Two Enumerative Proofs of an Identity of Jacobi

Abstract

In (7), Wright gives an enumerative proof of an identity algebraically equivalent to that of Jacobi, namelyHere, and in the sequel, products run from 1 to oo and sums from - oo to oo unless otherwise indicated. We give here a simplified version of his argument by working directly with (1), the substitution leading to equation (3) of his paper being omitted. We then supply an alternative proof of (1) by means of a generalisation of the Durfee square concept utilising the rectangle of dimensions v by v + r for fixed r and maximal v contained in the Ferrers graph of a partition.