Euler's partition theorem with upper bounds on multiplicities (Q456383)

Summary: We show that the number of partitions of \(n\) with alternating sum \(k\) such that the multiplicity of each part is bounded by \(2m+1\) equals the number of partitions of \(n\) with \(k\) odd parts such that the multiplicity of each even part is bounded by \(m\). The first proof relies on two formulas with two parameters that are related to the four-parameter formulas of Boulet. We also give a combinatorial proof of this result by using Sylvester's bijection, which implies a stronger partition theorem. For \(m=0\), our result reduces to Bessenrodt's refinement of Euler's partition theorem. If the alternating sum and the number of odd parts are not taken into account, we are led to a generalization of Euler's partition theorem, which can be deduced from a theorem of Andrews on equivalent upper bound sequences of multiplicities. Analogously, we show that the number of partitions of \(n\) with alternating sum \(k\) such that the multiplicity of each even part is bounded by \(2m+1\) equals the number of partitions of \(n\) with \(k\) odd parts such that the multiplicity of each even part is also bounded by \(2m+1\). We provide a combinatorial proof as well.