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4 votes
0 answers
154 views

Hooks, monomers, dimers and Young diagrams: Part I

Following Richard Stanley's pointers regarding my earlier MO question, I decided to "scale-down" the problem and add a slight "twist" to it. Consider the one-line partition $\lambda_n=(n)$ and its ...
5 votes
0 answers
150 views

monomer-dimer tiling of a Young diagram

As a modest start, I propose the below problem for a special set of partitions. Perhaps it is known. Let $\lambda_n=(n,n-1,\dots,2,1)$ be the staircase partition and its corresponding Young diagram $...
4 votes
0 answers
146 views

Tiling squares with oblongs

An oblong is a rectangle whose width and length are consecutive integers: 1x2, 2x3, 3x4, etc. Does N exist such that it is possible to split the first N oblongs into 2 or more non-intersecting sets so ...
3 votes
0 answers
109 views

chromatic number of plane using Cairo pentagonal tiling

Scale the Cairo pentagonal tiling so the short side is of length 1. Then it is easy to colour the tiling with 8 colours, two parallel ribbons of four colours each, to establish that the chromatic ...
2 votes
0 answers
111 views

dividing a square into unique rectangles with the same perimeter

There's a solution for dividing a square into unique rectangles with the same area which is the blanche dissection. There's also a solution for dividing a square into unique rectangles with the same ...
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 $(...
1 vote
0 answers
125 views

Minimal period for a bounded Langton's ant moving on a tessellation

We consider Langton's ant on the 2D plane, but we replace the square lattice by a Voronoi tessellation obtained from a finite set of points (it could be another tessellation, however directions such ...
1 vote
1 answer
163 views

Are there polygonal tilings with infinitely many positions, each (or at least one) occurring infinitely often?

My recent question about polygonal tilings where tiles can occur in infinitely many positions has been answered by two nice constructions (besides Jan Kyncl's answer, there is the Conway tessellation ...
10 votes
1 answer
402 views

How many positions of a tiling polygon can occur simultaneousy?

Let $T$ be a polygon which tiles the plane. For an instance of $T$ (mirrored or not), call the set of its translates a position of $T$. My question: How many different positions can occur in ...
3 votes
0 answers
106 views

How many positions of a tile can occur in a periodic tiling?

In my recent question about polygonal tilings where tiles can occur in infinitely many positions, both constructions given as solutions are of self-similar nature. This means in particular that there ...
4 votes
1 answer
878 views

"Aztec Diamond" analogue for Square-Octagon graph

I have been reading David Speyer's Perfect Matchings and the Octahedron Recurrence, trying to carry out his "cross-wrenches" generalization of the Aztec diamond. In what follows, I'm asking for a ...
16 votes
2 answers
1k views

Are Penrose tilings universal? Do aperiodic universal tilings exist?

Consider a tiling of the plane using tiles of at least two types (e.g, a Penrose tiling such as that shown at the bottom of this question, which tiles the plane with two types of tiles). List the tile ...
18 votes
2 answers
2k views

♢ ⧫ ⬠: the fourth kind of Penrose tiling?

It’s known that Penrose tilings have several implementations that are mutually locally derivable; but the sources (such as en.wikipedia) list no more than three essentially different variants. There ...
33 votes
1 answer
7k views

tiling a rectangle with the smallest number of squares

This is based on another thread. For $m,n\in \mathbb N$, let $f(m,n)$ be the minimum number of squares with integer sides needed to tile a $m\times n$ rectangle. Recently, a table of values for $n\le ...
2 votes
0 answers
88 views

Tiling of polygons in $\mathbb{R}^2$ by squares

Let $X\subset \mathbb{R}^2$ be a polygon (possibly nonconvex, but not intersecting itself) with all the sides parallel to one of the axes. I am interested on whether $X$ can be tiled by (finitely ...
7 votes
3 answers
2k views

Partitioning a rectangle into different isosceles triangles

After all the discussion raised by this old question, I am wondering about a somewhat complementary one: For any given rectangle, does there exist a finite set of pairwise different isosceles ...
19 votes
1 answer
616 views

How hard is it to tell when a finite set tiles the integers?

Given a nonempty set $B$ of integers between 1 and $n$, we wish to determine whether or not $\mathbb{Z}$ can be tiled with translates of $B$ (that is, covered by disjoint translates of $B$). I know an ...
2 votes
0 answers
60 views

Number of labelings of symmetric hexagonal tilings P(a,b,c) with j descents

I am searching for the Number of labelings of symmetric hexagonal tilings If the hexagon is of the form P(n,n,n) then the coefficients can be found here A217311 I am looking for the coefficients of ...
2 votes
2 answers
194 views

Does one pieces of every kind of connected polyominoes P in $\mathbb{R}^2$ which has no hole cover a plane?

Or polyominoes with no hollow in $\mathbb{R}^3$? I created this conjecture and tried to make counterexample, but it doesn't work well. Thank you for any answer or correcting question.
20 votes
2 answers
741 views

Can every tromino (including those with gaps) tile the plane?

I've generalized trominos to include "gaps", i.e. they are formed by removing all but $3$ squares from an $n$-omino where $n$ is finite. The generalized trominos pictured above can tile the plane ...
2 votes
2 answers
450 views

How is the Penrose tiling decapod count of 62 calculated?

From Martin Gardner's 'From Penrose Tiles to Trapdoor Ciphers' From page 14, Chapter 1; https://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/pdf/pubs/focus/Gardner_PenroseTilings1-1977.pdf "Any spoke of the ...
5 votes
0 answers
145 views

Complexity of $\mathbb{Z}^n$ tilings

Let $\mathcal{T} \subset \mathbb{Z}^n$ be a finite set. Let $\Lambda \subset \mathbb{Z}^n$ be a full rank lattice. We say that $\mathcal{T}$ is a $\Lambda$-tile for $\mathbb{Z}^n$ if the following ...
3 votes
1 answer
475 views

Generating function for number of different tessellation checkered rectangle

Let $R_n$ be checkered rectangle sized $n \times 4, n \ge 1$. Let $a_n$ be number of different $R_n$ tiling with rectangles sized $1 \times 3$. $\ \ \ $ $\ \ \ $ $\ \ \ $ $\ \ \ $ $\ \ \ $ $\ \ \ $ $...
8 votes
0 answers
139 views

Inequality among domino tilings of large triomino shapes

Inspired by this question, which asks for what shape maximizes the number of domino tilings, I want to ask the following seemingly simpler question, which I have been thinking about for a while: ...
23 votes
1 answer
1k views

Covering of a surface of a cube $n\times n \times n$ by pieces of paper $1\times 6$

When I was too young one of my problems was in the list of problems of All-Russian Olympiad. The problem is the following: Problem. We have a surface of a cube $n\times n \times n$ such that each ...
15 votes
3 answers
384 views

Bicoloring of $\mathbb{N}^2$, avoiding set of patterns, is the maximal limit density rational?

Consider a bi-coloring of $\mathbb{N}^2$, (black and white), where we wish to maximize the limit (limsup) of the density of black squares in $[n] \times [n]$ as $n \to \infty$. Here, we identify each ...
5 votes
0 answers
131 views

For which sidelengths are there polyominos composed of three squares that tile the plane?

Given three naturals $a<b<c$. We consider polyominos, connected or not, which are composed of three squares of sides $a,b,c$. How can one characterize all triples $a,b,c$ for which such a ...
5 votes
3 answers
748 views

Aperiodic graphs

The concepts of being non-periodic and aperiodic for tilings have obvious versions for connected graphs with a countable set of vertices and a finite number of edges meeting at each vertex. A graph $G$...
14 votes
1 answer
1k views

slick-proof-of-trick-for-counting-domino-tilings

The trick for rewriting the number of domino tilings of a simply-connected finite lattice region as the absolute value of the determinant of a matrix (due I believe to Kasteleyn and Percus, but if ...
11 votes
1 answer
807 views

Soft question: mathematics about truchet tiles

It seems that this is the first question on Truchet tiles on MO. Shown above is a picture of a random tile, which you can see the resulting configuration is much like many membranes of cells. I ...
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 ...
14 votes
3 answers
1k views

What exact number of domino tilings cannot be realizable?

Inspired by some other questions, (this and this), I wonder what numbers $n$ there are that satisfy $$p(n)=\text{there is no region that admits exactly } n \text{ domino tilings}.$$ If this is true, $...
2 votes
0 answers
143 views

Arctic Circle Theorems and the Wave Equation

I've seen the following remark in a number of papers but don't know what to make of it. In this paper by Cohn, Elkies and Propp, it is mentioned that the normalized average Height function $\mathcal{H}...
3 votes
1 answer
179 views

Domino Shuffling and Warren's process

In this paper by Nordenstam, it is shown that a certain interlacing particle process that arises from uniformly random Aztec diamond tilings is amazingly similar to Warren's process. One of the ...
2 votes
1 answer
146 views

Recognizing parallelogram tilings from their vertex set

Suppose I have a tiling of the plane with parallelograms where the sides of the parallelograms come from a specified finite set of vectors. If I only have access to the vertices of this tiling I may ...
3 votes
1 answer
520 views

tiling a rectangle with squares: how unique are the minimal solutions?

This is a follow-up of my recent thread about tiling a $m\times n$ rectangle with squares: I'm wondering to what extent a minimal tiling is essentially unique, that is, up to reflections of the whole ...
8 votes
1 answer
394 views

Does every polycube tiling imply a regular polycube tiling?

Let's define d-polycubes to be a union of unit hypercubes from the $\mathbb Z^d$ tiling of d-dimensional Euclidean space which has connected interior. Given a tiling of $\mathbb R^d$ by identical ...
8 votes
0 answers
239 views

Possible structures for minimal tiling sets

Inspired by Col. Sicherman's results here, my speculations have so far outrun my expertise that I thought I might pass my question along to others who might find it equally intriguing, but perhaps ...
12 votes
2 answers
665 views

Detecting tilings by toric geometry

This is probably a silly question, but I figured that if there is a good answer, this would be a good place to ask. Ever since I got my hands on the book "Toric Varieties" by Cox, Little and Schenck, ...
4 votes
0 answers
117 views

symmetric difference of temperate zone and inscribed disk

For random domino tilings of the Aztec diamond of order $n$ or random lozenge tilings of the regular hexagon of order $n$, what's the typical order of magnitude of the area of the symmetric difference ...
14 votes
1 answer
543 views

Arctic regions in higher dimensional zonotopes

Same way as the two dimensional tilings by rhombi come from minimal surfaces in a $D$ dimensional cubical lattice as mentioned in this answer, one can consider higher dimensional zonotopes tiled by ...
9 votes
1 answer
395 views

computing average height-functions for lozenge tilings

Can anyone suggest a simple and efficient way (preferably embodied in computer code) to compute the average height function for lozenge tilings of an $a,b,c,a,b,c$ semiregular hexagon? I prefer to ...
24 votes
1 answer
3k views

What can be tiled by T-tetrominoes?

The T-tetromino is a T-shaped figure made of four unit squares. An $m\times n$ rectangle can be tiled by T-tetrominoes if and only if both $m$ and $n$ are multiples of 4. This was proved in a 1965 ...
14 votes
0 answers
4k views

Minimum tiling of a rectangle by squares

Given the $n\times m$ rectangle, I want to compute the minimum number of integer-sided squares needed to tile it (possibly of different sizes). Is there an efficient way to calculate this?

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