 A divergent factorial series can approximate a convergent integral

For real $z>0$, defineThe integrand is positive and at most $e^{-t}$, so $0<F(z)<1$ and the improper integral converges. Substituting $s=z+t$ also gives $F(z)=z{e}^z{E}_1(z)$ in terms of the exponential integral; the original representation makes positivity and the large-$z$ behavior transparent.

Apply the exact finite geometric series identity inside the integral, without assuming that an infinite series can be integrated term by term:The Gamma integral gives ${\int }_0^{\infty }{e}^{-t}{t}^{k}dt=k!$. Therefore, with $N$ retained terms,This remainder formula proves the asymptotic expansion at every fixed order: $R_N=O(z^{-N})=o(z^{-N+1})$ as $z\to +\infty$. Its sign also gives alternating bounds: an odd $N$ overestimates $F(z)$, and an even $N$ underestimates it.

At $z=10$, an independent evaluation of the integral gives $F(10)\approx 0.9156333394$. Three retained terms giveFive retained terms give $S_5(10)=0.9164$ with error bounded by $5!/10^5=0.0012$. The actual errors are about $0.004367$ and $0.000767$, respectively. The error bound is conservative, but established without relying on the numerical integral evaluation.

Nevertheless, the formal infinite series diverges at every fixed $z>0$. The magnitudes $T_k=k!/z^k$ satisfy $T_{k+1}/T_k=(k+1)/z$, so they eventually increase without bound. In particular, the terms fail the necessary zero-term condition for a convergent series. The finite remainder identity remains valid after convergence has failed; this is precisely what makes the example useful.