Related papers: Locked Polyomino Tilings
Does a given a set of polyominoes tile some rectangle? We show that this problem is undecidable. In a different direction, we also consider tiling a cofinite subset of the plane. The tileability is undecidable for many variants of this…
In this paper, we prove that if a finite number of rectangles, every of which has at least one integer side, perfectly tile a big rectangle then there exists a strategy which reduces the number of these tiles (rectangles) without violating…
A cube tiling of R^d is a family of pairwise disjoint cubes $[0,1)^d+T=\{[0,1)^d+t:t\in T\}$ such that $\bigcup_{t\in T}([0,1)^d+t)=R^d$. Two cubes $[0,1)^d+t$, $[0,1)^d+s$ are called a twin pair if their closures have a complete facet in…
Redistricting is the problem of dividing a state into a number $k$ of regions, called districts. Voters in each district elect a representative. The primary criteria are: each district is connected, district populations are equal (or nearly…
Motivated by a question of Erd\"{o}s and inquiries by Beeson and Laczkovich, we explore the possible $N$ for which a triangle $T$ can tile into $N$ congruent copies of a triangle $R$. The \emph{reptile} cases (where $T$ is similar to $R$)…
Aperiodic tilings support two classically studied but hitherto separately presented structures: matching rules, which enforce global order via local constraints, and height functions, which encode global geometry through integer-valued…
We study whether an asymmetric limited-magnitude ball may tile $\mathbb{Z}^n$. This ball generalizes previously studied shapes: crosses, semi-crosses, and quasi-crosses. Such tilings act as perfect error-correcting codes in a channel which…
A two-dimensional grid with dots is called a \emph{configuration with distinct differences} if any two lines which connect two dots are distinct either in their length or in their slope. These configurations are known to have many…
The question of whether a given region can be successfully filled by a finite set of tiles has been commonly studied, and there are many available arguments for whether a given finite region can be tiled. We can show that there is no domino…
We reprove three known algorithmic bounds for terminal-clustering problems, using a single framework that leads to simpler proofs. In this genre of problems, the input is a metric space $(X,d)$ (possibly arising from a graph) and a subset…
We analyze the computational complexity of Tetris clearing (determining whether the player can clear an initial board using a given sequence of pieces) and survival (determining whether the player can avoid losing before placing all the…
It is well known that if there exists a finite set of convex bodies on the plane with non-overlapping interiors, then there is at least one "extremal" one among them, i.e., some one which can be continuously "taken away to the infinity"…
We introduce the blockwise gluing construction. This describes residuated integral chains which can be decomposed into (possibly) partial algebras, stacked one on top of the other, and such that elements in a certain component multiply in…
The hypercube is one of the most popular interconnection networks since it has simple structure and is easy to implement. The $n$-dimensional twisted cube, denoted by $TQ_n$, an important variation of the hypercube, possesses some…
We study the reconfiguration of odd matchings of combinatorial graphs. Odd matchings are matchings that cover all but one vertex of a graph. A reconfiguration step, or flip, is an operation that matches the isolated vertex and,…
We study the problem of how to obtain an integer realization of a 3d polytope when an integer realization of its dual polytope is given. We focus on grid embeddings with small coordinates and develop novel techniques based on Colin de…
Markov chains based on spanning trees have been hugely influential in algorithms for assessing fairness in political redistricting. The input graph represents the geographic building blocks of a jurisdiction. The goal is to output a large…
The topological containment problem is known to be polynomial-time solvable for any fixed pattern graph $H$, but good characterisations have been found for only a handful of non-trivial pattern graphs. The complete graph on five vertices,…
It is known that the folded sum of two contact mapping tori whose fibers are compact exact symplectic manifolds having a common convex boundary (called the ``fold'') admits a cooriented contact structure compatible with the obvious…
We extend linkage unfolding results from the well-studied case of polygonal linkages to the more general case of linkages of polygons. More precisely, we consider chains of nonoverlapping rigid planar shapes (Jordan regions) that are hinged…