Dual Pairs of Matroids with Coefficients in Finitary Fuzzy Rings of Arbitrary Rank

Infinite matroids have been defined by Reinhard Diestel and coauthors in such a way that this class is (together with the finite matroids) closed under dualization and taking minors. On the other hand, Andreas Dress introduced a theory of matroids with coefficients in a fuzzy ring which is – from a combinatorial point of view – less general, because within this theory every circuit has a finite intersection with every cocircuit. Within the present paper, we extend the theory of matroids with coefficients to more general classes of matroids, if the underlying fuzzy ring has certain properties to be specified.

Quantitative and Algorithmic aspects of Barrier Synchronization in Concurrency

International audience In this paper we address the problem of understanding Concurrency Theory from a combinatorial point of view. We are interested in quantitative results and algorithmic tools to refine our understanding of the classical combinatorial explosion phenomenon arising in concurrency. This paper is essentially focusing on the the notion of synchronization from the point of view of combinatorics. As a first step, we address the quantitative problem of counting the number of executions of simple processes interacting with synchronization barriers. We elaborate a systematic decomposition of processes that produces a symbolic integral formula to solve the problem. Based on this procedure, we develop a generic algorithm to generate process executions uniformly at random. For some interesting sub-classes of processes we propose very efficient counting and random sampling algorithms. All these algorithms have one important characteristic in common: they work on the control graph of processes and thus do not require the explicit construction of the state-space.

The combinatorics of minimal unsatisfiability: connecting to graph theory

Minimally Unsatisfiable CNFs (MUs) are unsatisfiable CNFs where removing any clause destroys unsatisfiability. MUs are the building blocks of unsatisfia-bility, and our understanding of them can be very helpful in answering various algorithmic and structural questions relating to unsatisfiability. In this thesis we study MUs from a combinatorial point of view, with the aim of extending the understanding of the structure of MUs. We show that some important classes of MUs are very closely related to known classes of digraphs, and using arguments from logic and graph theory we characterise these MUs.Two main concepts in this thesis are isomorphism of CNFs and the implica-tion digraph of 2-CNFs (at most two literals per disjunction). Isomorphism of CNFs involves renaming the variables, and flipping the literals. The implication digraph of a 2-CNF F has both arcs (¬a → b) and (¬b → a) for every binary clause (a ∨ b) in F .In the first part we introduce a novel connection between MUs and Minimal Strong Digraphs (MSDs), strongly connected digraphs, where removing any arc destroys the strong connectedness. We introduce the new class DFM of special MUs, which are in close correspondence to MSDs. The known relation between 2-CNFs and implication digraphs is used, but in a simpler and more direct way, namely that we have a canonical choice of one of the two arcs. As an application of this new framework we provide short and intuitive new proofs for two im-portant but isolated characterisations for nonsingular MUs (every literal occurs at least twice), both with ingenious but complicated proofs: Characterising 2-MUs (minimally unsatisfiable 2-CNFs), and characterising MUs with deficiency 2 (two more clauses than variables).In the second part, we provide a fundamental addition to the study of 2-CNFs which have efficient algorithms for many interesting problems, namely that we provide a full classification of 2-MUs and a polytime isomorphism de-cision of this class. We show that implication digraphs of 2-MUs are “Weak Double Cycles” (WDCs), big cycles of small cycles (with possible overlaps). Combining logical and graph-theoretical methods, we prove that WDCs have at most one skew-symmetry (a self-inverse fixed-point free anti-symmetry, re-versing the direction of arcs). It follows that the isomorphisms between 2-MUs are exactly the isomorphisms between their implication digraphs (since digraphs with given skew-symmetry are the same as 2-CNFs). This reduces the classifi-cation of 2-MUs to the classification of a nice class of digraphs.Finally in the outlook we discuss further applications, including an alter-native framework for enumerating some special Minimally Unsatisfiable Sub-clause-sets (MUSs).

A Bijective Proof of the ASM Theorem Part II: ASM Enumeration and ASM–DPP Relation

This paper is the 2nd in a series of planned papers that provide 1st bijective proofs of alternating sign matrix (ASM) results. Based on the main result from the 1st paper, we construct a bijective proof of the enumeration formula for ASMs and of the fact that ASMs are equinumerous with descending plane partitions. We are also able to refine these bijections by including the position of the unique $1$ in the top row of the matrix. Our constructions rely on signed sets and related notions. The starting point for these constructions were known “computational” proofs, but the combinatorial point of view led to several drastic modifications. We also provide computer code where all of our constructions have been implemented.

Graphs and complete intersection toric ideals

Our purpose is to study the family of simple undirected graphs whose toric ideal is a complete intersection from both an algorithmic and a combinatorial point of view. We obtain a polynomial time algorithm that, given a graph G, checks whether its toric ideal PG is a complete intersection or not. Whenever PG is a complete intersection, the algorithm also returns a minimal set of generators of PG. Moreover, we prove that if G is a connected graph and PG is a complete intersection, then there exist two induced subgraphs R and C of G such that the vertex set V(G) of G is the disjoint union of V(R) and V(C), where R is a bipartite ring graph and C is either the empty graph, an odd primitive cycle, or consists of two odd primitive cycles properly connected. Finally, if R is 2-connected and C is connected, we list the families of graphs whose toric ideals are complete intersection.

A Jigsaw Puzzle As Model For Macroeconomic Analysis

A particular approach to the macroeconomic theory of production is considering production as a jigsaw puzzle that must be approached from a combinatorial point of view. This implies that an end production for the entrepreneur is one of the various possible ways of achieving production, and one particular mode is the optimal one—the one that provides the highest production at the lowest cost. Production factors can be combined or ordered in various possible ways and each combination will deliver a different level of production. Each combination in production is called a menu. Therefore, a jigsaw puzzle can be understood as modelling the necessary steps in the selection of menus to achieve the final creation which is the final production. Working with the jigsaw puzzle approach will require the task of numbering and counting all menus, assessing them, putting them in sequence and, eventually, selecting the best of them. The total and singular reality of a jigsaw puzzle will be the highest production that has been achieved with a specific combination of factors.

On Ternary Inclusion-Exclusion Polynomials

Taking a combinatorial point of view on cyclotomic polynomials leads to a larger class of polynomials we shall call the inclusion-exclusion polynomials. This gives a more appropriate setting for certain types of questions about the coefficients of these polynomials. After establishing some basic properties of inclusion-exclusion polynomials we turn to a detailed study of the structure of ternary inclusion-exclusion polynomials. The latter subclass is exemplified by cyclotomic polynomials Φ

Gelfand–Graev Characters of the Finite Unitary Groups

Gelfand–Graev characters and their degenerate counterparts have an important role in the representation theory of finite groups of Lie type. Using a characteristic map to translate the character theory of the finite unitary groups into the language of symmetric functions, we study degenerate Gelfand–Graev characters of the finite unitary group from a combinatorial point of view. In particular, we give the values of Gelfand–Graev characters at arbitrary elements, recover the decomposition multiplicities of degenerate Gelfand–Graev characters in terms of tableau combinatorics, and conclude with some multiplicity consequences.