arXiv subjects

Mircea Merca

Publications and source records attributed to Mircea Merca.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

MacMahon-type $q$-series

Motivated by earlier work of P.~A.~MacMahon and recent contributions of T.~Amdeberhan, G.~E.~Andrews, K.~Ono, A.~Singh, and R.~Tauraso on higher-order partition enumerants, we study a class of $q$-series arising from nested divisor structures. In particular, we consider the $q$-series \[ V_k(q) = \sum_{1 \le n_1 \le n_2 \le \cdots \le n_k} \frac{q^{\,n_1+n_2+\cdots+n_k}} {(1-q^{n_1})^2(1-q^{n_2})^2\cdots(1-q^{n_k})^2}, \] introduced recently as MacMahon-type generating functions. We further define a new MacMahon-type series \[ W_k(q) = \sum_{1 \le n_1 \le n_2 \le \cdots \le n_k} \frac{q^{\,2(n_1+n_2+\cdots+n_k)-k}} {(1-q^{2n_1-1})^2(1-q^{2n_2-1})^2\cdots(1-q^{2n_k-1})^2}, \] and establish families of identities, generating function relations, and hypergeometric representations for the truncated forms of $V_k(q)$ and $W_k(q)$. Connections with overpartition pairs and bipartitions with distinct odd parts arise naturally in this context.

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arXiv2025

From crank to congruences

In this paper, we investigate the arithmetic properties of the difference between the number of partitions of a positive integer $n$ with even crank and those with odd crank, denoted $C(n)=c_e(n)-c_o(n)$. Inspired by Ramanujan's classical congruences for the partition function $p(n)$, we establish a Ramanujan-type congruence for $C(n)$, proving that $C(5n+4) \equiv 0 \pmod{5}$. Further, we study the generating function $\sum\limits_{n=0}^\infty a(n)\, q^n = \frac{(-q; q)^2_\infty}{(q; q)_\infty}$, which arises naturally in this context, and provide multiple combinatorial interpretations for the sequence $a(n)$. We then offer a complete characterization of the values $a(n) \mod 2^m$ for $m = 1, 2, 3, 4$, highlighting their connection to generalized pentagonal numbers. Using computational methods and modular forms, we also derive new identities and congruences, including $a(7n+2) \equiv 0 \pmod{7}$, expanding the scope of partition congruences in arithmetic progressions. These results build upon classical techniques and recent computational advances, revealing deep combinatorial and modular structure within partition functions.

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arXiv2025

Do perfect powers repel partition numbers?

In 2013 Zhi-Wei Sun conjectured that $p(n)$ is never a power of an integer when $n>1.$ We confirm this claim in many cases. We also observe that integral powers appear to repel the partition numbers. If $k>1$ and $\Delta_k(n)$ is the distance between $p(n)$ and the nearest $k$th power, then for every $d\geq 0$ we conjecture that there are at most finitely many $n$ for which $\Delta_k(n)\leq d.$ More precisely, for every $\varepsilon>0,$ we conjecture that $$M_k(d):=\max\{n \ : \ \Delta_k(n)\leq d\}=o( d^{\varepsilon}).$$ In $k$-power aspect with $d$ fixed, we also conjecture that if $k$ is sufficiently large, then $$ M_k(d)=\max \left\{ n \ : \ p(n)-1\leq d\right\}. $$ In other words, $1$ generally appears to be the closest $k$th power among the partition numbers.

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arXiv2024

Elementary symmetric partitions

Let e_k(x_1,...,x_l) be an elementary symmetric polynomial and let mu = (mu_1,...,mu_l) be an integer partition. Define pre_k(mu) to be the partition whose parts are the summands in the evaluation e_k(mu_1,...,mu_l). The study of such partitions was initiated by Ballantine, Beck, and Merca who showed (among other things) that pre_2 is injective as a map on binary partitions of n. In the present work we derive a host of identities involving the sequences which count the number of parts of a given value in the image of pre_2. These include generating functions, explicit expressions, and formulas for forward differences. We generalize some of these to d-ary partitions and explore connections with color partitions. Our techniques include the use of generating functions and bijections on rooted partitions. We end with a list of conjectures and a direction for future research.

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arXiv2024

Partitions and elementary symmetric polynomials -- an experimental approach

Given a partition $\lambda$, we write $e_j(\lambda)$ for the $j^{\textrm{th}}$ elementary symmetric polynomial $e_j$ evaluated at the parts of $\lambda$ and $e_jp_A(n)$ for the sum of $e_j(\lambda)$ as $\lambda$ ranges over the set of partitions of $n$ with parts in $A$. For $e_jp_A(n)$, we prove analogs of the classical formula for the partition function, $p(n)=1/n \sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\sigma_1(n-k)p(k)$, where $\sigma_1$ is the sum of divisors function. We prove several congruences for $e_2p_4(n)$, the sum of $e_2$ over the set of partitions of $n$ into four parts. Define the function $\textrm{pre}_j(\lambda)$ to be the multiset of monomials in $e_j(\lambda)$, which is itself a partition. If $\mathcal A$ is a set of partitions, we define $\textrm{pre}_j(\mathcal A)$ to be the set of partitions $\textrm{pre}_j(\lambda)$ as $\lambda$ ranges over $\mathcal A$. If $\mathcal P(n)$ is the set of all partitions of $n$, we conjecture that the number of odd partitions in $\textrm{pre}_2(\mathcal P(n))$ is at least the number of distinct partitions. We prove some results about $\textrm{pre}_2(\mathcal B(n))$, where $\mathcal B(n)$ is the set of binary partitions of $n$. We conclude with conjectures on the log-concavity of functions related to $e_jp(n)$, the sum of $e_j(\lambda)$ for all $\lambda\in \mathcal P(n)$.

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arXiv2023

The partition function $p(n)$ in terms of the classical M\"{o}bius function

In this paper, we investigate decompositions of the partition function $p(n)$ from the additive theory of partitions considering the famous M\"{o}bius function $\mu(n)$ from multiplicative number theory. Some combinatorial interpretations are given in this context. Our work extends several analogous identities proved recently relating $p(n)$ and Euler's totient function $\varphi(n)$. Keywords: Lambert series; M\"{o}bius function; $q$-series; partition function

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arXiv2023

A Partition Identity Related to Stanley's Theorem

In this paper, we use the Lambert series generating function for Euler's totient function to introduce a new identity for the number of $1$'s in the partitions of $n$. A new expansion for Euler's partition function $p(n)$ is derived in this context. These surprising new results connect the famous classical totient function from multiplicative number theory to the additive theory of partitions.

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arXiv2023

$6$-regular partitions: new combinatorial properties, congruences, and linear inequalities

We consider the number of the $6$-regular partitions of $n$, $b_6(n)$, and give infinite families of congruences modulo $3$ (in arithmetic progression) for $b_6(n)$. We also consider the number of the partitions of $n$ into distinct parts not congruent to $\pm 2$ modulo $6$, $Q_2(n)$, and investigate connections between $b_6(n)$ and $Q_2(n)$ providing new combinatorial interpretations for these partition functions. In this context, we discover new infinite families of linear inequalities involving Euler's partition function $p(n)$. Infinite families of linear inequalities involving the $6$-regular partition function $b_6(n)$ and the distinct partition function $Q_2(n)$ are proposed as open problems.

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arXiv2022

Parity of 3-regular partition numbers and Diophantine equations

Let $b_3(n)$ be the number of $3$-regular partitions of $n$. Recently, W. J. Keith and F. Zanello discovered infinite families of Ramanujan type congruences modulo $2$ for $b_3(2n)$ involving every prime $p$ with $p \equiv 13, 17, 19, 23 \pmod {24}$, and O. X. M. Yao provided new infinite families of Ramanujan type congruences modulo $2$ for $b_3(2n)$ involving every prime $p\geqslant 5$. In this paper, we introduce new infinite Ramanujan type congruences modulo $2$ for $b_3(2n)$. They complement naturally the results of Keith-Zanello and Yao and involve primes in $\mathcal P=\{p \text{ prime } : \exists \, j\in \{1,4,8\},\, x, y \in \mathbb Z,\, \gcd(x,y)=1 \text { with } x^2+216y^2=jp\}$ whose Dirichlet density is $1/6$. As a key ingredient in our proof we show that of the number of primitive solutions for $x^2+216y^2=pm$, $p \in \mathcal P$, $p\nmid m$ and $pm\equiv 1\pmod{24}$, is divisible by $8$. Here, the difficulty arises from the fact that $216$ is not idoneal. We also give a conjectural exact formula for the number of solutions for this Diophantine equation. In the second part of the article, we study reversals of Euler-type identities. These are motivated by recent work of the second author on a reversal of Schur's identity which involves $3$-regular partitions weighted by the parity of their length.

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arXiv2022

Dyson's crank and unimodal compositions

The crank is a partition statistic requested by Dyson in 1944 in order to combinatorially prove a Ramanujan congruence of Euler's partition function $p(n)$. In this paper, we provide connections between Dyson's crank and unimodal compositions. Somewhat unrelated, we give a combinatorial proof of a new truncated Euler pentagonal number theorem due to Xia and Zhao.

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arXiv2021

On Ramanujan-type Congruences for Multiplicative Functions

The study of Ramanujan-type congruences for functions specific to additive number theory has a long and rich history. Motivated by recent connections between divisor sums and overpartitions via congruences in arithmetic progressions, we investigate the existence and classification of Ramanujan-type congruences for functions in multiplicative number theory.

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arXiv2021

$4$-Regular partitions and the pod function

The partition function $pod(n)$ enumerates the partitions of $n$ wherein odd parts are distinct and even parts are unrestricted. Recently, a number of properties for $pod(n)$ have been established. In this paper, for $k\in\{0,2\}$ we consider the partitions of $n$ into distinct parts not congruent to $k$ modulo $4$ and the $4$-regular partitions of $n$ in order to obtain new properties for $pod(n)$. In this context, we derive two new infinite families of linear inequalities involving the function $pod(n)$ and obtain new identities of Watson type.

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arXiv2021

Infinite product formulae for generating functions for sequences of squares

We state and prove product formulae for several generating functions for sequences $(a_n)_{n\ge0}$ that are defined by the property that $Pa_n+b^2$ is a square, where $P$ and $b$ are given integers. In particular, we prove corresponding conjectures of the second author. We show that, by means of the Jacobi triple product identity, all these generating functions can be reduced to a linear combination of theta function products. The proof of our formulae then consists in simplifying these linear combinations of theta products into single products. We do this in two ways: (1) by using modular function theory, and (2) by applying the Weierstraßaddition formula for theta products.

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arXiv2021

Overpartitions and functions from multiplicative number theory

Let $α$ and $β$ be two nonnegative integers such that $β< α$. For an arbitrary sequence $\{a_n\}_{n\geqslant 1}$ of complex numbers, we consider the generalized Lambert series in order to investigate linear combinations of the form $\sum_{k\geqslant 1} S(αk-β,n) a_k$, where $S(k,n)$ is the total number of non-overlined parts equal to $k$ in all the overpartitions of $n$. The general nature of the numbers $a_n$ allows us to provide connections between overpartitions and functions from multiplicative number theory.

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arXiv2020

On a nonlinear relation for computing the overpartition function

In 1939, H. S. Zuckerman provided a Hardy-Ramanujan-Rademacher-type convergent series that can be used to compute an isolated value of the overpartition function $\overline{p}(n)$. Computing $\overline{p}(n)$ by this method requires arithmetic with very high-precision approximate real numbers and it is complicated. In this paper, we provide a formula to compute the values of $\overline{p}(n)$ that requires only the values of $\overline{p}(k)$ with $k\leqslant n/2$. This formula is combined with a known linear homogeneous recurrence relation for the overpartition function $\overline{p}(n)$ to obtain a simple and fast computation of the value of $\overline{p}(n)$. This new method uses only (large) integer arithmetic and it is simpler to program.

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arXiv2020

The powers of two as sums over partitions

In this paper, we investigate two methods to express the natural powers of $2$ as sums over integer partitions. First we consider a formula by N. J. Fine that allows us to express a binomial coefficient in terms of multinomial coefficients as a sum over partitions. The second method invokes the central binomial coefficients and the logarithmic differentiation of their generating function. Some experimental results suggest the existence of other methods of decomposing the power of $2$ as sums over partitions.

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arXiv2020

Truncated theta series and partitions into distinct parts

Linear inequalities involving Euler's partition function $p(n)$ have been the subject of recent studies. In this article, we consider the partition function $Q(n)$ counting the partitions of $n$ into distinct parts. Using truncated theta series, we provide four infinite families of linear inequalities for $Q(n)$ and partition theoretic interpretations for these results.

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arXiv2020

Rank partition functions and truncated theta identities

In $1944$, Freeman Dyson defined the concept of rank of an integer partition and introduced without definition the term of crank of an integer partition. A definition for the crank satisfying the properties hypothesized for it by Dyson was discovered in 1988 by G. E. Andrews and F. G. Garvan. In this paper, we introduce truncated forms for two theta identities involving the generating functions for partitions with non-negative rank and non-negative crank. As corollaries we derive new infinite families of linear inequalities for the partition function $p(n)$. The number of Garden of Eden partitions are also considered in this context in order to provide other infinite families of linear inequalities for $p(n)$.

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