A context-free grammar for peaks and double descents of permutations

This paper is concerned with the joint distribution of the number of exterior peaks and the number of proper double descents over permutations on $[n] =\{1,2,\ldots,n\}$. The notion of exterior peaks of a permutation was introduced by Aguiar, Bergeron and Nyman in their study of the peak algebra. Gessel obtained the generating function of the number of permutations on $[n]$ with a given number of exterior peaks. On the other hand, by establishing differential equations, Elizalde and Noy derived the generating function for the number of permutations on $[n]$ with a given number of proper double descents. Barry and Basset independently deduced the generating function of the number of permutations on $[n]$ with no proper double descents. We find a context-free grammar which can be used to compute the number of permutations on $[n]$ with a given number of exterior peaks and a given number of proper double descents. Based on the grammar, the recurrence relation of the number of permutations on $[n]$ with a given number of exterior peaks can be easily obtained. Moreover, we use the grammatical calculus to derive the generating function without solving differential equations. Our formula reduces to the formulas of Gessel, Elizalde-Noy, Barry, and Basset. Finally, from the grammar we establish a relationship between our generating function and the generating function of the joint distribution of the number of peaks and the number of double descent derived by Carlitz and Scoville.

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