Conjectures on the enumeration of tableaux of bounded height (Q1894003)

Let \(\lambda= (\lambda_1,\dots, \lambda_k)\in \text{Part}(n)\) be a partition of \(n\) of height \(k= h(\lambda)\), i.e. \(\lambda_k\neq 0\), and let \(f_\lambda\) be the number of standard \(\lambda\)-tableaux (which is equal to the degree of the irreducible representation of the symmetric group \(S_n\) related to \(\lambda\)). It is well known that \[ \sum_{\lambda\in \text{Part}(n)} f^2_\lambda= n!\quad\text{as well as that}\quad t(n)= \sum_{\lambda\in \text{Part}(n)} f_\lambda \] is equal to the coefficient of \(x^n/n!\) in \(\exp(x+ x^2/2)\). One has studied similar sums \[ t_h(n)= \sum_{h(\lambda)\leq h} f_\lambda\quad\text{and}\quad t^{(2)}_h(n)= \sum_{h(\lambda)\leq h} f^2_\lambda, \] where the summation runs over all partitions of \(n\) of height bounded by \(h\). The \(t_h(n)\)'s or their generating functions are known for \(h\leq 5\) only, see [\textit{A. Regev}, Adv. Math. 41, 115-136 (1981; Zbl 0509.20009)] and [\textit{D. Gouyou Beauchamps}, Codages par des mots et des chemins; problèmes combinatoires et algorithmiques, Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. Bordeaux I (1985)]; in the cited paper Regev established their asymptotic behaviour. By [\textit{D. Zeilberger}, A holonomic systems approach to special functions identities, J. Comput. Appl. Math. 32, No. 3, 321-368 (1990; Zbl 0738.33001)] the \(t_h(n)\)'s are P-recursive, i.e. there exist polynomials \(p_k(n)\) and an integer \(m\) such that \[ \sum^m_{k= 0} p_k(n) t_h(n- k) =0. \] In the paper under review the authors forward some conjectures for the recurrences for \(t_h(n)\) and \(t^{(2)}_h(n)\). They check them by computer for small \(h\) and \(n\) and show that the conjectured recurrences are compatible with the asymptotic results by Regev. The surprising outcome of the experiments is that the recurrences should be of relatively low degree. For example, in the result of Zeilberger the authors conjecture that \(m= [h/2]+ 1\) and \(\deg p_k(n)\leq h/2\).