Computing a pyramid partition generating function with dimer shuffling

Abstract

We verify a recent conjecture of Kenyon/Szendroi, arXiv:0705.3419, by computing the generating function for pyramid partitions. Pyramid partitions are closely related to Aztec Diamonds; their generating function turns out to be the partition function for the Donaldson--Thomas theory of a non-commutative resolution of the conifold singularity {x1x2 -x3x4 = 0}. The proof does not require algebraic geometry; it uses a modified version of the domino shuffling algorithm of Elkies, Kuperberg, Larsen and Propp.