From the Outside In

Author(s):  
Derek Smith

This chapter discusses Slothouber–Graatsma–Conway puzzle, which asks one to assemble six 1 × 2 × 2 pieces and three 1 × 1 × 1 pieces into the shape of a 3 × 3 × 3 cube. The puzzle has been generalized to larger cubes, and there is an infinite family of such puzzles. The chapter's primary argument is that, for any odd positive integer n = 2k + 1, there is exactly one way, up to symmetry, to make an n × n × n cube out of n tiny 1 × 1 × 1 cubes and six of each of a set of rectangular blocks. The chapter describes a way to solve each puzzle in the family and explains why there are no other solutions. It then presents several related open problems.

2013 ◽  
Vol 09 (04) ◽  
pp. 939-943 ◽  
Author(s):  
CRISTIAN-SILVIU RADU ◽  
JAMES A. SELLERS

In 2007, Andrews and Paule introduced the family of functions Δk(n) which enumerate the number of broken k-diamond partitions for a fixed positive integer k. In that paper, Andrews and Paule proved that, for all n ≥ 0, Δ1(2n+1) ≡ 0 (mod 3) using a standard generating function argument. Soon after, Shishuo Fu provided a combinatorial proof of this same congruence. Fu also utilized this combinatorial approach to naturally define a generalization of broken k-diamond partitions which he called k dots bracelet partitions. He denoted the number of k dots bracelet partitions of n by 𝔅k(n) and proved various congruence properties for these functions modulo primes and modulo powers of 2. In this note, we extend the set of congruences proven by Fu by proving the following congruences: For all n ≥ 0, [Formula: see text] We also conjecture an infinite family of congruences modulo powers of 7 which are satisfied by the function 𝔅7.


10.37236/1825 ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaume Martí-Farré ◽  
Carles Padró

One of the main open problems in secret sharing is the characterization of the ideal access structures. This problem has been studied for several families of access structures with similar results. Namely, in all these families, the ideal access structures coincide with the vector space ones and, besides, the optimal information rate of a non-ideal access structure is at most $2/3$. An access structure is said to be $r$-homogeneous if there are exactly $r$ participants in every minimal qualified subset. A first approach to the characterization of the ideal $3$-homogeneous access structures is made in this paper. We show that the results in the previously studied families can not be directly generalized to this one. Nevertheless, we prove that the equivalences above apply to the family of the sparse $3$-homogeneous access structures, that is, those in which any subset of four participants contains at most two minimal qualified subsets. Besides, we give a complete description of the ideal sparse $3$-homogeneous access structures.


2007 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
YANN BUGEAUD ◽  
ANDREJ DUJELLA ◽  
MAURICE MIGNOTTE

AbstractIt is proven that ifk≥ 2 is an integer anddis a positive integer such that the product of any two distinct elements of the setincreased by 1 is a perfect square, thend= 4kord= 64k5−48k3+8k. Together with a recent result of Fujita, this shows that all Diophantine quadruples of the form {k− 1,k+ 1,c,d} are regular.


Author(s):  
KATSUSHI INOUE ◽  
ITSUO TAKANAMI

This paper first shows that REC, the family of recognizable picture languages in Giammarresi and Restivo,3 is equal to the family of picture languages accepted by two-dimensional on-line tessellation acceptors in Inoue and Nakamura.5 By using this result, we then solve open problems in Giammarresi and Restivo,3 and show that (i) REC is not closed under complementation, and (ii) REC properly contains the family of picture languages accepted by two-dimensional nondeterministic finite automata even over a one letter alphabet.


2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-212
Author(s):  
JÓZSEF BALOGH ◽  
JANE BUTTERFIELD ◽  
PING HU ◽  
JOHN LENZ ◽  
DHRUV MUBAYI

Let $\mathcal{F}$ be a family of r-uniform hypergraphs. The chromatic threshold of $\mathcal{F}$ is the infimum of all non-negative reals c such that the subfamily of $\mathcal{F}$ comprising hypergraphs H with minimum degree at least $c \binom{| V(H) |}{r-1}$ has bounded chromatic number. This parameter has a long history for graphs (r = 2), and in this paper we begin its systematic study for hypergraphs.Łuczak and Thomassé recently proved that the chromatic threshold of the so-called near bipartite graphs is zero, and our main contribution is to generalize this result to r-uniform hypergraphs. For this class of hypergraphs, we also show that the exact Turán number is achieved uniquely by the complete (r + 1)-partite hypergraph with nearly equal part sizes. This is one of very few infinite families of non-degenerate hypergraphs whose Turán number is determined exactly. In an attempt to generalize Thomassen's result that the chromatic threshold of triangle-free graphs is 1/3, we prove bounds for the chromatic threshold of the family of 3-uniform hypergraphs not containing {abc, abd, cde}, the so-called generalized triangle.In order to prove upper bounds we introduce the concept of fibre bundles, which can be thought of as a hypergraph analogue of directed graphs. This leads to the notion of fibre bundle dimension, a structural property of fibre bundles that is based on the idea of Vapnik–Chervonenkis dimension in hypergraphs. Our lower bounds follow from explicit constructions, many of which use a hypergraph analogue of the Kneser graph. Using methods from extremal set theory, we prove that these Kneser hypergraphs have unbounded chromatic number. This generalizes a result of Szemerédi for graphs and might be of independent interest. Many open problems remain.


2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (05) ◽  
pp. 477-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Currie ◽  
Lucas Mol ◽  
Narad Rampersad

We present an infinite family of formulas with reversal whose avoidability index is bounded between [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], and we show that several members of the family have avoidability index [Formula: see text]. This family is particularly interesting due to its size and the simple structure of its members. For each [Formula: see text] there are several previously known avoidable formulas (without reversal) of avoidability index [Formula: see text] but they are small in number and they all have rather complex structure.


10.37236/8672 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefaan De Winter ◽  
Klaus Metsch

We construct an infinite family of intriguing sets, or equivalently perfect 2-colorings, that are not tight in the Grassmann graph of planes of PG$(n,q)$, $n\ge 5$ odd, and show that the members of the family are the smallest possible examples if $n\ge 9$ or $q\ge 25$.


2002 ◽  
Vol 9 (40) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Aceto ◽  
Willem Jan Fokkink ◽  
Anna Ingólfsdóttir

Multi-exit iteration is a generalization of the standard binary Kleene star operation that allows for the specification of agents that, up to bisimulation equivalence, are solutions of systems of recursion equations of the form<br />X_1 = P_1 X_2 + Q_1 <br /><br /> X_n = P_n X_1 + Q_n <br /><br /> where n is a positive integer, and the P_i and the Q_i are process terms. The addition of multi-exit iteration to Basic Process Algebra (BPA) yields a more expressive language than that obtained by augmenting BPA with the standard binary Kleene star. This note offers an expressiveness hierarchy, modulo bisimulation equivalence, for the family of multi-exit iteration operators proposed by Bergstra, Bethke and Ponse.


10.37236/7107 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuvi Etzion ◽  
Niv Hooker

One of the most intriguing problems for $q$-analogs of designs, is the existence question of an infinite family of $q$-Steiner systems that are not spreads. In particular the most interesting case is the existence question for the $q$-analog of the Fano plane, known also as the $q$-Fano plane. These questions are in the front line of open problems in block design. There was a common belief and a conjecture that such structures do not exist. Only recently, $q$-Steiner systems were found for one set of parameters. In this paper, a definition for the $q$-analog of the residual design is presented. This new definition is different from previous known definition, but its properties reflect better the $q$-analog properties. The existence of a design with the parameters of the residual $q$-Steiner system in general and the residual $q$-Fano plane in particular are examined. We construct different residual $q$-Fano planes for all $q$, where $q$ is a prime power. The constructed structure is just one step from a construction of a $q$-Fano plane.


1987 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 1356-1362 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. S. Kapitan ◽  
P. D. Wagner

The defining equations of the multiple inert gas elimination technique are underdetermined, and an infinite number of VA/Q ratio distributions exists that fit the same inert gas data. Conventional least-squares analysis with enforced smoothing chooses a single member of this infinite family whose features are assumed to be representative of the family as a whole. To test this assumption, the average of all ventilation-perfusion ratio (VA/Q) distributions that are compatible with given data was calculated using a linear program. The average distribution so obtained was then compared with that recovered using enforced smoothing. Six typical sets of inert gas data were studied. In all sets but one, the distribution recovered with conventional enforced smoothing closely matched the structure of the average distribution. The single exception was associated with the broad log-normal VA/Q distribution, which is rarely observed using the technique. We conclude that the VA/Q distribution conventionally recovered approximates a simple average of all compatible distributions. It therefore displays average features and only that degree of fine structural detail that is typical of the family as a whole.


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