Problem:
Let . Compute the number of sequences of elements in (for any positive integer ) that satisfy the following conditions:
- and ,
- are distinct,
- for all integers , is obtained by rotating about by either or in the clockwise direction.
, 2022
Solution
Solution:
Let be the number of such possibilities where there are turns. Note that and .
Now suppose with . The path traced out by the is uniquely determined by a choice of nonnegative -coordinates and positive -coordinates indicating where to turn and when to stop. If , the path is uniquely determined by a choice of nonnegative -coordinates and positive -coordinates.
As a result, our final answer is
One can check that
by Vandermonde's identity. Similarly,
Thus our final answer is
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