7.3 Combinatorial Numbers

Binomial coefficients are provided by the binary operator Binomial. The value of Binomial(n, m), where \(n\) and \(m\) are non-negative integers with \(n \geq m\), is the number of ways of choosing \(m\) items from a set of \(n\) distinct items as well, of course, as being the coefficient of \(x^m\) in the expansion of \((1+x)^n\).

The function call Binomial(n,m), where \(n\) and \(m\) are non-negative integers, will return the expected integer value (from Pascal’s triangle). For other real numerical values the result will usually involve the \(\Gamma \) function, but if the switch rounded is ON the \(\Gamma \) functions will be evaluated numerically. This will also be the case for complex numerical arguments if the switch complex is ON. For non-numeric arguments the result returned will involve the original operator binomial, or its pretty-printed equivalent on graphical interfaces.

Stirling numbers of the first and second kind are computed by the binary operators Stirling1 and Stirling2 respectively using explicit formulae. Stirling1(n, k) is \((-1)^{n-k}\ \times \) (the number of permutations of the set \(\{1, 2, \ldots , n\}\) into exactly \(k\) cycles).
Stirling2(n, k) is the number of partitions of the set \(\{1, 2, \ldots , n\}\) into exactly \(k\) non-empty subsets.
Here \(n\) and \(k\) should be non-negative integers with \(n \geq k\).

For integer arguments an integer result will be returned, otherwise a result involving the original operator will be returned. Note on graphical user interfaces Stirling1(n,m) and Stirling2(n,m) are rendered as \(\mathrm {s}_n^m\) and \(\mathrm {S}_n^m\) respectively.

Stirling numbers are implemented in the non-core package SPECFN and are not currently autoloading. Before use this package should be loaded with the command:

    load_package specfn;

For more information see here.

A Motzkin number \(M_{n}\) (named after Theodore Motzkin) is the number of different ways of drawing non-intersecting chords on a circle between \(n\) points. For a non-negative integer \(n\), the operator Motzkin(n) returns the \(n\)th Motzkin number, according to the recursion formula

For the functions in this and the section below a Quick Reference Table is available. It also includes a list of reserved constants known to REDUCE.

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