Related papers: Shuffling with ordered cards
Given a set of points labeled with $k$ labels, we introduce the heat map sorting problem as reordering and merging the points and dimensions while preserving the clusters (labels). A cluster is preserved if it remains connected, i.e., if it…
We study a family of sorting match puzzles on grids, which we call permutation match puzzles. In this puzzle, each row and column of a $n \times n$ grid is labeled with an ordering constraint -- ascending (A) or descending (D) -- and the…
Establishing cutoff, an abrupt transition from "not mixed" to "well mixed", is a classical topic in the theory of mixing times for Markov chains. Interest has grown recently in determining not only the existence of cutoff and the order of…
In this paper, we propose a new family of graphs, matrix graphs, whose vertex set $\mathbb{F}^{N\times n}_q$ is the set of all $N\times n$ matrices over a finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$ for any positive integers $N$ and $n$. And any two…
Pancake Flipping is the problem of sorting a stack of pancakes of different sizes (that is, a permutation), when the only allowed operation is to insert a spatula anywhere in the stack and to flip the pancakes above it (that is, to perform…
This paper addresses the problem of identifying palindromic factors in texts that include wildcards -- special characters that match all others. These symbols challenge many classical algorithms, as numerous combinatorial properties are not…
The aim of this paper is to solve the "gift exchange" problem: you are one of n players, and there are n wrapped gifts on display; when your turn comes, you can either choose any of the remaining wrapped gifts, or you can "steal" a gift…
In the game of Scrabble, letter tiles are drawn uniformly at random from a bag. The variability of possible draws as the game progresses is a source of variation that makes it more likely for an inferior player to win a head-to-head match…
We consider three extremal problems about the number of copies of a fixed graph in another larger graph. First, we correct an error in a result of Reiher and Wagner and prove that the number of $k$-edge stars in a graph with density $x \in…
Let k_1,...,k_d be positive integers, and D be a subset of [k_1]x...x[k_d], whose complement can be decomposed into disjoint sets of the form {x_1}x...x{x_{s-1}}x[k_s]x{x_{s+1}}x...x{x_d}. We conjecture that the number of elements of D can…
In their celebrated "Period three implies chaos" paper, Li and Yorke proved that if a continuous interval map f has a period 3 point then there is an uncountable scrambled set S on which f has very complicated dynamics. One question arises…
We consider the following counting problem related to the card game SET: How many $k$-element SET-free sets are there in an $n$-dimensional SET deck? Through a series of algebraic reformulations and reinterpretations, we show the answer to…
A $k$-ranking is a vertex $k$-coloring such that if two vertices have the same color any path connecting them contains a vertex of larger color. The rank number of a graph is smallest $k$ such that $G$ has a $k$-ranking. For certain graphs…
A scramble on a connected multigraph is a collection of connected subgraphs that generalizes the notion of a bramble. The maximum order of a scramble, called the scramble number of a graph, was recently developed as a tool for lower…
We consider a stack sorting algorithm where only the appropriate output values are popped from the stack and then any remaining entries in the stack are run through the stack in reverse order. We identify the basis for the $2$-reverse pass…
In this paper, we define and study the new problem Simultaneous PQ-Ordering. Its input consists of a set of PQ-trees, which represent sets of circular orders of their leaves, together with a set of child-parent relations between these…
This paper explores the application of a new algebraic method of edge coloring, called complex coloring, to the scheduling problems of input queued switches. The proposed distributed parallel scheduling algorithm possesses two important…
In this paper, we use the eigenvalues of the random to random card shuffle to prove a sharp upper bound for the total variation mixing time. Combined with the lower bound due to Subag, we prove that this walk exhibits cutoff at $\frac{3}{4}…
The graph reconstruction conjecture asserts that every simple graph on at least three vertices is uniquely determined by its deck of vertex-deleted subgraphs. In this expository article we survey the conjecture and present an…
We prove some partial results on the periodicity of billiard systems on graphs. The results specialize to the case of $n$ billiards with equal mass on the unit interval or circle traveling at the same speed.