Log-convexity and strong q-log-convexity for some triangular arrays

We give a criterion for the log-convexity (resp. the strong q  -log-convexity) of the first column of certain infinite triangular array _(An,k)0?k?n${(A_{n,k})}_{0?k?n}$ of nonnegative numbers (resp. of polynomials in q with nonnegative coefficients), for which the recurrence relation is of the form

_An,k=_{fkAn−1,k−1}+_gkAn−1,k+_hkAn−1,k+1.$A_{n,k}=f_k{A}_{n-1,k-1}+g_k{A}_{n-1,k}+h_k{A}_{n-1,k+1}.$

This allows a unified treatment of the log-convexity of the Catalan-like numbers, as well as that of the q-log-convexity of some classical polynomials. In particular, we obtain simple proofs of the q-log-convexity of Narayana polynomials.