相关论文: Emptying Sets: The Cookie Monster Problem

Given a dominating set, how much smaller a dominating set can we find through elementary operations? Here, we proceed by iterative vertex addition and removal while maintaining the property that the set forms a dominating set of bounded…

A dominating set $S$ of a graph is a metric-locating-dominating set if each vertex of the graph is uniquely distinguished by its distances from the elements of $S$, and the minimum cardinality of such a set is called the…

The muffin problem asks us to divide $m$ muffins into pieces and assign each of those pieces to one of $s$ students so that the sizes of the pieces assigned to each student total $m/s$, with the objective being to maximize the size of the…

For a set ${\cal F}$ of graphs, an instance of the ${\cal F}$-{\sc free Sandwich Problem} is a pair $(G_1,G_2)$ consisting of two graphs $G_1$ and $G_2$ with the same vertex set such that $G_1$ is a subgraph of $G_2$, and the task is to…

When solving k-in-a-Row games, the Hales-Jewett pairing strategy [4] is a well-known strategy to prove that specific positions are (at most) a draw. It requires two empty squares per possible winning line (group) to be marked, i.e., with a…

The stochastic matching problem deals with finding a maximum matching in a graph whose edges are unknown but can be accessed via queries. This is a special case of stochastic $k$-set packing, where the problem is to find a maximum packing…

A single-player game of Memory is played with $n$ distinct pairs of cards, with the cards in each pair bearing identical pictures. The cards are laid face-down. A move consists of revealing two cards, chosen adaptively. If these cards…

The minimum dominating set problem asks for a dominating set with minimum size. First, we determine some vertices contained in the minimum dominating set of a graph. By applying a particular scheme, we ensure that the resulting graph is…

We give a possible explanation for the mystery of a missing number in the statement of a problem that asks for the non-negative integers to be partitioned into three subsets. We interpret the missing number as one of the clues that can lead…

The game of memory is played with a deck of n pairs of cards. The cards in each pair are identical. The deck is shuffled and the cards laid face down. A move consists of flipping over first one card then another. The cards are removed from…

A set $S\subseteq V$ of a graph $G=(V,E)$ is a dominating set if each vertex has a neighbor in $S$ or belongs to $S$. Dominating Set is the problem of deciding, given a graph $G$ and an integer $k\geq 1$, if $G$ has a dominating set of size…

A symmetry group for Sudoku is complete if its action partitions the set of Sudoku boards into all possible orbits, and minimal if no group of smaller size would do the same. Previously, for a 4 x 4 Sudoku variation known as Shidoku, the…

Let $\mathbb{N}$ be the set of all nonnegative integers. For $S\subseteq \mathbb{N}$ and $n\in \mathbb{N}$, let $R_S(n)$ denote the number of solutions of the equation $n=s_1+s_2$, $s_1,s_2\in S$ and $s_1<s_2$. Let $A$ be the set of all…

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.…

Kochen-Specker (KS) sets are fundamental in physics. Every time nature produces bipartite correlations attaining the nonsignaling limit, or two parties always win a nonlocal game impossible to always win classically, is because the parties…

A totally symmetric set is a subset of a group such that every permutation of the subset can be realized by conjugation in the group. The (non-)existence of large totally symmetric sets obstruct homomorphisms, so bounds on the sizes of…

We consider the following counting problem related to the card game SET: How many $k$-element SET-free sets are there in an $n$-dimensional SET deck? Through a series of algebraic reformulations and reinterpretations, we show the answer to…

Knockout tournaments, also known as single-elimination or cup tournaments, are a popular form of sports competitions. In the standard probabilistic setting, for each pairing of players, one of the players wins the game with a certain (a…

Given a configuration of pebbles on the vertices of a graph, a pebbling move is defined by removing two pebbles from some vertex and placing one pebble on an adjacent vertex. The cover pebbling number of a graph is the smallest number of…

A variant of the well-known Set Covering Problem is studied in this paper, where subsets of a collection have to be selected, and pairwise conflicts among subsets of items exist. The selection of each subset has a cost, and the inclusion of…