The number of order-preserving maps of fences and crowns (Q1182061)

Let \({\mathcal P}=(P,\leq)\) be a poset. Every map \(\varphi:P\to P\) with the property \(x\leq y\Rightarrow\varphi(x)\leq\varphi(y)\) is called an order- preserving map of the order \({\mathcal P}\). Let us denote by \({\mathcal A}({\mathcal P}) ({\mathcal E}({\mathcal P}))\) the set of all \(o\)-automorphisms (\(o\)- endomorphisms) of \({\mathcal P}\). The authors consider for every even \(n\in\mathbb{N}\) the following two orders on the set \(\{1,2,\ldots,n-1,n\}\): the crown \({\mathcal C}_ n\) and the fence \({\mathcal F}_ n\). The first is defined as the order on \(\{1,2,\ldots,n\}\) where the only comparabilities are \(1>2\), \(2<3\), \(3>4,\ldots,n-1>n\), \(n<1\). The second is defined on \(\{1,2,\ldots,n\}\) by the comparabilities \(1>2,\) \(2<3\), \(3>4,\ldots,n- 1>n\). It has been conjectured that \(|{\mathcal E}({\mathcal F})|\) is the least among all orders \({\mathcal P}_ n\) on \(\{1,2,\ldots,n\}\). So it is interesting that in this paper it is shown that \(\lim_{n\to\infty}|{\mathcal E}({\mathcal C}_ n)|/| {\mathcal E}({\mathcal F}_ n)|=0\). The idea here is to exploit a correspondence between \(o\)-preserving maps of crowns and fences and a set of lattice paths and then to enumerate these last by finding generating functions for corresponding formal languages. The conjecture of I. Rival and A. Rutkowski that for any sequence of orders \(({\mathcal P}_ n\mid n\in\mathbb{N})\) with \({\mathcal P}_ n\) being an order of \(n\) elements it is true that \(\lim_{n\to\infty}|{\mathcal A}({\mathcal P}_ n)| /|{\mathcal E}({\mathcal P}_ n)|=0\), and the question which poset \({\mathcal P}_ n\) has the fewest number of order-preserving maps remains, however, open.