Bernoulli numbers and solitons

Abstract

We present a new formula for the Bernoulli numbers as the following integral $$B_{2m} =\frac{(-1)^{m-1}}{2^{2m+1}} \int_{-\infty}^{+\infty} (\frac{d^{m-1}}{dx^{m-1}} {sech}^2 x)^2dx. $$ This formula is motivated by the results of Fairlie and Veselov, who discovered the relation of Bernoulli polynomials with soliton theory.