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.

Wei Jin1, Weijun Liu2
1School of Mathematics, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410075, P, R. China
2School of Science, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, 226007, P. R. China
Abstract:

In paper \([7]\), S. J. Xu and W. Jin proved that a cyclic group of order \(pq\), for two different odd primes \(p\) and \(q\), is a \(3\)-BCI-group, and a finite \(p\)-group is a weak \((p – 1)\)-BCI-group. As a continuation of their works, in this paper, we prove that a cyclic group of order \(2p\) is a \(3\)-BCI-group, and a finite \(p\)-group is a \((p – 1)\)-BCI-group.

D.G. Knight1
1Division of Mathematics and Statistics University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd, CF37 IDL, Wales, U.K.
Abstract:

Fifty-five new or improved lower bounds for \(A(n, d, w)\), the maximum possible number of binary vectors of length \(n\), weight \(w\), and pairwise Hamming distance no less than \(d\), are presented.

Stevo Stevic1
1Mathematical Institute of the Serbian Academy of Science, Knez Mihailova 36/III, 11000 Beograd, Serbia
Abstract:

We give some estimates of the norm of weighted composition operators from \(\alpha\)-Bloch spaces to Bloch-type spaces on the unit ball in \(7\).

Yinghong Ma1, Aiyun Wang1, JianXiang Li2
1School of Management, Shandong Normal University, Shandong, China
2Department of Mathematics, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Hunan, China
Abstract:

Let \(G\) be a graph with vertex set \(V(G)\) and edge set \(E(G)\). The isolated toughness of \(G\) is defined as
\(I(G) = \min\left\{\frac{|S|}{i(G-S)}: S \subseteq V(G), i(G-S) \geq 2\right\}\)
if \(G\) is not complete. Otherwise, set \(I(G) = |V(G)| – 1\). Let \(a\) and \(b\) be positive integers such that \(1 \leq a \leq b\), and let \(g(x)\) and \(f(x)\) be positive integral-valued functions defined on \(V(G)\) such that \(a \leq g(x) \leq f(x) \leq b\). Let \(h(e) \in [0,1]\) be a function defined on \(E(G)\), and let \(d(x) = \sum_{e \in E_x} h(e)\) where \(E_x = \{xy : y \in V(G)\}\). Then \(d(x)\) is called the fractional degree of \(x\) in \(G\). We call \(h\) an indicator function if \(g(x) \leq d(x) \leq f(x)\) holds for each \(x \in V(G)\). Let \(E^h = \{e : e \in E(G), h(e) \neq 0\}\) and let \(G_h\) be a spanning subgraph of \(G\) such that \(E(G_h) = E^h\). We call \(G_h\) a fractional \((g,f)\)-factor. The main results in this paper are to present some sufficient conditions about isolated toughness for the existence of fractional \((g,f)\)-factors. If \(1 = g(x) < f(x) = b\), this condition can be improved and the improved bound is not only sharp but also a necessary and sufficient condition for a graph to have a fractional \([1,b]\)-factor.

Hao Li1,2, Xueliang Li3, Guizhen Liu4, Guanghui Wang1,4
1Laboratoire de Recherche en Informatique UMR 8623, C.N.R.S.-Université de Paris-sud 91405-Orsay cedex, France
2School of Mathematics and Statistics Lanzhou University 730000 Lanzhou, Gansu, China
3 Center for Combinatorics and LPMC Nankai University Tianjin 300071, China
4School of Mathematics and System Science Shandong University Jinan Shandong 250100, China
Abstract:

Let \((G,C)\) be an edge-colored bipartite graph with bi-partition \((X,Y)\). A heterochromatic matching of \(G\) is such a matching in which no two edges have the same color. Let \(N^c(S)\) denote a maximum color neighborhood of \(S \subseteq V(G)\).

Damin Liu1, Hong-Jian Lai2, Zhi-Hong Chen3
1Beijing University of Chemical Technology, P. R. China
2West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506
3Butler University, Indianapolis, IN 46208
Abstract:

The spanning tree packing number of a connected graph \(G\), denoted by \(\tau(G)\), is the maximum number of edge-disjoint spanning trees of \(G\). In this paper, we determine the minimum number of edges that must be added to \(G\) so that the resulting graph has spanning tree packing number at least \(k\), for a given value of \(k\).

Min Zhao1,1, Erfang Shan2
1Department of Mathematics, China Jiliang University, Zhejiang 310018, China
2Department of Mathematics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Abstract:

Let \(\gamma_{\overline{E}}\) and \(\gamma_{\overline{S}}\) be the minus edge domination and minus star domination numbers of a graph, respectively, and let \(\gamma_E\), \(\beta_1\), \(\alpha_1\) be the edge domination, matching, and edge covering numbers of a graph. In this paper, we present some bounds on \(\gamma_{\overline{E}}\) and \(\gamma_{\overline{S}}\) and characterize the extremal graphs of even order \(n\) attaining the upper bound \(\frac{n}{2}\) on \(\gamma_{\overline{E}}\). We also investigate the relationships between the above parameters.

Zhibin Du1, Bo Zhou1
1Department of Mathematics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, P. R. China
Abstract:

The Wiener index of a connected graph is defined as the sum of all distances between unordered pairs of vertices. We determine the unicyclic graphs of given order, cycle length and number of pendent vertices with minimum Wiener index.

Qinglun Yan1, Yidong Sun1, Tianming Wang2
1Department of Applied Mathematics, Dalian University of Technology Dalian 116024, P.R.China
2Department of mathematics , Hainan Normal University Haikou 571158, P.R.China
Abstract:

In this paper, by using the generating functions of Fibonacci polynomial sequences and their partial derivatives, we work out some identities involving the Fibonacci polynomials. As their primary applications, we obtain several identities involving the Fibonacci numbers and Lucas numbers.

Sandi Klavzar1, Matjaz Kovie2
1Department of Mathematics and Computer Science PeF’, University of Maribor Koroska cesta 160, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
2Institute of Mathematics, Physics and Mechanics Jadranska 19, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Abstract:

Fukuda and Handa \([7]\) asked whether every even partial cube \(G\) is harmonic-even. It is shown that the answer is positive if the isometric dimension of \(G\) equals its diameter which is in turn true for partial cubes with isometric dimension at most \(6\). Under an additional technical condition it is proved that an even partial cube \(G\) is harmonic-even or has two adjacent vertices whose diametrical vertices are at distance at least \(4\). Some related open problems are posed.