A new upper bound for 1324-avoiding permutations

We prove that the number of 1324-avoiding permutations of length n is less than (7+4\sqrt{3})^n.Comment: 6 page

A structural characterisation of Av(1324) and new bounds on its growth rate

We establish an improved lower bound of 10.271 for the exponential growth rate of the class of permutations avoiding the pattern 1324, and an improved upper bound of 13.5. These results depend on a new exact structural characterisation of 1324-avoiders as a subclass of an infinite staircase grid class, together with precise asymptotics of a small domino subclass whose enumeration we relate to West-two-stack-sortable permutations and planar maps. The bounds are established by carefully combining copies of the dominoes in particular ways consistent with the structural characterisation. The lower bound depends on concentration results concerning the substructure of a typical domino, the determination of exactly when dominoes can be combined in the fewest distinct ways, and technical analysis of the resulting generating function

On The Growth Of Permutation Classes

We study aspects of the enumeration of permutation classes, sets of permutations closed downwards under the subpermutation order. First, we consider monotone grid classes of permutations. We present procedures for calculating the generating function of any class whose matrix has dimensions m × 1 for some m, and of acyclic and unicyclic classes of gridded permutations. We show that almost all large permutations in a grid class have the same shape, and determine this limit shape. We prove that the growth rate of a grid class is given by the square of the spectral radius of an associated graph and deduce some facts relating to the set of grid class growth rates. In the process, we establish a new result concerning tours on graphs. We also prove a similar result relating the growth rate of a geometric grid class to the matching polynomial of a graph, and determine the effect of edge subdivision on the matching polynomial. We characterise the growth rates of geometric grid classes in terms of the spectral radii of trees. We then investigate the set of growth rates of permutation classes and establish a new upper bound on the value above which every real number is the growth rate of some permutation class. In the process, we prove new results concerning expansions of real numbers in non-integer bases in which the digits are drawn from sets of allowed values. Finally, we introduce a new enumeration technique, based on associating a graph with each permutation, and determine the generating functions for some previously unenumerated classes. We conclude by using this approach to provide an improved lower bound on the growth rate of the class of permutations avoiding the pattern 1324. In the process, we prove that, asymptotically, patterns in Łukasiewicz paths exhibit a concentrated Gaussian distribution

Staircases, dominoes, and the growth rate of 1324-avoiders

We establish a lower bound of 10.271 for the growth rate of the permutations avoiding 1324, and an upper bound of 13.5. This is done by first finding the precise growth rate of a subclass whose enumeration is related to West-2-stack-sortable permutations, and then combining copies of this subclass in particular ways

Upper bounds for the Stanley-Wilf limit of 1324 and other layered patterns

We prove that the Stanley-Wilf limit of any layered permutation pattern of length $\ell$ is at most $4\ell^2$, and that the Stanley-Wilf limit of the pattern 1324 is at most 16. These bounds follow from a more general result showing that a permutation avoiding a pattern of a special form is a merge of two permutations, each of which avoids a smaller pattern. If the conjecture is true that the maximum Stanley-Wilf limit for patterns of length $\ell$ is attained by a layered pattern then this implies an upper bound of $4\ell^2$ for the Stanley-Wilf limit of any pattern of length $\ell$. We also conjecture that, for any $k\ge 0$, the set of 1324-avoiding permutations with $k$ inversions contains at least as many permutations of length $n+1$ as those of length $n$. We show that if this is true then the Stanley-Wilf limit for 1324 is at most $e^{\pi\sqrt{2/3}} \simeq 13.001954$

Some open problems on permutation patterns

This is a brief survey of some open problems on permutation patterns, with an emphasis on subjects not covered in the recent book by Kitaev, \emph{Patterns in Permutations and words}. I first survey recent developments on the enumeration and asymptotics of the pattern 1324, the last pattern of length 4 whose asymptotic growth is unknown, and related issues such as upper bounds for the number of avoiders of any pattern of length $k$ for any given $k$. Other subjects treated are the M\"obius function, topological properties and other algebraic aspects of the poset of permutations, ordered by containment, and also the study of growth rates of permutation classes, which are containment closed subsets of this poset.Comment: 20 pages. Related to upcoming talk at the British Combinatorial Conference 2013. To appear in London Mathematical Society Lecture Note Serie

Pattern-Avoiding Involutions: Exact and Asymptotic Enumeration

We consider the enumeration of pattern-avoiding involutions, focusing in particular on sets defined by avoiding a single pattern of length 4. As we demonstrate, the numerical data for these problems demonstrates some surprising behavior. This strange behavior even provides some very unexpected data related to the number of 1324-avoiding permutations