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4 answers
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Automatically generating combinatorial conjectures

It very often happens that one reduces a problem to a bunch of combinatorial data, and need to sift through this data for patterns, which form conjectures on which to do "real" mathematics. ...
Duncan W's user avatar
  • 341
10 votes
2 answers
595 views

Transfinite algorithms

The Ford-Fulkerson algorithm is a classic algorithm that computes the maximum flow in a network. It is well-known that if irrational arc capacities are allowed, the algorithm does not necessarily ...
Tony Huynh's user avatar
  • 32.1k
0 votes
1 answer
184 views

Combinatorially defined effectively closed set

Is there a combinatorially defined, nonempty effectively closed set $Q\subseteq 2^\omega$ such that all members of $Q$ are incomputable? Combinatorially defined means that the definition of $Q$ does ...
Jiayi Liu's user avatar
  • 909
5 votes
0 answers
301 views

The expressiveness of functions computable on trees

Motivation: Let's define a function computable on a $k$-ary tree as a function composed with simpler computable functions defined at each node such that a function of this kind defined on a binary ...
Aidan Rocke's user avatar
  • 3,871
4 votes
1 answer
160 views

Is sum-balanceability computable?

Let $\mathbb{N}$ denote the set of positive integers, and let $G=(V,E)$ be a finite simple, undirected graph. Given $f:V\to \mathbb{Z}$ we define the neighborhood sum function $\mathrm{nsum}_f:V\to\...
Dominic van der Zypen's user avatar
13 votes
0 answers
257 views

Is the set of power matrices decidable?

Let $\text{Mat}(n\times n,\mathbb{Z})$ denote the collection of integer $n\times n$ matrices. We say $M\in \text{Mat}(n\times n,\mathbb{Z})$ is a power matrix if there is an integer $k>1$ and a ...
Dominic van der Zypen's user avatar
5 votes
0 answers
158 views

The set of homogeneous solutions of a clopen contains an hyperarithmetical set

In the context of Galvin-Prikry generalization of Ramsey's theorem, I read in a couple of papers ([1],[2]) that Solovay [3] proved that if $P$ is a clopen of $[\mathbb{N}]^{\mathbb{N}}$ then the set ...
Manlio's user avatar
  • 342
29 votes
2 answers
1k views

Determining if a rational function has a subtraction-free expression

This question was first asked by Mehtaab Sawhney in Alex Postnikov's combinatorics class. Given a rational function $F=P(x_1,...,x_n)/Q(x_1,...,x_n)$ with (say) integer coefficients, it is often of ...
Christian Gaetz's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
164 views

Tileability and computabilty

Let $n>2$ be an integer. We consider $n$ pairs $(x_1,y_1),\dotsc,(x_n,y_n)$ in $\mathbb{N}^2$, and the polygon defined by drawing a straight line from $(x_k, y_k)$ to $(x_{k+1},y_{k+1})$ and from $(...
Dominic van der Zypen's user avatar
7 votes
0 answers
704 views

A way to smooth out the log* function?

I have seen here and there discussions about what is the "correct" way of extending the Ackermann function to the reals (the same way the Gamma function extends the factorial function to the reals). ...
Gabriel Nivasch's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
351 views

How long does the slow inefficient algorithm for computing the product in classical Laver tables take?

Let $(A_{n},*)$ denote the $n$-th classical Laver table. Let $X_{n}$ be the set of all finite sequences of elements from $A_{n}$. Define a function $E_{n}:X_{n}\rightarrow X_{n}$ by letting $E_{n}((...
Joseph Van Name's user avatar
12 votes
1 answer
684 views

Continuous functions and 2-bushy trees

The following problem was asked by Joe Miller in the fall of 2010 at a bar in Madison. A subtree $T \subseteq 4^{< \omega}$ is $2$-bushy if for some node $\sigma \in T$, every node above $\sigma$ ...
Ashutosh's user avatar
  • 9,641
0 votes
0 answers
105 views

Counting path generating sentences in a specific formal language

Given a formal grammar of a language or an Turing machine of the language, can we count the path that generating sentences of the language? For example, we know that if the grammar is context-free ...
XL _At_Here_There's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
243 views

A possible minimal aperiodic set of corner Wang Tile

From one of my previous question Aperiodic set of corner Wang Tile (although it is put on hold), I realize there is a systematic way to construct aperiodic corner type of Wang tile from edge type ...
user40780's user avatar
  • 867
5 votes
1 answer
213 views

Aperiodic set of corner Wang Tile [closed]

There is quite some reference on aperiodicity of the edge-type of Wang Tile. But I could not yet find aperiodic corner type of Wang Tiles... Could someone provide me some instances (better with ...
user40780's user avatar
  • 867
2 votes
3 answers
987 views

An established proof in Wang Tile which I doubt

When I was reading the paper: Wang, Hao. "Notes on a class of tiling problems." Fundamenta Mathematicae 82.4 (1975): 295-305. from http://matwbn.icm.edu.pl/ksiazki/fm/fm82/fm82119.pdf I could not ...
user40780's user avatar
  • 867
1 vote
1 answer
631 views

relationship between corner tile and edge tile of wang tile

It is clear that any corner type of Wang Tile could be converted to edge type of Wang Tile by defining the edge color according to the corner color. However, could we convert edge type of Wang Tile ...
user40780's user avatar
  • 867
3 votes
1 answer
509 views

Application of Combinatorics, Logic and computability theory in physical science: Tiling of Wang Tile with proportionality

The original problem of Domino Tiling and Wang Tile has great theoretical interest on computability theory... However, the great emerging problem on application of Wang Tile in material science and ...
user40780's user avatar
  • 867
3 votes
2 answers
297 views

Conjecture of a subset of Wang tile which might be decidable

From the two papers proving the undecidability of Wang tile in 1966 by Berger and in 1971 by RM Robinson, the tiles used in proving undecidability has a general common feature: The left color and ...
user40780's user avatar
  • 867
3 votes
3 answers
575 views

Infinite Partitions of the Primes and Sums of Reciprocals (Revised)

I have revised my original post. The questions I asked there were not well-put or even thought through. I don't want to delete, however, since some of the comments may be of interest to other MO users....
Everett Piper's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
224 views

String transformer : Polynomial time approximation schemes?

A program P takes a string as an input and returns a string of same length as output. Q Given two strings A and B how fast can a program tell weather string B cannot be obtained by a recursive ...
ARi's user avatar
  • 851
46 votes
3 answers
3k views

Does an existence of large cardinals have implications in number theory or combinatorics?

Does an existence of large cardinals have implications in more down-to-earth fields like number theory, finite combinatorics, graph theory, Ramsey theory or computability theory? Are there any ...
Oksana Gimmel's user avatar
17 votes
1 answer
960 views

Polynomial-time algorithm to compare numbers in Conway chained arrow notation

I am looking for a polynomial-time algorithm which, given a character string containing two numbers in Conway's chained arrow notation for large numbers, indicates whether the first number is less ...
khaaan's user avatar
  • 171
45 votes
5 answers
64k views

How large is TREE(3)?

Friedman, in _Lectures notes on enormous integers shows that TREE(3) is much larger than n(4), itself bounded below by $A^{A(187195)}(3)$ (where $A$ is the Ackerman function and exponentiation ...
Feldmann Denis's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
1k views

Undecidable problems in geometry

Are there any (many) algorithmically undecidable problems in computational (combinatorial/discrete) geometry? Update: the Wang tiles answer the question with "any". (I have somewhat overlooked to ...
12 votes
1 answer
544 views

Is the set of cube-free binary sequences perfect?

This question is inspired by this one. In that thread, it's established that there are uncountably many cube-free infinite binary strings (where $x \in 2^{\omega}$ is cube-free iff $\forall \sigma \...
Amit Kumar Gupta's user avatar
12 votes
4 answers
4k views

reversible Turing machines

Hello, Let T be a Turing machine such that 1) it operates on the alphabet {0,1}, 2) its set of states is A 3) the language it accepts is $L$ . Does there exists a Turing machine S which also ...
Łukasz Grabowski's user avatar
26 votes
6 answers
9k views

The problem of finding the first digit in Graham's number

Motivation In this BBC video about infinity they mention Graham's number. In the second part, Graham mentions that "maybe no one will ever know what [the first] digit is". This made me think: Could ...
Sune Jakobsen's user avatar