English

Counting degree-constrained orientations

Combinatorics 2026-05-08 v4

Abstract

We study the enumeration of graph orientations under local degree constraints. Given a finite graph G=(V,E)G = (V, E) and a family of admissible sets {PvZ:vV}\{\mathsf P_v \subseteq \mathbb{Z} : v \in V\}, let N(G;vVPv)\mathcal N (G; \prod_{v \in V} \mathsf P_v) denote the number of orientations in which the out-degree of each vertex vv lies in PvP_v. We prove a general duality formula expressing N(G;vVPv)\mathcal N(G; \prod_{v \in V} \mathsf P_v) as a signed sum over edge subsets, involving products of coefficient sums associated with {Pv}vV\{\mathsf P_v\}_{v \in V}, 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

R2 v1 2026-06-28T23:01:36.462Z