A general asymptotic scheme for the analysis of partition statistics (Q6486658)

Let \(p(n)\) denote the number of partitions of \(n\) and let \(P(x)\) denote the generating function NEWLINE\[NEWLINE P(x) = \sum_{n \geq 1} p(n)x^n = \prod_{n \geq 1} \frac{1}{1-x^n}. NEWLINE\]NEWLINE For a function \(F(x)\) satisfying a reasonable condition, the authors give an asymptotic formula for NEWLINE\[NEWLINE \frac{1}{p(n)}[x^n]P(x)F(x). NEWLINE\]NEWLINE The asymptotics depend on the behavior of \(F(e^{-t})\) as \(t \to 0\) and are open to automation. These results are widely applicable. For example, the authors discuss the average number of parts in a partition, the average number of distinct parts in a partition, the average number of parts of a given size in a partition, the average number of parts with a given multiplicity in a partition, and the average length of the longest run in a partition. They suggest extending their method to other types of partition generating functions.