Generalized staircase partitions and Macdonald principal specializations
Generalized staircase partitions are obtained by replacing each box of an ordinary staircase with a fixed rectangle. We determine the unique shortest horizontal-strip sequence between consecutive generalized staircases and its conjugate vertical-strip sequence. For monic Macdonald polynomials, we derive explicit finite principal-specialization ratios along both sequences. For arbitrary nested partitions, coefficientwise nonnegativity after removal of the monomial factor forces independence of $q$. Along the horizontal sequence, this nonnegativity is characterized by rectangular complementation, apart from the one-column case. Along the vertical sequence, it occurs at the smallest admissible number of variables, apart from the initial column case. Endpoint ratios yield a triangular product formula and a centered product with exchange, reciprocity, and inversion identities. Hall-Littlewood, Jack, and Schur specializations give Gaussian-polynomial, finite-product, and tableau formulas, respectively.