An alternating permutation is one in which the difference between each successive pair of adjacent elements changes sign—this is, each "rise" is followed by a "fall", and vice versa. For example, the permutation {1324} is an alternating permutation.
The number of alternating permutations on
elements is sometimes called the Euler zigzag number.
This Demonstration illustrates the alternating permutations that begin with a "rise"; to get the ones that begin with a "fall", flip the images vertically.
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