Euler-Maclaurin formula

The Euler-Maclaurin formula relates a finite sum to an integral and endpoint derivatives. If $a<b$ are integers, $p\ge 1$ and $f$ has continuous derivatives through order $2p$ on $[a,b]$, thenHere $B_{2r}$ are Bernoulli numbers. With ${\tilde{B}}_{2p}(x)=B_{2p}(\{x\})$ the periodic Bernoulli function, the exact remainder isThis form rearranges the last endpoint correction in the NIST statement.^[ref]

For $f(x)=x^2$ on $[0,n]$ and $p=1$, the remainder vanishes because the second Bernoulli polynomial has integral zero over each unit interval. The result is ${\sum }_{k=1}^n{k}^2=n^3/3+n^2/2+n/6$, the square pyramidal number formula. For other functions, retaining or bounding $R_p$ makes the finite truncation a controlled approximation.