Related papers: The Muffin Problem

In this article we suggest a model of computation for the cake cutting problem. In this model the mediator can ask the same queries as in the Robertson-Webb model but he or she can only perform algebraic operations as in the Blum-Shub-Smale…

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…

We consider a joint ordered multifactorisation for a given positive integer $n\geq 2$ into $m$ parts, where $n=n_1~\times~\ldots~\times~n_m$, and each part $n_j$ is split into one or more component factors. Our central result gives an…

Let $\mathbb{N}$ be the set of all nonnegative integers. For any integer $r$ and $m$, let $r+m\mathbb{N}=\{r+mk: k\in\mathbb{N}\}$. For $S\subseteq \mathbb{N}$ and $n\in \mathbb{N}$, let $R_{S}(n)$ denote the number of solutions of the…

We establish some upper bounds for the number of integer solutions to the Thue inequality $|F(x , y)| \leq m$, where $F$ is a binary form of degree $n \geq 3$ and with non-zero discriminant $D$, and $m$ is an integer. Our upper bounds are…

We consider the bit-probe complexity of the set membership problem, where a set S of size at most n from a universe of size m is to be represented as a short bit vector in order to answer membership queries of the form "Is x in S?" by…

Cutting a cake is a metaphor for the problem of dividing a resource (cake) among several agents. The problem becomes non-trivial when the agents have different valuations for different parts of the cake (i.e. one agent may like chocolate…

Let E_n={x_i=1, x_i+x_j=x_k, x_i*x_j=x_k: i,j,k \in {1,...,n}}. We prove: (1) there is an algorithm that for every computable function f:N-->N returns a positive integer m(f), for which a second algorithm accepts on the input f and any…

This work develops algorithmic results for the classic cake-cutting problem in which a divisible, heterogeneous resource (modeled as a cake) needs to be partitioned among agents with distinct preferences. We focus on a standard formulation…

Given a set of $p$ players we consider problems concerning envy-free allocation of collections of $k$ pieces from a given set of goods or chores. We show that if $p\le n$ and each player can choose $k$ pieces out of $n$ pieces of a cake,…

In this article we study the problem of fair division. In particular we study a notion introduced by J. Barbanel that generalizes super envy-free fair division. We give a new proof of his result. Our approach allows us to give an explicit…

We consider the problem of fairly dividing a two dimensional heterogeneous good among multiple players. Applications include division of land as well as ad space in print and electronic media. Classical cake cutting protocols primarily…

Modeling the creative mathematical sensemaking that characterizes expert thinking in physics is typically a struggle for new learners. To help students learn to reason this way, we created a set of supplemental activities called Physics…

An M-partition of a positive integer m is a partition with as few parts as possible such that any positive integer less than m has a partition made up of parts taken from that partition of m. This is equivalent to partitioning a weight m so…

We establish a characterization for an $m$-manifold $M$ to admit $n$ functions $f_1$,...,$f_n$ and $n'$ functions $g_1,...,g_{n'}$ in $\mathcal{C}^\infty(M)$ so that every element of $\mathcal{C}^k(M)$ can be approximated by rational…

Alice and Bob want to cut a cake; however, in contrast to the usual problems of fair division, they want to cut it unfairly. More precisely, they want to cut it in ratio $(a:b)$. (We can assume gcd(a,b)=1.) Let f(a,b) be the number of cuts…

To an adult, it's obvious that the day of someone's death is not precisely determined by the day of birth, but it's a very different story for a child. When the third named author was four years old he asked his father, the fifth named…

There is a heterogeneous resource that contains both good parts and bad parts, for example, a cake with some parts burnt, a land-estate with some parts heavily taxed, or a chore with some parts fun to do. The resource has to be divided…

We study the problem of fairly allocating a set of m indivisible chores (items with non-positive value) to n agents. We consider the desirable fairness notion of 1-out-of-d maximin share (MMS) -- the minimum value that an agent can…

In this note, we obtain a formula which leads to a practical and efficient method to calculate the number of partitions of n into parts not divisible by m for given natural numbers n and m.