Proving Stirling's formula help

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around proving Stirling's formula, which relates to factorials and involves an integral representation. The original poster seeks assistance with the proof and mentions a specific substitution and approximation related to logarithms.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the use of a substitution (t=ny) and the approximation ln(1+y) = y - 0.5y^2. Some express difficulty with integration techniques, including integration by parts, and seek further clarification on the approach.

Discussion Status

Several participants are exploring different methods to approach the proof, including the method of steepest descent. There is an ongoing exchange of hints and resources, but no consensus has been reached on a specific method or solution.

Contextual Notes

Participants note challenges with integrating the proposed substitution and express confusion about mathematical notation. There is also a reference to external resources for further assistance.

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proving Stirling's formula.. help please

How can I prove Stirling's formula?

n!= integral from 0 to inf. exp(-t) t^n dt= n^n exp(-n) (2 pi n)^0.5

there's a hint to use the substitution t=ny & ln(1+y) = y- 0.5 y^2

I tried to use it but I couldn't intgrate.. I tried integrating by parts but it became more complicated.. :frown:

Can anyone help?

(How can I write the mathematical symbols here?)

Thanks
 
Last edited:
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Physicist said:
How can I prove Stirling's formula?

n!= integral from 0 to inf. exp(-t) t^n dt= n^n exp(-n) (2 pi n)^0.5

there's a hint to use the substitution t=ny & ln(1+y) = y- 0.5 y^2

I tried to use it but I couldn't intgrate.. I tried integrating by parts but it became more complicated.. :frown:

Can anyone help?

(How can I write the mathematical symbols here?)

Thanks
Try:
http://www.sosmath.com/calculus/sequence/stirling/stirling.html

AM
 
Another approach would be to use the method of steepest descent. Basically, you can find where t^n e^{-t} is a maximum and observe that the most significant contribution to the integral comes from near that maximum.
 
Thanks for helping.. but I should uuse the substitution t=ny..

HELP PLZ
 
Thanks a lot..
 


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