Asymptotic distribution of fixed points of pattern-avoiding involutions

For a variety of pattern-avoiding classes, we describe the limiting distribution for the number of fixed points for involutions chosen uniformly at random from that class. In particular we consider monotone patterns of arbitrary length as well as all patterns of length 3. For monotone patterns we utilize the connection with standard Young tableaux with at most $k$ rows and involutions avoiding a monotone pattern of length $k$. For every pattern of length 3 we give the bivariate generating function with respect to fixed points for the involutions that avoid that pattern, and where applicable apply tools from analytic combinatorics to extract information about the limiting distribution from the generating function. Many well-known distributions appear.Comment: 16 page

Distributions of several infinite families of mesh patterns

Br\"and\'en and Claesson introduced mesh patterns to provide explicit expansions for certain permutation statistics as linear combinations of (classical) permutation patterns. The first systematic study of avoidance of mesh patterns was conducted by Hilmarsson et al., while the first systematic study of the distribution of mesh patterns was conducted by the first two authors. In this paper, we provide far-reaching generalizations for 8 known distribution results and 5 known avoidance results related to mesh patterns by giving distribution or avoidance formulas for certain infinite families of mesh patterns in terms of distribution or avoidance formulas for smaller patterns. Moreover, as a corollary to a general result, we find the distribution of one more mesh pattern of length 2.Comment: 27 page

Place-difference-value patterns: A generalization of generalized permutation and word patterns

Motivated by study of Mahonian statistics, in 2000, Babson and Steingrimsson introduced the notion of a "generalized permutation pattern" (GP) which generalizes the concept of "classical" permutation pattern introduced by Knuth in 1969. The invention of GPs led to a large number of publications related to properties of these patterns in permutations and words. Since the work of Babson and Steingrimsson, several further generalizations of permutation patterns have appeared in the literature, each bringing a new set of permutation or word pattern problems and often new connections with other combinatorial objects and disciplines. For example, Bousquet-Melou et al. introduced a new type of permutation pattern that allowed them to relate permutation patterns theory to the theory of partially ordered sets. In this paper we introduce yet another, more general definition of a pattern, called place-difference-value patterns (PDVP) that covers all of the most common definitions of permutation and/or word patterns that have occurred in the literature. PDVPs provide many new ways to develop the theory of patterns in permutations and words. We shall give several examples of PDVPs in both permutations and words that cannot be described in terms of any other pattern conditions that have been introduced previously. Finally, we raise several bijective questions linking our patterns to other combinatorial objects.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figures, 1 tabl

Avoidance of Partitions of a Three-element Set

Klazar defined and studied a notion of pattern avoidance for set partitions, which is an analogue of pattern avoidance for permutations. Sagan considered partitions which avoid a single partition of three elements. We enumerate partitions which avoid any family of partitions of a 3-element set as was done by Simion and Schmidt for permutations. We also consider even and odd set partitions. We provide enumerative results for set partitions restricted by generalized set partition patterns, which are an analogue of the generalized permutation patterns of Babson and Steingr{\'{\i}}msson. Finally, in the spirit of work done by Babson and Steingr{'{\i}}msson, we will show how these generalized partition patterns can be used to describe set partition statistics.Comment: 23 pages, 2 tables, 1 figure, to appear in Advances in Applied Mathematic