Shifted Distinct-part Partition Identities in Arithmetic Progressions

Abstract

The partition function p(n), which counts the number of partitions of a positive integer n, is widely studied. Here, we study partition functions pS(n) that count partitions of n into distinct parts satisfying certain congruence conditions. A shifted partition identity is an identity of the form $${{p_{S_1}} (n - H) = {p_{S_2}} (n)}$$ for all n in some arithmetic progression. Several identities of this type have been discovered, including two infinite families found by Alladi. In this paper, we use the theory of modular functions to determine the necessary and sufficient conditions for such an identity to exist. In addition, for two specific cases, we extend Alladi’s theorem to other arithmetic progressions.