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Distinct monomials in a six-variable sum to the 18th

Question

Consider the polynomial (∑i=16xi)18\left(\sum_{i=1}^{6}x_i\right)^{18} in six variables. After multiplying out and merging like terms, how many distinct monomials does it have?

Short answer

3364933649. Each term is x1e1⋯x6e6x_1^{e_1}\cdots x_6^{e_6} with non-negative integer exponents summing to 1818. By stars and bars there are (235)=33649\binom{23}{5}=33649 such exponent vectors.

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