Ars Combinatoria

ISSN 0381-7032 (print), 2817-5204 (online)

Ars Combinatoria is the oldest Canadian journal of combinatorics, established in 1976, dedicated to advancing combinatorial mathematics through the publication of high-quality, peer-reviewed research papers. Over the decades, it has built a strong international reputation and continues to serve as a leading platform for significant contributions to the field.
Open Access:  The journal follows the Diamond Open Access model—completely free for both authors and readers, with no article processing charges (APCs)
Publication Frequency: From 2024 onward, Ars Combinatoria publishes four issues annually—in March, June, September, and December.
Scope: Publishes research in all areas of combinatorics, including graph theory, design theory, enumeration, algebraic combinatorics, combinatorial optimization and related fields.
Indexing & Abstracting:  Indexed in MathSciNet, Zentralblatt MATH, and EBSCO, ensuring wide visibility and scholarly reach.
Rapid Publication: Submissions are processed efficiently, with accepted papers published promptly in the next available issue.
Print & Online Editions: Issues are available in both print and online formats to serve a broad readership.

Urszula Bednarz1, Dorota Bréd2, Krzysztof Piejko2, Andrzej Wioch2
1
2Rzeszow University of Technology Faculty of Mathematics and Applied Physics al. Powstaricéow Warszawy 12, 35-359 Rzeszéw, Poland
Abstract:

In this paper we generalize the Fibonacci numbers and the Lucas numbers with respect to \(n\), respectively \(n+1\) parameters. Using these definitions we count special subfamilies of the set of \(n\) integers. Next we give the graph interpretations of these numbers with respect to the number of \(P_k\),-matchings in special graphs and we apply it for proving some identity and also for counting other subfamilies of the set of n integers.

Shubo Chen1, Junfeng Li1, Ren Lin1, Hong Guo1
1College of Mathematics and Computer Science, Hunan City University, Yiyang, Hunan 413000, P. R. China
Abstract:

The Wiener-Hosoya index was firstly introduced by M. Randié¢ in \(2004\). For any tree \(T\), the Wiener-Hosoya index is defined as

\[WH(T)= \sum\limits_{e\in E(T)} (h(e) + h[e])\]

where \(e = uv\) is an arbitrary edge of \(T\), and \(h(e)\) is the product of the numbers of the vertices in each component of \(T – e\), and \(h[e]\) is the product of the numbers of the vertices in each component of \(T- \{u,v\}\). We shall investigate the Wiener-Hosoya index of trees with diameter not larger than \(4\), and characterize the extremal graphs in this paper.

Miloud Mihoubi 1
1 USTHB, Faculty of Mathematics, P.B. 32 El Alia, 16111, Algiers, Algeria.
Abstract:

Our paper deals about identities involving Bell polynomials. Some identities on Bell polynomials derived using generating function and
successive derivatives of binomial type sequences. We give some relations between Bell polynomials and binomial type sequences in
first part, and, we generalize the results obtained in \([4]\) in second part.

Qing Cui1, Lingping Zhong1
1Department of Mathematics Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics Nanjing 210016, P. R. China
Abstract:

Fouquet and Jolivet conjectured that if \(G\) is a \(k\)-connected \(n\)-vertex graph with independence number \(\alpha \geq k \geq 2\), then \(G\) has circumference at least \( \frac{k(n+\alpha-k)}{\alpha} \). This conjecture was recently proved by \(O\), West, and Wu.
In this note, we consider the set of \(k\)-connected \(n\)-vertex graphs with independence number \(\alpha > k \geq 2\) and circumference exactly \( \frac{k(n+\alpha-k)}{\alpha} \). We show that all of these graphs have a similar structure.

P.J. Rowley1, L.A. Walker2
1School of Mathematics University of Manchester Oxford Road Manchester, M13 9PL UK
2School of Mathematics University of Manchester Oxford Road Manchester, M13 9PL UK
Abstract:

Let \(\Gamma\) be the rank three \(M_{24}\) maximal \(2\)-local geometry. For the two conjugacy types of involution in \(M_{24}\), we describe the fixed point sets of chambers in \(\Gamma\).

Yarong Wu1, Hailiang Zhang2, Bingbing Wang3
1College of Arts and Sciences, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China
2Department of Mathematics, Taizhou University, Linhai Zhejiang 317000, China
3Yinzhou Gulin Vocational High School, Ningbo Zhejiang 315177, China
Abstract:

In this paper, all connected graphs with the fourth largest signless-Laplacian eigenvalue less than two are determined.

Abstract:

The Lights Out game on a graph \(G\) is played as follows. Begin with a (not necessarily proper) coloring of \(V(G)\) with elements of \(\mathbb{Z}_2\). When a vertex is toggled, that vertex and all adjacent vertices change their colors from \(0\) to \(1\) or vice-versa. The game is won when all vertices have color \(0\). The winnability of this game is related to the existence of a parity dominating set.
We generalize this game to \(\mathbb{Z}_k\), \(k \geq 2\), and use this to define a generalization of parity dominating sets. We determine all paths, cycles, and complete bipartite graphs in which the game over \(\mathbb{Z}_k\) can be won regardless of the initial coloring, and we determine a constructive method for creating all caterpillar graphs in which the Lights Out game cannot always be won.

Meirun Chen1, Xiaofeng Guo2, Shaohui Zhai1
1Department of Mathematics and Physics, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen Fujian 361024, China
2School of Mathematical Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen Fujian 361005, China
Abstract:

A total coloring of a simple graph \(G\) is a coloring of both the edges and the vertices. A total coloring is proper if no two adjacent or incident elements receive the same color.The minimum number of colors required for a proper total coloring of \(G\) is called the total chromatic number of \(G\) and denoted by \(\chi_t(G)\). The Total Coloring Conjecture (TCC) states that for every simple graph \(G\),\(\Delta(G) + 1 \leq \chi_t(G) \leq \Delta(G) + 2.\) \(G\) is called Type \(1\) (resp. Type \(2\)) if \(\chi_t(G) = \Delta(G) +1\) (resp. \(\chi_t(G) = \Delta(G) + 2\)). In this paper, we prove that the folded hypercubes \(FQ_n\), is of Type \(1\) when \(n \geq 4\).

Abbas Heydari1, Bijan Taeri1
1 Department of Mathematical Sciences Isfahan University of Technology Isfahan 84156-83111, Iran
Abstract:

Let \(H\) be a simple graph with \(n\) vertices and \(\mathcal{G} = \{G_1, G_2, \ldots, G_n\}\) be a sequence of \(n\) rooted graphs.
Following Godsil and McKay (Bull. Austral. Math. Soc. \(18 (1978) 21-28\)) defined the the rooted product \(H({G})\) of \(H\) by \({G}\) is defined by identifying the root of \(G_i\) with the \(i\)th vertex of \(H\).In this paper, we calculate the Wiener index of \(H({G})\), i.e., the sum of distances between all pairs of vertices, in terms of the Wiener indices of \(G_i\), \(i = 1, 2, \ldots, k\).As an application, we derive a recursive relation for computing the Wiener index of Generalized Bethe trees.

Yuko Sanaka1
1GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, HIROSHIMA UNIVERSITY, KAGAMIYAMA 1-1-1, HIGASHI-HIROSHIMA, 739-8524, JAPAN
Abstract:

Let \(G\) be a connected graph with \(p\) vertices and \(q\) edges.A \(\gamma\)-labeling of \(G\) is a one-to-one function f from \(V(G)\) to \({0,1,…,q}\) that induces a labeling \(f’\) from \(V(G)\) to \({1,2,…,q}\) defined by \(f(e) = |f(u) – f(v)|\) for each edge \(e = uv\) of \(G\). The value of a \(\gamma\)-labeling \(f\) is defined to be the sum of the values of \(f’\) over all
edges. Also, the maximum value of a \(\gamma\)-labeling of \(G\) is defined as the maximum of the values among all \(\gamma\)-labelings of \(G,\) while the minimum value is the minimum of the values among all \(\gamma\)-labelings
of \(G\). In this paper, the maximum value and minimum value are determined for any complete bipartite graph.