Related papers: An Improved Lower Bound for Stack Sorting

Inspired by a paper of Erik Westzynthius,we build on work of Harlan Stevens and Hans-Joachim Kanold. Let $k \gt 2$ be the number of distinct prime divisors of a positive integer $n$. In 1977, Stevens used Bonferroni inequalities to get an…

Given an integer array $A[1..n]$, the Range Minimum Query problem (RMQ) asks to preprocess $A$ into a data structure, supporting RMQ queries: given $a,b\in [1,n]$, return the index $i\in[a,b]$ that minimizes $A[i]$, i.e.,…

We analyze the quantum query complexity of sorting under partial information. In this problem, we are given a partially ordered set $P$ and are asked to identify a linear extension of $P$ using pairwise comparisons. For the standard sorting…

We consider the group isomorphism problem: given two finite groups G and H specified by their multiplication tables, decide if G and H are isomorphic. The n^(log n) barrier for group isomorphism has withstood all attacks --- even for the…

For $0\le k\le n$, write $\binom nk=uv$ where the primes dividing $u$ are at most $k$ and the primes dividing $v$ exceed $k$, and let $f(n)$ be the least $k$ with $u>n^2$; Erd\H{o}s problem 684 asks for bounds on $f(n)$. We resolve the…

It is shown that an n-dimensional unimodular lattice has minimal norm at most 2[n/24] +2, unless n = 23 when the bound must be increased by 1. This result was previously known only for even unimodular lattices. Quebbemann had extended the…

We prove lower bounds of order $n\log n$ for both the problem to multiply polynomials of degree $n$, and to divide polynomials with remainder, in the model of bounded coefficient arithmetic circuits over the complex numbers. These lower…

A $k$-stack layout (or $k$-page book embedding) of a graph consists of a total order of the vertices, and a partition of the edges into $k$ sets of non-crossing edges with respect to the vertex order. The stack number of a graph is the…

Let $X$ be a set of items of size $n$ that contains some defective items, denoted by $I$, where $I \subseteq X$. In group testing, a {\it test} refers to a subset of items $Q \subset X$. The outcome of a test is $1$ if $Q$ contains at least…

Given an edge-weighted graph, how many minimum $k$-cuts can it have? This is a fundamental question in the intersection of algorithms, extremal combinatorics, and graph theory. It is particularly interesting in that the best known bounds…

In this paper we present three different results dealing with the number of $(\leq k)$-facets of a set of points: 1. We give structural properties of sets in the plane that achieve the optimal lower bound $3\binom{k+2}{2}$ of $(\leq…

Permutation patterns and pattern avoidance have been intensively studied in combinatorics and computer science, going back at least to the seminal work of Knuth on stack-sorting (1968). Perhaps the most natural algorithmic question in this…

Let $F_h(n)$ denote the minimum cardinality of an additive {\em $h$-fold basis} of $\{1,2,\cdots,n\}$: a set $S$ such that any integer in $\{1,2,\cdots, n\}$ can be written as a sum of at most $h$ elements from $S$. While the trivial bounds…

We determine the maximal number of steps required to sort $n$ labeled points on a circle by adjacent swaps. Lower bounds for sorting by all swaps, not necessarily adjacent, are given as well.

Let $\|n\|$ stand for the integer complexity of the number $n$, i.e. for the least number of $1$'s needed to write $n$ using arbitrary many additions, multiplications, and parentheses. The two-sided inequality $3\log_3 n\leq\|n\|\leq…

We consider the complexity for computing the approximate sum $a_1+a_2+...+a_n$ of a sorted list of numbers $a_1\le a_2\le ...\le a_n$. We show an algorithm that computes an $(1+\epsilon)$-approximation for the sum of a sorted list of…

The minimum number of elements needed for a poset to have exactly n linear extensions is at most 2sqrt{n}. In a special case, the bound can be improved to sqrt{n}.

Pseudoline arrangements are fundamental objects in discrete and computational geometry, and different works have tackled the problem of improving the known bounds on the number of simple arrangements of $n$ pseudolines over the past…

We study the online sorting problem, where $n$ real numbers arrive in an online fashion, and the algorithm must immediately place each number into an array of size $(1+\varepsilon) n$ before seeing the next number. After all $n$ numbers are…

Sorting a set of items is a task that can be useful by itself or as a building block for more complex operations. That is why a lot of effort has been put into finding sorting algorithms that sort large sets as fast as possible. But the…