The three-halves-unit shifted triangular-hole tiling enumeration conjecture

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Let a,b,c,ma,b,c,m be nonnegative integers, with aa of parity different from the parity of both bb and cc. Consider a hexagon with side lengths a,b+m,c,a+m,b,c+ma,b+m,c,a+m,b,c+m, from which an equilateral triangle of side length mm is removed in the three-halves-unit off-center position described in the source. Let H⁡\operatorname{H} denote the hyperfactorial function, and define P2(a,b,c,m)P_2(a,b,c,m) by

P2(a,b,c,m)={((a+b)2−1)((a+c)2−1)+4am(a2+2ab+b2+2ac+3bc+c2)+2am+3bm+3cm+2m2−1,a even,((a+b)2−1)((a+c)2−1)+4(a+b+c+m)m(a2+bc−1),a odd.P_2(a,b,c,m)=\begin{cases} ((a+b)^2-1)((a+c)^2-1)+4am(a^2+2ab+b^2+2ac+3bc+c^2)+2am+3bm+3cm+2m^2-1,&a\text{ even},\\ ((a+b)^2-1)((a+c)^2-1)+4(a+b+c+m)m(a^2+bc-1),&a\text{ odd.} \end{cases}

Three-halves-unit shifted-hole tiling conjecture. The number of lozenge tilings of this hexagon with the triangular hole equals

116H⁡(a+m)H⁡(b+m)H⁡(c+m)H⁡(a+b+c+m)H⁡(a+b+m)H⁡(a+c+m)H⁡(b+c+m)×H⁡(m2)2∏x∈{a,b,c}H⁡(⌈x2⌉)H⁡(⌊x2⌋)∏x∈{a,b,c}H⁡(m2+⌈x2⌉)H⁡(m2+⌊x2⌋)×H⁡(⌈a+b2⌉+m2)H⁡(⌊a+b2⌋+m2)H⁡(⌊a+c2⌋+m2)H⁡(⌈a+c2⌉+m2)H⁡(b+c2+m2)2H⁡(m2+⌈a+b+c2⌉)H⁡(m2+⌊a+b+c2⌋)H⁡(⌊a+b2⌋−1)H⁡(⌈a+c2⌉+1)H⁡(b+c2)×H⁡(m+⌈a+b+c2⌉)H⁡(m+⌊a+b+c2⌋)H⁡(⌊a+c2⌋+m−1)H⁡(b+c2+m)H⁡(⌈a+b2⌉+m+1)P2(a,b,c,m).\begin{aligned} &\frac{1}{16}\frac{\operatorname{H}(a+m)\operatorname{H}(b+m)\operatorname{H}(c+m)\operatorname{H}(a+b+c+m)}{\operatorname{H}(a+b+m)\operatorname{H}(a+c+m)\operatorname{H}(b+c+m)}\\ &\quad\times\frac{\operatorname{H}\left(\frac m2\right)^2\prod_{x\in\{a,b,c\}}\operatorname{H}\left(\left\lceil\frac x2\right\rceil\right)\operatorname{H}\left(\left\lfloor\frac x2\right\rfloor\right)}{\prod_{x\in\{a,b,c\}}\operatorname{H}\left(\frac m2+\left\lceil\frac x2\right\rceil\right)\operatorname{H}\left(\frac m2+\left\lfloor\frac x2\right\rfloor\right)}\\ &\quad\times\frac{\operatorname{H}\left(\left\lceil\frac{a+b}{2}\right\rceil+\frac m2\right)\operatorname{H}\left(\left\lfloor\frac{a+b}{2}\right\rfloor+\frac m2\right)\operatorname{H}\left(\left\lfloor\frac{a+c}{2}\right\rfloor+\frac m2\right)\operatorname{H}\left(\left\lceil\frac{a+c}{2}\right\rceil+\frac m2\right)\operatorname{H}\left(\frac{b+c}{2}+\frac m2\right)^2}{\operatorname{H}\left(\frac m2+\left\lceil\frac{a+b+c}{2}\right\rceil\right)\operatorname{H}\left(\frac m2+\left\lfloor\frac{a+b+c}{2}\right\rfloor\right)\operatorname{H}\left(\left\lfloor\frac{a+b}{2}\right\rfloor-1\right)\operatorname{H}\left(\left\lceil\frac{a+c}{2}\right\rceil+1\right)\operatorname{H}\left(\frac{b+c}{2}\right)}\\ &\quad\times\frac{\operatorname{H}\left(m+\left\lceil\frac{a+b+c}{2}\right\rceil\right)\operatorname{H}\left(m+\left\lfloor\frac{a+b+c}{2}\right\rfloor\right)}{\operatorname{H}\left(\left\lfloor\frac{a+c}{2}\right\rfloor+m-1\right)\operatorname{H}\left(\frac{b+c}{2}+m\right)\operatorname{H}\left(\left\lceil\frac{a+b}{2}\right\rceil+m+1\right)}P_2(a,b,c,m). \end{aligned}

The statement is introduced as something that “seems to be true”; no resolution is supplied in the source.

References

Primary source

Mihai Ciucu, Theresia Eisenkölbl, C. Krattenthaler and D. Zare, “Enumeration of lozenge tilings of hexagons with a central triangular hole”, arXiv:math/9912053 (1999).

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