Enumeration of three-quadrant walks via invariants: some diagonally symmetric models - Archive ouverte HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Canadian Journal of Mathematics. Journal Canadien de Mathématiques Année : 2022

Enumeration of three-quadrant walks via invariants: some diagonally symmetric models

Résumé

In the past 20 years, the enumeration of plane lattice walks confined to a convex cone -- normalized into the first quadrant -- has received a lot of attention, stimulated the development of several original approaches, and led to a rich collection of results. Most of them deal with the nature of the associated generating function: for which models is it algebraic, D-finite, D-algebraic? By model, what we mean is a finite collection of allowed steps. More recently, similar questions have been raised for non-convex cones, typically the three-quadrant cone $C = \{ (i,j) : i \geq 0 \text{ or } j \geq 0 \}$. They turn out to be more difficult than their quadrant counterparts. In this paper, we investigate a collection of eight models in $C$. This collection consists of diagonally symmetric models in $\{-1, 0,1\}^2\setminus\{(-1,1), (1,-1)\}$. Three of them are known not to be D-algebraic. We show that the remaining five can be solved in a uniform fashion using Tutte's notion of \emph{invariants}, which has already proved useful for some quadrant models. Three models are found to be algebraic, one is (only) D-finite, and the last one is (only) D-algebraic. We also solve in the same fashion the diagonal model $\{ \nearrow, \nwarrow, \swarrow, \searrow\}$, which is D-finite. The three algebraic models are those of the Kreweras trilogy, $S=\{\nearrow, \leftarrow, \downarrow\}$, $S'=\{\rightarrow, \uparrow, \swarrow\}$, and $S\cup S'$. Our solutions take similar forms for all six models. Roughly speaking, the square of the generating function of three-quadrant walks with steps in $S$ is an explicit rational function in the quadrant generating function with steps in $\{(j-i,j): (i,j) \in S\}$. We derive various corollaries, including an explicit algebraic description of the positive harmonic function in $C$ for the five models that are at least D-finite.

Dates et versions

hal-03579889 , version 1 (18-02-2022)

Identifiants

Citer

Mireille Bousquet-Mélou. Enumeration of three-quadrant walks via invariants: some diagonally symmetric models. Canadian Journal of Mathematics. Journal Canadien de Mathématiques, 2022, 75 (5), pp.1566-1632. ⟨10.4153/S0008414X22000487⟩. ⟨hal-03579889⟩

Collections

CNRS INSMI ANR
25 Consultations
0 Téléchargements

Altmetric

Partager

Gmail Facebook X LinkedIn More