Explicit formula for the generating series of diagonal 3D rook paths

Let $a_n$ denote the number of ways in which a chess rook can move from a corner cell to the opposite corner cell of an $n \times n \times n$ three-dimensional chessboard, assuming that the piece moves closer to the goal cell at each step. We describe the computer-driven \emph{discovery and proof} of the fact that the generating series $G(x)= \sum_{n \geq 0} a_n x^n$ admits the following explicit expression in terms of a Gaussian hypergeometric function: G(x) = 1 + 6 \cdot \int_0^x \frac{\,\pFq21{1/3}{2/3}{2} {\frac{27 w(2-3w)}{(1-4w)^3}}}{(1-4w)(1-64w)} \, dw.Comment: To appear in "S\'eminaire Lotharingien de Combinatoire

Recurrence and Polya number of general one-dimensional random walks

The recurrence properties of random walks can be characterized by P\'{o}lya number, i.e., the probability that the walker has returned to the origin at least once. In this paper, we consider recurrence properties for a general 1D random walk on a line, in which at each time step the walker can move to the left or right with probabilities $l$ and $r$, or remain at the same position with probability $o$ ($l+r+o=1$). We calculate P\'{o}lya number $P$ of this model and find a simple expression for $P$ as, $P=1-\Delta$, where $\Delta$ is the absolute difference of $l$ and $r$ ($\Delta=|l-r|$). We prove this rigorous expression by the method of creative telescoping, and our result suggests that the walk is recurrent if and only if the left-moving probability $l$ equals to the right-moving probability $r$.Comment: 3 page short pape