Sigma Notation Terminology

Terminology

The infinite sum

$\text{[math]}$

can be written in a more compact way. Using the capital greek letter sigma, $\text{[math]}$ , we may write this sum as

$\text{[math]}$

We often use the following terminology when using this notation

the general term of the sum is $\text{[math]}$
the index of summation is $\text{[math]}$
the limits of summation are 1 and $\text{[math]}$ , although in general the limits can be any integer, $\text{[math]}$ , or $\text{[math]}$ .

Consider the infinite series

$\text{[math]}$

In this example, the general term is

$\text{[math]}$

the index of summation is $\text{[math]}$ , and the limits of summation are 3 and infinity.