Find (in terms of n≥1) the number of terms with odd coefficients after expanding the product: ∏1≤i<j≤n(xi+xj)
A number or a short expression. Fractions can be typed as 3/2, and spacing doesn't matter.
Solution
Note that if we take (mod2), we get that ∏1≤i<j≤n(xi+xj)≡∏1≤i<j≤n(xj−xi)=det(M) where M is the matrix with Mij=xij−1. This is called a Vandermonde determinant. Expanding this determinant using the formula det(M)=∑σ∏i=1nxσ(i)i−1 where the sum if over all n! permutations σ, gives the result.
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