Improved pebbling bounds

Consider a configuration of pebbles distributed on the vertices of a connected graph of order n. A pebbling step consists of removing two pebbles from a given vertex and placing one pebble on an adjacent vertex. A distribution of pebbles on a graph is called solvable if it is possible to place a pebble on any given vertex using a sequence of pebbling steps. The pebbling number of a graph, denoted f(G), is the minimal number of pebbles such that every configuration of f(G) pebbles on G is solvable. We derive several general upper bounds on the pebbling number, improving previous results.     

The pebbling threshold of the square of cliques

Given an initial configuration of pebbles on a graph, one can move pebbles in pairs along edges, at the cost of one of the pebbles moved, with the objective of reaching a specified target vertex. The pebbling number of a graph is the minimum number of pebbles so that every configuration of that many pebbles can reach any chosen target. The pebbling threshold of a sequence of graphs is roughly the number of pebbles so that almost every (resp. almost no) configuration of asymptotically more (resp. fewer) pebbles can reach any chosen target. In this paper we find the pebbling threshold of the sequence of squares of cliques, improving upon an earlier result of Boyle and verifying an important instance of a probabilistic version of Graham's product conjecture.     

The cover pebbling number of graphs

A pebbling move on a graph consists of taking two pebbles off of one vertex and placing one pebble on an adjacent vertex. In the traditional pebbling problem we try to reach a specified vertex of the graph by a sequence of pebbling moves. In this paper we investigate the case when every vertex of the graph must end up with at least one pebble after a series of pebbling moves. The cover pebbling number of a graph is the minimum number of pebbles such that however the pebbles are initially placed on the vertices of the graph we can eventually put a pebble on every vertex simultaneously. We find the cover pebbling numbers of trees and some other graphs. We also consider the more general problem where (possibly different) given numbers of pebbles are required for the vertices.     

Threshold and complexity results for the cover pebbling game

Given a configuration of pebbles on the vertices of a graph, a pebbling move is defined by removing two pebbles from some vertex and placing one pebble on an adjacent vertex. The cover pebbling number of a graph, γ(G), is the smallest number of pebbles such that through a sequence of pebbling moves, a pebble can eventually be placed on every vertex simultaneously, no matter how the pebbles are initially distributed. We determine Bose-Einstein and Maxwell-Boltzmann cover pebbling thresholds for the complete graph. Also, we show that the cover pebbling decision problem is NP-complete.     

Maximum pebbling number of graphs of diameter three

Given a configuration of pebbles on the vertices of a graph G, a pebbling move consists of taking two pebbles off some vertex v and putting one of them back on a vertex adjacent to v. A graph is called pebbleable if for each vertex v there is a sequence of pebbling moves that would place at least one pebble on v. The pebbling number of a graph G is the smallest integer m such that G is pebbleable for every configuration of m pebbles on G. We prove that the pebbling number of a graph of diameter 3 on n vertices is no more than (3/2)n + O(1), and, by explicit construction, that the bound is sharp. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory     

Graham's pebbling conjecture on products of cycles

Chung defined a pebbling move on a graph G to be the removal of two pebbles from one vertex and the addition of one pebble to an adjacent vertex. The pebbling number of a connected graph is the smallest number f(G) such that any distribution of f(G) pebbles on G allows one pebble to be moved to any specified, but arbitrary vertex by a sequence of pebbling moves. Graham conjectured that for any connected graphs G and H, f(G×H)≤ f(G)f(H). We prove Graham's conjecture when G is a cycle for a variety of graphs H, including all cycles. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 42: 141–154, 2003     

Graham’s pebbling conjecture on product of thorn graphs of complete graphs

The pebbling number of a graph G, f(G), is the least n such that, no matter how n pebbles are placed on the vertices of G, we can move a pebble to any vertex by a sequence of pebbling moves, each move taking two pebbles off one vertex and placing one on an adjacent vertex. Let p₁,p₂,…,p_n be positive integers and G be such a graph, V(G)=n. The thorn graph of the graph G, with parameters p₁,p₂,…,p_n, is obtained by attaching p_i new vertices of degree 1 to the vertex u_i of the graph G, i=1,2,…,n. Graham conjectured that for any connected graphs G and H, f(G×H)≤f(G)f(H). We show that Graham’s conjecture holds true for a thorn graph of the complete graph with every by a graph with the two-pebbling property. As a corollary, Graham’s conjecture holds when G and H are the thorn graphs of the complete graphs with every .     

Geometrical optics and chessboard pebbling

Recently Chung, Graham, Morrison and Odlyzko [1] studied some combinatorial and asymptotic enumeration aspects of chessboard pebbling. In this problem, we start with a single pebble, placed at the origin (0,0) of an infinite chessboard. At each step we remove a pebble from (i,j) and replace it with two pebbles at positions (i + 1,j) and (i,j + 1), provided the latter are unoccupied. After m steps there will be m + 1 pebbles on the board, in various configurations. Some subsets of the lattice first quadrant are unavoidable, as they must always contain at least one pebble. We study asymptotically the number f(k) of minimal unavoidable sets that consist of k lattice points, as k → ∞. We also analyze a related double sequence f(k,r), using various asymptotic approaches, including the ray method of geometrical optics.     

Doppelgangers and Lemke graphs

Let $G$ be a connected graph. A configuration of pebbles on $G$ is a function that assigns a nonnegative integer to each vertex. A pebbling move consists of removing two pebbles from one vertex and placing one pebble on an adjacent vertex. A configuration is solvable if after making pebbling moves any vertex can get at least one pebble. The pebbling number of $G$, denoted $\pi \left(G\right)$, is the smallest integer such that any configuration of $\pi \left(G\right)$ pebbles on $G$ is solvable. A graph has the two-pebbling property if after placing more than $2\pi \left(G\right)?q$ pebbles on $G$, where $q$ is the number of vertices with pebbles, there is a sequence of pebbling moves so that at least two pebbles can be placed on any vertex. A graph without the two-pebbling property is called a Lemke graph. Previously, an infinite family of Lemke graphs was shown to exist by subdividing edges of the original Lemke graph. In this paper, we introduce a new way to create infinite families of Lemke graphs based on adding vertices as well as subdividing edges. We also characterize the configurations that violate the two-pebbling property on these graphs and conjecture another infinite family of Lemke graphs that generalizes the original Lemke graph.     

t-Pebbling and Extensions

Graph pebbling is the study of moving discrete pebbles from certain initial distributions on the vertices of a graph to various target distributions via pebbling moves. A pebbling move removes two pebbles from a vertex and places one pebble on one of its neighbors (losing the other as a toll). For t ≥ 1 the t-pebbling number of a graph is the minimum number of pebbles necessary so that from any initial distribution of them it is possible to move t pebbles to any vertex. We provide the best possible upper bound on the t-pebbling number of a diameter two graph, proving a conjecture of Curtis et al., in the process. We also give a linear time (in the number of edges) algorithm to t-pebble such graphs, as well as a quartic time (in the number of vertices) algorithm to compute the pebbling number of such graphs, improving the best known result of Bekmetjev and Cusack. Furthermore, we show that, for complete graphs, cycles, trees, and cubes, we can allow the target to be any distribution of t pebbles without increasing the corresponding t-pebbling numbers; we conjecture that this behavior holds for all graphs. Finally, we explore fractional and optimal fractional versions of pebbling, proving the fractional pebbling number conjecture of Hurlbert and using linear optimization to reveal results on the optimal fractional pebbling number of vertex-transitive graphs.     

Connected permutation graphs

A permutation graph is a simple graph associated with a permutation. Let c_n be the number of connected permutation graphs on n vertices. Then the sequence {c_n} satisfies an interesting recurrence relation such that it provides partitions of n! as . We also see that, if uniformly chosen at random, asymptotically almost all permutation graphs are connected.     

Pebbling Graphs of Diameter Three and Four

Given a configuration of pebbles on the vertices of a connected graph G, a pebbling move is defined as the removal of two pebbles from some vertex and the placement of one of these on an adjacent vertex. The pebbling number of a graph G is the smallest integer k such that for each vertex v and each configuration of k pebbles on G there is a sequence of pebbling moves that places at least one pebble on v. We improve on a bound of Bukh by showing that the pebbling number of a graph of diameter three on n vertices is at most , and this bound is best possible. Further, we obtain an asymptotic bound of for the pebbling number of graphs of diameter four. Finally, we prove an asymptotic bound for pebbling graphs of arbitrary diameter, namely that the pebbling number for a diameter d graph on n vertices is at most , where is a constant depending upon d. This also improves another bound of Bukh.     

Bounds on the Rubbling and Optimal Rubbling Numbers of Graphs

A pebbling move on a graph removes two pebbles at a vertex and adds one pebble at an adjacent vertex. Rubbling is a version of pebbling where an additional move is allowed. In this new move, one pebble each is removed at vertices v and w adjacent to a vertex u, and an extra pebble is added at vertex u. A vertex is reachable from a pebble distribution if it is possible to move a pebble to that vertex using rubbling moves. The rubbling number is the smallest number m needed to guarantee that any vertex is reachable from any pebble distribution of m pebbles. The optimal rubbling number is the smallest number m needed to guarantee a pebble distribution of m pebbles from which any vertex is reachable. We give bounds for rubbling and optimal rubbling numbers. In particular, we find an upper bound for the rubbling number of n-vertex, diameter d graphs, and estimates for the maximum rubbling number of diameter 2 graphs. We also give a sharp upper bound for the optimal rubbling number, and sharp upper and lower bounds in terms of the diameter.     

Rubbling and optimal rubbling of graphs

A pebbling move on a graph removes two pebbles at a vertex and adds one pebble at an adjacent vertex. Rubbling is a version of pebbling where an additional move is allowed. In this new move one pebble is removed at vertices v and w adjacent to a vertex u and an extra pebble is added at vertex u. A vertex is reachable from a pebble distribution if it is possible to move a pebble to that vertex using rubbling moves. The rubbling number of a graph is the smallest number m needed to guarantee that any vertex is reachable from any pebble distribution of m pebbles. The optimal rubbling number is the smallest number m needed to guarantee a pebble distribution of m pebbles from which any vertex is reachable. We determine the rubbling and optimal rubbling number of some families of graphs and we show that Graham’s conjecture does not hold for rubbling numbers.     

On the adjacency matrix of a threshold graph

A threshold graph on n   vertices is coded by a binary string of length n−1$n-1$. We obtain a formula for the inertia of (the adjacency matrix of) a threshold graph in terms of the code of the graph. It is shown that the number of negative eigenvalues of the adjacency matrix of a threshold graph is the number of ones in the code, whereas the nullity is given by the number of zeros in the code that are preceded by either a zero or a blank. A formula for the determinant of the adjacency matrix of a generalized threshold graph and the inverse, when it exists, of the adjacency matrix of a threshold graph are obtained. Results for antiregular graphs follow as special cases.     

The 2-pebbling property for dense graphs

Given a distribution of pebbles on the vertices of a connected graph G, a pebbling move on G consists of taking two pebbles off one vertex and placing one on an adjacent vertex. The pebbling number f(G) is the smallest number m such that for every distribution of m pebbles and every vertex v,a pebble can be moved to v. A graph G is said to have the 2-pebbling property if for any distribution with more than 2f(G) q pebbles, where q is the number of vertices with at least one pebble, it is possible,using pebbling moves, to get two pebbles to any vertex. Snevily conjectured that G(s,t) has the 2-pebbling property, where G(s, t) is a bipartite graph with partite sets of size s and t (s ≥ t). Similarly, the-pebbling number f (G) is the smallest number m such that for every distribution of m pebbles and every vertex v, pebbles can be moved to v. Herscovici et al. conjectured that f(G) ≤ 1.5n + 8-6 for the graph G with diameter 3, where n = |V (G)|. In this paper, we prove that if s ≥ 15 and G(s, t) has minimum degree at least (s+1)/ 2 , then f (G(s, t)) = s + t, G(s, t) has the 2-pebbling property and f (G(s, t)) ≤ s + t + 8(-1). In other words, we extend a result due to Czygrinow and Hurlbert, and show that the above Snevily conjecture and Herscovici et al. conjecture are true for G(s, t) with s ≥ 15 and minimum degree at least (s+1)/ 2 .     

完全$r$部图乘积上的Graham猜想

图G的Pebbling数f(G)是最小的正整数n,使得不论n个Pebble如何放置在G的顶点上,总可以通过一系列的Pebbling移动把1个Pebble移到任意一点上,其中Pebbling移动是从一个顶点处移走两个Pebble而把其中一个移到与其相邻的一个顶点上.Graham猜测对于任意的连通图G和H有f(G×H)≤f(G)f(H).本文证明对于一个完全γ部图和一个具有2-Pebbleing性质的图来说,Graham猜想成立.作为一个推论,当G和H均为完全γ部图时,Graham猜想成立.     

Two-pebbling and odd-two-pebbling are not equivalent

Let $G$ be a connected graph. A configuration of pebbles assigns a nonnegative integer number of pebbles to each vertex of $G$. A move consists of removing two pebbles from one vertex and placing one pebble on an adjacent vertex. A configuration is solvable if any vertex can get at least one pebble through a sequence of moves. The pebbling number of $G$, denoted $\pi \left(G\right)$, is the smallest integer such that any configuration of $\pi \left(G\right)$ pebbles on $G$ is solvable. A graph has the two-pebbling property if after placing more than $2\pi \left(G\right)-q$ pebbles on $G$, where $q$ is the number of vertices with pebbles, there is a sequence of moves so that at least two pebbles can be placed on any vertex. A graph has the odd-two-pebbling property if after placing more than $2\pi \left(G\right)-r$ pebbles on $G$, where $r$ is the number of vertices with an odd number of pebbles, there is a sequence of moves so that at least two pebbles can be placed on any vertex. In this paper, we prove that the two-pebbling and odd-two-pebbling properties are not equivalent.     

Pebbling numbers of some graphs

Chung defined a pebbling move on a graphG as the removal of two pebbles from one vertex and the addition of one pebble to an adjacent vertex. The pebbling number of a connected graphG, f(G), is the leastn such that any distribution ofn pebbles onG allows one pebble to be moved to any specified but arbitrary vertex by a sequence of pebbling moves. Graham conjectured that for any connected graphsG andH, f(G xH) ≤ f(G)f(H). In the present paper the pebbling numbers of the product of two fan graphs and the product of two wheel graphs are computed. As a corollary, Graham’s conjecture holds whenG andH are fan graphs or wheel graphs.