The calculation of values of the Dirichlet beta function for positive odd numbers using the infinite product formula of the sine function

Leibniz formula for \(\pi\)

First, we will derive the following Leibniz formula for \(\pi\):

\[
\frac{\pi}{4} = \frac{1}{1}-\frac{1}{3}+\frac{1}{5}-\frac{1}{7}+\cdots.
\]

【Derivation of the formula】
The zeros of the function \(\sin \left( \frac{\pi (z + 1)}{4} \right)\) are \(z = -1, 3, -5, 7, -9, \cdots\), it holds that
\[
c \cdot \sin \left( \frac{\pi (z + 1)}{4} \right) = \left( 1 + \frac{z}{1} \right)\left( 1-\frac{z}{3} \right)\left( 1 + \frac{z}{5} \right)\left( 1-\frac{z}{7} \right) \cdots
\] where \(c\) is the constant. If you substitute 0 for \(z\), you will get \(c = \sqrt 2\). Therefore, it holds that
\[
\sqrt{2} \sin \left( \frac{\pi (z + 1)}{4} \right) = \left( 1 + \frac{z}{1} \right)\left( 1-\frac{z}{3} \right)\left( 1 + \frac{z}{5} \right)\left( 1-\frac{z}{7} \right) \cdots.
\] On the other hand, it holds that
\begin{align}
\sqrt{2} \sin \left( \frac{\pi (z + 1)}{4} \right)
&= \sqrt{2} \sin \left( \frac{\pi}{4} + \frac{\pi z}{4} \right) \\
&= \sqrt{2} \left( \sin \frac{\pi}{4} \cdot \cos \frac{\pi z}{4} + \cos \frac{\pi}{4} \cdot \sin \frac{\pi z}{4} \right) \\
&= \cos \frac{\pi z}{4} + \sin \frac{\pi z}{4} \\
&= \left( 1-\frac{1}{2!} \left( \frac{\pi z}{4} \right)^2 + \frac{1}{4!} \left( \frac{\pi z}{4} \right)^4-\cdots \right)
+
\left( \frac{1}{1!} \cdot \frac{\pi z}{4}-\frac{1}{3!} \left( \frac{\pi z}{4} \right)^3 + \frac{1}{5!} \left( \frac{\pi z}{4} \right)^5-\cdots \right) \\
&= 1 + \frac{\pi}{4} z-\frac{\pi ^ 2}{2! \cdot 4 ^ 2 } z^2-\frac{\pi ^ 3}{3! \cdot 4^3} z^3 + \frac{\pi ^ 4}{4! \cdot 4^4} z^4 + \cdots.
\end{align} Therefore, the coefficient of \(z\) is
\[
\frac{\pi}{4} = \frac{1}{1}-\frac{1}{3}+\frac{1}{5}-\frac{1}{7}+\cdots.
\]

The value of \(\beta(3)\)

The Dirichlet beta function is defined as
\[
\beta(s) = \sum_{n = 0}^{\infty} \frac{(-1)^n}{(2n + 1)^s}.
\] In this section, we will derive the following formula:

\[
\beta(3) = \frac{\pi ^ 3}{32}.
\]

【Derivation of the formula】
Let \(x_1, \cdots, x_n\) be variables, denote for \(k \geq 1\) by \(p_k(x_1, \cdots, x_n)\) or \(p_k\) the k-th power sum:
\[
p_k = p_k(x_1, \cdots, x_n) = \sum_{i = 1}^n x_i^k,
\] and for \(k \geq 0\) denote by \(e_k(x_1, \cdots, x_n)\) or \(e_k\) the elementary symmetric polynomial:
\begin{align}
e_0 &= e_0(x_1, \cdots, x_n) = 1, \\
e_1 &= e_1(x_1, \cdots, x_n) = x_1 + x_2 + \cdots + x_n, \\
e_2 &= e_2(x_1, \cdots, x_n) = \sum_{1 \leq i < j \leq n} x_i x_j, \\
\vdots \\
e_n &= e_n(x_1, \cdots, x_n) = x_1 x_2 \cdots x_n.
\end{align} Then, Newton’s identities can be stated as
\[
k e_k(x_1, \cdots, x_n) = \sum_{i = 1}^k e_{k-i}(x_1, \cdots, x_n) p_i (x_1, \cdots, x_n),
\] valid for all \(n \geq k \geq 1\). In this post, let \(x_j = \frac{(-1)^{j-1}}{2j-1}\) and \(n \rightarrow \infty\). Then, it holds that
\begin{align}
\sqrt{2} \sin \left( \frac{\pi (z + 1)}{4} \right) &= (1+x_1 z)(1+x_2 z)(1+x_3 z)(1+x_4 z) \cdots \\
&= e_0 + e_1 z + e_2 z^2 + e_3 z^3 + e_4 z^4 + \cdots.
\end{align} Therefore, \(e_0 = 1, e_1 = \frac{\pi}{4}, e_2 = -\frac{\pi^2}{2! \cdot 4^2}, e_3 = -\frac{\pi^3}{3! \cdot 4^3}, \cdots\). Furthermore, \(p_1 = e_1 = \frac{\pi}{4}\). Since Newton’s identities, it holds that
\[
2 e_2 = e_1 p_1-e_0 p_2,
\] so we can get
\[
p_2 = \frac{\pi^2}{8},
\] i.e.
\[
\frac{\pi^2}{8} = \frac{1}{1^2} + \frac{1}{3^2} + \frac{1}{5^2} + \frac{1}{7^2} + \cdots.
\] Since Newton’s identities again,
\[
3 e_3 = e_2 p_1-e_1 p_2 + e_0 p_3.
\] Therefore, we can get
\[
3 \cdot \left(-\frac{\pi^3}{3! \cdot 4^3} \right) =-\frac{\pi^2}{2! \cdot 4^2} \cdot \frac{\pi}{4}-\frac{\pi}{4} \cdot \frac{\pi^2}{8} + p_3
\] i.e.
\[
\beta(3) = p_3 = \frac{\pi^3}{32}.
\] In this way, we can calculate the values of \(\beta(5), \beta(7), \beta(9), \cdots\).

References

Basel problem – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basel_problem
Newton’s identities – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton%27s_identities
Dirichlet beta function – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirichlet_beta_function

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