We examine two different ways of encoding a counting function, as a rational generating function and explicitly as a function (defined piecewise using the greatest integer function). We prove that, if the degree and number of input variables of the (quasi-polynomial) function are fixed, there is a polynomial time algorithm which converts between the two representations. Examples of such counting functions include Ehrhart quasi-polynomials, vector partition functions, integer points in parametric polytopes, and projections of the integer points in parametric polytopes. For this last example, this algorithm provides the first known way to compute the explicit function in polynomial time. We rely heavily on results of Barvinok, and also of Verdoolaege, Seghir, Beyls, et al.
We study the number of real rational degree n functions (considered up to linear fractional transformations of the independent variable) with a given set of 2n-2 distinct real critical values. We present a combinatorial reformulation of this number and pose several related questions.
In 1999, Neil Calkin and Herbert Wilf wrote "Recounting the rationals" which gave an explicit bijection between the positive integers and the positive rationals. We find several different (some new) ways to construct this enumeration and thus create pointers for generalizing. Next, we use circle packings to generalize and find two other enumerations. Surprisingly, the three enumerations are all that are possible by using this technique. The proofs involve, among other things, "negative" continued fractions, Chebyshev polynomials, Euler's totient function, and generalizations of Stern's diatomi…
A descent of a labeled digraph is a directed edge (s, t) with s > t. We count strong tournaments, strong digraphs, and acyclic digraphs by descents and edges. To count strong tournaments we use Eulerian generating functions and to count strong and acyclic digraphs we use a new type of generating function that we call a graphic Eulerian generating function.
We find the exponential generating function for permutations with all valleys even and all peaks odd, and use it to determine the asymptotics for its coefficients, answering a question posed by Liviu Nicolaescu. The generating function can be expressed as the reciprocal of a sum involving Euler numbers. We give two proofs of the formula. The first uses a system of differential equations. The second proof derives the generating function directly from general permutation enumeration techniques, using noncommutative symmetric functions. The generating function is an "alternating" analogue of Davi…
We find generating functions the number of strings (words) containing a specified number of occurrences of certain types of order-isomorphic classes of substrings called subword patterns. In particular, we find generating functions for the number of strings containing a specified number of occurrences of a given 3-letter subword pattern.
In previous work, we gave asymptotic counting results for the number of tree-child and normal networks with $k$ reticulation vertices and explicit exponential generating functions of the counting sequences for $k=1,2,3$. The purpose of this note is two-fold. First, we make some corrections to our previous approach which overcounted the above numbers and thus gives erroneous exponential generating functions (however, the overcounting does not effect our asymptotic counting results). Secondly, we use our (corrected) exponential generating functions to derive explicit formulas for the number of t…
In this paper, we study the generating function of cyclically fully commutative elements in Coxeter groups, which are elements such that any cyclic shift of theirs reduced decompositions remains a reduced expression of a fully commutative element. By designing a finite state automaton recognizing reduced expressions of cyclically fully commutative elements, we can show that the aforementioned generating series is always rational.
We enumerate rational curves in toric surfaces passing through points and satisfying cross-ratio constraints using tropical and combinatorial methods. Our starting point is arXiv:1509.07453, where a tropical-algebraic correspondence theorem was proved that relates counts of rational curves in toric varieties that satisfy point conditions and cross-ratio constraints to the analogous tropical counts. We proceed in two steps: based on tropical intersection theory we first study tropical cross-ratios and introduce degenerated cross-ratios. Second we provide a lattice path algorithm that produces a…
We prove that the generating function for the number of flattened permutations having a given number of occurrences of the pattern 13-2 is rational, by using the recurrence relations and the kernel method.
We consider the set of affine permutations that avoid a fixed permutation pattern. Crites has given a simple characterization for when this set is infinite. We find the generating series for this set using the Coxeter length statistic and prove that it can always be represented as a rational function. We also give a characterization of the patterns for which the coefficients of the generating series are periodic. The proofs exploit a new polyhedral encoding for the affine symmetric group.
In this paper we give a generalization created by the author of the theory of rook polynomials and permanents of circulants, Toeplits matrices and their submatrices.
We discuss and give elementary proofs of results of Brion and of Lawrence-Varchenko on the lattice-point enumerator generating functions for polytopes and cones. This largely expository note contains a new proof of Brion's Formula using irrational decompositions, and a generalization of the Lawrence-Varchenko formula.
We introduce and study the number of tilings of unit height rectangles with irrational tiles. We prove that the class of sequences of these numbers coincides with the class of diagonals of N-rational generating functions and a class of certain binomial multisums. We then give asymptotic applications and establish connections to hypergeometric functions and Catalan numbers.
This is a follow-up paper of arXiv:1805.00115, where rational curves in surfaces that satisfy general positioned point and cross-ratio conditions were enumerated. A suitable correspondence theorem provided in arXiv:1509.07453 allowed us to use tropical geometry, and, in particular, a degeneration technique called floor diagrams. This correspondence theorem also holds in higher dimension. In the current paper, we introduce so-called cross-ratio floor diagrams and show that they allow us to determine the number of rational space curves that satisfy general positioned point and cross-ratio condit…
We show that, for any fixed genus $g$, the ordinary generating function for the genus $g$ partitions of an $n$-element set into $k$ blocks is algebraic. The proof involves showing that each such partition may be reduced in a unique way to a primitive partition and that the number of primitive partitions of a given genus is finite. We illustrate our method by finding the generating function for genus $2$ partitions, after identifying all genus $2$ primitive partitions, using a computer-assisted search.
Let $F(x)=\sum\limits_{n=1}^\inftyτ(n)x^n$ be the generating function for the number $τ(n)$ of spanning trees in the circulant graphs $C_{n}(s_1,s_2,\ldots,s_k).$ We show that $F(x)$ is a rational function with integer coefficients satisfying the property $F(x)=F(1/x).$ A similar result is also true for the circulant graphs of odd valency $C_{2n}(s_1,s_2,\ldots,s_k,n).$ We illustrate the obtained results by a series of examples.
We consider weighted small step walks in the positive quadrant, and provide algebraicity and differential transcendence results for the underlying generating functions: we prove that depending on the probabilities of allowed steps, certain of the generating functions are algebraic over the field of rational functions, while some others do not satisfy any algebraic differential equation with rational function coefficients. Our techniques involve differential Galois theory for difference equations as well as complex analysis (Weierstrass parameterization of elliptic curves). We also extend to th…
A Schröder path is a lattice path from $(0,0)$ to $(2n,0)$ with steps $(1,1)$, $(1,-1)$ and $(2,0)$ that never goes below the $x-$axis. A small Schröder path is a Schröder path with no $(2,0)$ steps on the $x-$axis. In this paper, a 3-variable generating function $R_L(x,y,z)$ is given for Schröder paths and small Schröder paths respectively. As corollaries, we obtain the generating functions for several kinds of generalized Schröder paths counted according to the order in a unified way.
We describe Maple packages for the automatic generation of generating functions(and series expansions) for counting lattice animals(fixed polyominoes), in the two-dimensional hexagonal lattice, of bounded but arbitrary width. Our Maple packages(complete with source code) are easy-to-use and available from my website.
We show that the 4-variable generating function of certain orientation related parameters of an ordered oriented matroid is the evaluation at (x + u, y+v) of its Tutte polynomial. This evaluation contains as special cases the counting of regions in hyperplane arrangements and of acyclic orientations in graphs. Several new 2-variable expansions of the Tutte polynomial of an oriented matroid follow as corollaries. This result hold more generally for oriented matroid perspectives, with specific special cases the counting of bounded regions in hyperplane arrangements or of bipolar acyclic orientat…
In their study of cyclic pattern containment, Domagalski et al. conjecture differential equations for the generating functions of circular permutations avoiding consecutive patterns of length 3. In this note, we prove and significantly generalize these conjectures. We show that, for every consecutive pattern $σ$ beginning with 1, the bivariate generating function counting occurrences of $σ$ in circular permutations can be obtained from the generating function counting occurrences of $σ$ in (linear) permutations. This includes all the patterns for which the latter generating function is known.
Gessel's walks are the planar walks that move within the positive quadrant $\mathbb{Z}_{+}^{2}$ by unit steps in any of the following directions: West, North-East, East and South-West. In this paper, we find an explicit expression for the trivariate generating function counting the Gessel's walks with $k\geq 0$ steps, which start at $(0,0)$ and end at a given point $(i,j) \in \mathbb{Z}^2_+$.
A recent paper of Church, Ellenberg, and Farb uses topology and representation theory of the symmetric group to prove enumerative results about square-free polynomials and F-stable maximal tori of the general linear group over the algebraic closure of F_q. In this note, we use generating functions to give elementary proofs of some of their results, and some extensions.
Although degree bounds and algorithms for the generators of various invariant rings have been known for decades, little is known about the cardinality of minimal generating sets. Estimates of such would provide lower bounds for the runtime of algorithms that compute invariants. Fix a semisimple linear algebraic group, choose an irreducible representation of highest weight w, and consider the irreducible representations of highest weight nw. As n goes to infinity, the cardinality of a minimal set of generating invariants grows faster than any polynomial in n. On the other hand, combinatorial me…
Let $c_n$ denote the number of nodes at a distance $n$ from the root of a rooted tree. A criterion for proving the rationality and computing the rational generating function of the sequence $\{c_n\}$ is described. This criterion is applied to counting the number of conjugacy classes of commuting tuples in finite groups and the number of isomorphism classes of representations of polynomial algebras over finite fields. The method for computing the rational generating functions, when applied to the study of point configurations in finite sets, gives rise to some classical combinatorial results on…
A. We look at multidimensional random walks (Sn) n 0 in convex cones, and address the question of whether two naturally associated generating functions may define rational functions. The first series is the one of the survival probabilities P($τ$ > n), where $τ$ is the first exit time from a given cone; the second series is that of the excursion probabilities P($τ$ > n, Sn = y). Our motivation to consider this question is twofold: first, it goes along with a global effort of the combinatorial community to classify the algebraic nature of the series counting random walks in cones; second, ratio…
Following ideas that go back to Cannon, we show the rationality of various generating functions of growth sequences counting embeddings of convex subgraphs in locally-finite, vertex-transitive graphs with the (relative) falsification by fellow traveler property (fftp). In particular, we recover results of Cannon, of Epstein, Iano-Fletcher and Zwick, and of Calegari and Fujiwara. One of our applications concerns Schreier coset graphs of hyperbolic groups relative to quasi-convex subgroups, we show that these graphs have rational growth, the falsification by fellow traveler property, and the exi…
We describe rational knots with any of the possible combinations of the properties (a)chirality, (non-)positivity, (non-)fiberedness, and unknotting number one (or higher), and determine exactly their number for a given number of crossings in terms of their generating functions. We show in particular how Fibonacci numbers occur in the enumeration of fibered achiral and unknotting number one rational knots. Then we show how to enumerate rational knots by crossing number and genus and/or signature. This allows to determine the distribution of these invariants among rational knots. We give also a…
The aim of this article is to introduce a unified method to obtain explicit integral representations of the trivariate generating function counting the walks with small steps which are confined to a quarter plane. For many models, this yields for the first time an explicit expression of the counting generating function. Moreover, the nature of the integrand of the integral formulations is shown to be directly dependent on the finiteness of a naturally attached group of birational transformations as well as on the sign of the covariance of the walk
Solomon showed that the Poincaré polynomial of a Coxeter group $W$ satisfies a product decomposition depending on the exponents of $W$. This polynomial coincides with the rank-generating function of the poset of regions of the underlying Coxeter arrangement. In this note we determine all instances when the analogous factorization property of the rank-generating function of the poset of regions holds for a restriction of a Coxeter arrangement. It turns out that this is always the case with the exception of some instances in type $E_8$.
Let $ζ$ be a fixed nonzero element in a finite field $\mathbb F_q$ with $q$ elements. In this article, we count the number of pairs $(A,B)$ of $n\times n$ matrices over $\mathbb F_q$ satisfying $AB=ζBA$ by giving a generating function. This generalizes a generating function of Feit and Fine that counts pairs of commuting matrices. Our result can be also viewed as the point count of the variety of modules over the quantum plane $xy=ζyx$, whose geometry was described by Chen and Lu.
We prove that for any fixed d the generating function of the projection of the set of integer points in a rational d-dimensional polytope can be computed in polynomial time. As a corollary, we deduce that various interesting sets of lattice points, notably integer semigroups and (minimal) Hilbert bases of rational cones, have short rational generating functions provided certain parameters (the dimension and the number of generators) are fixed. It follows then that many computational problems for such sets (for example, finding the number of positive integers not representable as a non-negative…
We study algebraic algorithms for expressing the number of non-negative integer solutions to a unimodular system of linear equations as a function of the right hand side. Our methods include Todd classes of toric varieties via Gröbner bases, and rational generating functions as in Barvinok's algorithm. We report polyhedral and computational results for two special cases: counting contingency tables and Kostant's partition function.
Algorithms for computing rational generating functions of solutions of one-dimensional difference equations are well-known and easy to implement. We propose an algorithm for computing rational generating functions of solutions of two-dimensional difference equations in terms of initial data of the corresponding initial value problems. The crucial part of the algorithm is the reconstruction of infinite one-dimensional initial data on the basis of finite input data. The proposed technique can be used for the development of similar algorithms in higher dimensions. We furnish examples of the imple…
Presburger arithmetic is the first-order theory of the natural numbers with addition (but no multiplication). We characterize sets that can be defined by a Presburger formula as exactly the sets whose characteristic functions can be represented by rational generating functions; a geometric characterization of such sets is also given. In addition, if p=(p_1,...,p_n) are a subset of the free variables in a Presburger formula, we can define a counting function g(p) to be the number of solutions to the formula, for a given p. We show that every counting function obtained in this way may be represe…
