Related papers: Concerning the bookshelf problem
Given a configuration of pebbles on the vertices of a graph, a pebbling move is defined by removing two pebbles from some vertex and placing one pebble on an adjacent vertex. The cover pebbling number of a graph is the smallest number of…
This paper addresses the question of the fluctuations of the empirical entropy of a chain of infinite order. We assume that the chain takes values on a finite alphabet and loses memory exponentially fast. We consider two possible…
Place an obstacle with probability $1-p$ independently at each vertex of $\mathbb Z^d$, and run a simple random walk until hitting one of the obstacles. For $d\geq 2$ and $p$ strictly above the critical threshold for site percolation, we…
We study independent and identically distributed random iterations of continuous maps defined on a connected closed subset $S$ of the Euclidean space $\mathbb{R}^{k}$. We assume the maps are monotone (with respect to a suitable partial…
Of basic interest is the quantification of the long term growth of a language's lexicon as it develops to more completely cover both a culture's communication requirements and knowledge space. Here, we explore the usage dynamics of words in…
We study low Reynolds number turbulence in a suspension of polar, extensile, self-propelled inertial swimmers. We review the bend and splay mechanisms that destabilize an ordered flock. The suspension is always unstable to bend…
The problems of enumerating lattice walks, with an arbitrary finite set of allowed steps, both in one and two dimensions, where one must always stay in the non-negative half-line and quarter-plane respectively, are used, as case studies, to…
We study a popular puzzle game known variously as Clickomania and Same Game. Basically, a rectangular grid of blocks is initially colored with some number of colors, and the player repeatedly removes a chosen connected monochromatic group…
We show that, for all reasonable functions $T(n)=o(n\log n)$, we can algorithmically verify whether a given one-tape Turing machine runs in time at most $T(n)$. This is a tight bound on the order of growth for the function $T$ because we…
The supermarket model is a system of $n$ queues each with serving rates $1$ and arrival rates $\lambda$ per vertex, where tasks will move on arrival to the shortest adjacent queue. We consider the supermarket model in the small $\lambda$…
We show that, in an alphabet of $n$ symbols, the number of words of length $n$ whose number of different symbols is away from $(1-1/e)n$, which is the value expected by the Poisson distribution, has exponential decay in $n$. We use…
We study the long time behavior of the elephant random walk with stops, introduced by Kumar, Harbola and Lindenberg (2010), and establish the phase transition of the number of visited points up to time $n$, and the correlation between the…
An assembly of $n$ voters needs to decide on $t$ independent binary issues. Each voter has opinions about the issues, given by a $t$-bit vector. Anscombe's paradox shows that a policy following the majority opinion in each issue may not…
We consider the graph dynamical systems known as k-reversible processes. In such processes, each vertex in the graph has one of two possible states at each discrete time step. Each vertex changes its state between the current time and the…
We consider a generalization of a one-dimensional stochastic process known in the physical literature as L\'evy-Lorentz gas. The process describes the motion of a particle on the real line in the presence of a random array of marked points,…
(Abridged) Does inflation have to happen all in one go? The answer is a resounding no! All cosmological problems can be solved by a sequence of short bursts of cosmic acceleration, interrupted by short epochs of decelerated expansion. The…
How far off the edge of the table can we reach by stacking $n$ identical, homogeneous, frictionless blocks of length 1? A classical solution achieves an overhang of $1/2 H_n$, where $H_n ~ \ln n$ is the $n$th harmonic number. This solution…
This paper gives an analysis of the movement of n vortices on the sphere. When the vortices have equal circulation, there is a polygonal solution that rotates uniformly around its center. The main result concerns the global existence of…
The remaining travel time of a plane shortens with every minute that passes from its departure, and a flame diminishes a candle with every second it burns. Such everyday occurrences bias us to think that processes which have already begun…
An unbiased coin is tossed $n$ times independently and sequentially. In this paper, we will study the length of the longest consecutive switches, and prove that the limit behaviors are similar to that of the length of the longest head-run.