Limit theorems for numbers satisfying a class of triangular arrays

The paper extends the investigations of limit theorems for numbers satisfying a class of triangular arrays, defined by a bivariate linear recurrence with bivariate linear coefficients. We obtain the partial differential equation and special analytical expressions for the numbers using a semi-exponential generating function. We apply the results to prove the asymptotic normality of special classes of the numbers and specify the convergence rate to the limiting distribution. We demonstrate that the limiting distribution is not always Gaussian

Why Delannoy numbers?

This article is not a research paper, but a little note on the history of combinatorics: We present here a tentative short biography of Henri Delannoy, and a survey of his most notable works. This answers to the question raised in the title, as these works are related to lattice paths enumeration, to the so-called Delannoy numbers, and were the first general way to solve Ballot-like problems. These numbers appear in probabilistic game theory, alignments of DNA sequences, tiling problems, temporal representation models, analysis of algorithms and combinatorial structures.Comment: Presented to the conference "Lattice Paths Combinatorics and Discrete Distributions" (Athens, June 5-7, 2002) and to appear in the Journal of Statistical Planning and Inference

Identities involving Narayana polynomials and Catalan numbers

We first establish the result that the Narayana polynomials can be represented as the integrals of the Legendre polynomials. Then we represent the Catalan numbers in terms of the Narayana polynomials by three different identities. We give three different proofs for these identities, namely, two algebraic proofs and one combinatorial proof. Some applications are also given which lead to many known and new identities.Comment: 13 pages,6 figure

Appell and Sheffer sequences: on their characterizations through functionals and examples

The aim of this paper is to present a new simple recurrence for Appell and Sheffer sequences in terms of the linear functional that defines them, and to explain how this is equivalent to several well-known characterizations appearing in the literature. We also give several examples, including integral representations of the inverse operators associated to Bernoulli and Euler polynomials, and a new integral representation of the re-scaled Hermite $d$-orthogonal polynomials generalizing the Weierstrass operator related to the Hermite polynomials

A selected survey of umbral calculus

We survey the mathematical literature on umbral calculus (otherwise known as the calculus of finite differences) from its roots in the 19th century (and earlier) as a set of "magic rules" for lowering and raising indices, through its rebirth in the 1970’s as Rota’s school set it on a firm logical foundation using operator methods, to the current state of the art with numerous generalizations and applications. The survey itself is complemented by a fairly complete bibliography (over 500 references) which we expect to update regularly