In mathematics, a permutation of a set is, loosely speaking, an arrangement of its members into a sequence or linear order, or if the set is already ordered, a rearrangement of its elements. The word "permutation" also refers to the act or process of changing the linear order of an ordered set.
In mathematics, when X is a finite set with at least two elements, the permutations of X (i.e. the bijective functions from X to X) fall into two classes of equal size: the even permutations and the odd permutations. If any total ordering of X is fixed, the parity (oddness or evenness) of a permutation of X can be defined as the parity of the number of inversions for σ, i.e., of pairs of elements x, y of X such that x < y and σ(x) > σ(y).
In combinatorial mathematics, the Bell numbers count the possible partitions of a set. These numbers have been studied by mathematicians since the 19th century, and their roots go back to medieval Japan. In an example of Stigler's law of eponymy, they are named after Eric Temple Bell, who wrote about them in the 1930s.
In combinatorics, a branch of mathematics, the inclusion–exclusion principle is a counting technique which generalizes the familiar method of obtaining the number of elements in the union of two finite sets; symbolically expressed as
In mathematics, the representation theory of the symmetric group is a particular case of the representation theory of finite groups, for which a concrete and detailed theory can be obtained. This has a large area of potential applications, from symmetric function theory to quantum chemistry studies of atoms, molecules and solids.
In combinatorics, the factorial number system, also called factoradic, is a mixed radix numeral system adapted to numbering permutations. It is also called factorial base, although factorials do not function as base, but as place value of digits. By converting a number less than n! to factorial representation, one obtains a sequence of n digits that can be converted to a permutation of n elements in a straightforward way, either using them as Lehmer code or as inversion table representation; in the former case the resulting map from integers to permutations of n elements lists them in lexicographical order. General mixed radix systems were studied by Georg Cantor. The term "factorial number system" is used by Knuth, while the French equivalent "numération factorielle" was first used in 1888. The term "factoradic", which is a portmanteau of factorial and mixed radix, appears to be of more recent date.
In mathematics and especially in combinatorics, a plane partition is a two-dimensional array of nonnegative integers that is nonincreasing in both indices. This means that
In combinatorial mathematics a cycle index is a polynomial in several variables which is structured in such a way that information about how a group of permutations acts on a set can be simply read off from the coefficients and exponents. This compact way of storing information in an algebraic form is frequently used in combinatorial enumeration.
In combinatorial mathematics, an alternating permutation of the set {1, 2, 3, ..., n} is a permutation (arrangement) of those numbers so that each entry is alternately greater or less than the preceding entry. For example, the five alternating permutations of {1, 2, 3, 4} are:
In mathematics, the Genocchi numbers Gn, named after Angelo Genocchi, are a sequence of integers that satisfy the relation
In numerical analysis and linear algebra, lower–upper (LU) decomposition or factorization factors a matrix as the product of a lower triangular matrix and an upper triangular matrix. The product sometimes includes a permutation matrix as well. LU decomposition can be viewed as the matrix form of Gaussian elimination. Computers usually solve square systems of linear equations using LU decomposition, and it is also a key step when inverting a matrix or computing the determinant of a matrix. The LU decomposition was introduced by the Polish astronomer Tadeusz Banachiewicz in 1938. To quote: "It appears that Gauss and Doolittle applied the method [of elimination] only to symmetric equations. More recent authors, for example, Aitken, Banachiewicz, Dwyer, and Crout … have emphasized the use of the method, or variations of it, in connection with non-symmetric problems … Banachiewicz … saw the point … that the basic problem is really one of matrix factorization, or “decomposition” as he called it." It's also referred to as LR decomposition.
In mathematics, the Schröder number also called a large Schröder number or big Schröder number, describes the number of lattice paths from the southwest corner of an grid to the northeast corner using only single steps north, northeast, or east, that do not rise above the SW–NE diagonal.
In computer science and discrete mathematics, an inversion in a sequence is a pair of elements that are out of their natural order.
In mathematics, the Robinson–Schensted–Knuth correspondence, also referred to as the RSK correspondence or RSK algorithm, is a combinatorial bijection between matrices A with non-negative integer entries and pairs (P,Q) of semistandard Young tableaux of equal shape, whose size equals the sum of the entries of A. More precisely the weight of P is given by the column sums of A, and the weight of Q by its row sums. It is a generalization of the Robinson–Schensted correspondence, in the sense that taking A to be a permutation matrix, the pair (P,Q) will be the pair of standard tableaux associated to the permutation under the Robinson–Schensted correspondence.
In combinatorial mathematics and theoretical computer science, a permutation pattern is a sub-permutation of a longer permutation. Any permutation may be written in one-line notation as a sequence of digits representing the result of applying the permutation to the digit sequence 123...; for instance the digit sequence 213 represents the permutation on three elements that swaps elements 1 and 2. If π and σ are two permutations represented in this way, then π is said to contain σ as a pattern if some subsequence of the digits of π has the same relative order as all of the digits of σ.
In mathematics, MacMahon's master theorem (MMT) is a result in enumerative combinatorics and linear algebra. It was discovered by Percy MacMahon and proved in his monograph Combinatory analysis (1916). It is often used to derive binomial identities, most notably Dixon's identity.
In mathematics and in particular in combinatorics, the Lehmer code is a particular way to encode each possible permutation of a sequence of n numbers. It is an instance of a scheme for numbering permutations and is an example of an inversion table.
In mathematics and especially in algebraic combinatorics, the Stanley symmetric functions are a family of symmetric functions introduced by Richard Stanley (1984) in his study of the symmetric group of permutations.
In combinatorial mathematics, cyclic sieving is a phenomenon by which evaluating a generating function for a finite set at roots of unity counts symmetry classes of objects acted on by a cyclic group.
The affine symmetric groups are a family of mathematical structures that describe the symmetries of the number line and the regular triangular tiling of the plane, as well as related higher-dimensional objects. Each one is an infinite extension of a finite symmetric group, the group of permutations (rearrangements) of a finite set. In addition to their geometric description, the affine symmetric groups may be defined as collections of permutations of the integers that are periodic in a certain sense, or in purely algebraic terms as a group with certain generators and relations. They are studied as part of the fields of combinatorics and representation theory.
