Questions tagged [co.combinatorics]
Enumerative combinatorics, graph theory, order theory, posets, matroids, designs and other discrete structures. It also includes algebraic, analytic and probabilistic combinatorics.
1,469
questions
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3D generalizations of permutations, RSK correspondence, contingency tables, etc.
I want to gather facts and questions related to 3D generalizations
of permutations, RSK correspondence, contingency tables,
etc. One reason I am interested in this is because it is potentially
related ...
20
votes
3
answers
806
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Is there an analogue of the hive model for Littlewood-Richardson coefficients of types $B$, $C$ and $D$?
If $V_\lambda$, $V_\mu$ and $V_\nu$ are irreducible representations of $\operatorname{GL}_n$, the Littlewood-Richardson coefficient $c_{\lambda\mu}^\nu$ denotes the multiplicity of $V_\nu$ in the ...
20
votes
3
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Does the hypergraph of subgroups determine a group?
A hypergraph is a pair $H=(V,E)$ where $V\neq \emptyset$ is a set and $E\subseteq{\cal P}(V)$ is a collection of subsets of $V$. We say two hypergraphs $H_i=(V_i, E_i)$ for $i=1,2$ are isomorphic if ...
19
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2
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A congruence involving binomial coefficients
The following open problem was shown to me by Maxim Kontsevich. I
state it in a different but equivalent form. Let $a(n)$ be the sequence
at http://oeis.org/A131868, that is,
$$ a(n) =\frac{1}{2n^2}\...
19
votes
4
answers
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Are there Hamilton paths in Cayley graphs of Coxeter groups?
Hi everyone.
I want to optimize certain computation on finite Coxeter groups $(W,S)$. Basically I compute the matrices $\rho(T_w)$ for all $w\in W$ of a matrix representation $H\to K^{d\times d}$ of ...
19
votes
2
answers
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Combinatorics problem related to Motzkin numbers with prize money I
Here a combinatorics problem. I offer 30 euro for a proof and 100 bounty points for a counterexample:
Let $n \geq 2$.
An $n$-Kupisch series is a list of $n$ numbers $c:=[c_1,c_2,...,c_n]$ with $c_n=1$...
18
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1
answer
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A geometric series equalling a power of an integer
The following problem cropped up whilst considering generalised quadrangles with a product structure, and it boils down to a simple number theoretic problem. Let $s$ be an integer greater than 2 and ...
18
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1
answer
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Sperner's Lemma implies Tucker's Lemma - simple combinatorial proof
Sperner’s Lemma is often called the "combinatorial analog" of Brouwer’s Fixed Point Theorem, and similarly Tucker’s Lemma is often called the combinatorial analog of Borsuk–Ulam’s Theorem.
We can ...
18
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4
answers
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Number of vectors so that no two subset sums are equal
Consider all $10$-tuple vectors each element of which is either $1$ or $0$. It is very easy to select a set $v_1,\dots,v_{10}= S$ of $10$ such vectors so that no two distinct subsets of vectors $S_1 \...
18
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3
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$\prod_k(x\pm k)$ in binomial basis?
Let $x$ be an indeterminate and $n$ a non-negative integer.
Question. The following seems to be true. Is it?
$$x\prod_{k=1}^n(k^2-x^2)=\frac1{4^n}\sum_{m=0}^n\binom{n-x}m\binom{n+x}{n-m}(x+2m-n)^...
18
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1
answer
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When is $(q^k-1)/(q-1)$ a perfect square?
Let $q$ be a prime power and $k>1$ a positive integer. For what values of $k$ and $q$ is the number $(q^k-1)/(q-1)$ a perfect square, that is the square of another integer? Is the number of such ...
17
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3
answers
737
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Matrices of combinatorial sequences that are inverse in two ways
I'm interested in pairs $A=(a_{i,j})_{i,j=0,1,\ldots}$ and $B=(b_{i,j})_{i,j=0,1,\ldots}$ of infinite matrices for which:
They are uni-lower-triangular, i.e., $a_{i,i}=1$ for all $i$ and $a_{i,j}=0$ ...
17
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9
answers
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Where on the internet I can find a database of graphs?
I am studying graph algorithms.
I need a database of graphs on which I can test my algorithms.
Where can I find a reliable database of graphs of all kinds?
Thanks!
16
votes
5
answers
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The smallest disk containing all sides of an $n$-gon
Start with a regular $n$-gon of side 1 and consider its sides as open segments that can be moved around in the plane, allowing only translations. Two segments may not intersect.
What is the radius ...
16
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3
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When is the number of areas obtained by cutting a circle with $n$ chords a power of $2$?
Also posted on the Math Stackexchange: When is the number of areas obtained by cutting a circle with $n$ chords a power of $2$?
Introduction
Recently, a friend told me about the following ...
16
votes
1
answer
585
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Spanning trees: the last darn $1/4$
Let $\Gamma$ be a connected graph. By (Kleitman-West, 1991),
if every vertex of $\Gamma$ has degree $\geq 3$, then $\Gamma$ has a spanning
tree with $\geq n/4+2$ leaves, where $n$ is the number of ...
16
votes
4
answers
3k
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How many minors I need to check to conclude all minors will vanish ?
Given a $m \times n$ matrix $n>m$, I was trying to check if all its $m \times m$ minor vanish.
I remember hearing that one really does not need to check all possible minors in order to conclude ...
15
votes
4
answers
695
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Unified framework for posets with order polynomial product formulas
One of the most celebrated results in algebraic combinatorics is the Hook Length Formula of Frame-Robinson-Thrall which counts the number of standard Young tableaux of given partition shape. Such SYTs ...
15
votes
1
answer
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Maximum number of mutually equidistant points in an n-dimensional Euclidean space is (n+1). Proof? [closed]
How to prove that the maximum number of mutually equidistant points in an n-dimensional Euclidean space is (n+1)?
15
votes
2
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645
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A tantalizing Gamma quotient to challenge the Rohrlich-Lang Conjecture
The Rohrlich-Lang Conjecture for polynomial relations in Gamma values predicts that all polynomial relations between Gamma values over $\mathbb Q$ come from the functional equations satisfied by the ...
15
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2
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Why are some q-analogues more canonical than others?
It is striking that some q-analogs of functions, operators, identities and especially whole theorems seem quite "canonical", e.g.
the factorial and the q-Gamma function
the basic hypergeometric ...
15
votes
0
answers
443
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The rank of a "triangle-free" matrix
This is a version of the question I asked recently, but the assumptions got now strengthened substantially.
Suppose that $A=(a_{ij})_{1\le i,j\le n}$ is a square matrix with all elements in $\{0,\...
15
votes
0
answers
568
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On some special spanning trees of grid graphs
I would like to know if there are existing results on the following objects:
spanning trees of a grid graph, with no corridor
where a corridor is a vertex having exactly two neighbors, on opposite ...
14
votes
7
answers
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A special type of generating function for Fibonacci
Notation. Let $[x^n]G(x)$ be the coefficient of $x^n$ in the Taylor series of $G(x)$.
Consider the sequence of central binomial coefficients $\binom{2n}n$. Then there two ways to recover them:
$$\...
14
votes
1
answer
502
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divisibility independence
The following is a standard combinatorics question:
Any set of $n+1$ numbers from $1, \dotsc, 2n$ contains a pair of
numbers $a, b$ where $a \left| b \right.$
The argument is by pigeonhole ...
14
votes
4
answers
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covering disks with smaller disks
How many disks with radius 1/2 are needed to cover a disk with radius 1? It certainly cannot be done with less than 5 small disks, and some non-rigorous drawings of mine suggest it can be done with 7 ...
14
votes
3
answers
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Parking functions to non-crossing partitions
Is there a "local" algorithm which takes as its input a parking function and returns the non-crossing partition labelled by that sequence?
Background: A parking function is a sequence of positive ...
14
votes
2
answers
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$n!$ divides a product: Part I
Question. The following is always an integer. Is it not?
$$\frac{(2^n-1)(2^n-2)(2^n-4)(2^n-8)\cdots(2^n-2^{n-1})}{n!}.$$
John Shareshian has supplied a cute proof. I'm encouraged to ask:
...
14
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2
answers
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Is the Steiner ratio Gilbert–Pollak conjecture still open?
Gilbert-Pollak conjecture on the Steiner ratio: Consider a set $P$ of $n$ points on the euclidean plane. A shortest
network interconnecting $P$ must be a tree, which is called a Steiner minimum ...
14
votes
5
answers
982
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Eigenvalues of a matrix with entries involving combinatorics
Let $F(n, l, i, j)$ be the cardinality of the set
\begin{eqnarray*}
\{(k_1, \cdots, k_n)\in\mathbb{Z}^{\oplus n}|0\leq k_r\leq l-1\text{ for }1\leq r\leq n\text{, }k_1+\cdots+k_n=lj-i\}.
\end{eqnarray*...
13
votes
2
answers
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in search of a transformation between determinants
Motivated by this MO question. Consider the two matrices $A_n$ and $B_n$ with entries $\binom{2j}i$ and $\binom{n+1}{2j-i}$, respectively; for $1\leq i, \,j\leq n$.
I can show $\det A_n=\det B_n=2^{\...
13
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2
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How many squares can be formed by using n points?
How many squares can be formed by using n points on a 3 dimensional space?
Like using 4 points, there is 1 square be formed
Using 5 points, still 1 square
Using 6 points, 3 squares can be formed
13
votes
0
answers
997
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Pointwise (Hadamard) matrix product and the rank
$\DeclareMathOperator{\rk}{rk}$
Suppose that $A$ is a square matrix of order $n$. If, for any polynomials $P$ and $Q$ with $\deg P+\deg Q\le 2$, we have
$$ P(A)\circ Q(A^t) = P(1)Q(1)\, I_n \tag{$\...
13
votes
1
answer
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Number of positions of Rubik's cube grows with multiplier 13 with the distance - what are explanations and groups with similar growth pattern?
Rubik's cube and its generalizations attracts certain attention of mathematical community. It is somehow "noteworthy" that it has been proved that diameter of the Rubik's cube group is 20, i.e. ...
13
votes
1
answer
524
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Number of trivializations of a trivial word in the free group
Let $M$ be the free monoid on $2n$ generators $x_1,X_1,...,x_n,X_n$ and consider the set $T$ of all those elements of $M$ which map to 1 of the free group on $x_1,...,x_n$ under the homomorphism $\pi$ ...
13
votes
1
answer
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Asymptotic growth of antichains in divisibility posets
The following question is inspired by a problem that Erdős used to ask epsilons. It asks to prove that if one chooses a subset of $\lbrace 1,\dots,n\rbrace$ with more than $\lfloor\frac{n+1}{2}\rfloor$...
13
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4
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Simple/efficient representation of Stirling numbers of the first kind
Stirling numbers of the second kind can be expressed by means of a simple hypergeometric (considering $n$ fixed) sum
$$S_2(n,k) = \frac{1}{k!}\sum_{j=0}^{k}(-1)^{k-j}{k \choose j} j^n. \qquad (1)$$
...
12
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2
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Principal Order Ideals in the Weak Bruhat Order
Let $\sigma\in S_n$ be a permutation on $n$ elements, and $\mathrm{Inv}(\sigma):=\{(i,j) : 1\leq i<j\leq n\text{ and }\sigma(i)>\sigma(j)\}$ be its set of inversions. In the weak order on ...
12
votes
2
answers
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Alternating sum of hook lengths: Part I
Given $\lambda$ an integer partition of $n$, let $h_{ij}(\lambda)$ denote the hook length of cell $(i,j)$ in the Young diagram of $\lambda$.
Is there a closed formula or a generating function for the ...
12
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7
answers
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Status of the Hadamard Circulant conjecture
The following feels like a community wiki question, so I do it here:
Recently we have heard of a new proof of the Circulant Hadamard conjecture of Ryser
(a long standing difficult conjecture):
...
12
votes
1
answer
356
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An averaging game on finite multisets of integers
The following procedure is a variant of one suggested by
Patrek Ragnarsson (age 10). Let $M$ be a finite multiset of
integers. A move consists of choosing two elements
$a\neq b$ of $M$ of the same ...
12
votes
3
answers
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To what extent is convexity a local property?
A polyhedron is the intersection of a finite collection of halfspaces. These halfspaces are not assumed to be linear, i.e. their bounding hyperplanes are not assumed to contain the origin. The ...
12
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6
answers
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A sum involving derivatives of Vandermonde
Consider the standard Vandermonde $V(x_1, \ldots, x_n) = \prod_{i < j} (x_i - x_j)$.
I am intersted in the calculation of the following expression for fixed $k$:
$$\sum_i (x_i)^k (d/dx_i)^k V(x_1 , ...
12
votes
2
answers
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Highbrow interpretations of Stirling number reciprocity
The number ${n \choose k}$ of $k$-element subsets of an $n$-element set and the number $\left( {n \choose k} \right)$ of $k$-element multisets of an $n$-element set satisfy the reciprocity formula
$\...
12
votes
5
answers
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Use of everywhere divergent generating functions
Generating functions are well-known to be much useful in combinatorics. But, maybe just since I am illiteral, all the applications coming in mind deal with power series, which are not just formal, but ...
11
votes
2
answers
551
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Classification of algebras of finite global dimension via determinants of certain 0-1-matrices
I restrict to the elementary problem that is equivalent to give a classification when Morita-Nakayama algebras have finite global dimension (see the end of this post for some background).
A Morita-...
11
votes
1
answer
882
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Uniquely hamiltonian graphs with minimum degree 4
A graph is uniquely hamiltonian if it has exactly one Hamilton cycle.
As every edge in a cubic graph lies in an even number of Hamilton cycles, a cubic graph cannot be uniquely hamiltonian, and a ...
11
votes
1
answer
330
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Analogue of conic sections for the permutohedra, associahedra, and noncrossing partitions
Slicing cones in various ways with a plane generates conic sections identified geometrically as hyperbolas, parabolas, or ellipses and algebraically, when suitably rotated, as certain rescaled ...
11
votes
1
answer
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What is the size of a largest antichain in this poset?
Let $[n]:=\lbrace 1, \dots, n \rbrace$. We define a partial ordering on the set of subsets of $[n]$ as follows. We say that $X \preceq Y$ if there is an injective map $f:X \to Y$ such that $x \leq ...
11
votes
1
answer
330
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a Hankel matrix of involution numbers
Let $I_k$ denote the enumeration of involutions among permutations in $\mathfrak{S}_k$. I always enjoy these numbers. Of course, here is yet another cute experimental finding for which I ask validity. ...