The generating function for words avoiding soft streaks

Let n,k,rN0n,k,r\in\mathbb{N}_0 with k2k\geq 2. A soft streak of length kk is a non-decreasing word of length kk, and the generalized binomial coefficient Bs(n,k,r)\operatorname{B}_s(n,k,r) is the coefficient of xrx^r in (1+x+x2++xk1)n(1+x+x^2+\cdots+x^{k-1})^n. Let ψk,r\psi_{k,r} and ωk\omega_k denote the quantities used in the Goulden–Jackson generating-function framework, and define

f(z)=(1zk)nr=0(k1)nψk,rBs(n,k,r)zr.f(z)=\frac{(1-z^k)^n}{\displaystyle\sum_{r=0}^{(k-1)n}\psi_{k,r}\operatorname{B}_s(n,k,r)z^r}.

The generating-function conjecture. The generating function f(z)f(z) is given by the displayed expression above.

This conjectural formula is intended to count words avoiding non-decreasing subwords of length kk and to connect the generalized binomial coefficients with the Goulden–Jackson method. The supplied excerpt does not state whether the conjecture has been proved or refuted.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Senan Sekhon, “Counting words without strictly increasing subwords of fixed length”, arXiv:2511.13287 (2025).

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