Related papers: A 2-chain can interlock with an open 10-chain

We study two optimization problems on simplicial complexes with homology over $\mathbb{Z}_2$, the minimum bounded chain problem: given a $d$-dimensional complex $\mathcal{K}$ embedded in $\mathbb{R}^{d+1}$ and a null-homologous…

We deal with algorithmic techniques for minimal cost input-connectivity while maintaining controllability of linear systems. The input matrix is assumed to be constrained in the sense that the set of states that each input (if present) can…

Let $\mathcal F\subset 2^{[n]}$ be a family in which any three sets have non-empty intersection and any two sets have at least $38$ elements in common. The nearly best possible bound $|\mathcal F|\le 2^{n-2}$ is proved. We believe that $38$…

Let $G$ be a graph of order $n$ and let $u,v$ be vertices of $G$. Let $\kappa_G(u,v)$ denote the maximum number of internally disjoint $u$-$v$ paths in $G$. Then the average connectivity $\overline{\kappa}(G)$ of $G$, is defined as $…

Combination locks are widely used to secure bicycles. We consider a combination lock consisting of adjacent rotating dials with the first nonnegative integers printed on each of them. Assuming that we know the correct combination and we…

We provide algorithms for the minimum 2-edge-connected spanning subgraph problem and the minimum 2-vertex-connected spanning subgraph problem with approximation ratio $\frac{9}{7}$. This improves upon a recent algorithm with ratio slightly…

The problem of finding small sets that block every line passing through a unit square was first considered by Mazurkiewicz in 1916. We call such a set {\em opaque} or a {\em barrier} for the square. The shortest known barrier has length…

String matching is the problem of deciding whether a given $n$-bit string contains a given $k$-bit pattern. We study the complexity of this problem in three settings. Communication complexity. For small $k$, we provide near-optimal upper…

In a minimal binary constraint network, every tuple of a constraint relation can be extended to a solution. The tractability or intractability of computing a solution to such a minimal network was a long standing open question. Dechter…

A conjecture of Shumakovitch states that every nontrivial knot has 2-torsion in its Khovanov homology. We show that if a knot $K$ has no 2-torsion in its Khovanov homology, then the rank of its reduced Khovanov homology is minimal among all…

For integers $k,n$ with $1 \le k \le n/2$, let $f(k,n)$ be the smallest integer $t$ such that every $t$-connected $n$-vertex graph has a spanning bipartite $k$-connected subgraph. A conjecture of Thomassen asserts that $f(k,n)$ is upper…

It is well-known that all 2-knots are slice. Are all 2-links slice? This is an outstanding open question. In this paper we prove the following: For any 2-component 2-link (J,K)in the 4-sphere which bounds the 5-ball B^5, there is an…

We define the concordance crosscap number of a knot as the minimum crosscap number among all the knots concordant to the knot. The four-dimensional crosscap number is the minimum first Betti number of non-orientable surfaces smoothly…

We show that if a graph is k-edge-connected, and we adjoin to it another graph satisfying a "contracted diameter less or equal to 2" condition, with minimal degree greater or equal to k, and some natural hypothesis on the edges connecting…

The $k$-deck problem is concerned with finding the smallest positive integer $S(k)$ such that there exist at least two strings of length $S(k)$ that share the same $k$-deck, i.e., the multiset of subsequences of length $k$. We introduce the…

Koolen et al. showed that if a connected graph with smallest eigenvalue at least $-3$ has large minimal valency, then it is $2$-integrable. In this paper, we will prove that a lower bound for the minimal valency is 166.

Meshalkin's theorem states that a class of ordered p-partitions of an n-set has at most $\max \binom{n}{a_1,...,a_p}$ members if for each k the k'th parts form an antichain. We give a new proof of this and the corresponding LYM inequality…

We introduce the notion of slice depth of a 2-knot K, which is the minimal integer n such that K is n-slice. We give an upper bound for the slice depth of the n-twist spin of a classical knot which belongs to several specific classes,…

Let $c(K)$ denote the crossing number of a knot $K$ and let $K_1\# K_2$ denote the connected sum of two oriented knots $K_1$ and $K_2$. It is a very old unsolved question that whether $c(K_1\# K_2)=c(K_1)+c(K_2)$. In this paper we show that…

We give infinitely many examples of 2-bridge knots for which the topological and smooth slice genera differ. The smallest of these is the 12-crossing knot $12a255$. These also provide the first known examples of alternating knots for which…