Higher dimensional visual proofs, Nicomachus' 4D Theorem and the mysterious irreducible factor $(3n^2+3n-1)$ in the sum of fourth powers

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Authors: Urtzi Buijs
Cited by: 0

Abstract

Sums of powers $S_p(n)=\sum_{k=1}^n k^p$ can be described by Faulhaber's formula in terms of the Bernoulli numbers. The first cases of this formula admit visual proofs of various kinds, which lead to factorized Faulhaber polynomials. In this article we present a technique that yields higher-dimensional visual proofs for these factorized formulas, providing a geometric interpretation of the roots that appear. In particular, we prove Nicomachus's Theorem in four dimensions, and we visually explain the appearance, in dimension five, of the irreducible factor $(3n^2 +3n-1)$ in the polynomial ring over the rational numbers.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Advanced Mathematical Identities Advanced Combinatorial Mathematics Analytic Number Theory Research

Publication details

Journal / source
arXiv (Cornell University)
Publication date
27 January 2026
Document type
Preprint