II Semana Academica da Pos-Graduacao em Matematica UFRGS

A new approach to Integer Partitions

Marlia L. Matte1 , Jose Plnio O. Santos2
1
IME - UFRGS - Porto Alegre/RS & CMPA - Porto Alegre/RS
2
IMECC - UNICAMP - Campinas/SP

Abstract
Let us consider the following matrix representation for unrestricted integer partitions.

Theorem 0.1 (Theorem 4.1, [3]). The number of unrestricted partitions of n is equal to the number of two-line
matrices of the form  
c1 c2 c3 cs
, (1)
d1 d2 d3 ds
where cs = 0, ct = ct+1 + dt+1 , and the sum of all entries is equal to n.

The idea of this work is to deal with another type of integer partitions, whose construction is based on the
matrices of Theorem 0.1. We associate each matrix of a partition of n to a path built through the Cartesian
Ps Ps
plane, connecting the point P = ( i=1 di , i=1 ci ) of the line x + y = n to the origin (0, 0). Therefore, we
associate the second line of the matrix to the x-axis, and the first line to the y-axis.
The path consists of shifting cs units down, ds units to the left, then cs1 units down, ds1 units to the
left, and so on, ending with d1 units to the left. So we create a path which connects the following points:
s
X s
X  s
X s1 
X s1
X s1 
X s1
X s2 
X s2
X s2 
X
P = di , ci di , ci di , ci di , ci di , ci . . .
i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1

(d1 + d2 , c1 + c2 ) (d1 + d2 , c1 ) (d1 , c1 ) (d1 , 0) (0, 0).

Obs. From the conditions satisfied by the entries of each matrix of type (1), note that every down move is
necessarily at least as large as the previous left move.
Now we reflect the path through the line x + y = n and create the parts of a new partition by taking hooks
of odd sizes. We get a partition into distinct odd parts greater than one and less than or equal to 2n 1, once
the matrix representation of an original unrestricted partition of n has entry d1 0.

Example 0.2. For n = 6 we take the matrix

 
2 1 1 0
M=
0 1 0 1

associated to the partition (2, 2, 1, 1). The path associated to M connects the points (2, 4), (1, 4), (1, 3), (1, 2),
(0, 2), and (0, 0). The hooks given by the reflection of the path through the line x + y = 6 provide the parts
11, 9, 5, and 3.

It is clear that each matrix associated to a different partition of n generates a different path from the line
x + y = n to the origin (0, 0), and so a different partition into distinct odd parts. However, there are matrices
for different integers n that generate different paths but same hooks, inducing the same partition into distinct
odd parts. This difference is due to the value of the entries d1 .
1
mariliamatte@gmail.com
2
josepli@ime.unicamp.br

1
 From now on, we use the denomination Path Procedure when referring to the process of building partitions
into distinct odd parts induced by the matrix representation of a specific set of integer partitions, according to
the steps described above.
In the Path Procedure applied to the matrices associated to the unrestricted partitions of n, the first line of
the matrix expresses the size of the sequences of consecutive odd parts less than or equal to 2n 1 that appear
in the new partition. The second line expresses the size of the sequence of consecutive odd numbers that are
not parts of this partition. This allows us to set the following definition.
Definition 0.3. Let Pod (m) be the set of partitions of m into distinct odd parts greater than 1 whose size
of any subsequence of consecutive odd integers is either exactly the
 number
 of smaller odd integers that were
omitted before the subsequence started or a multiple of it. Also, Pod (m) = pod (m).


Now we present some results about the new set of integer partitions into distinct odd parts that we were
able to prove along this work.
Proposition 0.4. For all n 0 we have

pod (4n + 1) = 0 = pod (4n + 2).

Proposition 0.5. The Path Procedure applied to the unrestricted partitions of n into exactly two parts generates
partitions of 3k12 , with 1 k1 n2 , those being precisely all of the numbers whose partition has only the first
missing subsequence and after it exactly one subsequence of consecutive odd parts.
Lemma 0.6. The ith missing subsequence ki of a partition into distinct odd parts, whose parts derive from the
Path Procedure applied to unrestricted partitions of n, is at most

n ((i + 1)k1 + ik2 + + 4ki2 + 3ki1 )

2
.
Theorem 0.7. The partitions into distinct odd parts, generated by the Path Procedure induced by the unre-
stricted partitions of n, are all of the form
t
X
[(t + 2 i)2 1]ki2
i=1
n((i+1)k1 +ik2 ++4ki2 +3ki1 )
0ki 2

t1
X ti
X
+ ki j(2(t i + 3))ktj+1 ,
i=1 j=1
n((i+1)k1 +ik2 ++4ki2 +3ki1 )
0ki 2

where 1 t n 1.
Not only for unrestricted integer partitions, this new approach for matrix representation for partitions can
be extended to any set of partitions whose matrix representation is known. We were also able to set nice results
for partitions counted by the 1st and 2nd Rogers-Ramanujan Identities and for some mock theta functions,
which can be seen as generating functions for specific sets of integer partitions.

References
[1] G. E. Andrews. The theory of partitions, Cambridge University Press, 1998.
[2] E. H. M. Brietzke, J. P. O. Santos, and R. da Silva. Bijective proofs using two-line matrix representations
for partitions. The Ramanujan Journal, 23(1-3), 265-295, Springer, 2010. DOI: 10.1007/s11139-009-9207-8.
[3] J. P. O. Santos, P. Mondek, and A. C. Ribeiro. New two-line arrays representing partitions. Annals of
Combinatorics, 15(2), 341-354, Springer, 2011. DOI: 10.1007/s00026-011-0099-0.