OFFSET
1,8
COMMENTS
A monotone path is a lattice path consisting of east and north unit steps or a path consisting of east and south unit steps. When counting, points lying on the path itself are discarded.
a(n) > 0 for even n >= 12.
a(n) > 0 for odd n with natural density 1 (among odd numbers).
For odd n, a(n) is divisible by 8.
LINKS
Giedrius Alkauskas, Friendly paths for finite subsets of plane integer lattice. I, arXiv:2302.01137 [math.CO], 2024.
Giedrius Alkauskas, Problem 11484, Problems and solutions, Amer. Math. Monthly, 117 (2) February (2010), p. 182.
Giedrius Alkauskas, Friendly paths. Problem 11484, Problems and solutions, Amer. Math. Monthly, 119 (2) February (2012), 167-168.
EXAMPLE
For n = 4 a(4) = 1 way to place 4 points is as follows:
.xx.
.xx.
For n = 8 a(8) = 2 ways to place 8 points are as follows:
..x.
.xxx
xxx.
.x..
(and its reflection with respect to a vertical axis).
For n = 18 a(18) = 4 ways to place 18 points are as follows:
...x..
..xxx.
.xxxxx
xxxxx.
.xxx..
..x...
(and its reflection with respect to a vertical axis), and
.....x....
......x...
.......x..
....x...x.
...xxx...x
x...xxx...
.x...x....
..x.......
...x......
....x.....
(and its reflection with respect to a vertical axis).
CROSSREFS
KEYWORD
nonn,more
AUTHOR
Giedrius Alkauskas, Nov 30 2023
EXTENSIONS
a(36) corrected by Giedrius Alkauskas, Feb 02 2024
a(49)-a(60) from Giedrius Alkauskas, Feb 06 2024
STATUS
approved
