On a generalisation of the minimal excludant function (Q6921095)

The paper extends the concept of the \textit{minimal excludant} (mex) of a partition, introduced by \textit{G. E. Andrews} and \textit{D. Newman} [Ann. Comb. 23, No. 2, 249--254 (2019; Zbl 1458.11011)], to partitions whose parts are restricted to an arbitrary set \(S\) of integers. Analogous definitions are given for the corresponding \textit{maximal excludant} (maex), as well as for \textit{\(S\)-gap-free} and \textit{\(S\)-complete} partitions. For these generalised objects the author derives explicit generating functions for the associated counting functions \(\sigma_{\mathrm{mex}_S}(n)\), \(\sigma_{\mathrm{maex}_S}(n)\), \(G_S(n)\), and \(C_S(n)\). Two combinatorial bijections are established that extend classical results of \textit{P. J. Grabner} and \textit{A. Knopfmacher} [Ramanujan J. 12, No. 3, 439--454 (2006; Zbl 1113.05012)] on gap-free and complete partitions.\N\NSpecialising to arithmetic progressions \(S=\{0,a,a+d,a+2d,\dots\}\), the author obtains elegant \(q\)-series identities connecting these generating functions with Ramanujan's classical functions \(\varphi(q)\) and \(\psi(q)\) and with the third-order mock theta function \(\phi(q)\). In particular, Fine's identity relating \(\phi(q)\) to partitions into odd parts without gaps appears as a limiting case of the general theory, yielding new combinatorial interpretations. The exposition is detailed and self-contained and opens several directions for further research, such as asymptotic formulas and higher-order gap statistics.