Random mappings, forests, and subsets associated with Abel-Cayley-Hurwitz multinomial expansions (Q5948365)

Every forest of rooted trees with vertex set \(S\) can be associated, via a Prüfer-type code, with a product of formal variables corresponding to the elements of \(S\). A simple expression for the sum of the products associated with all forests with a given vertex set \(S\) and root set \(R\), \(R\subseteq S\), can easily be deduced from a version of Cayley's formula. If the variables are normalized then they can be regarded as probabilities. The author applies these observations to obtain a number of enumerative and probabilistic results pertaining to rooted forests and, more generally, mapping functions with various properties; in particular, he obtains probabilistic interpretations of some identities of the Abel-Hurwitz type.