Permutations/combinations problem

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on calculating the number of n-dimensional vectors with specific value constraints. Each vector element can take one of three values (-1, 0, +1), leading to a total of λ^n possible vectors. When restricting the vectors to contain exactly k non-zero elements, the formula p=(λ-1)^{k}×C(n, k) is used, where C(n, k) represents the binomial coefficient. For vectors with at most k non-zeros and at least one non-zero, the summation formula p=Σ_{k'=1}^{k}[(λ-1)^{k'}×C(n, k')] is proposed, but it is confirmed that a more compact expression to eliminate the summation is not feasible.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of combinatorial mathematics, specifically permutations and combinations.
  • Familiarity with binomial coefficients, denoted as C(n, k).
  • Basic knowledge of vector mathematics and dimensional analysis.
  • Concept of generating functions in combinatorial contexts.
NEXT STEPS
  • Explore advanced combinatorial techniques for simplifying summations in vector problems.
  • Study generating functions to represent combinations and permutations compactly.
  • Learn about the application of binomial coefficients in combinatorial proofs.
  • Investigate the implications of constraints in combinatorial optimization problems.
USEFUL FOR

Mathematicians, computer scientists, and students studying combinatorial optimization and vector mathematics will benefit from this discussion.

JL3
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I have a problem about combinations and permutations I am trying to solve. Say we have an n-dimensional vector. Each element of the vector can contain anyone of [tex]\lambda=3[/tex] values (-1, 0 or +1). Then the number of possible vectors is simply:

[tex]\lambda^n[/tex]

If we place the additional restriction that the vector must contain exactly [tex]k[/tex] non-zeros, then it becomes:

[tex]p=(\lambda-1)^{k}\times\binom{n}{k}=\frac{n!(\lambda-1)^{k}}{k!(n-k)!}[/tex]

If we change the restriction so that it must contain at most [tex]k[/tex] non-zeros and at least 1 non-zero, then it becomes:

[tex]p=\sum_{k'=1}^{k}\left[(\lambda-1)^{k'}\times\binom{n}{k'}\right]=\sum_{k'=1}^{k}\frac{n!(\lambda-1)^{k'}}{k'!(n-k')!}[/tex]

Are my equations correct? Is there a more compact way of expressing this last equation, to get rid of the summation?
 
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The formulas are correct.

If we want to get rid of the sum, we needed ##\binom n {k'} =\binom k {k'} \cdot r(n,k)## but the correction ##r## does also depend on ##k'##. So I guess there is no way to get rid of the sum.
 

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