Journal of Statistical Physics, Vol. 110, Nos. 3-6, March 2003. p. 1069-1086.
We derive exact and asymptotic results for the number of star and watermelon configurations of vicious walkers confined to lie between two impenetrable walls, as well as corresponding results for the analogous problem of infinite-friendly walkers. Our proofs make use of results from symmetric function theory and the theory of basic hypergeometric series.