cp's OEIS Frontend

a(n) is the "level" of odd numbers.

The decomposition of odd numbers into weight * level + gap is A005408(n) = A090368(n-1) * a(n) + 2 if a(n) > 0.

Suppose that r = (r(n)) is a sequence satisfying (i) 1 = r(1) > r(2) > r(3) > ... and (ii) r(n) -> 0. For x in (0,1], let n(1) be the index n such that r(n+1) , x <= r(n), and let L(1) = r(n(1))-r(n(1)+1). Let n(2) be the index n such that r(n(1)+1) < x <= r(n(1)+1) + L(1)r(n), and let L(2) = (r(n(2))-r(r(n)+1)L(1). Continue inductively to obtain the sequence (n(1), n(2), n(3), ... ), the r-nested interval sequence of x. Taking r = (1/n!) gives the factorial-nested interval sequence of x.

Conversely, given a sequence s= (n(1),n(2),n(3),...) of positive integers, the number x having satisfying NI(x) = s is the sum of left-endpoints of nested intervals (r(n(k)+1), r(n(k))]; i.e., x = sum{L(k)r(n(k+1)+1), k >=1}, where L(0) = 1.

See A269970 for a guide to related sequences.

Also referred to as T(n) or C(n+1, 2) or binomial(n+1, 2) (preferred).

Also generalized hexagonal numbers: n*(2*n-1), n=0, +-1, +-2, +-3, ... Generalized k-gonal numbers are second k-gonal numbers and positive terms of k-gonal numbers interleaved, k >= 5. In this case k = 6. - Omar E. Pol, Sep 13 2011 and Aug 04 2012

Number of edges in complete graph of order n+1, K_{n+1}.

Number of legal ways to insert a pair of parentheses in a string of n letters. E.g., there are 6 ways for three letters: (a)bc, (ab)c, (abc), a(b)c, a(bc), ab(c). Proof: there are C(n+2,2) ways to choose where the parentheses might go, but n + 1 of them are illegal because the parentheses are adjacent. Cf. A002415.

For n >= 1, a(n) is also the genus of a nonsingular curve of degree n+2, such as the Fermat curve x^(n+2) + y^(n+2) = 1. - Ahmed Fares (ahmedfares(AT)my_deja.com), Feb 21 2001

From Harnack's theorem (1876), the number of branches of a nonsingular curve of order n is bounded by a(n-1)+1, and the bound can be achieved. See also A152947. - Benoit Cloitre, Aug 29 2002. Corrected by Robert McLachlan, Aug 19 2024

Number of tiles in the set of double-n dominoes. - Scott A. Brown, Sep 24 2002

Number of ways a chain of n non-identical links can be broken up. This is based on a similar problem in the field of proteomics: the number of ways a peptide of n amino acid residues can be broken up in a mass spectrometer. In general, each amino acid has a different mass, so AB and BC would have different masses. - James A. Raymond, Apr 08 2003

Triangular numbers - odd numbers = shifted triangular numbers; 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 21, ... - 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, ... = 0, 0, 1, 3, 6, 10, ... - Xavier Acloque, Oct 31 2003 [Corrected by Derek Orr, May 05 2015]

Centered polygonal numbers are the result of [number of sides * A000217 + 1]. E.g., centered pentagonal numbers (1,6,16,31,...) = 5 * (0,1,3,6,...) + 1. Centered heptagonal numbers (1,8,22,43,...) = 7 * (0,1,3,6,...) + 1. - Xavier Acloque, Oct 31 2003

Maximum number of lines formed by the intersection of n+1 planes. - Ron R. King, Mar 29 2004

Number of permutations of [n] which avoid the pattern 132 and have exactly 1 descent. - Mike Zabrocki, Aug 26 2004

Number of ternary words of length n-1 with subwords (0,1), (0,2) and (1,2) not allowed. - Olivier Gérard, Aug 28 2012

Number of ways two different numbers can be selected from the set {0,1,2,...,n} without repetition, or, number of ways two different numbers can be selected from the set {1,2,...,n} with repetition.

Conjecturally, 1, 6, 120 are the only numbers that are both triangular and factorial. - Christopher M. Tomaszewski (cmt1288(AT)comcast.net), Mar 30 2005

Binomial transform is {0, 1, 5, 18, 56, 160, 432, ...}, A001793 with one leading zero. - Philippe Deléham, Aug 02 2005

Each pair of neighboring terms adds to a perfect square. - Zak Seidov, Mar 21 2006

Number of transpositions in the symmetric group of n+1 letters, i.e., the number of permutations that leave all but two elements fixed. - Geoffrey Critzer, Jun 23 2006

With rho(n):=exp(i*2*Pi/n) (an n-th root of 1) one has, for n >= 1, rho(n)^a(n) = (-1)^(n+1). Just use the triviality a(2*k+1) == 0 (mod (2*k+1)) and a(2*k) == k (mod (2*k)).

a(n) is the number of terms in the expansion of (a_1 + a_2 + a_3)^(n-1). - Sergio Falcon, Feb 12 2007

a(n+1) is the number of terms in the complete homogeneous symmetric polynomial of degree n in 2 variables. - Richard Barnes, Sep 06 2017

The number of distinct handshakes in a room with n+1 people. - Mohammad K. Azarian, Apr 12 2007 [corrected, Joerg Arndt, Jan 18 2016]

Equal to the rank (minimal cardinality of a generating set) of the semigroup PT_n\S_n, where PT_n and S_n denote the partial transformation semigroup and symmetric group on [n]. - James East, May 03 2007

a(n) gives the total number of triangles found when cevians are drawn from a single vertex on a triangle to the side opposite that vertex, where n = the number of cevians drawn+1. For instance, with 1 cevian drawn, n = 1+1 = 2 and a(n)= 2*(2+1)/2 = 3 so there is a total of 3 triangles in the figure. If 2 cevians are drawn from one point to the opposite side, then n = 1+2 = 3 and a(n) = 3*(3+1)/2 = 6 so there is a total of 6 triangles in the figure. - Noah Priluck (npriluck(AT)gmail.com), Apr 30 2007

For n >= 1, a(n) is the number of ways in which n-1 can be written as a sum of three nonnegative integers if representations differing in the order of the terms are considered to be different. In other words, for n >= 1, a(n) is the number of nonnegative integral solutions of the equation x + y + z = n-1. - Amarnath Murthy, Apr 22 2001 (edited by Robert A. Beeler)

a(n) is the number of levels with energy n + 3/2 (in units of h*f0, with Planck's constant h and the oscillator frequency f0) of the three-dimensional isotropic harmonic quantum oscillator. See the comment by A. Murthy above: n = n1 + n2 + n3 with positive integers and ordered. Proof from the o.g.f. See the A. Messiah reference. - Wolfdieter Lang, Jun 29 2007

From Hieronymus Fischer, Aug 06 2007: (Start)

Numbers m >= 0 such that round(sqrt(2m+1)) - round(sqrt(2m)) = 1.

Numbers m >= 0 such that ceiling(2*sqrt(2m+1)) - 1 = 1 + floor(2*sqrt(2m)).

Numbers m >= 0 such that fract(sqrt(2m+1)) > 1/2 and fract(sqrt(2m)) < 1/2, where fract(x) is the fractional part of x (i.e., x - floor(x), x >= 0). (End)

If Y and Z are 3-blocks of an n-set X, then, for n >= 6, a(n-1) is the number of (n-2)-subsets of X intersecting both Y and Z. - Milan Janjic, Nov 09 2007

Equals row sums of triangle A143320, n > 0. - Gary W. Adamson, Aug 07 2008

a(n) is also an even perfect number in A000396 iff n is a Mersenne prime A000668. - Omar E. Pol, Sep 05 2008. Unnecessary assumption removed and clarified by Rick L. Shepherd, Apr 14 2025

Equals row sums of triangle A152204. - Gary W. Adamson, Nov 29 2008

The number of matches played in a round robin tournament: n*(n-1)/2 gives the number of matches needed for n players. Everyone plays against everyone else exactly once. - Georg Wrede (georg(AT)iki.fi), Dec 18 2008

-a(n+1) = E(2)*binomial(n+2,2) (n >= 0) where E(n) are the Euler numbers in the enumeration A122045. Viewed this way, a(n) is the special case k=2 in the sequence of diagonals in the triangle A153641. - Peter Luschny, Jan 06 2009

Equivalent to the first differences of successive tetrahedral numbers. See A000292. - Jeremy Cahill (jcahill(AT)inbox.com), Apr 15 2009

The general formula for alternating sums of powers is in terms of the Swiss-Knife polynomials P(n,x) A153641 2^(-n-1)(P(n,1)-(-1)^k P(n,2k+1)). Thus a(k) = |2^(-3)(P(2,1)-(-1)^k P(2,2k+1))|. - Peter Luschny, Jul 12 2009

a(n) is the smallest number > a(n-1) such that gcd(n,a(n)) = gcd(n,a(n-1)). If n is odd this gcd is n; if n is even it is n/2. - Franklin T. Adams-Watters, Aug 06 2009

Partial sums of A001477. - Juri-Stepan Gerasimov, Jan 25 2010. [A-number corrected by Omar E. Pol, Jun 05 2012]

The numbers along the right edge of Floyd's triangle are 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, .... - Paul Muljadi, Jan 25 2010

From Charlie Marion, Dec 03 2010: (Start)

More generally, a(2k+1) == j*(2j-1) (mod 2k+2j+1) and

a(2k) == [-k + 2j*(j-1)] (mod 2k+2j).

Column sums of:

1 3 5 7 9 ...

1 3 5 ...

1 ...

...............

---------------

1 3 6 10 15 ...

Sum_{n>=1} 1/a(n)^2 = 4*Pi^2/3-12 = 12 less than the volume of a sphere with radius Pi^(1/3).

(End)

A004201(a(n)) = A000290(n); A004202(a(n)) = A002378(n). - Reinhard Zumkeller, Feb 12 2011

1/a(n+1), n >= 0, has e.g.f. -2*(1+x-exp(x))/x^2, and o.g.f. 2*(x+(1-x)*log(1-x))/x^2 (see the Stephen Crowley formula line). -1/(2*a(n+1)) is the z-sequence for the Sheffer triangle of the coefficients of the Bernoulli polynomials A196838/A196839. - Wolfdieter Lang, Oct 26 2011

From Charlie Marion, Feb 23 2012: (Start)

a(n) + a(A002315(k)*n + A001108(k+1)) = (A001653(k+1)*n + A001109(k+1))^2. For k=0 we obtain a(n) + a(n+1) = (n+1)^2 (identity added by N. J. A. Sloane on Feb 19 2004).

a(n) + a(A002315(k)*n - A055997(k+1)) = (A001653(k+1)*n - A001109(k))^2.

(End)

Plot the three points (0,0), (a(n), a(n+1)), (a(n+1), a(n+2)) to form a triangle. The area will be a(n+1)/2. - J. M. Bergot, May 04 2012

The sum of four consecutive triangular numbers, beginning with a(n)=n*(n+1)/2, minus 2 is 2*(n+2)^2. a(n)*a(n+2)/2 = a(a(n+1)-1). - J. M. Bergot, May 17 2012

(a(n)*a(n+3) - a(n+1)*a(n+2))*(a(n+1)*a(n+4) - a(n+2)*a(n+3))/8 = a((n^2+5*n+4)/2). - J. M. Bergot, May 18 2012

a(n)*a(n+1) + a(n+2)*a(n+3) + 3 = a(n^2 + 4*n + 6). - J. M. Bergot, May 22 2012

In general, a(n)*a(n+1) + a(n+k)*a(n+k+1) + a(k-1)*a(k) = a(n^2 + (k+2)*n + k*(k+1)). - Charlie Marion, Sep 11 2012

a(n)*a(n+3) + a(n+1)*a(n+2) = a(n^2 + 4*n + 2). - J. M. Bergot, May 22 2012

In general, a(n)*a(n+k) + a(n+1)*a(n+k-1) = a(n^2 + (k+1)*n + k-1). - Charlie Marion, Sep 11 2012

a(n)*a(n+2) + a(n+1)*a(n+3) = a(n^2 + 4*n + 3). - J. M. Bergot, May 22 2012

Three points (a(n),a(n+1)), (a(n+1),a(n)) and (a(n+2),a(n+3)) form a triangle with area 4*a(n+1). - J. M. Bergot, May 23 2012

a(n) + a(n+k) = (n+k)^2 - (k^2 + (2n-1)*k -2n)/2. For k=1 we obtain a(n) + a(n+1) = (n+1)^2 (see below). - Charlie Marion, Oct 02 2012

In n-space we can define a(n-1) nontrivial orthogonal projections. For example, in 3-space there are a(2)=3 (namely point onto line, point onto plane, line onto plane). - Douglas Latimer, Dec 17 2012

From James East, Jan 08 2013: (Start)

For n >= 1, a(n) is equal to the rank (minimal cardinality of a generating set) and idempotent rank (minimal cardinality of an idempotent generating set) of the semigroup P_n\S_n, where P_n and S_n denote the partition monoid and symmetric group on [n].

For n >= 3, a(n-1) is equal to the rank and idempotent rank of the semigroup T_n\S_n, where T_n and S_n denote the full transformation semigroup and symmetric group on [n].

(End)

For n >= 3, a(n) is equal to the rank and idempotent rank of the semigroup PT_n\S_n, where PT_n and S_n denote the partial transformation semigroup and symmetric group on [n]. - James East, Jan 15 2013

Conjecture: For n > 0, there is always a prime between A000217(n) and A000217(n+1). Sequence A065383 has the first 1000 of these primes. - Ivan N. Ianakiev, Mar 11 2013

The formula, a(n)*a(n+4k+2)/2 + a(k) = a(a(n+2k+1) - (k^2+(k+1)^2)), is a generalization of the formula a(n)*a(n+2)/2 = a(a(n+1)-1) in Bergot's comment dated May 17 2012. - Charlie Marion, Mar 28 2013

The series Sum_{k>=1} 1/a(k) = 2, given in a formula below by Jon Perry, Jul 13 2003, has partial sums 2*n/(n+1) (telescopic sum) = A022998(n)/A026741(n+1). - Wolfdieter Lang, Apr 09 2013

For odd m = 2k+1, we have the recurrence a(m*n + k) = m^2*a(n) + a(k). Corollary: If number T is in the sequence then so is 9*T+1. - Lekraj Beedassy, May 29 2013

Euler, in Section 87 of the Opera Postuma, shows that whenever T is a triangular number then 9*T + 1, 25*T + 3, 49*T + 6 and 81*T + 10 are also triangular numbers. In general, if T is a triangular number then (2*k + 1)^2*T + k*(k + 1)/2 is also a triangular number. - Peter Bala, Jan 05 2015

Using 1/b and 1/(b+2) will give a Pythagorean triangle with sides 2*b + 2, b^2 + 2*b, and b^2 + 2*b + 2. Set b=n-1 to give a triangle with sides of lengths 2*n,n^2-1, and n^2 + 1. One-fourth the perimeter = a(n) for n > 1. - J. M. Bergot, Jul 24 2013

a(n) = A028896(n)/6, where A028896(n) = s(n) - s(n-1) are the first differences of s(n) = n^3 + 3*n^2 + 2*n - 8. s(n) can be interpreted as the sum of the 12 edge lengths plus the sum of the 6 face areas plus the volume of an n X (n-1) X (n-2) rectangular prism. - J. M. Bergot, Aug 13 2013

Dimension of orthogonal group O(n+1). - Eric M. Schmidt, Sep 08 2013

Number of positive roots in the root system of type A_n (for n > 0). - Tom Edgar, Nov 05 2013

A formula for the r-th successive summation of k, for k = 1 to n, is binomial(n+r,r+1) [H. W. Gould]. - Gary Detlefs, Jan 02 2014

Also the alternating row sums of A095831. Also the alternating row sums of A055461, for n >= 1. - Omar E. Pol, Jan 26 2014

For n >= 3, a(n-2) is the number of permutations of 1,2,...,n with the distribution of up (1) - down (0) elements 0...011 (n-3 zeros), or, the same, a(n-2) is up-down coefficient {n,3} (see comment in A060351). - Vladimir Shevelev, Feb 14 2014

a(n) is the dimension of the vector space of symmetric n X n matrices. - Derek Orr, Mar 29 2014

Non-vanishing subdiagonal of A132440^2/2, aside from the initial zero. First subdiagonal of unsigned A238363. Cf. A130534 for relations to colored forests, disposition of flags on flagpoles, and colorings of the vertices of complete graphs. - Tom Copeland, Apr 05 2014

The number of Sidon subsets of {1,...,n+1} of size 2. - Carl Najafi, Apr 27 2014

Number of factors in the definition of the Vandermonde determinant V(x_1,x_2,...,x_n) = Product_{1 <= i < k <= n} x_i - x_k. - Tom Copeland, Apr 27 2014

Number of weak compositions of n into three parts. - Robert A. Beeler, May 20 2014

Suppose a bag contains a(n) red marbles and a(n+1) blue marbles, where a(n), a(n+1) are consecutive triangular numbers. Then, for n > 0, the probability of choosing two marbles at random and getting two red or two blue is 1/2. In general, for k > 2, let b(0) = 0, b(1) = 1 and, for n > 1, b(n) = (k-1)*b(n-1) - b(n-2) + 1. Suppose, for n > 0, a bag contains b(n) red marbles and b(n+1) blue marbles. Then the probability of choosing two marbles at random and getting two red or two blue is (k-1)/(k+1). See also A027941, A061278, A089817, A053142, A092521. - Charlie Marion, Nov 03 2014

Let O(n) be the oblong number n(n+1) = A002378 and S(n) the square number n^2 = A000290(n). Then a(4n) = O(3n) - O(n), a(4n+1) = S(3n+1) - S(n), a(4n+2) = S(3n+2) - S(n+1) and a(4n+3) = O(3n+2) - O(n). - Charlie Marion, Feb 21 2015

Consider the partition of the natural numbers into parts from the set S=(1,2,3,...,n). The length (order) of the signature of the resulting sequence is given by the triangular numbers. E.g., for n=10, the signature length is 55. - David Neil McGrath, May 05 2015

a(n) counts the partitions of (n-1) unlabeled objects into three (3) parts (labeled a,b,c), e.g., a(5)=15 for (n-1)=4. These are (aaaa),(bbbb),(cccc),(aaab),(aaac),(aabb),(aacc),(aabc),(abbc),(abcc),(abbb),(accc),(bbcc),(bccc),(bbbc). - David Neil McGrath, May 21 2015

Conjecture: the sequence is the genus/deficiency of the sinusoidal spirals of index n which are algebraic curves. The value 0 corresponds to the case of the Bernoulli Lemniscate n=2. So the formula conjectured is (n-1)(n-2)/2. - Wolfgang Tintemann, Aug 02 2015

Conjecture: Let m be any positive integer. Then, for each n = 1,2,3,... the set {Sum_{k=s..t} 1/k^m: 1 <= s <= t <= n} has cardinality a(n) = n*(n+1)/2; in other words, all the sums Sum_{k=s..t} 1/k^m with 1 <= s <= t are pairwise distinct. (I have checked this conjecture via a computer and found no counterexample.) - Zhi-Wei Sun, Sep 09 2015

The Pisano period lengths of reading the sequence modulo m seem to be A022998(m). - R. J. Mathar, Nov 29 2015

For n >= 1, a(n) is the number of compositions of n+4 into n parts avoiding the part 2. - Milan Janjic, Jan 07 2016

In this sequence only 3 is prime. - Fabian Kopp, Jan 09 2016

Suppose you are playing Bulgarian Solitaire (see A242424 and Chamberland's and Gardner's books) and, for n > 0, you are starting with a single pile of a(n) cards. Then the number of operations needed to reach the fixed state {n, n-1,...,1} is a(n-1). For example, {6}->{5,1}->{4,2}->{3,2,1}. - Charlie Marion, Jan 14 2016

Numbers k such that 8k + 1 is a square. - Juri-Stepan Gerasimov, Apr 09 2016

Every perfect cube is the difference of the squares of two consecutive triangular numbers. 1^2-0^2 = 1^3, 3^2-1^2 = 2^3, 6^2-3^2 = 3^3. - Miquel Cerda, Jun 26 2016

For n > 1, a(n) = tau_n(k*) where tau_n(k) is the number of ordered n-factorizations of k and k* is the square of a prime. For example, tau_3(4) = tau_3(9) = tau_3(25) = tau_3(49) = 6 (see A007425) since the number of divisors of 4, 9, 25, and 49's divisors is 6, and a(3) = 6. - Melvin Peralta, Aug 29 2016

In an (n+1)-dimensional hypercube, number of two-dimensional faces congruent with a vertex (see also A001788). - Stanislav Sykora, Oct 23 2016

Generalizations of the familiar formulas, a(n) + a(n+1) = (n+1)^2 (Feb 19 2004) and a(n)^2 + a(n+1)^2 = a((n+1)^2) (Nov 22 2006), follow: a(n) + a(n+2k-1) + 4a(k-1) = (n+k)^2 + 6a(k-1) and a(n)^2 + a(n+2k-1)^2 + (4a(k-1))^2 + 3a(k-1) = a((n+k)^2 + 6a(k-1)). - Charlie Marion, Nov 27 2016

a(n) is also the greatest possible number of diagonals in a polyhedron with n+4 vertices. - Vladimir Letsko, Dec 19 2016

For n > 0, 2^5 * (binomial(n+1,2))^2 represents the first integer in a sum of 2*(2*n + 1)^2 consecutive integers that equals (2*n + 1)^6. - Patrick J. McNab, Dec 25 2016

Does not satisfy Benford's law (cf. Ross, 2012). - N. J. A. Sloane, Feb 12 2017

Number of ordered triples (a,b,c) of positive integers not larger than n such that a+b+c = 2n+1. - Aviel Livay, Feb 13 2017

Number of inequivalent tetrahedral face colorings using at most n colors so that no color appears only once. - David Nacin, Feb 22 2017

Also the Wiener index of the complete graph K_{n+1}. - Eric W. Weisstein, Sep 07 2017

Number of intersections between the Bernstein polynomials of degree n. - Eric Desbiaux, Apr 01 2018

a(n) is the area of a triangle with vertices at (1,1), (n+1,n+2), and ((n+1)^2, (n+2)^2). - Art Baker, Dec 06 2018

For n > 0, a(n) is the smallest k > 0 such that n divides numerator of (1/a(1) + 1/a(2) + ... + 1/a(n-1) + 1/k). It should be noted that 1/1 + 1/3 + 1/6 + ... + 2/(n(n+1)) = 2n/(n+1). - Thomas Ordowski, Aug 04 2019

Upper bound of the number of lines in an n-homogeneous supersolvable line arrangement (see Theorem 1.1 in Dimca). - Stefano Spezia, Oct 04 2019

For n > 0, a(n+1) is the number of lattice points on a triangular grid with side length n. - Wesley Ivan Hurt, Aug 12 2020

From Michael Chu, May 04 2022: (Start)

Maximum number of distinct nonempty substrings of a string of length n.

Maximum cardinality of the sumset A+A, where A is a set of n numbers. (End)

a(n) is the number of parking functions of size n avoiding the patterns 123, 132, and 312. - Lara Pudwell, Apr 10 2023

Suppose two rows, each consisting of n evenly spaced dots, are drawn in parallel. Suppose we bijectively draw lines between the dots of the two rows. For n >= 1, a(n - 1) is the maximal possible number of intersections between the lines. Equivalently, the maximal number of inversions in a permutation of [n]. - Sela Fried, Apr 18 2023

The following equation complements the generalization in Bala's Comment (Jan 05 2015). (2k + 1)^2*a(n) + a(k) = a((2k + 1)*n + k). - Charlie Marion, Aug 28 2023

a(n) + a(n+k) + a(k-1) + (k-1)*n = (n+k)^2. For k = 1, we have a(n) + a(n+1) = (n+1)^2. - Charlie Marion, Nov 17 2023

a(n+1)/3 is the expected number of steps to escape from a linear row of n positions starting at a random location and randomly performing steps -1 or +1 with equal probability. - Hugo Pfoertner, Jul 22 2025

a(n+1) is the number of nonnegative integer solutions to p + q + r = n. By Sylvester's law of inertia, it is also the number of congruence classes of real symmetric n-by-n matrices or equivalently, the number of symmetric bilinear forms on a real n-dimensional vector space. - Paawan Jethva, Jul 24 2025

To test if a number is a square, see Cohen, p. 40. - N. J. A. Sloane, Jun 19 2011

Zero followed by partial sums of A005408 (odd numbers). - Jeremy Gardiner, Aug 13 2002

Begin with n, add the next number, subtract the previous number and so on ending with subtracting a 1: a(n) = n + (n+1) - (n-1) + (n+2) - (n-2) + (n+3) - (n-3) + ... + (2n-1) - 1 = n^2. - Amarnath Murthy, Mar 24 2004

Sum of two consecutive triangular numbers A000217. - Lekraj Beedassy, May 14 2004

Numbers with an odd number of divisors: {d(n^2) = A048691(n); for the first occurrence of 2n + 1 divisors, see A071571(n)}. - Lekraj Beedassy, Jun 30 2004

See also A000037.

First sequence ever computed by electronic computer, on EDSAC, May 06 1949 (see Renwick link). - Russ Cox, Apr 20 2006

Numbers k such that the imaginary quadratic field Q(sqrt(-k)) has four units. - Marc LeBrun, Apr 12 2006

For n > 0: number of divisors of (n-1)th power of any squarefree semiprime: a(n) = A000005(A006881(k)^(n-1)); a(n) = A000005(A000400(n-1)) = A000005(A011557(n-1)) = A000005(A001023(n-1)) = A000005(A001024(n-1)). - Reinhard Zumkeller, Mar 04 2007

If a 2-set Y and an (n-2)-set Z are disjoint subsets of an n-set X then a(n-2) is the number of 3-subsets of X intersecting both Y and Z. - Milan Janjic, Sep 19 2007

Numbers a such that a^1/2 + b^1/2 = c^1/2 and a^2 + b = c. - Cino Hilliard, Feb 07 2008 (this comment needs clarification, Joerg Arndt, Sep 12 2013)

Numbers k such that the geometric mean of the divisors of k is an integer. - Ctibor O. Zizka, Jun 26 2008

Equals row sums of triangle A143470. Example: 36 = sum of row 6 terms: (23 + 7 + 3 + 1 + 1 + 1). - Gary W. Adamson, Aug 17 2008

Equals row sums of triangles A143595 and A056944. - Gary W. Adamson, Aug 26 2008

Number of divisors of 6^(n-1) for n > 0. - J. Lowell, Aug 30 2008

Denominators of Lyman spectrum of hydrogen atom. Numerators are A005563. A000290-A005563 = A000012. - Paul Curtz, Nov 06 2008

a(n) is the number of all partitions of the sum 2^2 + 2^2 + ... + 2^2, (n-1) times, into powers of 2. - Valentin Bakoev, Mar 03 2009

a(n) is the maximal number of squares that can be 'on' in an n X n board so that all the squares turn 'off' after applying the operation: in any 2 X 2 sub-board, a square turns from 'on' to 'off' if the other three are off. - Srikanth K S, Jun 25 2009

Zero together with the numbers k such that 2 is the number of perfect partitions of k. - Juri-Stepan Gerasimov, Sep 26 2009

Totally multiplicative sequence with a(p) = p^2 for prime p. - Jaroslav Krizek, Nov 01 2009

Satisfies A(x)/A(x^2), A(x) = A173277: (1, 4, 13, 32, 74, ...). - Gary W. Adamson, Feb 14 2010

Positive members are the integers with an odd number of odd divisors and an even number of even divisors. See also A120349, A120359, A181792, A181793, A181795. - Matthew Vandermast, Nov 14 2010

Besides the first term, this sequence is the denominator of Pi^2/6 = 1 + 1/4 + 1/9 + 1/16 + 1/25 + 1/36 + ... . - Mohammad K. Azarian, Nov 01 2011

Partial sums give A000330. - Omar E. Pol, Jan 12 2013

Drmota, Mauduit, and Rivat proved that the Thue-Morse sequence along the squares is normal; see A228039. - Jonathan Sondow, Sep 03 2013

a(n) can be decomposed into the sum of the four numbers [binomial(n, 1) + binomial(n, 2) + binomial(n-1, 1) + binomial(n-1, 2)] which form a "square" in Pascal's Triangle A007318, or the sum of the two numbers [binomial(n, 2) + binomial(n+1, 2)], or the difference of the two numbers [binomial(n+2, 3) - binomial(n, 3)]. - John Molokach, Sep 26 2013

In terms of triangular tiling, the number of equilateral triangles with side length 1 inside an equilateral triangle with side length n. - K. G. Stier, Oct 30 2013

Number of positive roots in the root systems of type B_n and C_n (when n > 1). - Tom Edgar, Nov 05 2013

Squares of squares (fourth powers) are also called biquadratic numbers: A000583. - M. F. Hasler, Dec 29 2013

For n > 0, a(n) is the largest integer k such that k^2 + n is a multiple of k + n. More generally, for m > 0 and n > 0, the largest integer k such that k^(2*m) + n is a multiple of k + n is given by k = n^(2*m). - Derek Orr, Sep 03 2014

For n > 0, a(n) is the number of compositions of n + 5 into n parts avoiding the part 2. - Milan Janjic, Jan 07 2016

a(n), for n >= 3, is also the number of all connected subtrees of a cycle graph, having n vertices. - Viktar Karatchenia, Mar 02 2016

On every sequence of natural continuous numbers with an even number of elements, the summatory of the second half of the sequence minus the summatory of the first half of the sequence is always a square. Example: Sequence from 61 to 70 has an even number of elements (10). Then 61 + 62 + 63 + 64 + 65 = 315; 66 + 67 + 68 + 69 + 70 = 340; 340 - 315 = 25. (n/2)^2 for n = number of elements. - César Aguilera, Jun 20 2016

On every sequence of natural continuous numbers from n^2 to (n+1)^2, the sum of the differences of pairs of elements of the two halves in every combination possible is always (n+1)^2. - César Aguilera, Jun 24 2016

Suppose two circles with radius 1 are tangent to each other as well as to a line not passing through the point of tangency. Create a third circle tangent to both circles as well as the line. If this process is continued, a(n) for n > 0 is the reciprocals of the radii of the circles, beginning with the largest circle. - Melvin Peralta, Aug 18 2016

Does not satisfy Benford's law [Ross, 2012]. - N. J. A. Sloane, Feb 08 2017

Numerators of the solution to the generalization of the Feynman triangle problem, with an offset of 2. If each vertex of a triangle is joined to the point (1/p) along the opposite side (measured say clockwise), then the area of the inner triangle formed by these lines is equal to (p - 2)^2/(p^2 - p + 1) times the area of the original triangle, p > 2. For example, when p = 3, the ratio of the areas is 1/7. The denominators of the ratio of the areas is given by A002061. [Cook & Wood, 2004] - Joe Marasco, Feb 20 2017

Equals row sums of triangle A004737, n >= 1. - Martin Michael Musatov, Nov 07 2017

Right-hand side of the binomial coefficient identity Sum_{k = 0..n} (-1)^(n+k+1)*binomial(n,k)*binomial(n + k,k)*(n - k) = n^2. - Peter Bala, Jan 12 2022

Conjecture: For n>0, min{k such that there exist subsets A,B of {0,1,2,...,a(n)-1} such that |A|=|B|=k and A+B contains {0,1,2,...,a(n)-1}} = n. - Michael Chu, Mar 09 2022

Number of 3-permutations of n elements avoiding the patterns 132, 213, 321. See Bonichon and Sun. - Michel Marcus, Aug 20 2022

Number of intercalates in cyclic Latin squares of order 2n (cyclic Latin squares of odd order do not have intercalates). - Eduard I. Vatutin, Feb 15 2024

a(n) is the number of ternary strings of length n with at most one 0, exactly one 1, and no restriction on the number of 2's. For example, a(3)=9, consisting of the 6 permutations of the string 102 and the 3 permutations of the string 122. - Enrique Navarrete, Mar 12 2025

For some authors, the terms "natural numbers" and "counting numbers" include 0, i.e., refer to the nonnegative integers A001477; the term "whole numbers" frequently also designates the whole set of (signed) integers A001057.

a(n) is smallest positive integer which is consistent with sequence being monotonically increasing and satisfying a(a(n)) = n (cf. A007378).

Inverse Euler transform of A000219.

The rectangular array having A000027 as antidiagonals is the dispersion of the complement of the triangular numbers, A000217 (which triangularly form column 1 of this array). The array is also the transpose of A038722. - Clark Kimberling, Apr 05 2003

For nonzero x, define f(n) = floor(nx) - floor(n/x). Then f=A000027 if and only if x=tau or x=-tau. - Clark Kimberling, Jan 09 2005

Numbers of form (2^i)*k for odd k (i.e., n = A006519(n)*A000265(n)); thus n corresponds uniquely to an ordered pair (i,k) where i=A007814, k=A000265 (with A007814(2n)=A001511(n), A007814(2n+1)=0). - Lekraj Beedassy, Apr 22 2006

If the offset were changed to 0, we would have the following pattern: a(n)=binomial(n,0) + binomial(n,1) for the present sequence (number of regions in 1-space defined by n points), A000124 (number of regions in 2-space defined by n straight lines), A000125 (number of regions in 3-space defined by n planes), A000127 (number of regions in 4-space defined by n hyperplanes), A006261, A008859, A008860, A008861, A008862 and A008863, where the last six sequences are interpreted analogously and in each "... by n ..." clause an offset of 0 has been assumed, resulting in a(0)=1 for all of them, which corresponds to the case of not cutting with a hyperplane at all and therefore having one region. - Peter C. Heinig (algorithms(AT)gmx.de), Oct 19 2006

Define a number of points on a straight line to be in general arrangement when no two points coincide. Then these are the numbers of regions defined by n points in general arrangement on a straight line, when an offset of 0 is assumed. For instance, a(0)=1, since using no point at all leaves one region. The sequence satisfies the recursion a(n) = a(n-1) + 1. This has the following geometrical interpretation: Suppose there are already n-1 points in general arrangement, thus defining the maximal number of regions on a straight line obtainable by n-1 points, and now one more point is added in general arrangement. Then it will coincide with no other point and act as a dividing wall thereby creating one new region in addition to the a(n-1)=(n-1)+1=n regions already there, hence a(n)=a(n-1)+1. Cf. the comments on A000124 for an analogous interpretation. - Peter C. Heinig (algorithms(AT)gmx.de), Oct 19 2006

The sequence a(n)=n (for n=1,2,3) and a(n)=n+1 (for n=4,5,...) gives to the rank (minimal cardinality of a generating set) for the semigroup I_n\S_n, where I_n and S_n denote the symmetric inverse semigroup and symmetric group on [n]. - James East, May 03 2007

The sequence a(n)=n (for n=1,2), a(n)=n+1 (for n=3) and a(n)=n+2 (for n=4,5,...) gives the rank (minimal cardinality of a generating set) for the semigroup PT_n\T_n, where PT_n and T_n denote the partial transformation semigroup and transformation semigroup on [n]. - James East, May 03 2007

"God made the integers; all else is the work of man." This famous quotation is a translation of "Die ganzen Zahlen hat der liebe Gott gemacht, alles andere ist Menschenwerk," spoken by Leopold Kronecker in a lecture at the Berliner Naturforscher-Versammlung in 1886. Possibly the first publication of the statement is in Heinrich Weber's "Leopold Kronecker," Jahresberichte D.M.V. 2 (1893) 5-31. - Clark Kimberling, Jul 07 2007

Binomial transform of A019590, inverse binomial transform of A001792. - Philippe Deléham, Oct 24 2007

Writing A000027 as N, perhaps the simplest one-to-one correspondence between N X N and N is this: f(m,n) = ((m+n)^2 - m - 3n + 2)/2. Its inverse is given by I(k)=(g,h), where g = k - J(J-1)/2, h = J + 1 - g, J = floor((1 + sqrt(8k - 7))/2). Thus I(1)=(1,1), I(2)=(1,2), I(3)=(2,1) and so on; the mapping I fills the first-quadrant lattice by successive antidiagonals. - Clark Kimberling, Sep 11 2008

a(n) is also the mean of the first n odd integers. - Ian Kent, Dec 23 2008

Equals INVERTi transform of A001906, the even-indexed Fibonacci numbers starting (1, 3, 8, 21, 55, ...). - Gary W. Adamson, Jun 05 2009

These are also the 2-rough numbers: positive integers that have no prime factors less than 2. - Michael B. Porter, Oct 08 2009

Totally multiplicative sequence with a(p) = p for prime p. Totally multiplicative sequence with a(p) = a(p-1) + 1 for prime p. - Jaroslav Krizek, Oct 18 2009

Triangle T(k,j) of natural numbers, read by rows, with T(k,j) = binomial(k,2) + j = (k^2-k)/2 + j where 1 <= j <= k. In other words, a(n) = n = binomial(k,2) + j where k is the largest integer such that binomial(k,2) < n and j = n - binomial(k,2). For example, T(4,1)=7, T(4,2)=8, T(4,3)=9, and T(4,4)=10. Note that T(n,n)=A000217(n), the n-th triangular number. - Dennis P. Walsh, Nov 19 2009

Hofstadter-Conway-like sequence (see A004001): a(n) = a(a(n-1)) + a(n-a(n-1)) with a(1) = 1, a(2) = 2. - Jaroslav Krizek, Dec 11 2009

a(n) is also the dimension of the irreducible representations of the Lie algebra sl(2). - Leonid Bedratyuk, Jan 04 2010

Floyd's triangle read by rows. - Paul Muljadi, Jan 25 2010

Number of numbers between k and 2k where k is an integer. - Giovanni Teofilatto, Mar 26 2010

Generated from a(2n) = r*a(n), a(2n+1) = a(n) + a(n+1), r = 2; in an infinite set, row 2 of the array shown in A178568. - Gary W. Adamson, May 29 2010

1/n = continued fraction [n]. Let barover[n] = [n,n,n,...] = 1/k. Then k - 1/k = n. Example: [2,2,2,...] = (sqrt(2) - 1) = 1/k, with k = (sqrt(2) + 1). Then 2 = k - 1/k. - Gary W. Adamson, Jul 15 2010

Number of n-digit numbers the binary expansion of which contains one run of 1's. - Vladimir Shevelev, Jul 30 2010

From Clark Kimberling, Jan 29 2011: (Start)

Let T denote the "natural number array A000027":

1 2 4 7 ...

3 5 8 12 ...

6 9 13 18 ...

10 14 19 25 ...

T(n,k) = n+(n+k-2)*(n+k-1)/2. See A185787 for a list of sequences based on T, such as rows, columns, diagonals, and sub-arrays. (End)

The Stern polynomial B(n,x) evaluated at x=2. See A125184. - T. D. Noe, Feb 28 2011

The denominator in the Maclaurin series of log(2), which is 1 - 1/2 + 1/3 - 1/4 + .... - Mohammad K. Azarian, Oct 13 2011

As a function of Bernoulli numbers B_n (cf. A027641: (1, -1/2, 1/6, 0, -1/30, 0, 1/42, ...)): let V = a variant of B_n changing the (-1/2) to (1/2). Then triangle A074909 (the beheaded Pascal's triangle) * [1, 1/2, 1/6, 0, -1/30, ...] = the vector [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ...]. - Gary W. Adamson, Mar 05 2012

Number of partitions of 2n+1 into exactly two parts. - Wesley Ivan Hurt, Jul 15 2013

Integers n dividing u(n) = 2u(n-1) - u(n-2); u(0)=0, u(1)=1 (Lucas sequence A001477). - Thomas M. Bridge, Nov 03 2013

For this sequence, the generalized continued fraction a(1)+a(1)/(a(2)+a(2)/(a(3)+a(3)/(a(4)+...))), evaluates to 1/(e-2) = A194807. - Stanislav Sykora, Jan 20 2014

Engel expansion of e-1 (A091131 = 1.71828...). - Jaroslav Krizek, Jan 23 2014

a(n) is the number of permutations of length n simultaneously avoiding 213, 231 and 321 in the classical sense which are breadth-first search reading words of increasing unary-binary trees. For more details, see the entry for permutations avoiding 231 at A245898. - Manda Riehl, Aug 05 2014

a(n) is also the number of permutations simultaneously avoiding 213, 231 and 321 in the classical sense which can be realized as labels on an increasing strict binary tree with 2n-1 nodes. See A245904 for more information on increasing strict binary trees. - Manda Riehl, Aug 07 2014

a(n) = least k such that 2*Pi - Sum_{h=1..k} 1/(h^2 - h + 3/16) < 1/n. - Clark Kimberling, Sep 28 2014

a(n) = least k such that Pi^2/6 - Sum_{h=1..k} 1/h^2 < 1/n. - Clark Kimberling, Oct 02 2014

Determinants of the spiral knots S(2,k,(1)). a(k) = det(S(2,k,(1))). These knots are also the torus knots T(2,k). - Ryan Stees, Dec 15 2014

As a function, the restriction of the identity map on the nonnegative integers {0,1,2,3...}, A001477, to the positive integers {1,2,3,...}. - M. F. Hasler, Jan 18 2015

See also A131685(k) = smallest positive number m such that c(i) = m (i^1 + 1) (i^2 + 2) ... (i^k+ k) / k! takes integral values for all i>=0: For k=1, A131685(k)=1, which implies that this is a well defined integer sequence. - Alexander R. Povolotsky, Apr 24 2015

a(n) is the number of compositions of n+2 into n parts avoiding the part 2. - Milan Janjic, Jan 07 2016

Does not satisfy Benford's law [Berger-Hill, 2017] - N. J. A. Sloane, Feb 07 2017

Parametrization for the finite multisubsets of the positive integers, where, for p_j the j-th prime, n = Product_{j} p_j^(e_j) corresponds to the multiset containing e_j copies of j ('Heinz encoding' -- see A056239, A003963, A289506, A289507, A289508, A289509). - Christopher J. Smyth, Jul 31 2017

The arithmetic function v_1(n,1) as defined in A289197. - Robert Price, Aug 22 2017

For n >= 3, a(n)=n is the least area that can be obtained for an irregular octagon drawn in a square of n units side, whose sides are parallel to the axes, with 4 vertices that coincide with the 4 vertices of the square, and the 4 remaining vertices having integer coordinates. See Affaire de Logique link. - Michel Marcus, Apr 28 2018

a(n+1) is the order of rowmotion on a poset defined by a disjoint union of chains of length n. - Nick Mayers, Jun 08 2018

Number of 1's in n-th generation of 1-D Cellular Automata using Rules 50, 58, 114, 122, 178, 186, 206, 220, 238, 242, 250 or 252 in the Wolfram numbering scheme, started with a single 1. - Frank Hollstein, Mar 25 2019

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ...) is the fourth INVERT transform of (1, -2, 3, -4, 5, ...). - Gary W. Adamson, Jul 15 2019

The binary weight of n is also called Hamming weight of n. [The term "Hamming weight" was named after the American mathematician Richard Wesley Hamming (1915-1998). - Amiram Eldar, Jun 16 2021]

a(n) is also the largest integer such that 2^a(n) divides binomial(2n, n) = A000984(n). - Benoit Cloitre, Mar 27 2002

To construct the sequence, start with 0 and use the rule: If k >= 0 and a(0), a(1), ..., a(2^k-1) are the first 2^k terms, then the next 2^k terms are a(0) + 1, a(1) + 1, ..., a(2^k-1) + 1. - Benoit Cloitre, Jan 30 2003

An example of a fractal sequence. That is, if you omit every other number in the sequence, you get the original sequence. And of course this can be repeated. So if you form the sequence a(0 * 2^n), a(1 * 2^n), a(2 * 2^n), a(3 * 2^n), ... (for any integer n > 0), you get the original sequence. - Christopher.Hills(AT)sepura.co.uk, May 14 2003

The n-th row of Pascal's triangle has 2^k distinct odd binomial coefficients where k = a(n) - 1. - Lekraj Beedassy, May 15 2003

Fixed point of the morphism 0 -> 01, 1 -> 12, 2 -> 23, 3 -> 34, 4 -> 45, etc., starting from a(0) = 0. - Robert G. Wilson v, Jan 24 2006

a(n) is the number of times n appears among the mystery calculator sequences: A005408, A042964, A047566, A115419, A115420, A115421. - Jeremy Gardiner, Jan 25 2006

a(n) is the number of solutions of the Diophantine equation 2^m*k + 2^(m-1) + i = n, where m >= 1, k >= 0, 0 <= i < 2^(m-1); a(5) = 2 because only (m, k, i) = (1, 2, 0) [2^1*2 + 2^0 + 0 = 5] and (m, k, i) = (3, 0, 1) [2^3*0 + 2^2 + 1 = 5] are solutions. - Hieronymus Fischer, Jan 31 2006

The first appearance of k, k >= 0, is at a(2^k-1). - Robert G. Wilson v, Jul 27 2006

Sequence is given by T^(infinity)(0) where T is the operator transforming any word w = w(1)w(2)...w(m) into T(w) = w(1)(w(1)+1)w(2)(w(2)+1)...w(m)(w(m)+1). I.e., T(0) = 01, T(01) = 0112, T(0112) = 01121223. - Benoit Cloitre, Mar 04 2009

For n >= 2, the minimal k for which a(k(2^n-1)) is not multiple of n is 2^n + 3. - Vladimir Shevelev, Jun 05 2009

Triangle inequality: a(k+m) <= a(k) + a(m). Equality holds if and only if C(k+m, m) is odd. - Vladimir Shevelev, Jul 19 2009

a(k*m) <= a(k) * a(m). - Robert Israel, Sep 03 2023

The number of occurrences of value k in the first 2^n terms of the sequence is equal to binomial(n, k), and also equal to the sum of the first n - k + 1 terms of column k in the array A071919. Example with k = 2, n = 7: there are 21 = binomial(7,2) = 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 2's in a(0) to a(2^7-1). - Brent Spillner (spillner(AT)acm.org), Sep 01 2010, simplified by R. J. Mathar, Jan 13 2017

Let m be the number of parts in the listing of the compositions of n as lists of parts in lexicographic order, a(k) = n - length(composition(k)) for all k < 2^n and all n (see example); A007895 gives the equivalent for compositions into odd parts. - Joerg Arndt, Nov 09 2012

From Daniel Forgues, Mar 13 2015: (Start)

Just tally up row k (binary weight equal k) from 0 to 2^n - 1 to get the binomial coefficient C(n,k). (See A007318.)

0 1 3 7 15

0: O | . | . . | . . . . | . . . . . . . . |

1: | O | O . | O . . . | O . . . . . . . |

2: | | O | O O . | O O . O . . . |

3: | | | O | O O O . |

4: | | | | O |

Due to its fractal nature, the sequence is quite interesting to listen to.

(End)

The binary weight of n is a particular case of the digit sum (base b) of n. - Daniel Forgues, Mar 13 2015

The mean of the first n terms is 1 less than the mean of [a(n+1),...,a(2n)], which is also the mean of [a(n+2),...,a(2n+1)]. - Christian Perfect, Apr 02 2015

a(n) is also the largest part of the integer partition having viabin number n. The viabin number of an integer partition is defined in the following way. Consider the southeast border of the Ferrers board of the integer partition and consider the binary number obtained by replacing each east step with 1 and each north step, except the last one, with 0. The corresponding decimal form is, by definition, the viabin number of the given integer partition. "Viabin" is coined from "via binary". For example, consider the integer partition [2, 2, 2, 1]. The southeast border of its Ferrers board yields 10100, leading to the viabin number 20. - Emeric Deutsch, Jul 20 2017

a(n) is also known as the population count of the binary representation of n. - Chai Wah Wu, May 19 2020

This is the Gaussian binomial coefficient [n,1] for q=2.

Number of rank-1 matroids over S_n.

Numbers k such that the k-th central binomial coefficient is odd: A001405(k) mod 2 = 1. - Labos Elemer, Mar 12 2003

This gives the (zero-based) positions of odd terms in the following convolution sequences: A000108, A007460, A007461, A007463, A007464, A061922.

Also solutions (with minimum number of moves) for the problem of Benares Temple, i.e., three diamond needles with n discs ordered by decreasing size on the first needle to place in the same order on the third one, without ever moving more than one disc at a time and without ever placing one disc at the top of a smaller one. - Xavier Acloque, Oct 18 2003

a(0) = 0, a(1) = 1; a(n) = smallest number such that a(n)-a(m) == 0 (mod (n-m+1)), for all m. - Amarnath Murthy, Oct 23 2003

Binomial transform of [1, 1/2, 1/3, ...] = [1/1, 3/2, 7/3, ...]; (2^n - 1)/n, n=1,2,3, ... - Gary W. Adamson, Apr 28 2005

Numbers whose binary representation is 111...1. E.g., the 7th term is (2^7) - 1 = 127 = 1111111 (in base 2). - Alexandre Wajnberg, Jun 08 2005

Number of nonempty subsets of a set with n elements. - Michael Somos, Sep 03 2006

For n >= 2, a(n) is the least Fibonacci n-step number that is not a power of 2. - Rick L. Shepherd, Nov 19 2007

Let P(A) be the power set of an n-element set A. Then a(n+1) = the number of pairs of elements {x,y} of P(A) for which x and y are disjoint and for which either x is a subset of y or y is a subset of x. - Ross La Haye, Jan 10 2008

A simpler way to state this is that it is the number of pairs (x,y) where at least one of x and y is the empty set. - Franklin T. Adams-Watters, Oct 28 2011

2^n-1 is the sum of the elements in a Pascal triangle of depth n. - Brian Lewis (bsl04(AT)uark.edu), Feb 26 2008

Sequence generalized: a(n) = (A^n -1)/(A-1), n >= 1, A integer >= 2. This sequence has A=2; A003462 has A=3; A002450 has A=4; A003463 has A=5; A003464 has A=6; A023000 has A=7; A023001 has A=8; A002452 has A=9; A002275 has A=10; A016123 has A=11; A016125 has A=12; A091030 has A=13; A135519 has A=14; A135518 has A=15; A131865 has A=16; A091045 has A=17; A064108 has A=20. - Ctibor O. Zizka, Mar 03 2008

a(n) is also a Mersenne prime A000668 when n is a prime number in A000043. - Omar E. Pol, Aug 31 2008

a(n) is also a Mersenne number A001348 when n is prime. - Omar E. Pol, Sep 05 2008

With offset 1, = row sums of triangle A144081; and INVERT transform of A009545 starting with offset 1; where A009545 = expansion of sin(x)*exp(x). - Gary W. Adamson, Sep 10 2008

Numbers n such that A000120(n)/A070939(n) = 1. - Ctibor O. Zizka, Oct 15 2008

For n > 0, sequence is equal to partial sums of A000079; a(n) = A000203(A000079(n-1)). - Lekraj Beedassy, May 02 2009

Starting with offset 1 = the Jacobsthal sequence, A001045, (1, 1, 3, 5, 11, 21, ...) convolved with (1, 2, 2, 2, ...). - Gary W. Adamson, May 23 2009

Numbers n such that n=2*phi(n+1)-1. - Farideh Firoozbakht, Jul 23 2009

a(n) = (a(n-1)+1)-th odd numbers = A005408(a(n-1)) for n >= 1. - Jaroslav Krizek, Sep 11 2009

Partial sums of a(n) for n >= 0 are A000295(n+1). Partial sums of a(n) for n >= 1 are A000295(n+1) and A130103(n+1). a(n) = A006127(n) - (n+1). - Jaroslav Krizek, Oct 16 2009

If n is even a(n) mod 3 = 0. This follows from the congruences 2^(2k) - 1 ~ 2*2*...*2 - 1 ~ 4*4*...*4 - 1 ~ 1*1*...*1 - 1 ~ 0 (mod 3). (Note that 2*2*...*2 has an even number of terms.) - Washington Bomfim, Oct 31 2009

Let A be the Hessenberg matrix of order n, defined by: A[1,j]=1, A[i,i]:=2,(i>1), A[i,i-1]=-1, and A[i,j]=0 otherwise. Then, for n >= 1, a(n)=det(A). - Milan Janjic, Jan 26 2010

This is the sequence A(0,1;1,2;2) = A(0,1;3,-2;0) of the family of sequences [a,b:c,d:k] considered by G. Detlefs, and treated as A(a,b;c,d;k) in the W. Lang link given below. - Wolfdieter Lang, Oct 18 2010

a(n) = S(n+1,2), a Stirling number of the second kind. See the example below. - Dennis P. Walsh, Mar 29 2011

Entries of row a(n) in Pascal's triangle are all odd, while entries of row a(n)-1 have alternating parities of the form odd, even, odd, even, ..., odd.

Define the bar operation as an operation on signed permutations that flips the sign of each entry. Then a(n+1) is the number of signed permutations of length 2n that are equal to the bar of their reverse-complements and avoid the set of patterns {(-2,-1), (-1,+2), (+2,+1)}. (See the Hardt and Troyka reference.) - Justin M. Troyka, Aug 13 2011

A159780(a(n)) = n and A159780(m) < n for m < a(n). - Reinhard Zumkeller, Oct 21 2011

This sequence is also the number of proper subsets of a set with n elements. - Mohammad K. Azarian, Oct 27 2011

a(n) is the number k such that the number of iterations of the map k -> (3k +1)/2 == 1 (mod 2) until reaching (3k +1)/2 == 0 (mod 2) equals n. (see the Collatz problem). - Michel Lagneau, Jan 18 2012

For integers a, b, denote by a<+>b the least c >= a such that Hd(a,c) = b (note that, generally speaking, a<+>b differs from b<+>a). Then a(n+1)=a(n)<+>1. Thus this sequence is the Hamming analog of nonnegative integers. - Vladimir Shevelev, Feb 13 2012

Pisano period lengths: 1, 1, 2, 1, 4, 2, 3, 1, 6, 4, 10, 2, 12, 3, 4, 1, 8, 6, 18, 4, ... apparently A007733. - R. J. Mathar, Aug 10 2012

Start with n. Each n generates a sublist {n-1,n-2,...,1}. Each element of each sublist also generates a sublist. Take the sum of all. E.g., 3->{2,1} and 2->{1}, so a(3)=3+2+1+1=7. - Jon Perry, Sep 02 2012

This is the Lucas U(P=3,Q=2) sequence. - R. J. Mathar, Oct 24 2012

The Mersenne numbers >= 7 are all Brazilian numbers, as repunits in base two. See Proposition 1 & 5.2 in Links: "Les nombres brésiliens". - Bernard Schott, Dec 26 2012

Number of line segments after n-th stage in the H tree. - Omar E. Pol, Feb 16 2013

Row sums of triangle in A162741. - Reinhard Zumkeller, Jul 16 2013

a(n) is the highest power of 2 such that 2^a(n) divides (2^n)!. - Ivan N. Ianakiev, Aug 17 2013

In computer programming, these are the only unsigned numbers such that k&(k+1)=0, where & is the bitwise AND operator and numbers are expressed in binary. - Stanislav Sykora, Nov 29 2013

Minimal number of moves needed to interchange n frogs in the frogs problem (see for example the NRICH 1246 link or the Britton link below). - N. J. A. Sloane, Jan 04 2014

a(n) !== 4 (mod 5); a(n) !== 10 (mod 11); a(n) !== 2, 4, 5, 6 (mod 7). - Carmine Suriano, Apr 06 2014

After 0, antidiagonal sums of the array formed by partial sums of integers (1, 2, 3, 4, ...). - Luciano Ancora, Apr 24 2015

a(n+1) equals the number of ternary words of length n avoiding 01,02. - Milan Janjic, Dec 16 2015

With offset 0 and another initial 0, the n-th term of 0, 0, 1, 3, 7, 15, ... is the number of commas required in the fully-expanded von Neumann definition of the ordinal number n. For example, 4 := {0, 1, 2, 3} := {{}, {{}}, {{}, {{}}}, {{}, {{}}, {{}, {{}}}}}, which uses seven commas. Also, for n>0, a(n) is the total number of symbols required in the fully-expanded von Neumann definition of ordinal n - 1, where a single symbol (as usual) is always used to represent the empty set and spaces are ignored. E.g., a(5) = 31, the total such symbols for the ordinal 4. - Rick L. Shepherd, May 07 2016

With the quantum integers defined by [n+1]A001045%20are%20given%20by%20q%20=%20i%20*%20sqrt(2)%20for%20i%5E2%20=%20-1.%20Cf.%20A239473.%20-%20_Tom%20Copeland">q = (q^(n+1) - q^(-n-1)) / (q - q^(-1)), the Mersenne numbers are a(n+1) = q^n [n+1]_q with q = sqrt(2), whereas the signed Jacobsthal numbers A001045 are given by q = i * sqrt(2) for i^2 = -1. Cf. A239473. - _Tom Copeland, Sep 05 2016

For n>1: numbers n such that n - 1 divides sigma(n + 1). - Juri-Stepan Gerasimov, Oct 08 2016

This is also the second column of the Stirling2 triangle A008277 (see also A048993). - Wolfdieter Lang, Feb 21 2017

Except for the initial terms, the decimal representation of the x-axis of the n-th stage of growth of the two-dimensional cellular automaton defined by "Rule 659", "Rule 721" and "Rule 734", based on the 5-celled von Neumann neighborhood initialized with a single on cell. - Robert Price, Mar 14 2017

a(n), n > 1, is the number of maximal subsemigroups of the monoid of order-preserving partial injective mappings on a set with n elements. - James Mitchell and Wilf A. Wilson, Jul 21 2017

Also the number of independent vertex sets and vertex covers in the complete bipartite graph K_{n-1,n-1}. - Eric W. Weisstein, Sep 21 2017

Sum_{k=0..n} p^k is the determinant of n X n matrix M_(i, j) = binomial(i + j - 1, j)*p + binomial(i+j-1, i), in this case p=2 (empirical observation). - Tony Foster III, May 11 2019

The rational numbers r(n) = a(n+1)/2^(n+1) = a(n+1)/A000079(n+1) appear also as root of the n-th iteration f^{[n]}(c; x) = 2^(n+1)*x - a(n+1)*c of f(c; x) = f^{[0]}(c; x) = 2*x - c as r(n)*c. This entry is motivated by a riddle of Johann Peter Hebel (1760 - 1826): Erstes Rechnungsexempel(Ein merkwürdiges Rechnungs-Exempel) from 1803, with c = 24 and n = 2, leading to the root r(2)*24 = 21 as solution. See the link and reference. For the second problem, also involving the present sequence, see a comment in A130330. - Wolfdieter Lang, Oct 28 2019

a(n) is the sum of the smallest elements of all subsets of {1,2,..,n} that contain n. For example, a(3)=7; the subsets of {1,2,3} that contain 3 are {3}, {1,3}, {2,3}, {1,2,3}, and the sum of smallest elements is 7. - Enrique Navarrete, Aug 21 2020

a(n-1) is the number of nonempty subsets of {1,2,..,n} which don't have an element that is the size of the set. For example, for n = 4, a(3) = 7 and the subsets are {2}, {3}, {4}, {1,3}, {1,4}, {3,4}, {1,2,4}. - Enrique Navarrete, Nov 21 2020

From Eric W. Weisstein, Sep 04 2021: (Start)

Also the number of dominating sets in the complete graph K_n.

Also the number of minimum dominating sets in the n-helm graph for n >= 3. (End)

Conjecture: except for a(2)=3, numbers m such that 2^(m+1) - 2^j - 2^k - 1 is composite for all 0 <= j < k <= m. - Chai Wah Wu, Sep 08 2021

a(n) is the number of three-in-a-rows passing through a corner cell in n-dimensional tic-tac-toe. - Ben Orlin, Mar 15 2022

From Vladimir Pletser, Jan 27 2023: (Start)

a(n) == 1 (mod 30) for n == 1 (mod 4);

a(n) == 7 (mod 120) for n == 3 (mod 4);

(a(n) - 1)/30 = (a(n+2) - 7)/120 for n odd;

(a(n) - 1)/30 = (a(n+2) - 7)/120 = A131865(m) for n == 1 (mod 4) and m >= 0 with A131865(0) = 0. (End)

a(n) is the number of n-digit numbers whose smallest decimal digit is 8. - Stefano Spezia, Nov 15 2023

Also, number of nodes in a perfect binary tree of height n-1, or: number of squares (or triangles) after the n-th step of the construction of a Pythagorean tree: Start with a segment. At each step, construct squares having the most recent segment(s) as base, and isosceles right triangles having the opposite side of the squares as hypotenuse ("on top" of each square). The legs of these triangles will serve as the segments which are the bases of the squares in the next step. - M. F. Hasler, Mar 11 2024

a(n) is the length of the longest path in the n-dimensional hypercube. - Christian Barrientos, Apr 13 2024

a(n) is the diameter of the n-Hanoi graph. Equivalently, a(n) is the largest minimum number of moves between any two states of the Towers of Hanoi problem (aka problem of Benares Temple described above). - Allan Bickle, Aug 09 2024

Devadoss refers to these numbers as type B Catalan numbers (cf. A000108).

Equal to the binomial coefficient sum Sum_{k=0..n} binomial(n,k)^2.

Number of possible interleavings of a program with n atomic instructions when executed by two processes. - Manuel Carro (mcarro(AT)fi.upm.es), Sep 22 2001

Convolving a(n) with itself yields A000302, the powers of 4. - T. D. Noe, Jun 11 2002

Number of ordered trees with 2n+1 edges, having root of odd degree and nonroot nodes of outdegree 0 or 2. - Emeric Deutsch, Aug 02 2002

Also number of directed, convex polyominoes having semiperimeter n+2.

Also number of diagonally symmetric, directed, convex polyominoes having semiperimeter 2n+2. - Emeric Deutsch, Aug 03 2002

The second inverse binomial transform of this sequence is this sequence with interpolated zeros. Its g.f. is (1 - 4*x^2)^(-1/2), with n-th term C(n,n/2)(1+(-1)^n)/2. - Paul Barry, Jul 01 2003

Number of possible values of a 2n-bit binary number for which half the bits are on and half are off. - Gavin Scott (gavin(AT)allegro.com), Aug 09 2003

Ordered partitions of n with zeros to n+1, e.g., for n=4 we consider the ordered partitions of 11110 (5), 11200 (30), 13000 (20), 40000 (5) and 22000 (10), total 70 and a(4)=70. See A001700 (esp. Mambetov Bektur's comment). - Jon Perry, Aug 10 2003

Number of nondecreasing sequences of n integers from 0 to n: a(n) = Sum_{i_1=0..n} Sum_{i_2=i_1..n}...Sum_{i_n=i_{n-1}..n}(1). - J. N. Bearden (jnb(AT)eller.arizona.edu), Sep 16 2003

Number of peaks at odd level in all Dyck paths of semilength n+1. Example: a(2)=6 because we have U*DU*DU*D, U*DUUDD, UUDDU*D, UUDUDD, UUU*DDD, where U=(1,1), D=(1,-1) and * indicates a peak at odd level. Number of ascents of length 1 in all Dyck paths of semilength n+1 (an ascent in a Dyck path is a maximal string of up steps). Example: a(2)=6 because we have uDuDuD, uDUUDD, UUDDuD, UUDuDD, UUUDDD, where an ascent of length 1 is indicated by a lower case letter. - Emeric Deutsch, Dec 05 2003

a(n-1) = number of subsets of 2n-1 distinct elements taken n at a time that contain a given element. E.g., n=4 -> a(3)=20 and if we consider the subsets of 7 taken 4 at a time with a 1 we get (1234, 1235, 1236, 1237, 1245, 1246, 1247, 1256, 1257, 1267, 1345, 1346, 1347, 1356, 1357, 1367, 1456, 1457, 1467, 1567) and there are 20 of them. - Jon Perry, Jan 20 2004

The dimension of a particular (necessarily existent) absolutely universal embedding of the unitary dual polar space DSU(2n,q^2) where q>2. - J. Taylor (jt_cpp(AT)yahoo.com), Apr 02 2004.

Number of standard tableaux of shape (n+1, 1^n). - Emeric Deutsch, May 13 2004

Erdős, Graham et al. conjectured that a(n) is never squarefree for sufficiently large n (cf. Graham, Knuth, Patashnik, Concrete Math., 2nd ed., Exercise 112). Sárközy showed that if s(n) is the square part of a(n), then s(n) is asymptotically (sqrt(2)-2) * (sqrt(n)) * zeta(1/2). Granville and Ramare proved that the only squarefree values are a(1)=2, a(2)=6 and a(4)=70. - Jonathan Vos Post, Dec 04 2004 [For more about this conjecture, see A261009. - N. J. A. Sloane, Oct 25 2015]

The MathOverflow link contains the following comment (slightly edited): The Erdős squarefree conjecture (that a(n) is never squarefree for n>4) was proved in 1980 by Sárközy, A. (On divisors of binomial coefficients. I. J. Number Theory 20 (1985), no. 1, 70-80.) who showed that the conjecture holds for all sufficiently large values of n, and by A. Granville and O. Ramaré (Explicit bounds on exponential sums and the scarcity of squarefree binomial coefficients. Mathematika 43 (1996), no. 1, 73-107) who showed that it holds for all n>4. - Fedor Petrov, Nov 13 2010. [From N. J. A. Sloane, Oct 29 2015]

p divides a((p-1)/2)-1=A030662(n) for prime p=5, 13, 17, 29, 37, 41, 53, 61, 73, 89, 97, ... = A002144(n) Pythagorean primes: primes of form 4n+1. - Alexander Adamchuk, Jul 04 2006

The number of direct routes from my home to Granny's when Granny lives n blocks south and n blocks east of my home in Grid City. To obtain a direct route, from the 2n blocks, choose n blocks on which one travels south. For example, a(2)=6 because there are 6 direct routes: SSEE, SESE, SEES, EESS, ESES and ESSE. - Dennis P. Walsh, Oct 27 2006

Inverse: With q = -log(log(16)/(pi a(n)^2)), ceiling((q + log(q))/log(16)) = n. - David W. Cantrell (DWCantrell(AT)sigmaxi.net), Feb 26 2007

Number of partitions with Ferrers diagrams that fit in an n X n box (including the empty partition of 0). Example: a(2) = 6 because we have: empty, 1, 2, 11, 21 and 22. - Emeric Deutsch, Oct 02 2007

So this is the 2-dimensional analog of A008793. - William Entriken, Aug 06 2013

The number of walks of length 2n on an infinite linear lattice that begins and ends at the origin. - Stefan Hollos (stefan(AT)exstrom.com), Dec 10 2007

The number of lattice paths from (0,0) to (n,n) using steps (1,0) and (0,1). - Joerg Arndt, Jul 01 2011

Integral representation: C(2n,n)=1/Pi Integral [(2x)^(2n)/sqrt(1 - x^2),{x,-1, 1}], i.e., C(2n,n)/4^n is the moment of order 2n of the arcsin distribution on the interval (-1,1). - N-E. Fahssi, Jan 02 2008

Also the Catalan transform of A000079. - R. J. Mathar, Nov 06 2008

Straub, Amdeberhan and Moll: "... it is conjectured that there are only finitely many indices n such that C_n is not divisible by any of 3, 5, 7 and 11." - Jonathan Vos Post, Nov 14 2008

Equals INVERT transform of A081696: (1, 1, 3, 9, 29, 97, 333, ...). - Gary W. Adamson, May 15 2009

Also, in sports, the number of ordered ways for a "Best of 2n-1 Series" to progress. For example, a(2) = 6 means there are six ordered ways for a "best of 3" series to progress. If we write A for a win by "team A" and B for a win by "team B" and if we list the played games chronologically from left to right then the six ways are AA, ABA, BAA, BB, BAB, and ABB. (Proof: To generate the a(n) ordered ways: Write down all a(n) ways to designate n of 2n games as won by team A. Remove the maximal suffix of identical letters from each of these.) - Lee A. Newberg, Jun 02 2009

Number of n X n binary arrays with rows, considered as binary numbers, in nondecreasing order, and columns, considered as binary numbers, in nonincreasing order. - R. H. Hardin, Jun 27 2009

Hankel transform is 2^n. - Paul Barry, Aug 05 2009

It appears that a(n) is also the number of quivers in the mutation class of twisted type BC_n for n>=2.

Central terms of Pascal's triangle: a(n) = A007318(2*n,n). - Reinhard Zumkeller, Nov 09 2011

Number of words on {a,b} of length 2n such that no prefix of the word contains more b's than a's. - Jonathan Nilsson, Apr 18 2012

From Pascal's triangle take row(n) with terms in order a1,a2,..a(n) and row(n+1) with terms b1,b2,..b(n), then 2*(a1*b1 + a2*b2 + ... + a(n)*b(n)) to get the terms in this sequence. - J. M. Bergot, Oct 07 2012. For example using rows 4 and 5: 2*(1*(1) + 4*(5) + 6*(10) + 4*(10) + 1*(5)) = 252, the sixth term in this sequence.

Take from Pascal's triangle row(n) with terms b1, b2, ..., b(n+1) and row(n+2) with terms c1, c2, ..., c(n+3) and find the sum b1*c2 + b2*c3 + ... + b(n+1)*c(n+2) to get A000984(n+1). Example using row(3) and row(5) gives sum 1*(5)+3*(10)+3*(10)+1*(5) = 70 = A000984(4). - J. M. Bergot, Oct 31 2012

a(n) == 2 mod n^3 iff n is a prime > 3. (See Mestrovic link, p. 4.) - Gary Detlefs, Feb 16 2013

Conjecture: For any positive integer n, the polynomial sum_{k=0}^n a(k)x^k is irreducible over the field of rational numbers. In general, for any integer m>1 and n>0, the polynomial f_{m,n}(x) = Sum_{k=0..n} (m*k)!/(k!)^m*x^k is irreducible over the field of rational numbers. - Zhi-Wei Sun, Mar 23 2013

This comment generalizes the comment dated Oct 31 2012 and the second of the sequence's original comments. For j = 1 to n, a(n) = Sum_{k=0..j} C(j,k)* C(2n-j, n-k) = 2*Sum_{k=0..j-1} C(j-1,k)*C(2n-j, n-k). - Charlie Marion, Jun 07 2013

The differences between consecutive terms of the sequence of the quotients between consecutive terms of this sequence form a sequence containing the reciprocals of the triangular numbers. In other words, a(n+1)/a(n)-a(n)/a(n-1) = 2/(n*(n+1)). - Christian Schulz, Jun 08 2013

Number of distinct strings of length 2n using n letters A and n letters B. - Hans Havermann, May 07 2014

From Fung Lam, May 19 2014: (Start)

Expansion of G.f. A(x) = 1/(1+q*x*c(x)), where parameter q is positive or negative (except q=-1), and c(x) is the g.f. of A000108 for Catalan numbers. The case of q=-1 recovers the g.f. of A000108 as xA^2-A+1=0. The present sequence A000984 refers to q=-2. Recurrence: (1+q)*(n+2)*a(n+2) + ((q*q-4*q-4)*n + 2*(q*q-q-1))*a(n+1) - 2*q*q*(2*n+1)*a(n) = 0, a(0)=1, a(1)=-q. Asymptotics: a(n) ~ ((q+2)/(q+1))*(q^2/(-q-1))^n, q<=-3, a(n) ~ (-1)^n*((q+2)/(q+1))*(q^2/(q+1))^n, q>=5, and a(n) ~ -Kq*2^(2*n)/sqrt(Pi*n^3), where the multiplicative constant Kq is given by K1=1/9 (q=1), K2=1/8 (q=2), K3=3/25 (q=3), K4=1/9 (q=4). These formulas apply to existing sequences A126983 (q=1), A126984 (q=2), A126982 (q=3), A126986 (q=4), A126987 (q=5), A127017 (q=6), A127016 (q=7), A126985 (q=8), A127053 (q=9), and to A007854 (q=-3), A076035 (q=-4), A076036 (q=-5), A127628 (q=-6), A126694 (q=-7), A115970 (q=-8). (End)

a(n)*(2^n)^(j-2) equals S(n), where S(n) is the n-th number in the self-convolved sequence which yields the powers of 2^j for all integers j, n>=0. For example, when n=5 and j=4, a(5)=252; 252*(2^5)^(4-2) = 252*1024 = 258048. The self-convolved sequence which yields powers of 16 is {1, 8, 96, 1280, 17920, 258048, ...}; i.e., S(5) = 258048. Note that the convolved sequences will be composed of numbers decreasing from 1 to 0, when j<2 (exception being j=1, where the first two numbers in the sequence are 1 and all others decreasing). - Bob Selcoe, Jul 16 2014

The variance of the n-th difference of a sequence of pairwise uncorrelated random variables each with variance 1. - Liam Patrick Roche, Jun 04 2015

Number of ordered trees with n edges where vertices at level 1 can be of 2 colors. Indeed, the standard decomposition of ordered trees leading to the equation C = 1 + zC^2 (C is the Catalan function), yields this time G = 1 + 2zCG, from where G = 1/sqrt(1-4z). - Emeric Deutsch, Jun 17 2015

Number of monomials of degree at most n in n variables. - Ran Pan, Sep 26 2015

Let V(n, r) denote the volume of an n-dimensional sphere with radius r, then V(n, 2^n) / Pi = V(n-1, 2^n) * a(n/2) for all even n. - Peter Luschny, Oct 12 2015

a(n) is the number of sets {i1,...,in} of length n such that n >= i1 >= i2 >= ... >= in >= 0. For instance, a(2) = 6 as there are only 6 such sets: (2,2) (2,1) (2,0) (1,1) (1,0) (0,0). - Anton Zakharov, Jul 04 2016

From Ralf Steiner, Apr 07 2017: (Start)

By analytic continuation to the entire complex plane there exist regularized values for divergent sums such as:

Sum_{k>=0} a(k)/(-2)^k = 1/sqrt(3).

Sum_{k>=0} a(k)/(-1)^k = 1/sqrt(5).

Sum_{k>=0} a(k)/(-1/2)^k = 1/3.

Sum_{k>=0} a(k)/(1/2)^k = -1/sqrt(7)i.

Sum_{k>=0} a(k)/(1)^k = -1/sqrt(3)i.

Sum_{k>=0} a(k)/2^k = -i. (End)

Number of sequences (e(1), ..., e(n+1)), 0 <= e(i) < i, such that there is no triple i < j < k with e(i) > e(j). [Martinez and Savage, 2.18] - Eric M. Schmidt, Jul 17 2017

The o.g.f. for the sequence equals the diagonal of any of the following the rational functions: 1/(1 - (x + y)), 1/(1 - (x + y*z)), 1/(1 - (x + x*y + y*z)) or 1/(1 - (x + y + y*z)). - Peter Bala, Jan 30 2018

From Colin Defant, Sep 16 2018: (Start)

Let s denote West's stack-sorting map. a(n) is the number of permutations pi of [n+1] such that s(pi) avoids the patterns 132, 231, and 321. a(n) is also the number of permutations pi of [n+1] such that s(pi) avoids the patterns 132, 312, and 321.

a(n) is the number of permutations of [n+1] that avoid the patterns 1342, 3142, 3412, and 3421. (End)

All binary self-dual codes of length 4n, for n>0, must contain at least a(n) codewords of weight 2n. More to the point, there will always be at least one, perhaps unique, binary self-dual code of length 4n that will contain exactly a(n) codewords that have a hamming weight equal to half the length of the code (2n). This code can be constructed by direct summing the unique binary self-dual code of length 2 (up to permutation equivalence) to itself an even number of times. A permutation equivalent code can be constructed by augmenting two identity matrices of length 2n together. - Nathan J. Russell, Nov 25 2018

From Isaac Saffold, Dec 28 2018: (Start)

Let [b/p] denote the Legendre symbol and 1/b denote the inverse of b mod p. Then, for m and n, where n is not divisible by p,

[(m+n)/p] == [n/p]*Sum_{k=0..(p-1)/2} (-m/(4*n))^k * a(k) (mod p).

Evaluating this identity for m = -1 and n = 1 demonstrates that, for all odd primes p, Sum_{k=0..(p-1)/2} (1/4)^k * a(k) is divisible by p. (End)

Number of vertices of the subgraph of the (2n-1)-dimensional hypercube induced by all bitstrings with n-1 or n many 1s. The middle levels conjecture asserts that this graph has a Hamilton cycle. - Torsten Muetze, Feb 11 2019

a(n) is the number of walks of length 2n from the origin with steps (1,1) and (1,-1) that stay on or above the x-axis. Equivalently, a(n) is the number of walks of length 2n from the origin with steps (1,0) and (0,1) that stay in the first octant. - Alexander Burstein, Dec 24 2019

Number of permutations of length n>0 avoiding the partially ordered pattern (POP) {3>1, 1>2} of length 4. That is, number of length n permutations having no subsequences of length 4 in which the first element is larger than the second element but smaller than the third elements. - Sergey Kitaev, Dec 08 2020

From Gus Wiseman, Jul 21 2021: (Start)

Also the number of integer compositions of 2n+1 with alternating sum 1, where the alternating sum of a sequence (y_1,...,y_k) is Sum_i (-1)^(i-1) y_i. For example, the a(0) = 1 through a(2) = 6 compositions are:

(1) (2,1) (3,2)

(1,1,1) (1,2,2)

(2,2,1)

(1,1,2,1)

(2,1,1,1)

(1,1,1,1,1)

The following relate to these compositions:

- The unordered version is A000070.

- The alternating sum -1 version is counted by A001791, ranked by A345910/A345912.

- The alternating sum 0 version is counted by A088218, ranked by A344619.

- Including even indices gives A126869.

- The complement is counted by A202736.

- Ranked by A345909 (reverse: A345911).

Equivalently, a(n) counts binary numbers with 2n+1 digits and one more 1 than 0's. For example, the a(2) = 6 binary numbers are: 10011, 10101, 10110, 11001, 11010, 11100.

(End)

From Michael Wallner, Jan 25 2022: (Start)

a(n) is the number of nx2 Young tableaux with a single horizontal wall between the first and second column. If there is a wall between two cells, the entries may be decreasing; see [Banderier, Wallner 2021].

Example for a(2)=6:

3 4 2 4 3 4 3|4 4|3 2|4

1|2, 1|3, 2|1, 1 2, 1 2, 1 3

a(n) is also the number of nx2 Young tableaux with n "walls" between the first and second column.

Example for a(2)=6:

3|4 2|4 4|3 3|4 4|3 4|2

1|2, 1|3, 1|2, 2|1, 2|1, 3|1 (End)

From Shel Kaphan, Jan 12 2023: (Start)

a(n)/4^n is the probability that a fair coin tossed 2n times will come up heads exactly n times and tails exactly n times, or that a random walk with steps of +-1 will return to the starting point after 2n steps (not necessarily for the first time). As n becomes large, this number asymptotically approaches 1/sqrt(n*Pi), using Stirling's approximation for n!.

a(n)/(4^n*(2n-1)) is the probability that a random walk with steps of +-1 will return to the starting point for the first time after 2n steps. The absolute value of the n-th term of A144704 is denominator of this fraction.

Considering all possible random walks of exactly 2n steps with steps of +-1, a(n)/(2n-1) is the number of such walks that return to the starting point for the first time after 2n steps. See the absolute values of A002420 or A284016 for these numbers. For comparison, as mentioned by Stefan Hollos, Dec 10 2007, a(n) is the number of such walks that return to the starting point after 2n steps, but not necessarily for the first time. (End)

p divides a((p-1)/2) + 1 for primes p of the form 4*k+3 (A002145). - Jules Beauchamp, Feb 11 2023

Also the size of the shuffle product of two words of length n, such that the union of the two words consist of 2n distinct elements. - Robert C. Lyons, Mar 15 2023

a(n) is the number of vertices of the n-dimensional cyclohedron W_{n+1}. - Jose Bastidas, Mar 25 2025

Consider a stack of pancakes of height n, where the only allowed operation is reversing the top portion of the stack. First, perform a series of reversals of increasing sizes, followed by a series of reversals of decreasing sizes. The number of distinct permutations of the initial stack that can be reached through these operations is a(n). - Thomas Baruchel, May 12 2025

This sequence is an exception to my usual rule that when every other term of a sequence is 0 then those 0's should be omitted. In this case we would get A001511. - N. J. A. Sloane

To construct the sequence: start with 0,1, concatenate to get 0,1,0,1. Add + 1 to last term gives 0,1,0,2. Concatenate those 4 terms to get 0,1,0,2,0,1,0,2. Add + 1 to last term etc. - Benoit Cloitre, Mar 06 2003

The sequence is invariant under the following two transformations: increment every element by one (1, 2, 1, 3, 1, 2, 1, 4, ...), put a zero in front and between adjacent elements (0, 1, 0, 2, 0, 1, 0, 3, 0, 1, 0, 2, 0, 1, 0, 4, ...). The intermediate result is A001511. - Ralf Hinze (ralf(AT)informatik.uni-bonn.de), Aug 26 2003

Fixed point of the morphism 0->01, 1->02, 2->03, 3->04, ..., n->0(n+1), ..., starting from a(1) = 0. - Philippe Deléham, Mar 15 2004

Fixed point of the morphism 0->010, 1->2, 2->3, ..., n->(n+1), .... - Joerg Arndt, Apr 29 2014

a(n) is also the number of times to repeat a step on an even number in the hailstone sequence referenced in the Collatz conjecture. - Alex T. Flood (whiteangelsgrace(AT)gmail.com), Sep 22 2006

Let F(n) be the n-th Fermat number (A000215). Then F(a(r-1)) divides F(n)+2^k for r = k mod 2^n and r != 1. - T. D. Noe, Jul 12 2007

The following relation holds: 2^A007814(n)*(2*A025480(n-1)+1) = A001477(n) = n. (See functions hd, tl and cons in [Paul Tarau 2009].)

a(n) is the number of 0's at the end of n when n is written in base 2.

a(n+1) is the number of 1's at the end of n when n is written in base 2. - M. F. Hasler, Aug 25 2012

Shows which bit to flip when creating the binary reflected Gray code (bits are numbered from the right, offset is 0). That is, A003188(n) XOR A003188(n+1) == 2^A007814(n). - Russ Cox, Dec 04 2010

The sequence is squarefree (in the sense of not containing any subsequence of the form XX) [Allouche and Shallit]. Of course it contains individual terms that are squares (such as 4). - Comment expanded by N. J. A. Sloane, Jan 28 2019

a(n) is the number of zero coefficients in the n-th Stern polynomial, A125184. - T. D. Noe, Mar 01 2011

Lemma: For n < m with r = a(n) = a(m) there exists n < k < m with a(k) > r. Proof: We have n=b2^r and m=c2^r with b < c both odd; choose an even i between them; now a(i2^r) > r and n < i2^r < m. QED. Corollary: Every finite run of consecutive integers has a unique maximum 2-adic valuation. - Jason Kimberley, Sep 09 2011

a(n-2) is the 2-adic valuation of A000166(n) for n >= 2. - Joerg Arndt, Sep 06 2014

a(n) = number of 1's in the partition having Heinz number n. We define the Heinz number of a partition p = [p_1, p_2, ..., p_r] as Product_{j=1..r} p_j-th prime (concept used by Alois P. Heinz in A215366 as an "encoding" of a partition). For example, for the partition [1, 1, 2, 4, 10] we get 2*2*3*7*29 = 2436. Example: a(24)=3; indeed, the partition having Heinz number 24 = 2*2*2*3 is [1,1,1,2]. - Emeric Deutsch, Jun 04 2015

a(n+1) is the difference between the two largest parts in the integer partition having viabin number n (0 is assumed to be a part). Example: a(20) = 2. Indeed, we have 19 = 10011_2, leading to the Ferrers board of the partition [3,1,1]. For the definition of viabin number see the comment in A290253. - Emeric Deutsch, Aug 24 2017

Apart from being squarefree, as noted above, the sequence has the property that every consecutive subsequence contains at least one number an odd number of times. - Jon Richfield, Dec 20 2018

a(n+1) is the 2-adic valuation of Sum_{e=0..n} u^e = (1 + u + u^2 + ... + u^n), for any u of the form 4k+1 (A016813). - Antti Karttunen, Aug 15 2020

{a(n)} represents the "first black hat" strategy for the game of countably infinitely many hats, with a probability of success of 1/3; cf. the Numberphile link below. - Frederic Ruget, Jun 14 2021

a(n) is the least nonnegative integer k for which there does not exist i+j=n and a(i)=a(j)=k (cf. A322523). - Rémy Sigrist and Jianing Song, Aug 23 2022