On the 2-adic order of Stirling numbers of the second kind and their differences

Lengyel, Tamás

Discrete mathematics & theoretical computer science, DMTCS Proceedings vol. AK, 21st International Conference on Formal Power Series and Algebraic Combinatorics (FPSAC 2009), DMTCS Proceedings vol. AK, 21st International Conference on Formal Power Series and Algebraic Combinatorics (FPSAC 2009) (2009).

Résumé

Let $n$ and $k$ be positive integers, $d(k)$ and $\nu_2(k)$ denote the number of ones in the binary representation of $k$ and the highest power of two dividing $k$, respectively. De Wannemacker recently proved for the Stirling numbers of the second kind that $\nu_2(S(2^n,k))=d(k)-1, 1\leq k \leq 2^n$. Here we prove that $\nu_2(S(c2^n,k))=d(k)-1, 1\leq k \leq 2^n$, for any positive integer $c$. We improve and extend this statement in some special cases. For the difference, we obtain lower bounds on $\nu_2(S(c2^{n+1}+u,k)-S(c2^n+u,k))$ for any nonnegative integer $u$, make a conjecture on the exact order and, for $u=0$, prove part of it when $k \leq 6$, or $k \geq 5$ and $d(k) \leq 2$. The proofs rely on congruential identities for power series and polynomials related to the Stirling numbers and Bell polynomials, and some divisibility properties.

Détail

DOI : 10.46298/dmtcs.2694