OFFSET
0,4
COMMENTS
a(n) is the number of Dyck paths of length 2n with no two peaks at the same height. A peak is a UD, an up-step U=(1,1) immediately followed by a down-step D=(1,-1).
In the Mathematica recurrence below, a(n,k) is the number of Dyck paths of length 2n with all peaks at distinct heights except that there are k peaks at the maximum peak height. Thus a(n)=a(n,1). The recurrence is based on the following simple observation. Paths counted by a(n,k) are obtained from paths counted by a(n-k,i) for some i, 1<=i<=k+1, by inserting runs of one or more contiguous peaks at each of the existing peak vertices at the maximum peak height, except that (at most) one such existing peak may be left undisturbed, and so that a total of k new peaks are added.
It appears that lim a(n)/a(n-1) as n approaches infinity exists and is approximately 2.5659398.
LINKS
Alois P. Heinz, Table of n, a(n) for n = 0..1000
Manosij Ghosh Dastidar and Michael Wallner, Bijections and congruences involving lattice paths and integer compositions, arXiv:2402.17849 [math.CO], 2024. See p. 19.
EXAMPLE
a(3)=3 counts UUUDDD, UDUUDD, UUDDUD because the first has only one peak and the last two have peak heights 1,2 and 2,1 respectively.
MATHEMATICA
a[n_, k_] /; k == n := 1;
a[n_, k_] /; (k > n || k < 1) := 0;
a[n_, k_] :=
a[n, k] =
Sum[(Binomial[k - 1, i - 1] + i Binomial[k - 1, i - 2]) a[n - k,
i], {i, k + 1}];
Table[a[n, 1], {n, 28}]
CROSSREFS
KEYWORD
nonn
AUTHOR
David Callan, Jan 31 2017
STATUS
approved