On the Andrews-Zagier asymptotics for partitions without sequences (Q509677)

Let \(G_k(q)\) be the generating function for the number of integer partitions without \(k\) consecutive part sizes. It is known that \(G_k(q)\) admits the representation \(G_k(q)=g_k(q)\prod_{n=1}^\infty (1-q^n)^{-1}\). The function \(g_k(q)\) has the following probabilistic interpretation. Let \(\mathcal{C}_1, \mathcal{C}_2,\ldots\) be a sequence of independent events and, for \(0<q<1\), let \(1-q^n\) be the probability that event \(\mathcal{C}_n\) will occur (\(n=1,2,\ldots\)). It turns out that \(g_k(q)\) is equal to the probability that there is no sequence of \(k\) consecutive events \(\mathcal{C}_j\) that do not occur. In this present paper, the authors focus on the asymptotic behavior of \(g_k(e^{-s})\) as \(s\to 0^+\). This problem appears also in the study of bootstrap percolation. The authors obtain an asymptotic expansion for \(g_k(e^{-s})\). Their result confirms the numerical computations done by Zagier in the case \(k=3\) (a private communication). The proof technique demonstrates a connection between the expansion of \(g_k(e^{-s})\) and Wright's generalization of the Bessel function defined by the series \(\sum_{n=0}^\infty\frac{z^n}{n!\Gamma(\beta-\rho n)}\), where \(\rho<1\) and \(\beta\in\mathbb{C}\).