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IMO Hk TST

Combinatorics Difficulty 8.4 Shortlist Prove it Hong Kong

For every positive integer nn, find (with proof) the number of ways of sitting 2n2n people A1,B1,A2,B2,…,An,BnA_1, B_1, A_2, B_2, \dots, A_n, B_n around a round table so that AiA_i and BiB_i are not next to each other for i=1,2,…,ni = 1, 2, \dots, n. Two sitting arrangements are considered the same if one can be obtained from another by a rotation. (You may express your answer in whatever ways.)

Solution

The answer is 00 if n=1n = 1, and is ∑k=0n(−1)k(nk)2k(2n−k−1)!\sum_{k=0}^{n} (-1)^k \binom{n}{k} 2^k (2n-k-1)! if n≥2n \ge 2, or any equivalent expression.

The result is obvious for n=1n = 1. Consider n≥2n \ge 2. For each k=0,1,…,nk = 0, 1, \dots, n, let NkN_k be the number of ways to arrange the 2n2n people such that Ai,BiA_i, B_i are next to each other for i=1,2,…,ki = 1, 2, \dots, k (and probably for some more pairs).

For each kk, we need to arrange kk pairs and the remaining 2n−2k2n-2k people. There are (k+2n−2k−1)!=(2n−k−1)!(k+2n-2k-1)! = (2n-k-1)! ways to do so. Within each pair, there are 22 ways to arrange the two people. Therefore, we have
Nk=2k(2n−k−1)!. N_k = 2^k (2n - k - 1)! .
Now, by the inclusion-exclusion principle, since there are (nk)\binom{n}{k} ways to choose kk pairs, the number of ways to arrange the 2n2n people such that no pair Ai,BiA_i, B_i sits next to each other is
∑k=0n(−1)k(nk)Nk=∑k=0n(−1)k(nk)2k(2n−k−1)!. \sum_{k=0}^{n} (-1)^k \binom{n}{k} N_k = \sum_{k=0}^{n} (-1)^k \binom{n}{k} 2^k (2n-k-1)! .

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