A combinatorial proof of a formula of Biane and Chapuy (Q1753026)

Summary: Let \(G\) be a simple strongly connected weighted directed graph.~Let \(\mathcal{G}\) denote the spanning tree graph of \(G\). That is, the vertices of \(\mathcal{G}\) consist of the directed rooted spanning trees on \(G\), and the edges of \(\mathcal{G}\) consist of pairs of trees \((t_i, t_j)\) such that \(t_j\) can be obtained from \(t_i\) by adding the edge from the root of \(t_i\) to the root of \(t_j\) and deleting the outgoing edge from \(t_j\). A formula for the ratio of the sum of the weights of the directed rooted spanning trees on \(\mathcal{G}\) to the sum of the weights of the directed rooted spanning trees on \(G\) was recently given by \textit{P. Biane} and \textit{G. Chapuy} [Ann. Fac. Sci. Toulouse, Math. (6) 26, No. 2, 235--261 (2017; Zbl 06754490)]. Our main contribution is an alternative proof of this formula, which is both simple and combinatorial.