Expectation values of powers of the radial coordinate in arbitrary hydrogen states are given, in the quantum case, by an integral involving the associated Laguerre function. The method of brackets is used to evaluate the integral in closed-form and to produce an expression for this average value as a finite sum

Analytic expressions for the N-dimensional Debye function are obtained by the method of brackets. The new expressions are suitable for the study of heat capacity of solids and the analysis of the asymptotic behavior of this function, both in the high and low temperature limits.