Related papers: A combinatorial identity with application to Catal…

The n-th Delannoy number and the n-th Schr\"oder number given by $D_n=\sum_{k=0}^n\binom{n}{k}\binom{n+k}{k}$ and $S_n=\sum_{k=0}^n\binom{n}{k}\binom{n+k}{k}/(k+1)$ respectively arise naturally from enumerative combinatorics. Let p be an…

In this paper, we generalize the Catalan number to the $(n,k)$-th Catalan numbers and find a combinatorial description that the $(n,k)$-th Catalan numbers is equal to the number of partitions of $n(k-1)+2$ polygon by $(k+1)$-gon where all…

We investigate a class of combinatorial sums involving reciprocals of central binomial coefficients , employing generating functions as the primary solution technique to formulate and analyze series involving the Catalan's constant. Using a…

Let $p>3$ be a prime and let $a$ be a positive integer. We show that if $p\equiv1\pmod 4$ or $a>1$ then $$\sum_{k=0}^{\lfloor\frac34p^a\rfloor}\frac{\binom{2k}k^2}{16^k}\equiv\l(\frac{-1}{p^a}\r)\pmod{p^3}$$ with $(-)$ the Jacobi symbol,…

Let $p$ be an odd prime and let $n$ be a positive integer. For any positive integer $\alpha$ and $m\in\{1,2,3\}$, we have \begin{align*}…

The Ap\'ery polynomials are given by $$A_n(x)=\sum_{k=0}^n\binom nk^2\binom{n+k}k^2x^k\ \ (n=0,1,2,\ldots).$$ (Those $A_n=A_n(1)$ are Ap\'ery numbers.) Let $p$ be an odd prime. We show that…

Let $C_n$ be the $n$th Catalan number. For any prime $p \geq 5$ we show that the set $\{C_n : n \in \mathbb{N} \}$ contains all residues mod $p$. In addition all residues are attained infinitely often. Any positive integer can be expressed…

In this paper we study mixed sums of primes and linear recurrences. We show that if m=2(mod 4) and m+1 is a prime then $(m^{2^n-1}-1)/(m-1)\not=m^n+p^a$ for any n=3,4,... and prime power p^a. We also prove that if a>1 is an integer, u_0=0,…

The Super-Catalan numbers are a generalization of the Catalan numbers defined as $T(m,n) = \frac{(2m)!(2n)!}{2m!n!(m+n)!}$. It is an open problem to find a combinatorial interpretation for $T(m,n)$. We resolve this for $m=3,4$ using a…

Let $p$ be a prime and ${\mathcal{P}_{p}}$ the set of positive integers which are prime to $p$. We establish the following interesting congruence \[\sum\limits_{\begin{smallmatrix} i+j+k={{p}^{r}} i,j,k\in {\mathcal{P}_{p}}…

The super Catalan numbers $T(m,n)=(2m)!(2n)!/2m!n!(m+n)!$ are integers which generalize the Catalan numbers. With the exception of a few values of $m$, no combinatorial interpretation in known for $T(m,n)$. We give a weighted interpretation…

For $n=0,1,2,\ldots$ let $W_n=\sum_{k=0}^{[n/3]}\binom{2k}k \binom{3k}k\binom n{3k}(-3)^{n-3k}$, where $[x]$ is the greatest integer not exceeding $x$. Then $\{W_n\}$ is an Ap\'ery-like sequence. In this paper we deduce many congruences…

Catalan numbers $C(n)=\frac{1}{n+1}{2n\choose n}$ enumerate binary trees and Dyck paths. The distribution of paths with respect to their number $k$ of factors is given by ballot numbers $B(n,k)=\frac{n-k}{n+k}{n+k\choose n}$. These integers…

We analyze a weighted convolution of Catalan numbers $$ \sum_{k=0}^{n} \binom{2k}{k}\binom{2(n-k)}{n-k} a^k = \sum_{k=0}^{n} (k+1)(n-k+1) C_k C_{n-k} a^k, $$ emphasizing its combinatorial, analytic, and probabilistic aspects. We derive a…

Let $m>2$ and $q>0$ be integers with $m$ even or $q$ odd. We show the supercongruence $$\sum_{k=0}^{p-1}(-1)^{km}\binom{p/m-q}{k}^m\equiv0\pmod{p^3}.$$ for any prime $p>mq$. This confirms a conjecture of Sun.

We study the properties of the odd Catalan numbers, C_n, modulo 2^k for k >= 2. We show that there exist only k - 1 different congruences of the odd Catalan numbers modulo 2^k. Moreover, these congruences can be obtained by C_{2^m - 1} (mod…

Let $f(m,c)=\sum_{k=0}^{\infty} (km+1)^{k-1} c^k e^{-c(km+1)/m} / (m^kk!)$. For any positive integer $m$ and positive real $c$, the identity $f(m,c)=f(1,c)^{1/m}$ arises in the random graph theory. In this paper, we present two elementary…

For all nonnegative integers n, the Franel numbers are defined as $$ f_n=\sum_{k=0}^n {n\choose k}^3.$$ We confirm two conjectures of Z.-W. Sun on congruences for Franel numbers: \sum_{k=0}^{n-1}(3k+2)(-1)^k f_k &\equiv 0 \pmod{2n^2},…

In this paper we mainly employ the Zeilberger algorithm to study congruences for sums of terms involving products of three binomial coefficients. Let $p>3$ be a prime. We prove that…

Let $p>3$ be a prime, and let $m$ be an integer with $p\nmid m$. In the paper we solve some conjectures of Z.W. Sun concerning $\sum_{k=0}^{p-1}\binom{2k}k^3/m^k\pmod{p^2}$, $\sum_{k=0}^{p-1}\binom{2k}k\b{4k}{2k}/m^k\pmod p$ and…