Bernoulli and Euler numbers from divergent series

Abstract

The aim of this note is to provide a simple proof of some well-known identities and recurrences relating classical Bernoulli and Euler numbers by using the Abel sum of the divergent series $\sum_{n=0}^\infty (-1)^{n} (n+1)^k$, $k$ a positive integers. Special attention is placed on the fact that the numerical value of these sums is determined by the linearity of the summation method involved.