MathDB

Let be four positive integers

m, n, p, q

, with

p < m

given and

q < n

. Take four points

A(0; 0), B(p; 0), C (m; q)

and

D(m; n)

in the coordinate plane. Consider the paths

f

from

A

D

and the paths

g

from

B

C

such that when going along

f

g

, one goes only in the positive directions of coordinates and one can only change directions (from the positive direction of one axe coordinate into the the positive direction of the other axe coordinate) at the points with integral coordinates. Let

S

be the number of couples

(f, g)

such that

f

and

g

have no common points. Prove that

S = \binom{n}{m+n} \cdot \binom{q}{m+q-p} - \binom{q}{m+q} \cdot \binom{n}{m+n-p}.

Problem Statement