组合数学

We study vector-valued incidence maps obtained from ordinary graph incidence maps by linear observation of the free vertex space. Let $\mathbb{F}$ be a field, $D = (X, E, s, t)$ a finite directed multigraph, $U$ an $\mathbb{F}$-vector…

We introduce and study dual Chow functions associated to kernels in incidence algebras of weakly ranked posets. Given a kernel, its dual Chow function is defined as the Chow function associated to the sign-twisted reverse kernel. For…

Let $r,s,t\geq2$ be integers. For $r$-graphs $G$ and $F_1,\dots,F_s$, we write $G\to(F_1,\dots,F_s)$ if every $s$-edge-coloring of $G$ yields a monochromatic copy of $F_i$ in the $i$-th color for some $1\leq i\leq s$. Let…

We introduce the \emph{intersection orbital graph} $\Gamma(G_1, G_2; \Omega)$ associated with two permutation groups $G_1, G_2 \leq \mathrm{Sym}(\Omega)$ on a finite set $\Omega$.

The smallest eigenvalues of (distance-j) Hamming graphs with distance parameter j at least half the length were completely determined by Brouwer et al. (2018). In the present work, we address the complementary regime, namely distances j…

A sequence D=(d1, d2, ..., dn) of positive integers is graphic if it is the degree sequence of a simple graph, called in this case a {\em realization} of D. In this paper, we introduce the operation of 2-reduction, that subtracts 1 from two…

Let $Q_k(x)$ be Stanley's explicit denominator for the dimer-covering generating function $F_k(x)=\sum_{n\ge0}A_{k,n}x^n$ of $k\times n$ rectangles. Stanley conjectured in 1985 that $Q_k(x)$ has only simple roots; this longstanding…

The Abu-Khzam--Langston conjecture, that is the weak-immersion analogue of Hadwiger's conjecture and a weak version of an earlier conjecture of Lescure and Meyniel, asserts that every graph $G$ contains a weak immersion of $K_{\chi(G)}$. We…

Let $r_1$ and $r_2$ be positive integers with $r_1 \le r_2$. A graph $G$ is called $2$-DCC vertex $[r_1,r_2]$-pancyclic if, for any two distinct vertices of $G$ and any integer $\ell \in [r_1,r_2]$, there exist two vertex-disjoint cycles of…

We prove Hadwiger's Conjecture for $\{\text{co-claw}, \text{co-gem}\}$-free graphs and $\{\text{fork}, \text{antifork}\}$-free graphs, where the co-claw is the disjoint union of a triangle and a vertex, the co-gem is the disjoint union of a…

A defining set of a Latin square is a partially filled-in Latin square which completes to no other Latin square of the same order. We introduce the concept of a $k$-strong defining set, in which if less than $k$ entries are deleted, the…

We prove two positivity conjectures proposed by Guo for alternating sums and factorial ratios built from Gaussian coefficients. The first result proves the positivity of the odd $q$-super Catalan numbers \[…

For an integer $\ell\geq 2$, let ${\cal{H}}_{\ell}$ denote the family of graphs which have girth $2\ell$ and have no even hole of length greater than $2\ell$. Wu, Xu and Xu conjectured that every graph in $\bigcup_{\ell\geq 2}…

A \emph{sprout sequence} is a sequence $\frakr=(R_0=1,R_1,R_2,\dots)$ of symmetric functions in the variables $\bmx=(x_1,x_2,\dots)$ over a field $K$ generated from a power series $F(t)=1+a_1t+a_2t^2+\cdots$ by the rule $\sum_{n\geq…

Graphs with bounded treewidth and bounded maximum degree are known to have tree-partitions of bounded width. What can be said if the bounded treewidth assumption is strengthened to bounded pathwidth? We prove that every graph with bounded…

The Mycielskian is a standard construction studied in many an introductory graph theory course. It is natural to consider Mycielskians of cycles, some of the simplest of all graphs. This paper deals with the so-called ``dimension'' of such…

Block designs are combinatorial structures in which each pair of a set of varieties appears together in a fixed number of blocks. Complete graphs are graphs in which every pair of vertices are adjacent. We present some new constructions of…

We show that if $G$ is a $d$-regular Vizing-class-1 graph, then the proper additive chromatic index of $G$, denoted $\eta'_p(G)$, is equal to its chromatic index. This verifies that a strengthening of the Additive Coloring Conjecture of…

The picture-hanging puzzle, popularized by Demaine et al. (2014), asks for a way to wrap a wire around $n$ nails such that the picture hangs as long as fewer than $k$ nails are removed, but falls as soon as any $k$ are removed. Solutions…

Let $G$ be a graph of order $n$ with degree sequence $d_1 \geq \cdots \geq d_{n}$. Let $m_{G}I$ be the number of signless Laplacian eigenvalues in an interval $I$. In this paper, we characterize the distribution of the signless Laplacian…