Combinatorics of Bousquet-Mélou–Schaeffer numbers in the light of topological recursion

Abstract In this paper we prove, in a purely combinatorial-algebraic way, a structural quasi-polynomiality property for the Bousquet-Melou–Schaeffer numbers. Conjecturally, this property should follow from the Chekhov–Eynard–Orantin topological recursion for these numbers (or, to be more precise, the Bouchard–Eynard version of the topological recursion for higher order critical points), which we derive in this paper from the recent result of Alexandrov–Chapuy–Eynard–Harnad. To this end, the missing ingredient is a generalization to the case of higher order critical points on the underlying spectral curve of the existing correspondence between the topological recursion and Givental’s theory for cohomological field theories.