The Pak--Postnikov and Naruse skew hook length formulas: a new proof

Abstract: The classical hook length formula of enumerative combinatorics expresses the number of standard Young tableaux of a given partition shape as a single fraction. In recent years, two generalizations of this formula have emerged: one by Pak and Postnikov, replacing the number by a (rational) generating function, and one by Naruse, which generalizes the setting from a partition to a skew partition. Both generalizations appear to lie significantly deeper, with no simple proofs known. We combine them into a generating-function identity for skew partitions, and prove it in a fairly elementary way using recursion, determinants and simple combinatorics.