Related papers: The q-Queens Problem: One-Move Riders on the Recta…
This paper addresses the problem of finding $Q_{m,t}\left(n\right)$, the number of possible ways to partition any member $n$ of the cyclic group $\mathbb{Z}/m\mathbb{Z}$ into $t$ distinct parts. When $m$ is odd, it was previously known that…
We give lowed bounds on the number of periodic trajectories in strictly convex smooth billiards in $\R^{m+1}$ for $m\ge 3$. For plane billiards (when m=1) such bounds were obtained by G. Birkhoff in the 1920's. Our proof is based on…
This paper extends the work started in 2002 by Demaine, Demaine and Verill (DDV) on coin-moving puzzles. These puzzles have a long history in the recreational literature, but were first systematically analyzed by DDV, who gave a full…
Consider factorizations into transpositions of an n-cycle in the symmetric group S_n. To every such factorization we assign a monomial in variables w_{ij} that retains the transpositions used, but forgets their order. Summing over all…
We investigate the superposition of four different quantum states based on the $q$-oscillator. These quantum states are expressed by means of Rogers-Szeg\"o polynomials. We show that such a superposition has the properties of the quantum…
Quadratic matrix equations of the kind $A_1X^2+A_0X+A_{-1}=X$ are encountered in the analysis of Quasi--Birth-Death stochastic processes where the solution of interest is the minimal nonnegative solution $G$. In many queueing models,…
We introduce and study a one-parameter generalization of the q-Whittaker symmetric functions. This is a family of multivariate symmetric polynomials, whose construction may be viewed as an application of the procedure of fusion from…
The n-queens puzzle is a well-known combinatorial problem that requires to place n queens on an n x n chessboard so that no two queens can attack each other. Since the 19th century, this problem was studied by many mathematicians and…
In 1976 Martin Gardner posed the following problem: ``What is the smallest number of [queens] you can put on an [$n \times n$ chessboard] such that no [queen] can be added without creating three in a row, a column, or a diagonal?'' The work…
An explicit formula of the Hamiltonians generating one-dimensional discrete-time quantum walks is given. The formula is deduced by using the algebraic structure introduced previously. The square of the Hamiltonian turns out to be an…
How many chess rooks or queens does it take to guard all the squares of a given polyomino, the union of square tiles from a square grid? This question is a version of the art gallery problem in which the guards can "see" whichever squares…
Define a queen on $\mathbb{Z}_n^d$ with admissible moves parallel to $\mathbf{x}\in\{-1,0,1\}^d$ at arbitrary length. How many queens can be placed on $\mathbb{Z}_n^d$ without any two in conflict? In two dimensions, this problem was…
The two-players $N$ strategies games quantized according to the Eisert-Lewenstein-Wilkens scheme (Phys. Rev. Lett. 83 (1999), 3077) are considered. Group theoretical methods are applied to the problem of finding a general form of gate…
Domineering is a two-player game played on a checkerboard in which one player places dominoes vertically, while the other places them horizontally. In this paper, we find out the minimum number of moves for a game of Domineering to end on…
I analyze the one-dimensional, cubic Schr\"odinger equation, with nonlinearity constructed from the current density, rather than, as is usual, from the charge density. A soliton solution is found, where the soliton moves only in one…
An algebraic interpretation of the one-variable quantum $q$-Krawtchouk polynomials is provided in the framework of the Schwinger realization of $\mathcal{U}_{q}(sl_{2})$ involving two independent $q$-oscillators. The polynomials are shown…
We investigate the rotation sets of billiards on the $m$-dimensional torus with one small convex obstacle and in the square with one small convex obstacle. In the first case the displacement function, whose averages we consider, measures…
We study a class polynomials obtained from an enumeration of the number of queen paths. In particular, we find the generating function for the diagonal sequence of this table and the zero distribution of a sequence of related polynomials.
In this note we study numerically the combinatorics of curves and geodesics on the torus with one boundary component. A potential computational difficulty is avoided by counting inside specific orbits of the mapping class group up to a…
We indulge in what mathematicians call frivolous activities. In Arithmetic Billiards, a ball is bouncing around in a rectangle. In Parity Checkers we place checkers on a checkerboard under certain parity constraints. Both activities turn…