encyclopedia of Mathematics - ISBN 1402006098. See original article