Related papers: On the number of combinations without certain sepa…

For given integers a,b, and j at least 1 we determine the set of integers n for which a^n-b^n is divisible by n^j. For j=1,2, this set is usually infinite; we find explicitly the exceptional cases for which a,b the set is finite. For j=2,…

We analyze different methods of sorting and selecting a set of objects by their intrinsic value, via pairwise comparisons whose outcome is uncertain. After discussing the limits of repeated Round Robins, two new methods are presented: The…

Let $m\in\N_{\geq 2}$ and for given $k\in\N_{+}$ consider the sequence $(A_{m,k}(n))_{n\in\N}$ defined by the power series expansion $$ \prod_{n=0}^{\infty}\frac{1}{\left(1-x^{m^{n}}\right)^{k}}=\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}A_{m,k}(n)x^{n}. $$ The…

If $a_1, a_2, ..., a_k$ and $n$ are positive integers such that $n = a_1 + a_2 + ... + a_k$, then the sum $a_1 + a_2 + ... + a_k$ is said to be a \emph{partition of $n$} of \emph{length $k$}, and $a_1, a_2, ..., a_k$ are said to be the…

We show how to enumerate words in $1^{m_1} \dots n^{m_n}$ that avoid the increasing consecutive pattern $12 \dots r$ for any $r \geq 2$. Our approach yields an $O(n^{s+1})$ algorithm to enumerate words in $1^s \dots n^s$, avoiding the…

It is known that any open necklace with beads of $t$ types in which the number of beads of each type is divisible by $k$, can be partitioned by at most $(k-1)t$ cuts into intervals that can be distributed into $k$ collections, each…

Let k>1 be an integer and let p be a prime. We show that if $p^a\le k<2p^a$ or $k=p^aq+1$ (with 2q<p) for some a=1,2,..., then the set {\binom{n}{k}: n=0,1,2,...} is dense in the ring Z_p of p-adic integers, i.e., it contains a complete…

An $(n_k)$-configuration is a set of $n$ points and $n$ lines in the projective plane such that their point-line incidence graph is $k$-regular. The configuration is geometric, topological, or combinatorial depending on whether lines are…

The problem of non-iterative one-shot and non-destructive correction of unavoidable mistakes arises in all Artificial Intelligence applications in the real world. Its solution requires robust separation of samples with errors from samples…

We prove a conjecture of Drake and Kim: the number of $2$-distant noncrossing partitions of $\{1,2,...,n\}$ is equal to the sum of weights of Motzkin paths of length $n$, where the weight of a Motzkin path is a product of certain fractions…

Let S be a set of 2n+1 points in the plane such that no three are collinear and no four are concyclic. A circle will be called point-splitting if it has 3 points of S on its circumference, n-1 points in its interior and n-1 in its exterior.…

In this paper we study recurrences concerning the combinatorial sum $[n,r]_m=\sum_{k\equiv r (mod m)}\binom {n}{k}$ and the alternate sum $\sum_{k\equiv r (mod m)}(-1)^{(k-r)/m}\binom{n}{k}$, where m>0, $n\ge 0$ and r are integers. For…

Finding the $n$-th positive square number is easy, as it is simply $n^2$. But how do we find the complementary sequence, i.e., the $n$-th positive non-square number? For this case there is an explicit formula. However, for general…

Consider these two distinct combinatorial objects: (1) the necklaces of length $n$ with at most $q$ colors, and (2) the multisets of integers modulo $n$ with subset sum divisible by $n$ and with the multiplicity of each element being…

For a fixed unit vector $a=(a_1,a_2,\ldots,a_n)\in S^{n-1}$, we consider the $2^n$ sign vectors $\varepsilon=(\varepsilon^1,\varepsilon^2,\ldots,\varepsilon^n)\in \{+1,-1\}^n$ and the corresponding scalar products $\varepsilon\cdot…

Given a subset of size $k$ of a very large universe a randomized way to find this subset could consist of deleting half of the universe and then searching the remaining part. With a probability of $2^{-k}$ one will succeed. By probability…

We consider the problem of coloring $[n]={1,2,...,n}$ with $r$ colors to minimize the number of monochromatic $k$ term arithmetic progressions (or $k$-APs for short). We show how to extend colorings of $\mathbb{Z}_m$ which avoid nontrivial…

For $m,n \in \mathbb{N}$, $m\geq 1$ and a given function $f : \mathbb{R}^m\longrightarrow \mathbb{R}$ the polynomial interpolation problem (PIP) is to determine a \emph{generic node set} $P \subseteq \mathbb{R}^m$ and the coefficients of…

We mainly introduce two new kinds of numbers given by $$R_n=\sum_{k=0}^n\binom nk\binom{n+k}k\frac1{2k-1}\quad\ (n=0,1,2,...)$$ and $$S_n=\sum_{k=0}^n\binom nk^2\binom{2k}k(2k+1)\quad\ (n=0,1,2,...).$$ We find that such numbers have many…

In the unidimensional unfolding model, given m objects in general position there arise 1+m(m-1)/2 rankings. The set of rankings is called the ranking pattern of the m given objects. By changing these m objects, we can generate various…