On a partition function of Richard Stanly (Q1881649)

Let \(S_N(n,r,s)\) denote the number of partitions \(\pi\) of \(n\) where each part of \(\pi\) is at most \(N\), the number of odd parts of \(\pi\) is \(r\), and the number of odd parts of the conjugate of \(\pi\) is \(s\). The main result of the paper is that, using standard \(q\)-notation (see [\textit{G. Gasper} and \textit{M. Rahman}, ``Basic hypergeometric series,'' second edition (Encyclopedia of Mathematics and Its Applications 96, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge) (2004; Zbl 1129.33005)]), the three-variable generating function for these numbers is given by \[ \begin{multlined} \sum _{n,r,s\geq0} ^{}S_{2N}(n,r,s)\,q^nz^ry^s=\frac {1} {(q^4;q^4)_N (z^2q^2;q^4)_N} \\ \times \sum _{j=0} ^{N}\begin{bmatrix} N\\j \end{bmatrix}_{q^4}(-zyq;q^4)_j\, (-zy^{-1}q;q^4)_{N-j} (yq)^{2N-2j}, \end{multlined} \] with a similar formula for the generating function for the numbers \(S_{2N+1}(n,r,s)\). This is proved by, essentially, showing that both sides of the identity satisfy the same recurrence. This result is then used to find the generating function for the numbers \(t(n)\) of partitions \(\pi\) of \(n\) for which the difference of the number of odd parts of \(\pi\) and the number of odd parts of \(\pi'\) is divisible by \(4\), and to derive some Ramanujan-type congruences for \(t(n)\). The number \(t(n)\) is the partition function of Richard Stanley from the title. Reviewer's remark: This paper has been followed up by several related papers: \textit{C. Boulet} [A four-parameter partition identity, Ramanujan J. (to appear)], \textit{F. G. Garvan} and \textit{A. Berkovich} [On the Andrews-Stanley refinement of Ramanujan's partition congruence modulo 5 and generalizations, Trans. Am. Math. Soc. (to appear)], \textit{M. Ishikawa} and \textit{J. Zeng} [The Andrews-Stanley partition function and Al-Salam-Chihara polynomials (preprint \url{arXiv:math/0506128})], \textit{A. V. Sills} [Int. J. Math. Math. Sci. 2004, 2495--2501 (2004; Zbl 1064.05020)], \textit{H. Swisher} [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 139, No. 4, 1175--1185 (2011; Zbl 1219.11156)], \textit{A.~J.~Yee} [J. Comb. Theory, Ser.~A 107, 313--321 (2004; Zbl 1052.05013)], which, on the one hand, shed different light on results from the paper under review, and, on the other hand, go beyond.