Another combinatorial determinant (Q1976328)

Consider, assuming \(b_{1,0}=1,\) the formal power series \(\sum_{m=1}^\infty \sum_{n=0}^\infty b_{m,n} t^m x^n\) for a moment as a function \(f(t).\) Let \(f^{(0)}=t\) and let for \(i\geq 1,\) \(f^{(i)}(t)=f(f^{(i-1)}(t))\) be the \(i\)-fold composition of \(f\) with itself. Put \(c_{i,j}\) as the coefficient of \(x^{j+1}\) in \(f^{(i)}(x).\) Then \[ \det ((c_{i,j})_{i,j=0}^n)= \prod_{k=1}^n \Biggl( \sum_{m=0}^k m! S(k+1,m+1) b_{2,0}^m b_{1,1}^{k-m} \Biggr). \] Here the \(S(\cdot,\cdot)\) are the Stirling numbers of the second kind. With this nice theorem as the main result, the author observes that one can deduce for a one-variable series \(f=1+a_1x+a_2x^2 +\cdots \) putting \(c_{i,j}\) as the coefficient of \(x^j\) in \(f^i,\) \(i\)th power of \(f,\) Wilf's recent formula \(\det((c_{i,j})_{i,j=0}^n)=a_1^{n(n+1)/2}\) [A combinatorial determinant, J. Comb. Theory, Ser. A (to appear)] and for \(f=x+b_1x^2+b_2x^3 + \cdots\) the surprising analog \(\det((c_{i,j})_{i,j=0}^n)=1! 2! \ldots n! b_1^{n(n+1)/2}\) if \(c_{i,j}\) is the coefficient of \(x^{j+1}\) in \(f^{(i)},\) \(i\)-fold composition of \(f\).