cp's OEIS Frontend

This is the case r = 2 of the r-Stirling numbers of the second kind. The 2-Stirling numbers of the second kind give the number of ways of partitioning the set {1,2,...,n} into k nonempty disjoint subsets with the restriction that the elements 1 and 2 belong to distinct subsets.

More generally, the r-Stirling numbers of the second kind give the number of ways of partitioning the set {1,2,...,n} into k nonempty disjoint subsets with the restriction that the numbers 1, 2, ..., r belong to distinct subsets. The case r = 1 gives the usual Stirling numbers of the second kind A008277; for other cases see A143495 (r = 3) and A143496 (r = 4).

The lower unitriangular array of r-Stirling numbers of the second kind equals the matrix product P^(r-1) * S (with suitable offsets in the row and column indexing), where P is Pascal's triangle, A007318 and S is the array of Stirling numbers of the second kind, A008277.

For the definition of and entries relating to the corresponding r-Stirling numbers of the first kind see A143491. For entries on r-Lah numbers refer to A143497. The theory of r-Stirling numbers of both kinds is developed in [Broder].

From Peter Bala, Sep 19 2008: (Start)

Let D be the derivative operator d/dx and E the Euler operator x*d/dx. Then x^(-2)*E^n*x^2 = Sum_{k = 0..n} T(n+2,k+2)*x^k*D^k.

The row generating polynomials R_n(x) := Sum_{k= 2..n} T(n,k)*x^k satisfy the recurrence R_(n+1)(x) = x*R_n(x) + x*d/dx(R_n(x)) with R_2(x) = x^2. It follows that the polynomials R_n(x) have only real zeros (apply Corollary 1.2. of [Liu and Wang]).

Relation with the 2-Eulerian numbers E_2(n,j) := A144696(n,j): T(n,k) = 2!/k!*Sum_ {j = n-k..n-2} E_2(n,j)*binomial(j,n-k) for n >= k >= 2. (End)

From Wolfdieter Lang, Sep 29 2011: (Start)

T(n,k) = S(n,k,2), n>=k>=2, in Mikhailov's first paper, eq.(28) or (A3). E.g.f. column no. k from (A20) with k->2, r->k. Therefore, with offset [0,0], this triangle is the Sheffer triangle (exp(2*x),exp(x)-1) with e.g.f. of column no. m>=0: exp(2*x)*((exp(x)-1)^m)/m!. See one of the formulas given below. For Sheffer matrices see the W. Lang link under A006232 with the S. Roman reference, also found in A132393. (End)

The row polynomials s(n,x) := n!*L(n,3,x) = Sum_{m=0..n} a(n,m)*x^m have e.g.f. exp(-z*x/(1-z))/(1-z)^4. They are Sheffer polynomials satisfying the binomial convolution identity s(n,x+y) = Sum_{k=0..n} binomial(n,k)*s(k,x)*p(n-k,y), with polynomials p(n,x) = Sum_{m=1..n} |A008297(n,m)|*(-x)^m, n >= 1 and p(0,x)=1 (for Sheffer polynomials see A048854 for S. Roman reference).

These polynomials appear in the radial part of the l=1 (p-wave) eigen functions for the discrete energy levels of the H-atom. See Messiah reference.

The unsigned version of this triangle is the triangle of unsigned 2-Lah numbers A143497. - Peter Bala, Aug 25 2008

This matrix (unsigned) is embedded in that for n!*L(n,-3,-x). Introduce 0,0,0 to each unsigned row and then add 1,-2,1,4,2,1 to the beginning of the array as the first three rows to generate n!*L(n,-3,-x). - Tom Copeland, Apr 21 2014

From Wolfdieter Lang, Jul 07 2014: (Start)

The standard Rodrigues formula for the monic generalized Laguerre polynomials (also called Laguerre-Sonin polynomials) is Lm(n,alpha,x) := (-1)^n*n!*L(n,3,x) is x^(-alpha)*exp(x)*(d/dx)^n(exp(-x)*x^(n+alpha)).

Another Rodrigues type formula is Lm(n,alpha,x) = exp(x)*x^(-alpha+n+1)*(-x^2*d/dx)^n*(exp(-x)*x^(alpha+1)). This is derivable from the differential - difference relation of Lm(n,alpha,x) which yields first the creation operator formula -(x*d/dx + (-x + alpha + n + 1))*Lm(n,alpha,x) = Lm(n+1,alpha,x) or in the variable q = log(x) the operator -(d/dq + alpha + n + 1 - exp(q)).

The identity (due to Christoph Mayer) (d/dq - (d/dq)W(q))*f(q) = exp(W(q)*d/dq(exp(-W(q)*f(q)) is then iterated with W(q) = W(alpha,n,q) = exp(q) - (alpha + n + 1)*q and a further change of variables leads then to the given result. (End)

Essentially the same as A136124 but with column numbers differing by one. See A049444 for a signed version of this array. The unsigned 2-Stirling numbers of the first kind count the permutations of the set {1,2,...,n} into k disjoint cycles, with the restriction that the elements 1 and 2 belong to distinct cycles. This is the particular case r = 2 of the unsigned r-Stirling numbers of the first kind, which count the permutations of the set {1,2,...,n} into k disjoint cycles, with the restriction that the numbers 1, 2, ..., r belong to distinct cycles. The case r = 1 gives the usual unsigned Stirling numbers of the first kind, abs(A008275); for other cases see A143492 (r = 3) and A143493 (r = 4). The corresponding 2-Stirling numbers of the second kind can be found in A143494.

In general, the lower unitriangular array of unsigned r-Stirling numbers of the first kind (with suitable offsets in the row and column indexing) equals the matrix product St1 * P^(r-1), where St1 is the array of unsigned Stirling numbers of the first kind, abs(A008275) and P is Pascal's triangle, A007318. The theory of r-Stirling numbers of both kinds is developed in [Broder]. For details of the related r-Lah numbers see A143497.

This sequence also represents the number of permutations in the alternating group An of length k, where the length is taken with respect to the generators set {(12)(ij)}. For a bijective proof of the relation between these numbers and the 2-Stirling numbers of the first kind see the Rotbart link. - Aviv Rotbart, May 05 2011

With offset n=0,k=0 : triangle T(n,k), read by rows, given by [2,1,3,2,4,3,5,4,6,5,...] DELTA [1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,...] where DELTA is the operator defined in A084938. - Philippe Deléham, Sep 29 2011

With offset n=0 and k=0, this is the Sheffer triangle (1/(1-x)^2,-log(1-x)) (in the umbral notation of S. Roman's book this would be called Sheffer for (exp(-2*t),1-exp(-t))). See the e.g.f. given below. Compare also with the e.g.f. for the signed version A049444. - Wolfdieter Lang, Oct 10 2011

Reversed rows correspond to the Betti numbers of the moduli space M(0,n) of smooth Riemann surfaces (see Murri link). - Tom Copeland, Sep 19 2012

Let [n] denote the ordered set {1,2,...,n}. The symmetric group S_n consists of the injective mappings p:[n] -> [n]. Such a permutation p has an excedance at position i, 1 <= i < n, if p(i) > i. One well-known interpretation of the Eulerian numbers A(n,k) is that they count the permutations in the symmetric group S_n with k excedances. The triangle of Eulerian numbers is A008292 (but with an offset of 1 in the column numbering). We generalize this definition to restricted permutations as follows.

Let r be a nonnegative integer and let Permute(n,n-r) denote the set of injective maps p:[n-r] -> [n], which we think of as permutations of n numbers taken n-r at a time. Clearly, |Permute(n,n-r)| = n!/r!. We say that p has an excedance at position i, 1 <= i <= n-r, if p(i) > i. Then the r-Eulerian number, denoted by A(r;n,k), is defined as the number of permutations in Permute(n,n-r) having k excedances. Thus the current array of 2-Eulerian numbers gives the number of permutations in Permute(n,n-2) with k excedances. See the example section below for some numerical examples.

Clearly A(0;n,k) = A(n,k). The case r = 1 also produces the ordinary Eulerian numbers A(n,k). There is an obvious bijection from Permute(n,n) to Permute(n,n-1) that preserves the number of excedances of a permutation. Consequently, the 1-Eulerian numbers are equal to the 0-Eulerian numbers: A(1;n,k) = A(0;n,k) = A(n,k).

For other cases of r-Eulerian numbers see A144697 (r = 3), A144698 (r = 4) and A144699 (r = 5). There is also a concept of r-Stirling numbers of the first and second kinds - see A143491 and A143494. If we multiply the entries of the current array by a factor of 2 and then reverse the rows we obtain A120434.

An alternative interpretation of the current array due to [Strosser] involves the 2-excedance statistic of a permutation (see also [Foata & Schutzenberger, Chapitre 4, Section 3]). We define a permutation p in Permute(n,n-2) to have a 2-excedance at position i (1 <=i <= n-2) if p(i) >= i + 2.

Given a permutation p in Permute(n,n-2), define ~p to be the permutation in Permute(n,n-2) that takes i to n+1 - p(n-i-1). The map ~ is a bijection of Permute(n,n-2) with the property that if p has (resp. does not have) an excedance in position i then ~p does not have (resp. has) a 2-excedance at position n-i-1. Hence ~ gives a bijection between the set of permutations with k excedances and the set of permutations with (n-k) 2-excedances. Thus reading the rows of this array in reverse order gives a triangle whose entries count the permutations in Permute(n,n-2) with k 2-excedances.

Example: Represent a permutation p:[n-2] -> [n] in Permute(n,n-2) by its image vector (p(1),...,p(n-2)). In Permute(10,8) the permutation p = (1,2,4,7,10,6,5,8) does not have an excedance in the first two positions (i = 1 and 2) or in the final three positions (i = 6, 7 and 8). The permutation ~p = (3,6,5,1,4,7,9,10) has 2-excedances only in the first three positions and the final two positions.

From Peter Bala, Dec 27 2019: (Start)

This is the array A(1,1,3) in the notation of Hwang et al. (p. 25), where the authors remark that the r-Eulerian numbers were first studied by Shanlan Li (Duoji Bilei, Ch. 4), who gave the summation formulas

Sum_{i = 2..n+1} (i-1)*C(i,2) = C(n+3,4) + 2*C(n+2,4)

Sum_{i = 2..n+1} (i-1)^2*C(i,2) = C(n+4,5) + 7*C(n+3,5) + 4*C(n+2,5)

Sum_{i = 2..n+1} (i-1)^3*C(i,2) = C(n+5,6) + 18*C(n+4,6) + 33*C(n+3,6) + 8*C(n+2,6). (End)

For a signed version of this triangle see A062138. This is the case r = 3 of the unsigned r-Lah numbers L(r;n,k). The unsigned 3-Lah numbers count the partitions of the set {1,2,...,n} into k ordered lists with the restriction that the elements 1, 2 and 3 belong to different lists. For other cases see A105278 (r = 1), A143497 (r = 2 and comments on the general case) and A143499 (r = 4).

The unsigned 3-Lah numbers are related to the 3-Stirling numbers: the lower triangular array of unsigned 3-Lah numbers may be expressed as the matrix product St1(3) * St2(3), where St1(3) = A143492 and St2(3) = A143495 are the arrays of 3-Stirling numbers of the first and second kind respectively. An alternative factorization for the array is as St1 * P^4 * St2, where P denotes Pascal's triangle, A007318, St1 is the triangle of unsigned Stirling numbers of the first kind, abs(A008275) and St2 denotes the triangle of Stirling numbers of the second kind, A008277.

This is the case r = 4 of the unsigned r-Lah numbers L(r;n,k). The unsigned 4-Lah numbers count the partitions of the set {1,2,...,n} into k ordered lists with the restriction that the elements 1, 2, 3 and 4 belong to different lists. For other cases see A105278 (r = 1), A143497 (r = 2 and comments on the general case) and A143498 (r = 3).

The unsigned 4-Lah numbers are related to the 4-Stirling numbers: the lower triangular array of unsigned 4-Lah numbers may be expressed as the matrix product St1(4) * St2(4), where St1(4) = A143493 and St2(4) = A143496 are the arrays of 4-restricted Stirling numbers of the first and second kind respectively. An alternative factorization for the array is as St1 * P^6 * St2, where P denotes Pascal's triangle, A007318, St1 is the triangle of unsigned Stirling numbers of the first kind, abs(A008275) and St2 denotes the triangle of Stirling numbers of the second kind, A008277.

The (2, 2)-Lah numbers T(n, k) count ordered 2-tuples (pi(1), pi(2)) of partitions of the set {1, ..., n} into k linearly ordered blocks (lists, for short) such that the numbers 1, 2 are in distinct lists, and bl(pi(1)) = bl(pi(2)) where for i = {1, 2} and pi(i) = b(1)^i, b(2)^i, ..., b(k)^i, where b(1)^i, b(2)^i, ..., b(k)^i are the blocks of partition pi(i), bl(pi(i)) = {min(b(1))^i, min(b(2))^i, ..., min(b(k))^i} is the set of block leaders, i.e., of minima of the lists in partition pi(i).

The (2, 2)-Lah numbers T(n, k) are the (m, r)-Lah numbers for m=r=2. More generally, the (m, r)-Lah numbers count ordered m-tuples (pi(1), pi(2), ..., pi(m)) of partitions of the set {1, 2, ..., n} into k linearly ordered blocks (lists, for short) such that the numbers 1, 2, ..., r are in distinct lists, and bl(pi(1)) = bl(pi(2)) = ... = bl(pi(m)) where for i = {1, 2, ..., m} and pi(i) = {b(1)^i, b(2)^i, ..., b(k)^i}, where b(1)^i, b(2)^i,..., b(k)^i are the blocks of partition pi(i), bl(pi(i)) = {min(b(1))^i, min(b(2))^i, ..., min (b(k))^i} is the set of block leaders, i.e., of minima of the lists in partition pi(i).

The (3, 2)-Lah numbers T(n, k) count ordered 3-tuples (pi(1), pi(2), pi(3)) of partitions of the set {1, ..., n} into k linearly ordered blocks (lists, for short) such that the numbers 1, 2 are in distinct lists, and bl(pi(1)) = bl(pi(2))= bl(pi(3)) where for i = {1, 2, 3} and pi(i) = b(1)^i, b(2)^i, ..., b(k)^i, where b(1)^i, b(2)^i, ..., b(k)^i are the blocks of partition pi(i), bl(pi(i)) = {min(b(1))^i, min(b(2))^i, ..., min(b(k))^i} is the set of block leaders, i.e., of minima of the lists in partition pi(i).

The (3, 2)-Lah numbers T(n, k) are the (m, r)-Lah numbers for m=3 and r=2.

More generally, the (m, r)-Lah numbers count ordered m-tuples (pi(1), pi(2), ..., pi(m)) of partitions of the set {1, 2, ..., n} into k linearly ordered blocks (lists, for short) such that the numbers 1, 2, ..., r are in distinct lists, and bl(pi(1)) = bl(pi(2)) = ... = bl(pi(m)) where for i = {1, 2, ..., m} and pi(i) = {b(1)^i, b(2)^i, ..., b(k)^i}, where b(1)^i, b(2)^i, ..., b(k)^i are the blocks of partition pi(i), bl(pi(i)) = {min(b(1))^i, min(b(2))^i, ..., min (b(k))^i} is the set of block leaders, i.e., of minima of the lists in partition pi(i).