Combinatorial Aspects of Flashcard Games

We study a family of discrete dynamical processes introduced by Novikoff, Kleinberg, and Strogatz that we call flashcard games. We prove a number of results on the evolution of these games, and in particular, we settle a conjecture of NKS on the frequency with which a given card appears. We introduce a number of generalizations and variations that we believe are of interest, and we provide a large number of open questions and problems.     

Combinatorial Aspects of the K-Theory of Grassmannians

In this paper we study Grothendieck polynomials indexed by Grassmannian permutations, which are representatives for the classes corresponding to the structure sheaves of Schubert varieties in the K-theory of Grassmannians. These Grothendieck polynomials are nonhomogeneous symmetric polynomials whose lowest homogeneous component is a Schur polynomial. Our treatment, which is closely related to the theory of Schur functions, gives new information about these polynomials. Our main results are concerned with the transition matrices between Grothendieck polynomials indexed by Grassmannian permutations and Schur polynomials on the one hand and a Pieri formula for these Grothendieck polynomials on the other.     

Some Combinatorial Aspects of Constructing Bipartite-Graph Codes

We propose geometrical methods for constructing square 01-matrices with the same number n of units in every row and column, and such that any two rows of the matrix contain at most one unit in common. These matrices are equivalent to n-regular bipartite graphs without 4-cycles, and therefore can be used for the construction of efficient bipartite-graph codes such that both the classes of its vertices are associated with local constraints. We significantly extend the region of parameters m, n for which there exist an n-regular bipartite graph with 2m vertices and without 4-cycles. In that way we essentially increase the region of lengths and rates of the corresponding bipartite-graph codes. Many new matrices are either circulant or consist of circulant submatrices: this provides code parity-check matrices consisting of circulant submatrices, and hence quasi-cyclic bipartite-graph codes with simple implementation.     

组合数集的毕达哥斯定理

本文得到两个组合数集的毕达哥斯定理的推广。(ⅰ )当n为奇数时∑[(n+ 3 ) / 2 ]t=0n +3-tt2 - ∑[(n+ 1) / 2 ]t=0n +1-tt2 2 +2 ∑[n/ 2 ]t=0n -tt · ∑[(n+ 4 ) / 2 ]t=0n +4-tt2 +4∑[(n+ 2 ) / 2 ]t=0n +2 -tt2= ∑[(n+ 1) /2 ]t=0n+ 1 -tt2 + ∑[(n+ 3) /2 ]t=0n+ 3-tt2 2 。(ⅱ )当n为偶数时∑[(n+ 4 ) / 2 ]t=0n+4-tt2 - ∑[n/ 2 ]t=0n-tt2 2 +2 ∑[(n+ 1) / 2 ]t=0n+1-tt · ∑[(n+ 3 ) / 2 ]t=0n+3-tt2 +4∑[(n+ 2 ) / 2 ]t=0n+2 -tt2= ∑[n/2 ]t=0n -tt2 + ∑[(n+ 4) /2 ]t=0n + 4 -tt2 2 。     

Some Combinatorial Aspects of Reduced Words in Finite Coxeter Groups

We analyze the structure of reduced expressions in the Coxeter groups , and . Several special classes of elements are singled out for their connections with symmetric functions or the theory of -partitions. Membership in these special classes is characterized in a variety of ways, including forbidden patterns, forbidden subwords, and by the form of canonically chosen reduced words.

     

Transitive Factorizations in the Symmetric Group, and Combinatorial Aspects of Singularity Theory

We consider the determination of the number c_k(α) of ordered factorizations of an arbitrary permutation on n symbols, with cycle distribution α, intok -cycles such that the factorizations have minimal length and the group generated by the factors acts transitively on then symbols. The case k =  2 corresponds to the celebrated result of Hurwitz on the number of topologically distinct holomorphic functions on the 2-sphere that preserve a given number of elementary branch point singularities. In this case the monodromy group is the full symmetric group. For k =  3, the monodromy group is the alternating group, and this is another case that, in principle, is of considerable interest. We conjecture an explicit form, for arbitrary k, for the generating series for c_k(α), and prove that it holds for factorizations of permutations with one, two and three cycles (so α is a partition with at most three parts). Our approach is to determine a differential equation for the generating series from a combinatorial analysis of the creation and annihilation of cycles in products under the minimality condition.     

Aspects of Number Theory in Terms of Potential Theory

We develop the Potential Theory on the set N^* of all natural numbers 2 associated with the kernel V (resp. V ^*) given by

Splitting the shadow

We derive formulae for the theta series of the two translates of the even sublattice L₀ of an odd unimodular lattice L that constitute the shadow of L. The proof rests on special evaluations of the Jacobi theta series attached to L and to a certain vector. We produce an analogous theorem for codes. Additionally, we construct non-linear formally self-dual codes and relate them to lattices.     

Splitting the Pasch axiom

On the basis of the theory ^– of Pasch-free 2-dimensional geometry, Pasch's axiom is shown to be equivalent to the conjunction of the following two axioms: In any right triangle the hypotenuse is greater than the leg and If AOB is right, B lies between O and C, and D is the footpoint of the perpendicular from B to AC, then the segment OA is greater than the segment BD. This represents an attempt to split the Pasch axiom with respect to ^–. Only the question whether the second of the above two axioms is really weaker than Pasch's axiom, remains open.     

Splitting number

We show that it is consistent with that every uncountable set can be continuously mapped onto a splitting family.

     

On the Universal Splitting Property

We prove that if an incomplete computably enumerable set has the the universal splitting property then it is low₂. This solves a question from Ambos-Spies and Fejer [1] and Downey and Stob [7]. Some technical improvements are discussed.     

Splitting necklaces

Let N be an opened necklace with ka_i beads of color i, 1 ⩽ i ⩽ t. We show that it is possible to cut N in (k - 1) · t places and partition the resulting intervals into k collections, each containing precisely a_i beads of color i, 1 ⩽ i ⩽ t. This result is best possible and solves a problem of Goldberg and West. Its proof is topological and uses a generalization, due to Bárány, Shlosman and Szücs, of the Borsuk-Ulam theorem. By similar methods we obtain a generalization of a theorem of Hobby and Rice on L₁-approximation.     

Splitting squares

We show that for every Borel function f:[2^ω] ⁿ → 2^ω there exists a closed countably splitting family A such that f ↾ [A] ⁿ omits a perfect set of values in 2 ^ω . Work partially supported by DFG grant SP 683.