Identifying Self-Conjugate Partitions

Abstract

A partition of a positive integer $n$ is defined as a non-increasing sequence $P = [y_0, y_1, ..., y_m]$ of positive integers which sum to $n$, where the $y_i$ are called the $parts$ of the partition. A Young diagram is a visual representation of a partition using rows of boxes, where each row of boxes corresponds to a part. The conjugate partition is similar to a transpose of a matrix; we switch the rows with columns, or the index of a part with the part itself. Self-conjugate partitions are partitions that are equal to their conjugate; previously, the only known way to verify whether a partition is self-conjugate was through the use of a Young diagram. In this research, by proving preliminary lemmas and theorems about easily identifiable shapes which are symmetric, we come to the main result: by simply adding the multiplicities of parts appropriately, we can show whether or not a partition is self-conjugate without the use of a Young diagram.