Counting degree-constrained orientations
Abstract
We study the enumeration of graph orientations under local degree constraints. Given a finite graph and a family of admissible sets , let denote the number of orientations in which the out-degree of each vertex lies in . We prove a general duality formula expressing as a signed sum over edge subsets, involving products of coefficient sums associated with , from a family of polynomials. Our approach employs gauge transformations, a technique rooted in statistical physics and holographic algorithms. We also present a probabilistic derivation of the same identity, interpreting the orientation-generating polynomial as the expectation of a random polynomial product. As applications, we obtain explicit formulas for the number of even orientations and for mixed Eulerian-even orientations on general graphs. Our formula generalizes a result of Borb\'enyi and Csikv\'ari on Eulerian orientations of graphs.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2504.12693,
title = {Counting degree-constrained orientations},
author = {Jing Yu and Jie-Xiang Zhu},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2504.12693},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
9 pages. Fixed minor typos