Related papers: Factoring in the Chicken McNugget monoid
We consider a Bar Charts Packing Problem (BCPP), in which it is necessary to pack bar charts (BCs) in a strip of minimum length. The problem is, on the one hand, a generalization of the Bin Packing Problem (BPP), and, on the other hand, a…
A problem that enjoys an enduring popularity asks: "what is the least number of pound weights that can be used on a scale pan to weigh any integral number of pounds from 1 to 40 inclusive, if the weights can be placed in either of the scale…
Mathematics has been used in the exploration and enumeration of juggling patterns. In the case when we catch and throw one ball at a time the number of possible juggling patterns is well-known. When we are allowed to catch and throw any…
An ordered triple $(s,p,n)$ is called admissible if there exist two different multisets $X=\{x_1,x_2,\dotsc,x_n\}$ and $Y=\{y_1,y_2,\dotsc,y_n\}$ such that $X$ and $Y$ share the same sum $s$, the same product $p$, and the same size $n$. We…
Nonunique factorization in commutative monoids is often studied using factorization invariants, which assign to each monoid element a quantity determined by the factorization structure. For numerical monoids (co-finite, additive submonoids…
In this note, we introduce a distributed twist on the classic coupon collector problem: a set of $m$ collectors wish to each obtain a set of $n$ coupons; for this, they can each sample coupons uniformly at random, but can also meet in…
Conferences such as FUN with Algorithms routinely buy goodies (e.g., t-shirts, coffee mugs, etc) for their attendees. Often, said goodies come in different types, varying by color or design, and organizers need to decide how many goodies of…
Following on the King Chicken Theorems originally proved by Maurer, we examine the idea of multiple flocks of chickens by bringing the chickens from tournaments to multipartite tournaments. As Kings have already been studied in multipartite…
The food production industry, especially the meat production sector, faces many challenges that have even escalated due to the recent outbreak of the energy crisis in the European Union. Therefore, efficient use of input materials is an…
Motivated by the Erdos multiplication table problem we study the following question: Given numbers N_1,...,N_{k+1}, how many distinct products of the form n_1...n_{k+1} with n_i<N_i for all i are there? Call A_{k+1}(N_1,...,N_{k+1}) the…
A $(v,k,t)$ packing of size $b$ is a system of $b$ subsets (blocks) of a $v$-element underlying set such that each block has $k$ elements and every $t$-set is contained in at most one block. $P(v,k,t)$ stands for the maximum possible $b$. A…
An unceasing problem of our prevailing society is the fair division of goods. The problem of proportional cake cutting focuses on dividing a heterogeneous and divisible resource, the cake, among $n$ players who value pieces according to…
We consider the classic problem of fairly dividing a heterogeneous good ("cake") among several agents with different valuations. Classic cake-cutting procedures either allocate each agent a collection of disconnected pieces, or assume that…
Suppose that your mother gave you n candies. You have to eat at least one candy each day. One possibility is to eat all n of them the first day. The other extreme is to make them last n days, and only eat one candy a day. Altogether, you…
Having the right assortment of shipping boxes in the fulfillment warehouse to pack and ship customer's online orders is an indispensable and integral part of nowadays eCommerce business, as it will not only help maintain a profitable…
We study optimal bundling when consumers differ in one dimension. We introduce a partial order on the set of bundles defined by (i) set inclusion and (ii) sales volumes (if sold alone and priced optimally). We show that if the undominated…
This study introduces the Box Allocation Problem (BAP), a novel optimization challenge in the $1.4 billion UK meal kit delivery market. BAP involves assigning orders across multiple production facilities to minimize daily recipe variations…
Product bundling, offering a combination of items to customers, is one of the marketing strategies commonly used in online e-commerce and offline retailers. A high-quality bundle generalizes frequent items of interest, and diversity across…
We present a variation of the broken stick problem in which $n$ stick lengths are sampled uniformly at random. We prove that the probability that no three sticks can form a triangle is the reciprocal of the product of the first $n$…
Multi-item revenue-optimal mechanisms are known to be extremely complex, often offering buyers randomized lotteries of goods. In the standard buy-one model, it is known that optimal mechanisms can yield revenue infinitely higher than that…