266 CHAPTER 8.

SPECIAL COUNTING SEQUENCES

is the nth Catalan number. The first few Catalan numbers are evaluated to be
Co = 1 C5 = 42
C1 = 1 C6 = 132
C2 = 2 C7 = 429
C3 = 5 Cs = 1430
C4 = 14 Cg = 4862.
The Catalan number
Cn - 1 = ~ (2n -
n n-1
2)
arose in Section 7.6 as the number of ways to divide a convex polygonal region with
n + 1 sides into triangles by inserting diagonals that do not intersect in the interior.
The Catalan numbers occur in several seemingly unrelated counting problems, and we
discuss some of them in this section. 2

Theorem 8.1.1 The number of sequences

(8.1)

of 2n terms that can be formed by using exactly n + 1s and exactly n -1 s whose

partial sums are always positive:

(k = 1,2, ... ,2n) (8.2)

equals the nth Catalan number

C = _ 1 (2n) (n 2 0).
n n+1 n '

Proof. We call a sequence (8.1) of n +ls and n -ls acceptable if it satisfies (8.2)
and unacceptable otherwise. Let An denote the number of acceptable sequences of n
+ls and n -ls, and let Un denote the number of unacceptable sequences. The total
number of sequences of n +l's and n -l's is

( 2n) = (2n)! ,
n n!n!
since such sequences can be regarded as the permutations of objects of two different
types with n objects of one type (the +ls) and n of the other (the -ls). Hence,

2For a list of 66 combinatorially defined sets that are counted by the Catalan numbers, sec
R. P. Stanley, Enumemtive Combinatorics Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999
(Exercise 6.19, pp. 219-229 and Solution, pp. 256-265). There the term Catalania or Catalan mama
is introduced.
8.1. CATALAN NUMBERS 267

and we evaluate An by first evaluating Un and then subtracting from (~).

Consider an unacceptable sequence (8.1) of n +ls and n -Is. Because the sequence
is unacceptable, there is a first k such that the partial sum

is negative. Because k is first, there are equal numbers of + Is and -Is preceding ak.
Hence we have

and
ak = -l.

In particular, k is an odd integer. We now reverse the signs of each of the first k
terms; that is, we replace ai by -ai for each i = 1,2, ... , k and leave unchanged the
remaining terms. The resulting sequence

is a sequence of (n + 1) +ls and (n - 1) -Is. This process is reversible: Given a

sequence of (n + 1) + Is and (n - 1) -Is, there is a first instance when the number of
+ Is exceeds the number of -Is (since there are more + 1's than -Is). Reversing the
signs of the + Is and -Is up to that point results in an unacceptable sequence of n + Is
and n -Is. Thus, there are as many unacceptable sequences as there are sequences of
(n+ 1) +ls and (n-1) -Is. The number of sequences of (n+ 1) +ls and (n+ 1) -Is
is the number
(2n)!
(n + l)!(n - I)!
of permutations of objects of two types, with n + 1 objects of one type and n - 1 of
the other. Hence,
u _ (2n)!
n - (n + l)!(n - I)!'

and, therefore,
(2n)! _ (2n)!
n!n! (n + l)!(n - I)!
(2n)!
n!(n - I)!
(1 +1)
; - n 1
(2n)! ( 1 )
n!(n - I)! ~(n + 1)

n:1C:).
o