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.

Mehdi Eliasi1, Bijan Taeri1
1Department of Mathematical Sciences, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfehan, Iran
Abstract:

The hyper Wiener index of a connected graph \(G\) is defined as
\(WW(G) = \frac{1}{2}\sum_{u,v \in V(G)} d(u,v) + \frac{1}{2}\sum_{(u,v) \in V(G)} d(u,v)^2\) where \(d(u, v)\) is the distance between vertices \(u,v \in V(G)\).
In this paper we find an exact expression for hyper Wiener index of \(HC_6[p, q]\), the zigzag polyhex nanotori.

T.Aaron Gulliver1, John N.C.Wong1
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3055, STN CSC, Victoria, BC, Canada V8W 3P6,
Abstract:

In this paper, we classify all optimal linear \([n, n/2]\) codes over \(\mathbb{Z}_4\) up to length \(n = 8\), and determine the number of optimal codes which are self-dual and formally self-dual. Optimal codes with linear binary images are identified. In particular, we show that for length \(8\), there are nine optimal codes for the Hamming distance, one optimal code for the Lee distance, and two optimal codes for the Euclidean distance.

Zan-Bo Zhang1,2, Tao Wang3, Dingjun Lou1
1Department of Computer Science, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
2Department of Computer Engineering, Guangdong Industry Technical College, Guangzhou 510300, China
3Center for Combinatorics, LPMC, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
Abstract:

In this paper, we show that if \(k \geq \frac{v+2}{4}\), where \(v\) denotes the order of a graph, a non-bipartite graph \(G\) is \(k\)-extendable if and only if it is \(2k\)-factor-critical. If \(k \geq \frac{v-3}{4}\), a graph \(G\) is \(k\)-extendable if and only if it is \((2k+1)\)-factor-critical. We also give examples to show that the two bounds are best possible. Our results are answers to a problem posted by Favaron \([3]\) and Yu \([11]\).

Zongtian Wei1, Yang Li1, Junmin Zhang1
1College of Science, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology Xian, Shaanxi 710055, P.R. China
Abstract:

The edge-neighbor-scattering number of a graph \(G\) is defined to be \(EN_S(G) = \max\limits_{S\subseteq E(G)}\{w(G/S) -\mid |S|\}\) where \(S\) is any edge-cut-strategy of \(G\), \(w(G/S)\) is the number of the components of \(G/S\). In this paper, we give edge-neighbor-scattering number of some special classes of graphs, and then mainly discuss the general properties of the parameter.

Ahmet Tekcan1
1Unupac University, Facuiry oF SCIENCE, DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS, GORUKLE 16059, Bursa-TURKEY
Abstract:

Let \(F(x,y) = ax^2 + bxy + cy^2\) be a binary quadratic form of discriminant \(\Delta = b^2 – 4ac\) for \(a,b,c \in \mathbb{Z}\), let \(p\) be a prime number and let \(\mathbb{F}_p\) be a finite field. In this paper we formulate the number of integer solutions of cubic congruence \(x^3 + ax^2 + bx + c \equiv 0 \pmod{p}\) over \(\mathbb{F}_p\), for two specific binary quadratic forms \(F_1^k(x,y) = x^2 + kxy + ky^2\) and \(F_2^k(x,y) = kx^2 + kxy + k^2y^2\) for integer \(k\) such that \(1 \leq k \leq 9\). Later we consider representation of primes by \(F_1^k\) and \(F_2^k\).

Iwona Wloch1, Andrzej Wloch1
1Technical University of Rzeszéw Faculty of Mathematics and Applied Physics ul. W. Pola 2,35-959 Rzeszéw, Poland
Abstract:

A subset \(S \subseteq V(G)\) is independent if no two vertices of \(S\) are adjacent in \(G\). In this paper we study the number of independent sets which meets the set of leaves in a tree. In particular we determine the smallest number and the largest number of these sets among \(n\)-vertex trees. In each case we characterize the extremal graphs.

Xu Xirong1, Yang Yuansheng1, Xi Yue1, Khandoker Mohammed Mominul Haque2, Shen Lixin3
1Department of Computer Science, Dalian University of Technology Dalian, 116024, P. R. China
2Department of Computer Science and Engineering Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh
3Department of Computer Science, Dalian Maritime University Dalian, 116026, P. R. China
Abstract:

A graph \(G\) is called super edge-magic if there exists a bijection \(f\) from \(V(G) \cup E(G)\) to \(\{1,2,\ldots,|V(G)| + |E(G)|\}\) such that \(f(u) + f(v) + f(uv) = k\) is a constant for any \(uv \in E(G)\) and \(f(V(G)) = \{1,2,\ldots,|V(G)|\}\). Yasuhiro Fukuchi proved that the generalized Petersen graph \(P(n, 2)\) is super edge-magic for odd \(n \geq 3\). In this paper, we show that the generalized Petersen graph \(P(n,3)\) is super edge-magic for odd \(n \geq 5\).

Latifa Faouzi1, William Kocay2, Gérard Lopez3, Hamza Si Kaddour4
1Département de Mathématiques, Université Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah, Fés, Maroc
2Department of Computer Science, University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB RST 2N2, Canada
3Institut de Mathématiques de Luminy, CNRS-UPR 9016 163 avenue de Luminy, case 907, 18288 Marseille cedez 9, France
4Institut Camille Jordan, Université Claude Bernard Lyon1 Domaine de Gerland – bét. Recherche B 50 avenue Tony-Garnier, F 69366 – Lyon cedex 07, France
Abstract:

For any integer \(k\), two tournaments \(T\) and \(T’\), on the same finite set \(V\) are \(k\)-similar, whenever they have the same score vector, and for every tournament \(H\) of size \(k\) the number of subtournaments of \(T\) (resp. \(T’\)) isomorphic to \(H\) is the same. We study the \(4\)-similarity. According to the decomposability, we construct three infinite classes of pairs of non-isomorphic \(4\)-similar tournaments.

E.Gokcen Kocer1, Naim Tuglu2
1Selcuk University, Faculty of Education 42099 Meram – Konya, Turkey
2Gazi University, Faculty of Arts and Science 06500 Teknikokullar – Ankara, Turkey
Abstract:

In this paper, we define the Pell and Pell-Lucas \(p\)-numbers and derive the analytical formulas for these numbers. These formulas are similar to Binet’s formula for the classical Pell numbers.

Jingrong Chen1, Heping Zhang2
1College of Mathematics, Physics and Software Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730070, P. R. China
2School of Mathematics and Statistics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, P. R. China
Abstract:

A graph \(G\) is called resonant if the boundary of each face of \(G\) is an \(F\)-alternating closed trail with respect to some \(f\)-factor \(F\) of \(G\). We show that a plane bipartite graph \(G\) is resonant if and only if it is connected and each edge of \(G\) is contained in an \(f\)-factor and not in another \(f\)-factor.