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A coloring of the $\ell$-dimensional faces of $Q_n$ is called $d$-polychromatic if every embedded $Q_d$ has every color on at least one face. Denote by $p^\ell(d)$ the maximum number of colors such that any $Q_n$ can be colored in this way.…
Efficient solution of the lowest eigenmodes is studied for a family of related eigenvalue problems with common $2\times 2$ block structure. It is assumed that the upper diagonal block varies between different versions while the lower…
The work is devoted to one of the variations of the Hadwiger--Nelson problem on the chromatic number of the plane. In this formulation one needs to find for arbitrarily small $\varepsilon$ the least possible number of colors needed to color…
A puzzle about prisoners trying to identify the color of a hat on their head leads to a version where there are k more hats than prisoners. This generalized puzzle is related to the independence number of the arrangement graph A(m, n) and…
Given an $n\times n$ array $M$ ($n\ge 7$), where each cell is colored in one of two colors, we give a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a partition of $M$ into $n$ diagonals, each containing at least one cell of each…
This paper introduces a method to generate highly selective encodings that can be magnetically "programmed" onto physical modules to enable them to self-assemble in chosen configurations. We generate these encodings based on Hadamard…
We analyze the computational complexity of the many types of pencil-and-paper-style puzzles featured in the 2016 puzzle video game The Witness. In all puzzles, the goal is to draw a simple path in a rectangular grid graph from a start…
We present a complete computational classification of the combinatorial types of hyperplane sections, or slices, of the regular cube up to dimension six. For each dimension, we determine the exact number of distinct combinatorial types.…
In the Edge Coloring problem, we are given an undirected graph $G$ with $n$ vertices and $m$ edges, and are tasked with finding the smallest positive integer $k$ so that the edges of $G$ can be assigned $k$ colors in such a way that no two…
In the two-dimensional orthogonal colored range counting problem, we preprocess a set, $P$, of $n$ colored points on the plane, such that given an orthogonal query rectangle, the number of distinct colors of the points contained in this…
A random jigsaw puzzle is constructed by arranging $n^2$ square pieces into an $n \times n$ grid and assigning to each edge of a piece one of $q$ available colours uniformly at random, with the restriction that touching edges receive the…
We study the classic sliding cube model for programmable matter under parallel reconfiguration in three dimensions, providing novel algorithmic and surprising complexity results in addition to generalizing the best known bounds from two to…
How many moves does it take to solve Rubik's Cube? Positions are known that require 20 moves, and it has already been shown that there are no positions that require 27 or more moves; this is a surprisingly large gap. This paper describes a…
The aim in packing problems is to decide if a given set of pieces can be placed inside a given container. A packing problem is defined by the types of pieces and containers to be handled, and the motions that are allowed to move the pieces.…
We revisit a work by R. Okazaki and prove that for every cubic binary form F(x, y) with large enough discriminant, the Thue equation |F(x, y)| = 1 has at most 7 solutions in integers x and y.
We study central configurations when the set of positions is symmetric. We use a theorem from representation theory of finite groups to explore the symmetry properties of equations for central configurations. This approach simplifies…
In Ramanujan's Lost Notebook there is an amazing identity that furnishes infinitely many "almost counterexamples" to the cubic Fermat's Last Theorem, with no indication whatsoever how he discovered it. In 1995, Michael Hirschhorn explained,…
Solving a Radon-Kaczmarz puzzle involves filling a square grid with positive integers, each between one and nine, satisfying certain clues coming from the sum of entries that lie on the same line in the square grid. Given a set of slopes…
Given $n$ lines in general position in the plane, how many bounded triangular faces can the arrangement have? We construct a straight-line affine arrangement of $19$ lines satisfying the conditions of the iterative construction by…
In this paper, we settle the open complexity status of interval constrained coloring with a fixed number of colors. We prove that the problem is already NP-complete if the number of different colors is 3. Previously, it has only been known…