Fixed points and cycles of parking functions

Martin Rubey, Mei Yin

Published 2024-03-25Version 1

A parking function of length $n$ is a sequence $\pi=(\pi_1,\dots, \pi_n)$ of positive integers such that if $\lambda_1\leq\cdots\leq \lambda_n$ is the increasing rearrangement of $\pi_1,\dots,\pi_n$, then $\lambda_i\leq i$ for $1\leq i\leq n$. In this paper we obtain some exact results on the number of fixed points and cycles of parking functions. Our proofs will be based on generalizations of Pollak's argument. Extensions of our techniques are discussed.