The sum of squared triangular numbers or the sum of sums of cubes

elementary-number-theorynumber theory

So I was basically trying to find a different solution for

$$\sum_{k=1}^n k^4 = ?$$

and decided to use this sum to derive it
$$\sum_{k=1}^n \left[\frac{k(k+1)}{2}\right]^2 = ?$$
but now I am currently stucked with the second sum. Is there any way to derive a formula for the sum of squared triangular numbers without using the sum I want to derive?

When the case was to prove
$$\sum_{k=1}^n k^2 = \frac{n(n+1)(2n+1)}{6}$$
by using the sum of triangular numbers
$$\sum_{k=1}^n \frac{k(k+1)}{2}$$
it was possible to find the sum of triangular numbers without the sum of squares via dividing the sum with n and comparing it with the other values of n of the same process (1 , 2 , 3,333… , 5 , 7 , 9,333… etc.)because they had such harmony.
Of course this method usually works on very simple arithmetic progressions so its obviously not a good idea to use it on the problem. What approach would be good?

Best Answer

Here is a general method to solve this kind of problem. Let $$ T(n):=\sum_{k=1}^n \left[\frac{k(k+1)}{2}\right]^2. \tag{1} $$ Since the terms of this sum are polynomials in $k$ of degree $4$, it is natural to assume that $T(n)$ is a polynomial in $n$ of degree $5$: $$ T(n)=An^5+Bn^4+Cn^3+Dn^2+En+F. \tag{2} $$ To determine the coefficients in $(2)$, we compute $T(n+1)-T(n)$ using both expressions and equate the coefficients of equal powers of $n$: from $(1)$, we obtain $$ T(n+1)-T(n)=\left[\frac{(n+1)(n+2)}{2}\right]^2=\frac{1}{4}(n^4+6n^3+13n^2+12n+4); \tag{3} $$ using $(2)$, on the other hand, we obtain \begin{align} T(n+1)-T(n)&=A[(n+1)^5-n^5]+B[(n+1)^4-n^4]+\ldots+E[(n+1)-n] \\ &=5An^4+(10A+4B)n^3+(10A+6B+3C)n^2 \\ &\quad+(5A+4B+3C+2D)n+(A+B+C+D+E). \tag{4} \end{align} Following the procedure described above and substituting the values of $A,\ldots,E$ in $(2)$, we obtain $$ T(n)=\frac{1}{20}n^5+\frac{1}{4}n^4+\frac{5}{12}n^3+\frac{1}{4}n^2+\frac{1}{30}n+F. \tag{5} $$ To find $F$, we compute $T(1)$: $$ T(1)=1=\frac{1}{20}+\frac{1}{4}+\frac{5}{12}+\frac{1}{4}+\frac{1}{30}+F \Rightarrow F=0. \tag{6} $$ The final result, after some simplification, is $$ T(n)=\frac{1}{60}n(n+1)(n+2)(3n^2+6n+1). \tag{7} $$

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