Related papers: On an error in the star puzzle by Henry E. Dudeney
A square of a path on $k$ vertices is a directed path $x_1\ldots x_k$, where $x_i$ is directed to $x_{i+2}$, for every $i\in \{1,\ldots, k-1\}$. Recently, Yuster showed that any tournament on $n$ vertices contains a square of a path of…
In this paper we study queen's graphs, which encode the moves by a queen on an $n\times m$ chess board, through the lens of chip-firing games. We prove that their gonality is equal to $nm$ minus the independence number of the graph, and…
This paper presents new and efficient algorithms for matching stellar catalogues where the transformation between the coordinate systems of the two catalagoues is unknown and may include shearing. Finding a given object whether a star or…
We establish the existence of $N$-point sets in dimension $d$ whose star-discrepancy is bounded above by $2.4631832 \sqrt{\frac{d}{N}}$, where the numerical constant improves upon all previously known bounds. This improvement is obtained by…
{\emph A star edge-coloring} of a graph is a proper edge-coloring without bichromatic paths and cycles of length four. In this paper, we consider the list version of this coloring and prove that the list star chromatic index of every…
This didactic paper is motivated by the problem of understanding how stars escape from globular star clusters. One formulation of this problem is known, in dynamical astronomy, as Hill's problem. Originally intended as a model for the…
The puzzle method was introduced by Choi and Park as an effective method for finding non-singular characteristic maps over wedged simplicial complexes $K(J)$ obtained from a given simplicial complex $K$. We study further the mod 2 case of…
Suppose we are given a set $\mathcal{D}$ of $n$ pairwise intersecting disks in the plane. A planar point set $P$ stabs $\mathcal{D}$ if and only if each disk in $\mathcal{D}$ contains at least one point from $P$. We present a deterministic…
A chain is an ordering of the integers 1 to n such that adjacent pairs have sums of a particular form, such as squares, cubes, triangular numbers, pentagonal numbers, or Fibonacci numbers. For example 4 1 2 3 5 form a Fibonacci chain while…
Sudoku is a puzzle well-known to the scientific community with simple rules of completion, which may require a com-plex line of reasoning. This paper addresses the problem of partitioning the Sudoku image into a 1-D array, recognizing…
In Martin Gardner's October, 1976 Mathematical Games column in Scientific American, he posed the following problem: "What is the smallest number of [queens] you can put on a board of side n such that no [queen] can be added without creating…
In the "Game about Squares" the task is to push unit squares on an integer lattice onto corresponding dots. A square can only be moved into one given direction. When a square is pushed onto a lattice point with an arrow the direction of the…
It is well known that a tournament (complete oriented graph) on $n$ vertices has at most ${1/4}\binom{n}{3}$ directed triangles, and that the constant 1/4 is best possible. Motivated by some geometric considerations, our aim in this paper…
Segerman's 15+4 puzzle is a hinged version of the classic 15-puzzle, in which the tiles rotate as they slide around. In 1974, Wilson classified the groups of solutions to sliding block puzzles. We generalize Wilson's result to puzzles like…
A geometrical pattern is a set of points with all pairwise distances (or, more generally, relative distances) specified. Finding matches to such patterns has applications to spatial data in seismic, astronomical, and transportation…
Starting with the assertion that the problem of isolated, single star formation is essentially solved, this paper examines some of the missing steps needed to go from there to understanding the star formation history of the Universe. Along…
This paper proposes a new algorithm deciding the star height problem. As shown by Kirsten, the star height problem reduces to a problem concerning automata with counters, called limitedness. The new contribution is a different algorithm for…
The Monotone Upper Bound Problem (Klee, 1965) asks if the number M(d,n) of vertices in a monotone path along edges of a d-dimensional polytope with n facets can be as large as conceivably possible: Is M(d,n) = M_{ubt}(d,n), the maximal…
Peg solitaire is an old puzzle with a 300 year history. We consider two ways a computer can be utilized to find interesting peg solitaire puzzles. It is common for a peg solitaire puzzle to begin from a symmetric board position, we have…
Connect Four is a two-player game where each player attempts to be the first to create a sequence of four of their pieces, arranged horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, by dropping pieces into the columns of a grid of width seven and…