Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Combinatorial Interpretations Of Fibonomial Identities, Elizabeth Reiland

HMC Senior Theses

The Fibonomial numbers are defined by \[ \begin{bmatrix}n \\ k \end{bmatrix} = \frac{\prod_{i=n-k+1} ^{n} F_i}{\prod_{j=1}^{k} F_j} \] where $F_i$ is the $i$th Fibonacci number, defined by the recurrence $F_n=F_{n-1}+F_{n-2}$ with initial conditions $F_0=0,F_1=1$. In the past year, Sagan and Savage have derived a combinatorial interpretation for these Fibonomial numbers, an interpretation that relies upon tilings of a partition and its complement in a given grid.In this thesis, I investigate previously proven theorems for the Fibonomial numbers and attempt to reinterpret and reprove them in light of this new combinatorial description. I also present combinatorial proofs for some identities I did …