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.

C.N. Campos1, C.P. de Mello1
1Instituto de Computacaéo, UNICAMP, Caixa Postal 6176, 13083-970, Campinas, SP, Brasil.
Abstract:

The total chromatic number \(\chi_\tau(G)\) is the least number of colours needed to colour the vertices and edges of a graph \(G\) such that no incident or adjacent elements (vertices or edges) receive the same colour. This work determines the total chromatic number of grids, particular cases of partial grids, near-ladders, and of \(k\)-dimensional cubes.

Ming-Ju Lee1, Chiang Lin2
1Jen-Teh Junior College of Medicine, Nursing and Management Houlong, Miaoli, Taiwan 356, R.O.C.
2Department of Mathematics National Central University Chung-Li, Taiwan 320, R.O.C.
Abstract:

The \({star arboricity}\) \(sa(G)\) of a graph \(G\) is the minimum number of star forests which are needed to decompose all edges of \(G\). For integers \(k\) and \(n\), \(1 \leq k \leq n\), the \({crown}\) \(C_{n,k}\) is the graph with vertex set \(\{a_0, a_1, \ldots, a_{n-1}, b_0, b_1, \ldots, b_{n-1}\}\) and edge set \(\{a_ib_j : i = 0, 1, \ldots, n-1, j \equiv i+1, i+2, \ldots, i+k \pmod{n}\}\). In \([2]\), Lin et al. conjectured that for every \(k\) and \(n\), \(3 \leq k \leq n-1\), the star arboricity of the crown \(C_{n,k}\) is \(\lceil k/2 \rceil + 1\) if \(k\) is odd and \(\lceil k/2 \rceil + 2\) otherwise. In this note, we show that the above conjecture is not true for the case \(n = 9t\) (\(t\) is a positive integer) and \(k = 4\) by showing that \(sa(C_{9t,4}) = 3\).

Steven Butler1
1Department of Mathematics University of California, San Diego La Jolla, CA 92093-0112, USA
Abstract:

Let \(\mathcal{P}(n,k)\) denote the number of graphs on \(n+k\) vertices that contain \(P_n\), a path on \(n\) vertices, as an induced subgraph. In this note, we will find upper and lower bounds for \(\mathcal{P}(n,k)\). Using these bounds, we show that for \(k\) fixed, \(\mathcal{P}(n,k)\) behaves roughly like an exponential function of \(n\) as \(n\) gets large.

Suzanne M.Seager1
1Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS, Canada
Abstract:

A \({dominating \;broadcast}\) of a graph \(G\) of diameter \(d\) is a function \(f: V(G) \to \{0, 1, 2, \ldots, d\}\) such that for all \(v \in V(G)\) there exists \(u \in V(G)\) with \(d(u, v) \leq f(u)\). We investigate dominating broadcasts for caterpillars.

Wanzhou Ye1
1Department of Mathematics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444
Abstract:

In this paper, we obtain a fundamental result on the dynamical behavior of symmetric weighted mappings for two-dimensional real sequence spaces \({R}_s\).

Xue-gang Chen1, Moo Young Sohn2
1Mathematics, North China Electric Power University Beijing 102206, China
2Mathematics, Changwon National University Changwon 641-773, Korea
Abstract:

In \(2006\), Mojdeh and Jafari Rad [On the total domination critical graphs, Electronic Notes in Discrete Mathematics, 24 (2006), 89-92] gave an open problem: Does there exist a \(3\)-\(\gamma_t\)-critical graph \(G\) of order \(\Delta(G) + 3\) with \(\Delta(G)\) odd and \(\delta(G) \geq 2\)? In this paper, we positively answer that for each odd integer \(n \geq 9\), there exists a \(3\)-\(\gamma_t\)-critical graph \(G_n\) of order \(n+3\) with \(\delta(G) \geq 2\). On the contrary, we also prove that for \(\Delta(G) = 3, 5, 7\), there is no \(3\)-\(\gamma_t\)-critical graph of order \(\Delta(G) + 3\) with \(\delta(G) \geq 2\).

Hong Hu1
1Department of Mathematics, Huaiyin Teachers College, Huaian 223300, Jiangsu Province, P.R.China
Abstract:

Let \(\{w_n\}\) be a second-order recurrence sequence. According to the definition and characteristics of the recurrent sequence, we proved a recursion formula for certain reciprocal sums whose denominators are products of consecutive elements of \(\{w_n\}\).

Shanhai Li1,2, Hao Shen1
1Department of Mathematics, Shanghai JiaoTong University Shanghai 200240 China
2School of Statistics and Mathematics, Shandong Economic University, Jinan Shandong 250014 China
Abstract:

Let \(G\) be a graph in which each vertex has been colored using one of \(k\) colors, say \(c_1, c_2, \ldots, c_k\). If an \(m\)-cycle \(C\) in \(G\) has \(n_i\) vertices colored \(c_i\), \(i = 1, 2, \ldots, k\), and \(|n_i – n_j| \leq 1\) for any \(i, j \in \{1, 2, \ldots, k\}\), then \(C\) is equitably \(k\)-colored. An \(m\)-cycle decomposition \(\mathcal{C}\) of a graph \(G\) is equitably \(k\)-colorable if the vertices of \(G\) can be colored so that every \(m\)-cycle in \(\mathcal{C}\) is equitably \(k\)-colored. For \(m = 4, 5\), and \(6\), we completely settle the existence problem for equitably \(2\)-colorable \(m\)-cycle decompositions of complete graphs with the edges of a \(1\)-factor added.

AP Burger1, JH Van Vuuren1
1Department of Logistics, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602, Republic of South Africa,
Abstract:

Suppose a network facility location problem is modelled by means of an undirected, simple graph \(G = (\mathcal{V, E})\) with \(\mathcal = \{v_1, \ldots, v_n\}\). Let \(\mathbf{r} = (r_1, \ldots, r_n)\) and \(\mathbf{s} = (s_1, \ldots, s_n)\) be vectors of nonnegative integers and consider the combinatorial optimization problem of locating the minimum number, \(\gamma(\mathbf{r}, \mathbf{s}, G)\) (say), of commodities on the vertices of \(G\) such that at least \(s_j\) commodities are located in the vicinity of (i.e. in the closed neighbourhood of) vertex \(v_j\), with no more than \(r_j\) commodities placed at vertex \(v_j\) itself, for all \(j = 1, \ldots, n\). In this paper we establish lower and upper bounds on the parameter \(\gamma(\mathbf{r}, \mathbf{s}, G)\) for a general graph \(G\). We also determine this parameter exactly for certain classes of graphs, such as paths, cycles, complete graphs, complete bipartite graphs and establish good upper bounds on \(\gamma(\mathbf{r}, \mathbf{s}, G)\) for a class of grid graphs in the special case where \(r_j = r\) and \(s_j = s\) for all \(j = 1, \ldots, n\).

Gregory P.Tollisen1, Tamas Lengyel2
1OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE, MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT, 1600 CamPus Roab, Los ANGELES, CA 90041
2OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE, MaTHEMATICS DEPARTMENT, 1600 Campus Roab, Los ANGELES, CA 90041
Abstract:

Let \(A\) be an arbitrary circulant stochastic matrix, and let \(\underline{x}_0\) be a vector. An “asymptotic” canonical form is derived for \(A^k\) (as \(k \to \infty\)) as a tensor product of three simple matrices by employing a pseudo-invariant on sections of states for a Markov process with transition matrix \(A\), and by analyzing how \(A\) acts on the sections, through its auxiliary polynomial. An element-wise asymptotic characterization of \(A^k\) is also given, generalizing previous results to cover both periodic and aperiodic cases. For a particular circulant stochastic matrix, identifying the intermediate stage at which fractions first appear in the sequence \(\underline{x}_k = A^k \underline{x}_0\), is accomplished by utilizing congruential matrix identities and \((0,1)\)-matrices to determine the minimum \(2\)-adic order of the coordinates of \(\underline{x}_k\), through their binary expansions. Throughout, results are interpreted in the context of an arbitrary weighted average repeatedly applied simultaneously to each term of a finite sequence when read cyclically.