On the summation of certain trigonometric series

In the present note, which is introductory to the following paper, closed expressions, suitable for computational purposes, are found for the sums of the series where α > 1, t = 1, 2, 3, …, and n is a positive integer. In each case a recurrent relation is found giving the values of and for t > 2 in terms of and the series Θκ(α) (κ = 1, 2, …, t), where When κ is even the last series is expressed in closed form in terms of the Bernoullian polynomial φκ(l/α) and, when κ is odd and α is rational, a closed form is found involving the polygamma function Ψ(κ)(z), where The general expressions for and involve Ψ(z) and Ψ′(z) when α is rational, but for special values of α they reduce to a form independent of the Ψ-function. and are independent of n and are expressible as simple rational functions of α.