Combinatorial interpretations of the Jacobi-Stirling numbers (Q976723)

Summary: The Jacobi-Stirling numbers of the first and second kinds were introduced in the spectral theory and are polynomial refinements of the Legendre-Stirling numbers. Andrews and Littlejohn have recently given a combinatorial interpretation for the second kind of the latter numbers [\textit{G.E. Andrews} and \textit{L.L. Littlejohn}, ``A combinatorial interpretation of the Legendre-Stirling numbers,'' Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 137, No.\,8, 2581--2590 (2009; Zbl 1167.05002)]. Noticing that these numbers are very similar to the classical central factorial numbers, we give combinatorial interpretations for the Jacobi-Stirling numbers of both kinds, which provide a unified treatment of the combinatorial theories for the two previous sequences and also for the Stirling numbers of both kinds.