0,5

A Schroeder path is a lattice path starting from (0,0), ending at a point on the x-axis, consisting only of steps U=(1,1), D=(1,-1) and H=(2,0) and never going below the x-axis. Schroeder paths are counted by the large Schroeder numbers (A006318).

A trapezoid in a Schroeder path is a factor of the form U^i H^j D^i (i>=1, j>=0), i being the height of the trapezoid. A trapezoid in a Schroeder path w is maximal if, as a factor in w, it is not immediately preceded by a U and immediately followed by a D. The trapezoid weight of a Schroeder path is the sum of the heights of its maximal trapezoids. For example, in the Schroeder path w=UH(UHD)D(UUDD) we have two trapezoids (shown between parentheses) of heights 1 and 2, respectively. The trapezoid weight of w is 1+2=3.

This concept is an analogous to the concept of pyramid weight in a Dyck path (see the Denise-Simion paper). Row sums yield the large Schroeder numbers (A006318). Column 1 yields the even-subscripted Fibonacci numbers (A001906).

A. Denise and R. Simion, Two combinatorial statistics on Dyck paths, Discrete Math., 137, 1995, 155-176).

G.f.=G=G(t, z) satisfies zG^2-[1-z+z(1-t)/((1-z)(1-tz))]G+1=0.

Triangle begins:

1;

1,1;

1,3,2;

1,8,9,4;

1,21,35,25,8;

T(2,0)=1,T(2,1)=3, T(2,2)=2 because the six Schroeder paths of length 4, namely HH, (UD)H, H(UD), (UHD), (UD)(UD) and (UUDD) have trapezoid weights 0,1,1,1,2,and 2, respectively; the trapezoids are shown between parentheses.

Cf. A006318, A001906, A104553.

Adjacent sequences: A104549 A104550 A104551 this_sequence A104553 A104554 A104555

Sequence in context: A110439 A065602 A016648 this_sequence A101413 A101908 A086963

nonn,tabf

Emeric Deutsch (deutsch(AT)duke.poly.edu), Mar 14 2005