Sign-balances of tableaux with at most three rows (Q2240554)

Let \(\mathcal{T}_n\) denote the set of \(n\)-cell standard Young tableaux of all shapes with at most three rows. The main result of this paper is that the sign-balance of the set \(\mathcal{T}_{2n}\) (\(\mathcal{T}_{2n+1}\), respectively) of standard Young tableaux can be expressed as a partial sum of the sequence of Motzkin numbers. More precisely, the main theorem states that \begin{align*} \sum_{T\in \mathcal{T}_{2n}}\mathrm{sign}(T) &= 1+m_0+\dots+m_{n-1},\\ \sum_{T\in \mathcal{T}_{2n+1}}\mathrm{sign}(T) &= 1+m_0+\dots+m_{n-1}, \end{align*} where \(m_k\) denotes the \(k\)th Motzkin number. The proof of this result is given using a previously established bijection between standard domino tableaux and partial Motzkin paths [\textit{T.-Y. Cheng} et al., Ann. Comb. 21, No. 1, 43--71 (2017; Zbl 1359.05136)]. For skew shapes, the authors obtain several partial results on the sign-balance enumeration of \(2n\)-cell skew standard Young tableaux of all shapes with at most three rows, under a parity condition of the skew part.