English

Combinatorial proof of a congruence for partitions into two sizes of part

Combinatorics 2025-07-21 v1

Abstract

Previous work showed that, for ν2(n)\nu_2(n) the number of partitions of nn into exactly two part sizes, one has ν2(16n+14)0(mod4)\nu_2(16n + 14) \equiv 0 \pmod{4}. The earlier proof required the technology of modular forms, and a combinatorial proof was desired. This article provides the requested proof, in the process refining divisibility to finer subclasses. Some of these subclasses have counts closely related to the divisor function d(16n+14)d(16n + 14), and we offer a conjecture on a potential rank statistic.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2507.13566,
  title  = {Combinatorial proof of a congruence for partitions into two sizes of part},
  author = {Eli R. DeWitt and William J. Keith},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2507.13566},
  year   = {2025}
}