Notation for sum/product over 1-bits in binary representation

discrete mathematicsnotation

Is there a notation, which indicates that an operation (sum/product/etc) should be taken over the 1-bits in a number $x$'s binary representation, i.e. those powers of $2$ that when summed up equal $x$?

Actually the question is not specific to base $2$, a notation for any base would great, but it was easier formulating it this way.

Edit to explain it in more detail:

Let's consider the number $x = 5$, it's binary representation is $101$. Now if I would want to take a sum involving these powers of two I could write
$$\sum_{\substack{i\\i^{th} \text{ bit in binary representation of x is 1}} }2^i = x$$

The question is essentially if there's a less cumbersome way of defining such a sum.
And if yes, if there is there a way to generalize it to higher bases.

Best Answer

I don’t think there’s any standard notation for this. One possibility that’s clunky but not wordy is this: $$\displaystyle\sum_{\substack{i\in{\mathbb Z^+\cup \{0\}}\\\left(\lfloor{x\over 2^i}\rfloor\!\!\!\!\mod\!\!2\right)=1} }{\text {(summand)}}.$$ You can change the $2$ and $1$ for the particular base and digit you want. If I were to put something like this in a paper, I would explain it in sentences before the first use, and possibly make up a notation like $\text{digit}_{base\ n}(x,i)$ so it’s easier for the reader to remember the idea.

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