This textbook provides an introduction to the Catalan numbers and their remarkable properties, along with their various applications in combinatorics. Intended to be accessible to students new to the subject, the book begins with more elementary topics before progressing to more mathematically sophisticated topics. Each chapter focuses on a specific combinatorial object counted by these numbers, including paths, trees, tilings of a staircase, null sums in Zn+1, interval structures, partitions, permutations, semiorders, and more. Exercises are included at the end of book, along with hints and solutions, to help students obtain a better grasp of the material. The text is ideal for undergraduate students studying combinatorics, but will also appeal to anyone with a mathematical background who has an interest in learning about the Catalan numbers. “Roman does an admirable job of providing an introduction to Catalan numbers of a different nature from the previous ones. He has made an excellent choice of topics in order to convey the flavor of Catalan combinatorics. [Readers] will acquire a good feeling for why so many mathematicians are enthralled by the remarkable ubiquity and elegance of Catalan numbers.” - From the foreword by Richard Stanley

Discover the properties and real-world applications of the Fibonacci and the Catalan numbers With clear explanations and easy-to-follow examples, Fibonacci and Catalan Numbers: An Introduction offers a fascinating overview of these topics that is accessible to a broad range of readers. Beginning with a historical development of each topic, the book guides readers through the essential properties of the Fibonacci numbers, offering many introductory-level examples. The author explains the relationship of the Fibonacci numbers to compositions and palindromes, tilings, graph theory, and the Lucas numbers. The book proceeds to explore the Catalan numbers, with the author drawing from their history to provide a solid foundation of the underlying properties. The relationship of the Catalan numbers to various concepts is then presented in examples dealing with partial orders, total orders, topological sorting, graph theory, rooted-ordered binary trees, pattern avoidance, and the Narayana numbers. The book features various aids and insights that allow readers to develop a complete understanding of the presented topics, including: Real-world examples that demonstrate the application of the Fibonacci and the Catalan numbers to such fields as sports, botany, chemistry, physics, and computer science More than 300 exercises that enable readers to explore many of the presented examples in greater depth Illustrations that clarify and simplify the concepts Fibonacci and Catalan Numbers is an excellent book for courses on discrete mathematics, combinatorics, and number theory, especially at the undergraduate level. Undergraduates will find the book to be an excellent source for independent study, as well as a source of topics for research. Further, a great deal of the material can also be used for enrichment in high school courses.

Catalan numbers are probably the most ubiquitous sequence of numbers in mathematics. This book gives for the first time a comprehensive collection of their properties and applications to combinatorics, algebra, analysis, number theory, probability theory, geometry, topology, and other areas. Following an introduction to the basic properties of Catalan numbers, the book presents 214 different kinds of objects counted by them in the form of exercises with solutions. The reader can try solving the exercises or simply browse through them. Some 68 additional exercises with prescribed difficulty levels present various properties of Catalan numbers and related numbers, such as Fuss-Catalan numbers, Motzkin numbers, Schröder numbers, Narayana numbers, super Catalan numbers, q-Catalan numbers and (q,t)-Catalan numbers. The book ends with a history of Catalan numbers by Igor Pak and a glossary of key terms. Whether your interest in mathematics is recreation or research, you will find plenty of fascinating and stimulating facts here.

The first comprehensive survey of mathematics' most fascinatingnumber sequences Fibonacci and Lucas numbers have intrigued amateur and professionalmathematicians for centuries. This volume represents the firstattempt to compile a definitive history and authoritative analysisof these famous integer sequences, complete with a wealth ofexciting applications, enlightening examples, and fun exercisesthat offer numerous opportunities for exploration andexperimentation. The author has assembled a myriad of fascinating properties of bothFibonacci and Lucas numbers-as developed by a wide range ofsources-and catalogued their applications in a multitude of widelyvaried disciplines such as art, stock market investing,engineering, and neurophysiology. Most of the engaging anddelightful material here is easily accessible to college and evenhigh school students, though advanced material is included tochallenge more sophisticated Fibonacci enthusiasts. A historicalsurvey of the development of Fibonacci and Lucas numbers,biographical sketches of intriguing personalities involved indeveloping the subject, and illustrative examples round out thisthorough and amusing survey. Most chapters conclude with numericand theoretical exercises that do not rely on long and tediousproofs of theorems. Highlights include: * Balanced blend of theory and real-world applications * Excellent reference material for student reports andprojects * User-friendly, informal, and entertaining writing style * Historical interjections and short biographies that add a richerperspective to the topic * Reference sections providing important symbols, problemsolutions, and fundamental properties from the theory of numbersand matrices Fibonacci and Lucas Numbers with Applications providesmathematicians with a wealth of reference material in oneconvenient volume and presents an in-depth and entertainingresource for enthusiasts at every level and from any background.

This work contains detailed descriptions of developments in the combinatorics of the space of diagonal harmonics, a topic at the forefront of current research in algebraic combinatorics. These developments have led in turn to some surprising discoveries in the combinatorics of Macdonald polynomials.

Eugène Charles Catalan made his famous conjecture – that 8 and 9 are the only two consecutive perfect powers of natural numbers – in 1844 in a letter to the editor of Crelle’s mathematical journal. One hundred and fifty-eight years later, Preda Mihailescu proved it. Catalan’s Conjecture presents this spectacular result in a way that is accessible to the advanced undergraduate. The author dissects both Mihailescu’s proof and the earlier work it made use of, taking great care to select streamlined and transparent versions of the arguments and to keep the text self-contained. Only in the proof of Thaine’s theorem is a little class field theory used; it is hoped that this application will motivate the interested reader to study the theory further. Beautifully clear and concise, this book will appeal not only to specialists in number theory but to anyone interested in seeing the application of the ideas of algebraic number theory to a famous mathematical problem.

This book presents a clear and comprehensive introduction to one of the truly fascinating topics in mathematics: Catalan numbers. They crop up in chess, computer programming and even train tracks. In addition to lucid descriptions of the mathematics and history behind Catalan numbers, Koshy includes short biographies of the prominent mathematicians who have worked with the numbers.