p-adic valuations and k-regular sequences

A sequence is said to be k-automatic if the nth term of this sequence is generated by a finite state machine with n in base k as input. Regular sequences were first defined by Allouche and Shallit as a generalization of automatic sequences. Given a prime p and a polynomial f(x)∈Q_p[x], we consider the sequence , where v_p is the p-adic valuation. We show that this sequence is p-regular if and only if f(x) factors into a product of polynomials, one of which has no roots in Z_p, the other which factors into linear polynomials over Q. This answers a question of Allouche and Shallit.     

On low degree k-ordered graphs

A simple graph G is k-ordered (respectively, k-ordered hamiltonian) if, for any sequence of k distinct vertices v₁,…,v_k of G, there exists a cycle (respectively, a hamiltonian cycle) in G containing these k vertices in the specified order. In 1997 Ng and Schultz introduced these concepts of cycle orderability, and motivated by the fact that k-orderedness of a graph implies (k-1)-connectivity, they posed the question of the existence of low degree k-ordered hamiltonian graphs. We construct an infinite family of graphs, which we call bracelet graphs, that are (k-1)-regular and are k-ordered hamiltonian for odd k. This result provides the best possible answer to the question of the existence of low degree k-ordered hamiltonian graphs for odd k. We further show that for even k, there exist no k-ordered bracelet graphs with minimum degree k-1 and maximum degree less than k+2, and we exhibit an infinite family of bracelet graphs with minimum degree k-1 and maximum degree k+2 that are k-ordered for even k. A concept related to k-orderedness, namely that of k-edge-orderedness, is likewise strongly related to connectivity properties. We study this relation and give bounds on the connectivity necessary to imply k-(edge-)orderedness properties.     

Extremal double hexagonal chains with respect to k-matchings and k-independent sets

“Double hexagonal chains” can be considered as benzenoids constructed by successive fusions of successive naphthalenes along a zig-zag sequence of triples of edges as appear on opposite sides of each naphthalene unit. In this paper, we discuss the numbers of k-matchings and k-independent sets of double hexagonal chains, as well as Hosoya indices and Merrifield-Simmons indices, and obtain some extremal results: among all the double hexagonal chains with the same number of naphthalene units, (a) the double linear hexagonal chain has minimal k-matching number and maximal k-independent set number and (b) the double zig-zag hexagonal chain has maximal k-matching number and minimal k-independent set number, which are extensions to hexagonal chains [L. Zhang and F. Zhang, Extremal hexagonal chains concerning k-matchings and k-independent sets, J. Math. Chem. 27 (2000) 319-329].     

Extremal k-edge-hamiltonian hypergraphs

An r-uniform hypergraph is k-edge-hamiltonian iff it still contains a hamiltonian-chain after deleting any k edges of the hypergraph. What is the minimum number of edges in such a hypergraph? We give lower and upper bounds for this question for several values of r and k.     

On extremal k-outconnected graphs

Let G be a minimally k-connected graph with n nodes and m edges. Mader proved that if n?3k-2 then m?k(n-k), and for n?3k-1 an equality is possible if, and only if, G is the complete bipartite graph K_k,n-k. Cai proved that if n?3k-2 then m?⌊(n+k)²/8⌋, and listed the cases when this bound is tight.In this paper we prove a more general theorem, which implies similar results for minimally k-outconnected graphs; a graph is called k-outconnected from r if it contains k internally disjoint paths from r to every other node.     

The k-level facility location game

We propose a cost-sharing scheme for the k-level facility location game that is cross-monotonic, competitive, and 6-approximate cost recovery. This extends the recent result for the 1-level facility location game of Pál and Tardos.     

On k-planar crossing numbers

The k-planar crossing number of a graph is the minimum number of crossings of its edges over all possible drawings of the graph in k planes. We propose algorithms and methods for k-planar drawings of general graphs together with lower bound techniques. We give exact results for the k-planar crossing number of K_2k+1,q, for k?2. We prove tight bounds for complete graphs. We also study the rectilinear k-planar crossing number.     

A new family of k-Fibonacci numbers

In the present paper, we give a new family of k-Fibonacci numbers and establish some properties of the relation to the ordinary Fibonacci numbers. Furthermore, we describe the recurrence relations and the generating functions of the new family for k=2 and k=3, and presents a few identity formulas for the family and the ordinary Fibonacci numbers.     

Fast block diagonalization of k-tridiagonal matrices

In the present paper, we give a fast algorithm for block diagonalization of k-tridiagonal matrices. The block diagonalization provides us with some useful results: e.g., another derivation of a very recent result on generalized k-Fibonacci numbers in [M.E.A. El-Mikkawy, T. Sogabe, A new family of k-Fibonacci numbers, Appl. Math. Comput. 215 (2010) 4456-4461]; efficient (symbolic) algorithm for computing the matrix determinant.     

A note on k-potence preserving maps

Let M_n be the algebra of all n×n complex matrices and Γ_n the set of all k-potent matrices in M_n. Suppose ?:M_n→M_n is a map satisfying A-λB∈Γ_n implies ?(A)-λ?(B)∈Γ_n, where A, B∈M_n, λ∈C. Then either ? is of the form ?(A)=cTAT^-1, A∈M_n, or ? is of the form ?(A)=cTA^tT^-1, A∈M_n, where T∈M_n is an invertible matrix, c∈C satisfies c^k=c.     

Subclasses of k-trees: Characterization and recognition

A k-tree is either a complete graph on k vertices or a graph G=(V,E) that contains a vertex whose neighbourhood in G induces a complete graph on k vertices and whose removal results in a k-tree. We present two new subclasses of k-trees and their properties. First, we present the definition and characterization of k-path graphs, based on the concept of k-paths, that generalizes the classic concept of paths. We also introduce the simple-clique k-trees, of which the maximal outerplanar graphs and the planar 3-trees are particular cases. Based on Characterization Theorems, we show recognition algorithms for both families. Finally, we establish the inclusion relations among these new classes and k-trees.     

Graph powers and k-ordered Hamiltonicity

It is known that if G is a connected simple graph, then G³ is Hamiltonian (in fact, Hamilton-connected). A simple graph is k-ordered Hamiltonian if for any sequence v₁, v₂,…,v_k of k vertices there is a Hamiltonian cycle containing these vertices in the given order. In this paper, we prove that if k?4, then G^⌊3k/2⌋-2 is k-ordered Hamiltonian for every connected graph G on at least k vertices. By considering the case of the path graph P_n, we show that this result is sharp. We also give a lower bound on the power of the cycle C_n that guarantees k-ordered Hamiltonicity.     

The d-precoloring problem for k-degenerate graphs

In this paper we deal with the d-PRECOLORING EXTENSION (d-PREXT) problem in various classes of graphs. The d-PREXT problem is the special case of PRECOLORING EXTENSION problem where, for a fixed constant d, input instances are restricted to contain at most d precolored vertices for every available color. The goal is to decide if there exists an extension of given precoloring using only available colors or to find it.We present a linear time algorithm for both, the decision and the search version of d-PREXT, in the following cases: (i) restricted to the class of k-degenerate graphs (hence also planar graphs) and with sufficiently large set S of available colors, and (ii) restricted to the class of partial k-trees (without any size restriction on S). We also study the following problem related to d-PREXT: given an instance of the d-PREXT problem which is extendable by colors of S, what is the minimum number of colors of S sufficient to use for precolorless vertices over all such extensions? We establish lower and upper bounds on this value for k-degenerate graphs and its various subclasses (e.g., planar graphs, outerplanar graphs) and prove tight results for the class of trees.     

A recursion formula for k-Schur functions

The Bernstein operators allow one to build recursively the Schur functions. We present a recursion formula for k-Schur functions at t=1 based on combinatorial operators that generalize the Bernstein operators. The recursion leads immediately to a combinatorial interpretation for the expansion coefficients of k-Schur functions at t=1 in terms of homogeneous symmetric functions.     

A new perspective on k-triangulations

We connect k-triangulations of a convex n-gon to the theory of Schubert polynomials. We use this connection to prove that the simplicial complex with k-triangulations as facets is a vertex-decomposable triangulated sphere, and we give a new proof of the determinantal formula for the number of k-triangulations.     

A characterization of k-hyponormality via weak subnormality

An operator T acting on a Hilbert space is said to be weakly subnormal if there exists an extension acting on such that for all . When such partially normal extensions exist, we denote by m.p.n.e.(T) the minimal one. On the other hand, for k?1, T is said to be k-hyponormal if the operator matrix is positive. We prove that a 2-hyponormal operator T always satisfies the inequality T∗[T∗,T]T?‖T‖2[T∗,T], and as a result T is automatically weakly subnormal. Thus, a hyponormal operator T is 2-hyponormal if and only if there exists B such that BA∗=A∗T and is hyponormal, where A:=[T∗,T]1/2. More generally, we prove that T is (k+1)-hyponormal if and and only if T is weakly subnormal and m.p.n.e.(T) is k-hyponormal. As an application, we obtain a matricial representation of the minimal normal extension of a subnormal operator as a block staircase matrix.     

Total minus domination in k-partite graphs

A function f defined on the vertices of a graph G=(V,E),f:V→{-1,0,1} is a total minus dominating function (TMDF) if the sum of its values over any open neighborhood is at least one. The weight of a TMDF is the sum of its function values over all vertices. The total minus domination number, denoted by , of G is the minimum weight of a TMDF on G. In this paper, a sharp lower bound on of k-partite graphs is given.     

The Murnaghan-Nakayama rule for k-Schur functions

We prove the Murnaghan-Nakayama rule for k-Schur functions of Lapointe and Morse, that is, we give an explicit formula for the expansion of the product of a power sum symmetric function and a k-Schur function in terms of k-Schur functions. This is proved using the noncommutative k-Schur functions in terms of the nilCoxeter algebra introduced by Lam and the affine analogue of noncommutative symmetric functions of Fomin and Greene.     

Embedding long cycles in faulty k-ary 2-cubes

The class of k-ary n-cubes represents the most commonly used interconnection topology for distributed-memory parallel systems. Given an even k ? 4, let (V₁, V₂) be the bipartition of the k-ary 2-cube, f_v1, f_v2 be the numbers of faulty vertices in V₁ and V₂, respectively, and f_e be the number of faulty edges. In this paper, we prove that there exists a cycle of length k² − 2max{f_v1, f_v2} in the k-ary 2-cube with 0 ? f_v1 + f_v2 + f_e ? 2. This result is optimal with respect to the number of faults tolerated.