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.

Xiaoyan Zhang1, Zan-Bo Zhang2, Xiaoxu Lu3, Jing Li4
1School of Mathematical Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210049, China
2Department of Computer Engineering, Guangdong Industry Technical College, Guangzhou, 510300, China
3Department of Mathematics and Physics, Zhengzhou Institute of Aeronautical Industry Management, Zhengzhou 450015, China
4Zhengzhou Railway Vocational and Technical College, Zhengzhou 450052, China
Abstract:

A graph is called induced matching extendable, if every induced matching of it is contained in a perfect matching of it. A graph \(G\) is called \(2k\)-vertex deletable induced matching extendable, if \(G — S\) is induced matching extendable for every \(S \subset V(G)\) with \(|S| = 2k\). The following results are proved in this paper. (1) If \(\kappa(G) \geq \lceil \frac{v(G)}{3} \rceil +1\) and \(\max\{d(u), d(v)\} \geq \frac{2v(G)+1}{3}\) for every two nonadjacent vertices \(u\) and \(v\), then \(G\) is induced matching extendable. (2) If \(\kappa(G) \geq \lceil \frac{v(G)+4k}{3}\rceil\) and \(\max\{d(u), d(v)\} \geq \lceil \frac{2v(G)+2k}{3} \rceil\) for every two nonadjacent vertices \(u\) and \(v\), then \(G\) is \(2k\)-vertex deletable induced matching extendable. (3) If \(d(u) + d(v) \geq 2\lceil\frac{2v(G)+2k}{3} \rceil – 1\) for every two nonadjacent vertices \(u\) and \(v\), then \(G\) is \(2k\)-vertex deletable IM-extendable. Examples are given to show the tightness of all the conditions.

Shu-Guang Guo1
1School of Mathematical Sciences, Yancheng Teachers University, Yancheng 224002, Jiangsu, P. R. China
Abstract:

Bicyclic graphs are connected graphs in which the number of edges equals the number of vertices plus one. In this paper, we determine the first three graphs among all bicyclic graphs with \(n\) vertices, ordered according to their least eigenvalues in increasing order.

Jianxiu Hao1
1Institute of Mathematics, Physics and Information Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, P.O. Box: 321004, Jinhua, Zhejiang, P.R. China;
Abstract:

The modified Zagreb indices are topological indices which reflect certain structural features of organic molecules. In this paper we study the modified Zagreb indices of joins and compositions.

Alan C.H.Ling1
1Department of Computer Science University of Vermont Burlington, Vermont USA 05405
Abstract:

In \([1]\), well-ordered Steiner triple systems were introduced and used to construct \(1\)-perfect partitions of the \(n\)-cube. However, non-trivial well-ordered Steiner triple systems were only known to exist when \(v =15\). In this short note, we present a simple construction to give a non-trivial well-ordered Steiner triple system of order \(v = 2^n – 1\) for all \(n \geq 5\) and this settles a problem in \([1]\).

Yichao Chen1, Yanpei Liu2
1College of Mathematics and Econometrics, Hu nan University, Changsha, 410082, China
2Department of Mathematics, Beijing JiaoTong University, Beijing, 100044, China
Abstract:

Different neighbor conditions are considered in \([3,4,9]\) for a graph up-embeddable. In this paper, we consider the neighbor conditions of all the pairs of vertices with diameter \(2\) and obtain the following new result: if \(|N_G(u) \cap N_G(v)| \geq 2\) for any two vertices \(u,v \in D\) where \(D = \{(u, v) | d_G(u, v) = 2, u,v \in V(G)\}\), then \(G\) is up-embeddable.

Daniele A.Gewurz1, Francesca Merola2
1Dipartimento di Matematica Université di Roma “La Sapienza” Pile Aldo Moro, 2 00185 Roma, Italia
2Dipartimento di Matematica Universita di Roma Tre Largo S. Leonardo Murialdo, 1 00146 Roma, Italia
Abstract:

We study the factorisations of a cyclic permutation of length \(n\) as a product of a minimal number of transpositions, calculating the number \(f(n, m)\) of factorisations in which a fixed element is moved \(m\) times. In this way, we also give a new proof-in the spirit of Clarke’s proof of Cayley’s theorem on the number of labelled trees-of the fact that there are \(n^{n-2}\) such factorisations.

E. Kilic1, D. Tasci2, P. Haukkanen3
1TOBB Economics anp TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT 06560 ANKARA TURKEY
2Gazi UNIVERSITY, MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT, 06500 ANKARA TURKEY
3DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS, STATISTICS AND PHILOSOPHY, FI-33014 UNIVERSITY OF TAMPERE, FINLAND
Abstract:

We show that there are relationships between a generalized Lucas sequence and the permanent and determinant of some Hessenberg matrices.

Nancy Eaton1, Gary Tiner2
1University of Rhode Island
2Faulkner University
Abstract:

Suppose \(G\) is a simple graph with average vertex degree greater than \(k – 2\). Erdős and Sós conjectured that \(G\) contains every tree on \(k\) vertices. Sidorenko proved \(G\) contains every tree that has a vertex \(v\) with at least \(\left\lfloor\frac{k}{2}\right\rfloor – 1\) leaf neighbors. We prove this is true if \(v\) has only \(\left\lceil\frac{k}{2}\right\rceil – 2\) leaf neighbors. We generalize Sidorenko’s result by proving that if \(G\) has minimum degree \(d\), then \(G\) contains every tree that has a vertex with at least \((k – 1) – d\) leaf neighbors. We use these results to prove that if \(G\) has average degree greater than \(k – 2\) and minimum degree at least \(k – 4\), then \(G\) contains every tree on \(k\) vertices.

Xu Huafeng1,2, Bo Xianhui3
1College of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, Jiangshu 210016, P. R. China
2Henan University of Urban Construction, Pingdingshan, Henan 467001, P. R. China
3School of Accountancy, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing 100081, P. R. China
Abstract:

A simple graph \(G\)is induced matching extendable, shortly IM-extendable, if every induced matching of \(G\) is included in a perfect matching of \(G\). The cyclic graph \(C_{2n}(1,k)\) is the graph with \(2n\) vertices \(x_0, x_1, \ldots, x_{2n-1}\), such that \(x_ix_j\) is an edge of \(C_{2n}(1,k)\) if either \(i-j \equiv \pm 1 \pmod{2n}\) or \(i-j \equiv \pm k \pmod{2n}\). We show in this paper that the only IM-extendable graphs in \(C_{2n}(1,k)\) are \(C_{2n}(1,3)\) for \(n \geq 4\); \(C_{2n}(1,n-1)\) for \(n \geq 3\); \(C_{2n}(1,n)\) for \(n \geq 2\); \(C_{2n}(1,\frac{n}{2})\) for \(n \geq 4\); \(C_{2n}(1,\frac{2n+1}{3})\) for \(n \geq 5\); \(C_{2n}(1,\frac{2n+2}{3})\) for \(n \leq 14\); \(C_{2n}(1,\frac{2n-2}{3})\) for \(n \leq 16\); \(C_{2n}(1,2)\) for \(n \leq 4\); \(C_{20}(1,8)\); \(C_{30}(1,6)\); \(C_{40}(1,8)\); \(C_{60}(1,12)\) and \(C_{80}(1,10)\).

Wantao Ning1, Qiuli Li1, Heping Zhang1
1School of Mathematics and Statistics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, P. R. China,
Abstract:

For a vertex \(v\) in a graph \(G\), a local cut at \(v\) is a set of size \(d(v)\) consisting of the vertex \(x\) or the edge \(vx\) for each \(x \in N(v)\). A set \(U \subseteq V(G) \cup E(G)\) is a diameter-increasing set of \(G\) if the diameter of \(G – U\) is greater than the diameter of \(G\). In the present work, we first prove that every smallest generalized cutset of Johnson graph \(J(n,k)\) is a local cut except for \(J(4,2)\). Then we show that every smallest diameter-increasing set in \(J(n,k)\) is a subset of a local cut except for \(J(n,2)\) and \(J(6, 3)\).