The symmetric and unimodal expansion of Eulerian polynomials via continued fractions

This paper was motivated by a conjecture of Brändén [P. Brändén, Actions on permutations and unimodality of descent polynomials, European J. Combin. 29 (2) (2008) 514-531] about the divisibility of the coefficients in an expansion of generalized Eulerian polynomials, which implies the symmetric and unimodal property of the Eulerian numbers. We show that such a formula with the conjectured property can be derived from the combinatorial theory of continued fractions. We also discuss an analogous expansion for the corresponding formula for derangements and prove a (p,q)-analogue of the fact that the (-1)-evaluation of the enumerator polynomials of permutations (resp. derangements) by the number of excedances gives rise to tangent numbers (resp. secant numbers). The (p,q)-analogue unifies and generalizes our recent results [H. Shin, J. Zeng, The q-tangent and q-secant numbers via continued fractions, European J. Combin. 31 (7) (2010) 1689-1705] and that of Josuat-Vergès [M. Josuat-Vergés, A q-enumeration of alternating permutations, European J. Combin. 31 (7) (2010) 1892-1906].     

The X-Class and Almost-Increasing Permutations

In this paper we give a bijection between the class of permutations that can be drawn on an X-shape and a certain set of permutations that appears in Knuth [4] in connection to sorting algorithms. A natural generalization of this set leads us to the definition of almost-increasing permutations, which is a one-parameter family of permutations that can be characterized in terms of forbidden patterns. We find generating functions for almost-increasing permutations by using their cycle structure to map them to colored Motzkin paths. We also give refined enumerations with respect to the number of cycles, fixed points, excedances, and inversions.     

Counting involutory, unimodal, and alternating signed permutations

In this work we count the number of involutory, unimodal, and alternating elements of the group of signed permutations B_n, and the group of even-signed permutations D_n. Recurrence relations, generating functions, and explicit formulas of the enumerating sequences are given.     

Binomial posets, Möbius inversion, and permutation enumeration

A unified method is presented for enumerating permutations of sets and multisets with various conditions on their descents, inversions, etc. We first prove several formal identities involving Möbius functions associated with binomial posets. We then show that for certain binomial posets these Möbius functions are related to problems in permutation enumeration. Thus, for instance, we can explain “why” the exponential generating function for alternating permutations has the simple form (1 + sin x)/(cos x). We can also clarify the reason for the ubiquitous appearance of e^x in connection with permutations of sets, and of ξ(s) in connection with permutations of multisets.     

Restricted colored permutations and Chebyshev polynomials

Several authors have examined connections between restricted permutations and Chebyshev polynomials of the second kind. In this paper we prove analogues of these results for colored permutations. First we define a distinguished set of length two and length three patterns, which contains only 312 when just one color is used. Then we give a recursive procedure for computing the generating function for the colored permutations which avoid this distinguished set and any set of additional patterns, which we use to find a new set of signed permutations counted by the Catalan numbers and a new set of signed permutations counted by the large Schröder numbers. We go on to use this result to compute the generating functions for colored permutations which avoid our distinguished set and any layered permutation with three or fewer layers. We express these generating functions in terms of Chebyshev polynomials of the second kind and we show that they are special cases of generating functions for involutions which avoid 3412 and a layered permutation.     

Separable d-Permutations and Guillotine Partitions

We characterize separable multidimensional permutations in terms of forbidden patterns and enumerate them by means of generating function, recursive formula, and explicit formula. We find a connection between multidimensional permutations and guillotine partitions of a box. In particular, a bijection between separable d-dimensional permutations and guillotine partitions of a 2 ^d-1-dimensional box is constructed. We also study enumerating problems related to guillotine partitions under certain restrictions revealing connections to other combinatorial structures. This allows us to obtain several results on patterns in permutations.     

Enumerating bases of self-dual matroids

We define involutively self-dual matroids and prove that an enumerator for their bases is the square of a related enumerator for their self-dual bases. This leads to a new proof of Tutte's theorem that the number of spanning trees of a central reflex is a perfect square, and it solves a problem posed by Kalai about higher dimensional spanning trees in simplicial complexes. We also give a weighted version of the latter result.We give an algebraic analogue relating to the critical group of a graph, a finite abelian group whose order is the number of spanning trees of the graph. We prove that the critical group of a central reflex is a direct sum of two copies of an abelian group, and conclude with an analogous result in Kalai's setting.     

Combinatorial Hopf algebras, noncommutative Hall-Littlewood functions, and permutation tableaux

We introduce a new family of noncommutative analogues of the Hall-Littlewood symmetric functions. Our construction relies upon Tevlin's bases and simple q-deformations of the classical combinatorial Hopf algebras. We connect our new Hall-Littlewood functions to permutation tableaux, and also give an exact formula for the q-enumeration of permutation tableaux of a fixed shape. This gives an explicit formula for: the steady state probability of each state in the partially asymmetric exclusion process (PASEP); the polynomial enumerating permutations with a fixed set of weak excedances according to crossings; the polynomial enumerating permutations with a fixed set of descent bottoms according to occurrences of the generalized pattern 2-31.     

Shuffle of parenthesis systems and baxter permutations

A formula for the number alternating Baxter permutations is given. The proof of this formula is given by constructing bijection between permutations, trees, and words. This gives also a combinatorial proof of a formula appearing in the enumerative theory of planar maps.     

Permutations with extremal number of fixed points

We extend Stanley's work on alternating permutations with extremal number of fixed points in two directions: first, alternating permutations are replaced by permutations with a prescribed descent set; second, instead of simply counting permutations we study their generating polynomials by number of excedances. Several techniques are used: Désarménien's desarrangement combinatorics, Gessel's hook-factorization and the analytical properties of two new permutation statistics “DEZ” and “lec.” Explicit formulas for the maximal case are derived by using symmetric function tools.     

Labeled partitions with colored permutations

In this paper, we extend the notion of labeled partitions with ordinary permutations to colored permutations. We use this structure to derive the generating function of the indices of colored permutations. We further give a combinatorial treatment of a relation on the q-derangement numbers with respect to colored permutations. Based on labeled partitions, we provide an involution that implies the generating function formula due to Gessel and Simon for signed q-counting of the major indices. This involution can be extended to signed permutations. This gives a combinatorial interpretation of a formula of Adin, Gessel and Roichman.     

The Two-Dimensional Small Ball Inequality and Binary Nets

In the current paper we present a new proof of the small ball inequality in two dimensions. More importantly, this new argument, based on an approach inspired by lacunary Fourier series, reveals the first formal connection between this inequality and discrepancy theory, namely the construction of two-dimensional binary nets, i.e. finite sets which are perfectly distributed with respect to dyadic rectangles. This relation allows one to generate all possible point distributions of this type. In addition, we outline a potential approach to the higher-dimensional small ball inequality by a dimension reduction argument. In particular this gives yet another proof of the two-dimensional signed (i.e. coefficients \(\pm 1\)) small ball inequality by reducing it to a simple one-dimensional estimate. However, we show that an analogous estimate fails to hold for arbitrary coefficients.     

On the generating function for consecutively weighted permutations

We show that the analytic continuation of the exponential generating function associated to consecutive weighted pattern enumeration of permutations only has poles and no essential singularities. The proof uses the connection between permutation enumeration and functional analysis, and as well as the Laurent expansion of the associated resolvent. As a consequence, we give a partial answer to a question of Elizalde and Noy: when is the multiplicative inverse of the exponential generating function for the number permutations avoiding a single pattern an entire function? Our work implies that it is enough to verify that this function has no zeros to conclude that the inverse function is entire.     

Enumeration of permutations containing a prescribed number of occurrences of a pattern of length three

We consider the problem of enumerating the permutations containing exactly k occurrences of a pattern of length 3. This enumeration has received a lot of interest recently, and there are a lot of known results. This paper presents an alternative approach to the problem, which yields a proof for a formula which so far only was conjectured (by Noonan and Zeilberger). This approach is based on bijections from permutations to certain lattice paths with “jumps,” which were first considered by Krattenthaler.     

Simple permutations and algebraic generating functions

A simple permutation is one that never maps a nontrivial contiguous set of indices contiguously. Given a set of permutations that is closed under taking subpermutations and contains only finitely many simple permutations, we provide a framework for enumerating subsets that are restricted by properties belonging to a finite “query-complete set.” Such properties include being even, being an alternating permutation, and avoiding a given generalised (blocked or barred) pattern. We show that the generating functions for these subsets are always algebraic, thereby generalising recent results of Albert and Atkinson. We also apply these techniques to the enumeration of involutions and cyclic closures.     

Stable multivariate W-Eulerian polynomials

We prove a multivariate strengthening of Brenti?s result that every root of the Eulerian polynomial of type B is real. Our proof combines a refinement of the descent statistic for signed permutations with the notion of real stability—a generalization of real-rootedness to polynomials in multiple variables. The key is that our refined multivariate Eulerian polynomials satisfy a recurrence given by a stability-preserving linear operator.Our results extend naturally to colored permutations, and we also give stable generalizations of recent real-rootedness results due to Dilks, Petersen, and Stembridge on affine Eulerian polynomials of types A and C. Finally, although we are not able to settle Brenti?s real-rootedness conjecture for Eulerian polynomials of type D, nor prove a companion conjecture of Dilks, Petersen, and Stembridge for affine Eulerian polynomials of types B and D, we indicate some methods of attack and pose some related open problems.     

On a theorem of Rimhak Ree about permutations

A simple graph-theoretic proof is given for a theorem about permutations which was obtained by R. Ree with the aid of Riemann surfaces. With an additional hypothesis, we also improve Ree's inequality.     

A generalization of the Erdős–Ko–Rado theorem to t-designs in certain semilattices

The Erd?s–Ko–Rado theorem is extended to designs in semilattices with certain conditions. As an application, we show the intersection theorems for the Hamming schemes, the Johnson schemes, bilinear forms schemes, Grassmann schemes, signed sets, partial permutations and restricted signed sets.     

Some Combinatorics Related to Central Binomial Coefficients: Grand-Dyck Paths, Coloured Noncrossing Partitions and Signed Pattern Avoiding Permutations

We give some interpretations to certain integer sequences in terms of parameters on Grand-Dyck paths and coloured noncrossing partitions, and we find some new bijections relating Grand-Dyck paths and signed pattern avoiding permutations. Next we transfer a natural distributive lattice structure on Grand-Dyck paths to coloured noncrossing partitions and signed pattern avoiding permutations, thus showing, in particular, that it is isomorphic to the structure induced by the (strong) Bruhat order on a certain set of signed pattern avoiding permutations.     

Restricted signed permutations counted by the Schröder numbers

Gire, West, and Kremer have found ten classes of restricted permutations counted by the large Schröder numbers, no two of which are trivially Wilf-equivalent. In this paper we enumerate eleven classes of restricted signed permutations counted by the large Schröder numbers, no two of which are trivially Wilf-equivalent. We obtain five of these enumerations by elementary methods, five by displaying isomorphisms with the classical Schröder generating tree, and one by giving an isomorphism with a new Schröder generating tree. When combined with a result of Egge and a computer search, this completes the classification of restricted signed permutations counted by the large Schröder numbers in which the set of restrictions consists of two patterns of length 2 and two of length 3.