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Guo-Niu Han

Publications and source records attributed to Guo-Niu Han.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Dilated Hankel determinants

For a sequence $\mathbf a=(a_0,a_1,\dots)$ we define its dilated Hankel determinant $\ddot{H}_n(\mathbf a)=\det(a_{2i+j})_{0\le i,j\le n-1}$, the minor of the infinite Hankel matrix $(a_{i+j})$ formed from the even-indexed rows and the first $n$ columns. We prove that, for a broad class of sequences, $\ddot{H}_n$ admits a remarkably simple product evaluation. This mirrors the behaviour of the classical Hankel determinant $H_n$, but with two key distinctions: the class of sequences for which such formulas are known is far larger in the classical case; and, whereas $H_n$ enjoys a single universal evaluation -- the Heilermann formula via the Jacobi continued fraction -- no analogous general method exists for the dilated determinant, which is therefore considerably more challenging. Our evaluations instead rest on six methods developed here, four of general scope and two of a more specialised nature. The cases treated include the factorial numbers, the Catalan and central binomial coefficients; the Euler numbers and a one-parameter secant family; the involution numbers; the Springer numbers along with elliptic and derivative deformations; the reciprocal-sine function, whose evaluation rests on a new Catalan determinant proved by condensation; a Bessel analogue of the Euler numbers; and a multiplicative Bessel family. As an application, we settle a conjecture of Chapoton and the author on the roots of the Poupard and Kreweras polynomials.

math.CO

On the distributions of the statistics (des, maj, inv) over several classes of permutations

We investigate the joint distribution of the trivariate statistics (des, maj, inv) on classical permutations, Andre permutations of the first and second kinds, and Simsun permutations. By decomposing permutations according to the position of the smallest element, we obtain explicit recurrence relations for the generating functions of these statistics. In the classical permutation setting, our recurrence relation yields the generating function for the trivariate statistics (des, maj, inv) due to Gessel, which is typically proved using MacMahon's technique.

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The 1/2-Conjecture for $q$-Binomial Coefficients with Fractional Index

For a nonnegative integer $k$ and a rational number $r\in\mathbb{Q}^+$, we define the generalized Gaussian binomial coefficient $\qbinom{r+k}{k} = \frac{(q^{r+1}; q)_k}{(q; q)_k}$. When $r=a/b$ with $a,b$ coprime positive integers and $b\geq 2$, expanding $\qbinom{r+k}{k}$ via the finite $q$-binomial theorem produces fractional powers of $q$, so that $\qbinom{r+k}{k}$ is a \emph{Puiseux series} in $q$ with nonnegative exponents; concretely it lies in $\mathbb{Q}[[q^{1/b}]]$. The notion we single out is the \emph{integer trace} of this expansion, the subseries consisting of those terms $c_r(d)\,q^d$ whose exponent $d$ is an integer, with all fractional powers discarded. This projection is not standard, and there is no a~priori reason for the surviving coefficients to behave coherently as $r$ varies. Nonetheless, ordering the family by the coefficientwise partial order leads to the \emph{$\tfrac{1}{2}$-Conjecture}: among all $r\in\mathbb{Q}^+$, the value $r=\tfrac{1}{2}$ maximizes the integer trace, in the sense that the coefficients of $\qbinom{1/2+k}{k}$ dominate those of $\qbinom{r+k}{k}$ coefficientwise for every $r$. That so elementary a definition should single out $\tfrac{1}{2}$ this cleanly came as a surprise to us. We prove the conjecture in several special cases and provide further computational evidence.

math.CO

$q$-Derivative Grammar

Context-free grammars, originating in computer science, are related to enumerative combinatorics through two distinct lines of development pioneered by Sch\"utzenberger and Chen, respectively. In the framework established by Sch\"utzenberger and Delest-Sch\"utzenberger-Viennot, unambiguous grammars are translated into functional equations for ordinary generating functions. Inspired by Rota's umbral calculus, Chen later developed a grammatical calculus by associating each context-free grammar with a formal derivative operator. Dumont further developed this method through numerous combinatorial interpretations of grammars with finite and infinite alphabets. Substantial progress in this direction has been achieved over the last decade. In this paper, we introduce a q-analogue of grammatical calculus, which we call the q-derivative grammar. We establish the basic framework of q-grammars and develop the q-grammatical calculus for computing q-exponential generating functions associated with q-grammars. Concrete q-grammars are constructed to study q-Eulerian, q-Roselle and q-Andr\'e polynomials, including their generating functions and recurrences. This work extends the grammatical method to the q-setting and opens up new research directions.

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The inversion number statistic for inversion sequences

Inversion sequences, also known as subexcedant sequences, form a fundamental class of objects in enumerative combinatorics. In this paper, we study the joint distribution of five statistics on inversion sequences. While several statistics on inversion sequences have been extensively investigated, our contribution is to introduce the inversion number statistic, originally defined for permutations, into the context of inversion sequences. As special cases, we recover classical permutation statistics, including the Stirling, Mahonian and Eulerian distributions, as well as the Catalan and Narayana numbers. Somewhat unexpectedly, our specializations also include the number of involutions in the symmetric group. Our study arises from a $q$-analog of Comtet's expansion formula obtained by substituting the classical derivative operator $D$ with the $q$-derivative operator $D_q$.

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Yet another doubly refined enumeration of Alternating Sign Matrices

Since the alternating sign matrix conjecture, proposed by Mills, Robbins, and Rumsey in 1982, was proved by Zeilberger and Kuperberg, several refined enumerations have been considered. In particular, Behrend et al. obtained a quadruply refined enumeration by adding certain parameters. In this paper, we revisit the doubly refined enumeration of alternating sign matrices by adding three parameters: the number of $-1$'s, the position of the $1$ in the first row, and the position of the $1$ in the last row. Using Lascoux's formula on symmetry functions, we derive a new determinantal formula for this doubly refined enumeration. Besides the enumeration conjecture, Mills et al. also proposed a decomposition conjecture, which was subsequently proven by Kuperberg. We present a refinement of that decomposition conjecture.

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Cyclotomic Euler-Mahonian polynomials

The cyclotomic Eulerian polynomials and the cyclotomic Mahonian polynomials have each been the subject of extensive studies in Combinatorics, with particular attention to their signed versions. In contrast, the joint study of cyclotomic Euler-Mahonian polynomials has received far less consideration. To the best of our knowledge, the only prior result in this direction is a formula due to Wachs for the signed Euler-Mahonian polynomials in the even case. In this paper, we focus on the cyclotomic Euler-Mahonian polynomials and derive a formula based on the Hadamard product. As corollaries, we obtain the $I$-analogue (where $I=\sqrt{-1}$) of Wachs' formula for signed Euler-Mahonian polynomials, as well as the previously missing odd case for the signed Euler-Mahonian polynomials.

math.CO

Hankel determinants for convolution powers of Narayana polynomials

We prove and generalize a conjecture of Johann Cigler on the Hankel determinants of convolution powers of Narayana polynomials. Our method follows a "guess-and-prove" strategy, relying on established techniques involving Hankel continued fractions. While the final forms of our theorems are given by simple closed expressions, the proofs require us to formulate and manage extremely large and intricate explicit expressions at intermediate stages. Most of the technically involved and lengthy formal verifications are carried out using a symbolic computation program, whose code is available on the author's personal webpage for independent verification. We emphasize that our program delivers rigorous symbolic proofs, rather than merely verifying the initial terms.

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Inverse descent statistic for Andr\'e and simsun permutations

Simsun permutations, Andr\'e I permutations and Andr\'e II permutations are three combinatorial models for Euler numbers. It's known that the descent statistic is equidistributed over the set of Andr\'e I permutations and the set of simsun permutations. In this paper, we prove that the trivariate statistic (ides, des, maj), comprising the inverse descent, descent, and major index, are equidistributed over these three sets. This result is equivalent to showing that the inverse descent is equidistributed over these three sets that share the same tree shape. The proof of the equidistribution of the inverse descent over the set of Andr\'e I permutations and the set of Andr\'e II permutations with the same tree shape reduces to establishing new refinements of Stanley's shuffle theorem.

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Hankel continued fractions and Hankel determinants for $q$-deformed metallic numbers

Fix $n$ a positive integer. Take the $n$-th metallic number $\phi_n=\frac{n+\sqrt{n^2+4}}{2}$ (e.g. $\phi_1$ is the golden number) and let $\Phi_n(q)$ be its $q$-deformation in the sense of S. Morier-Genoud and V. Ovsienko. This is an algebraic continued fraction which admits an expansion into a Taylor series around $q=0$, with integral coefficients. By using the notion of Hankel continued fraction introduced by the first author in 2016 we determine explicitly the first $n+2$ sequences of shifted Hankel determinants of $\Phi_n$ and show that they satisfy the following properties: 1) They are periodic and consist of $-1,0,1$ only. 2) They satisfy a three-term Gale-Robinson recurrence, i.e. they form discrete integrable dynamical systems. 3) They are all completely determined by the first sequence. This article thus validates a conjecture formulated by V. Ovsienko and the second author in a recent paper and establishes new connections between $q$-deformations of real numbers and sequences of Catalan or Motzkin numbers.

math.NT

Inequalities and asymptotics for hook numbers in restricted partitions

In this paper, we consider the asymptotic properties of hook numbers of partitions in restricted classes. More specifically, we compare the frequency with which partitions into odd parts and partitions into distinct parts have hook numbers equal to $h \geq 1$ by deriving an asymptotic formula for the total number of hooks equal to $h$ that appear among partitions into odd and distinct parts, respectively. We use these asymptotic formulas to prove a recent conjecture of the first author and collaborators that for $h \geq 2$ and $n \gg 0$, partitions into odd parts have, on average, more hooks equal to $h$ than do partitions into distinct parts. We also use our asymptotics to prove certain probabilistic statements about how hooks distribute in the rows of partitions.

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A symmetric decomposition of the Boros-Moll polynomials

In their study of a quartic integral, Boros and Moll introduced a special case of Jacobi polynomials, which are now known as the Boros-Moll polynomials. In this paper, we study a symmetric decomposition of Boros-Moll polynomials. We discover that both of the polynomials in the symmetric decomposition are alternatingly gamma-positive polynomials.

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Recurrences for the derivative polynomials for tangent and secant

In this paper, we choose the derivative polynomials for tangent and secant as basis sets of polynomial space. From this viewpoint, we first give an expansion of the derivative polynomials for tangent in terms of the derivative polynomials for secant, and we then present a result in the reverse direction. We also discuss the relationships between alternating derivative polynomials and Eulerian polynomials. As applications, we give certain expansions of the alternating derivative polynomials, which indicate that the alternating derivative polynomials share more properties with the Chebyshev polynomials.

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On the rational approximation to Thue--Morse rational numbers

Let $b \ge 2$ and $\ell \ge 1$ be integers. We establish that there is an absolute real number $K$ such that all the partial quotients of the rational number $$ \prod_{h = 0}^\ell \, (1 - b^{-2^h}), $$ of denominator $b^{2^{\ell+1} - 1}$, do not exceed $\exp(K (\log b)^2 \sqrt{\ell} 2^{\ell/2})$.

math.NT

Criteria for apwenian sequences

In 1998, Allouche, Peyrière, Wen and Wen showed that the Hankel determinant $H_n$ of the Thue-Morse sequence over $\{-1,1\}$ satisfies $H_n/2^{n-1}\equiv 1~(\mathrm{mod}~2)$ for all $n\geq 1$. Inspired by this result, Fu and Han introduced \emph{apwenian} sequences over $\{-1,1\}$, namely, $\pm 1$ sequences whose Hankel determinants satisfy $H_n/2^{n-1}\equiv 1~(\mathrm{mod}~2)$ for all $n\geq 1$, and proved with computer assistance that a few sequences are apwenian. In this paper, we obtain an easy to check criterion for apwenian sequences, which allows us to determine all apwenian sequences that are fixed points of substitutions of constant length. Let $f(z)$ be the generating functions of such apwenian sequences. We show that for all integer $b\ge 2$ with $f(1/b)\neq 0$, the real number $f(1/b)$ is transcendental and its irrationality exponent is equal to $2$. Besides, we also derive a criterion for zero-one apwenian sequences whose Hankel determinants satisfy $H_n\equiv 1~(\mathrm{mod}~2)$ for all $n\geq 1$. We find that the only zero-one apwenian sequence, among all fixed points of substitutions of constant length, is the period-doubling sequence. Various examples of apwenian sequences given by substitutions with projection are also given. Furthermore, we prove that all Sturmian sequences over $\{-1,1\}$ or $\{0,1\}$ are not apwenian. And we conjecture that fixed points of substitution of non-constant length over $\{-1,1\}$ or $\{0,1\}$ can not be apwenian.

math.NT

Enumeration of Standard Puzzles

We introduce a large family of combinatorial objects, called standard puzzles, defined by very simple rules. We focus on the standard puzzles for which the enumeration problems can be solved by explicit formulas or by classical numbers, such as binomial coefficients, Fibonacci numbers, tangent numbers, Catalan numbers, $\ldots$

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$k$-arrangements, statistics and patterns

The $k$-arrangements are permutations whose fixed points are $k$-colored. We prove enumerative results related to statistics and patterns on $k$-arrangements, confirming several conjectures by Blitvić and Steingrímsson. In particular, one of their conjectures regarding the equdistribution of the number of descents over the derangement form and the permutation form of $k$-arrangements is strengthened in two interesting ways. Moreover, as one application of the so-called Decrease Value Theorem, we calculate the generating function for a symmetric pair of Eulerian statistics over permutations arising in our study.

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