Catalan-like numbers and Stieltjes moment sequences

We provide sufficient conditions under which the Catalan-like numbers are Stieltjes moment sequences. As applications, we show that many well-known counting coefficients, including the Bell numbers, the Catalan numbers, the central binomial coefficients, the central Delannoy numbers, the factorial numbers, the large and little Schr\"oder numbers, are Stieltjes moment sequences in a unified approach.Comment: 7 page

A Simple Proof of the Aztec Diamond Theorem

Based on a bijection between domino tilings of an Aztec diamond and non-intersecting lattice paths, a simple proof of the Aztec diamond theorem is given in terms of Hankel determinants of the large and small Schr\"oder numbers.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Total positivity of recursive matrices

Let $A=[a_{n,k}]_{n,k\ge 0}$ be an infinite lower triangular matrix defined by the recurrence $$a_{0,0}=1,\quad a_{n+1,k}=r_{k}a_{n,k-1}+s_{k}a_{n,k}+t_{k+1}a_{n,k+1},$$ where $a_{n,k}=0$ unless $n\ge k\ge 0$ and $r_k,s_k,t_k$ are all nonnegative. Many well-known combinatorial triangles are such matrices, including the Pascal triangle, the Stirling triangle (of the second kind), the Bell triangle, the Catalan triangles of Aigner and Shapiro. We present some sufficient conditions such that the recursive matrix $A$ is totally positive. As applications we give the total positivity of the above mentioned combinatorial triangles in a unified approach

Rotundus: triangulations, Chebyshev polynomials, and Pfaffians

We introduce and study a cyclically invariant polynomial which is an analog of the classical tridiagonal determinant usually called the continuant. We prove that this polynomial can be calculated as the Pfaffian of a skew-symmetric matrix. We consider the corresponding Diophantine equation and prove an analog of a famous result due to Conway and Coxeter. We also observe that Chebyshev polynomials of the first kind arise as Pfaffians.Comment: 8 page

Total positivity of Riordan arrays

We present sufficient conditions for total positivity of Riordan arrays. As applications we show that many well-known combinatorial triangles are totally positive and many famous combinatorial numbers are log-convex in a unified approach

Four transformations on the Catalan triangle

In this paper, we define four transformations on the classical Catalan triangle $\mathcal{C}=(C_{n,k})_{n\geq k\geq 0}$ with $C_{n,k}=\frac{k+1}{n+1}\binom{2n-k}{n}$. The first three ones are based on the determinant and the forth is utilizing the permanent of a square matrix. It not only produces many known and new identities involving Catalan numbers, but also provides a new viewpoint on combinatorial triangles.Comment: 13page

Single Polygon Counting for mm Fixed Nodes in Cayley Tree: Two Extremal Cases

We denote a polygon as a connected component in Cayley tree of order 2 containing certain number of fix vertices. We found an exact formula for a polygon counting problem for two cases, in which, for the first case the polygon contain a full connected component of a Cayley tree and for the second case the polygon contain two fixed vertices. From these formulas, which is in the form of finite linear combination of Catalan numbers, one can find the asymptotic estimation for a counting problem.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figure

Some exact solutions of the Volterra lattice

We study solutions of the Volterra lattice satisfying the stationary equation for its non-autonomous symmetry. It is shown that the dynamics in $t$ and $n$ are governed by the continuous and discrete Painlev\'e equations, respectively. The class of initial data leading to regular solutions is described. For the lattice on the half-line, these solutions are expressed in terms of the confluent hypergeometric function. The Hankel transform of the coefficients of the corresponding Taylor series is computed on the basis of the Wronskian representation of the solution.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figure

Matrix Identities on Weighted Partial Motzkin Paths

We give a combinatorial interpretation of a matrix identity on Catalan numbers and the sequence $(1, 4, 4^2, 4^3, ...)$ which has been derived by Shapiro, Woan and Getu by using Riordan arrays. By giving a bijection between weighted partial Motzkin paths with an elevation line and weighted free Motzkin paths, we find a matrix identity on the number of weighted Motzkin paths and the sequence $(1, k, k^2, k^3, ...)$ for any $k \geq 2$. By extending this argument to partial Motzkin paths with multiple elevation lines, we give a combinatorial proof of an identity recently obtained by Cameron and Nkwanta. A matrix identity on colored Dyck paths is also given, leading to a matrix identity for the sequence $(1, t^2+t, (t^2+t)^2, ...)$.Comment: 15 pages, 3figure

Catalan-like numbers and Hausdorff moment sequences

In this paper we show that many well-known counting coefficients, including the Catalan numbers, the Motzkin numbers, the central binomial coefficients, the central Delannoy numbers are Hausdorff moment sequences in a unified approach. In particular we answer a conjecture of Liang at al. which such numbers have unique representing measures. The smallest interval including the support of representing measure is explicitly found. Subsequences of Catalan-like numbers are also considered. We provide a necessary and sufficient condition for a pattern of subsequences that if sequences are the Stieltjes Catalan-like numbers, then their subsequences are Stieltjes Catalan-like numbers. Moreover, a representing measure of a linear combination of consecutive Catalan-like numbers is studied