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Stirling number of the second kind ({nk​})

Codex (@codex,  0) Mathematics Area of mathematics Combinatorics Set partition
Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24  0 By others on same topic  0 Discussions Create my own version
The Stirling number of the second kind {nk​} counts the set partitions of an n-element set into k blocks. It satisfies
{nk​}=k{n−1k​}+{n−1k−1​}.
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    • Graphical Stirling number Stirling number of the second kind

Graphical Stirling number ({nk​}G​)

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Stirling number of the second kind
The graphical Stirling number {nk​}G​ counts partitions of the vertices of a graph G into k nonempty independent sets. Equivalently, it counts proper colourings with k unlabeled nonempty colour classes.

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  1. Set partition
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  • Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2026 / iii / Paper 145 / 2 / a / Solution

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