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.

John L.Goldwasser1, William F.Klostermeyer2
1Dept. of Mathematics West Virginia University Morgantown, WV 26506
2Dept. of Computer and Information Sciences University of North Florida Jacksonville, FL 32224-2669
Abstract:

A subset \(D\) of the vertex set \(V\) of a graph is called an open odd dominating set if each vertex in \(V\) is adjacent to an odd number of vertices in \(D\) (adjacency is irreflexive). In this paper we solve the existence and enumeration problems for odd open dominating sets (and analogously defined even open dominating sets) in the \(m \times n\) grid graph and prove some structural results for those that do exist. We use a combination of combinatorial and linear algebraic methods, with particular reliance on the sequence of Fibonacci polynomials over \({GF}(2)\).

R.G. Stanton1
1Department of Computer Science University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3T 2N2
Abstract:

By introducing \(4\) colour classes in projective planes with non-Fano quads, discussion of the planes of small order is simplified.

Zeev Nutov1, Masao Tsugaki2
1Department of Computer Science The Open University of Israel
2Department of Mathematical Information Science Science University of Tokyo
Abstract:

Let \(G = (V, E)\) be a \(k\)-connected graph. For \(t \geq 3\), a subset \(T \subset V\) is a \((t,k)\)-shredder if \(|T| = k\) and \(G – T\) has at least \(t\) connected components. It is known that the number of \((t,k)\)-shredders in a \(k\)-connected graph on \(n\) nodes is less than \(\frac{2n}{2t – 3}\). We show a slightly better bound for the case \(k \leq 2t – 3\).

Jason Brown1, Richard Hoshino1
1Department of Mathematics and Statistics Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 3J5
Abstract:

Let \(L\) and \(R\) be two graphs. For any positive integer \(n\), the Ehrenfeucht-Fraissé game \(G_n(L, R)\) is played as follows: on the \(i\)-th move, with \(1 \leq i \leq n\), the first player chooses a vertex on either \(L\) or \(R\), and the second player responds by choosing a vertex on the other graph. Let \(l_i\) be the vertex of \(L\) chosen on the \(i^{th}\) move, and let \(r_i\) be the vertex of \(R\) chosen on the \(i^{th}\) move. The second player wins the game iff the induced subgraphs \(L\{l_1,l_2,…,l_n\}\) and \(R\{r_1,r_2,…,r_n\}\) are isomorphic under the mapping sending \(l_i\) to \(r_i\). It is known that the second player has a winning strategy if and only if the two graphs, viewed as first-order logical structures (with a binary predicate E), are indistinguishable (in the corresponding first-order theory) by sentences of quantifier depth at most \(n\). In this paper we will give the first complete description of when the second player has a winning strategy for \(L\) and \(R\) being both paths or both cycles. The results significantly improve previous partial results.

Gaowen Xi1
1Department of Mathematics, Luoyang Teachers’ College, Luoyang, 471022, P. R. China
Abstract:

By applying the method of generating function, the purpose of this paper is to give several summations of reciprocals related to \(l-th\) power of generalized Fibonacci sequences. As applications, some identities involving Fibonacci, Lucas numbers are obtained.

Malgorzata Moczurad1, Wlodzimierz Moczurad1
1Institute of Computer Science, Jagiellonian University Nawojki 11, 30-072 Krakéw, Poland
Abstract:

Bricks are polyominoes with labelled cells. The problem whether a given set of bricks is a code is undecidable in general. We consider sets consisting of square bricks only. We have shown that in this setting, the codicity of small sets (two bricks) is decidable, but \(15\) bricks are enough to make the problem undecidable. Thus the step from words to even simple shapes changes the algorithmic properties significantly (codicity is easily decidable for words). In the present paper we are interested whether this is reflected by quantitative properties of words and bricks. We use their combinatorial properties to show that the proportion of codes among all sets is asymptotically equal to \(1\) in both cases.

Guoping Wang1, Qiongxiang Huang1
1The College of Mathematics and Systems Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830046, P.R.China
Abstract:

Let \(G_{n,m} = C_n \times P_m\), be the cartesian product of an \(n\)-cycle \(C_n\) and a path \(P_m\) of length \(m-1\). We prove that \(\chi'(G_{n,m}) = \chi'(G_{n,m}) = 4\) if \(m \geq 3\), which implies that the list-edge-coloring conjecture (LLECC) holds for all graphs \(G_{n,m}\).

Nicholas A.Loehr1
1Department of Mathematics University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19104
Abstract:

Various authors have defined statistics on Dyck paths that lead to generalizations of the Catalan numbers. Three such statistics are area, maj, and bounce. Haglund, whe introduced the bounce statistic, gave an algebraic proof that \(n(n – 1)/2+\) area — bounce and maj have the same distribution on Dyck paths of order \(n\). We give an explicit bijective proof of the same result.

Dalibor Froncek 1, Tereza Kovarova2
1Department of Mathematics and Statistics University of Minnesota Duluth 1117 University Drive Duluth, MN 55810 – 3000, U.S.A.
2Department of Mathematics and Descriptive Geometry Technical University of Ostrava 17. listopadu 15 708 33 Ostrava, Czech Republic
Abstract:

We develop a new type of a vertex labeling of graphs, namely \(2n\)-cyclic blended labeling, which is a generalization of some previously known labelings. We prove that a graph with this labeling factorizes the complete graph on \(2nk\) vertices, where \(k\) is odd and \(n, k > 1\).

Yahui Hu1
1Department of Mathematics, Hunan First Normal College, Changsha 410205, P.R.China
Abstract:

Let \(D = (V, E)\) be a primitive digraph. The exponent of \(D\) at a vertex \(u \in V\), denoted by \(\text{exp}_D(u)\), is defined to be the least integer \(k\) such that there is a walk of length \(k\) from \(u\) to \(v\) for each \(v \in V\). Let \(V = \{v_1,v_2,\ldots ,v_n\}\). The vertices of \(V\) can be ordered so that \(\text{exp}_D(v_{i_1}) \leq \text{exp}_D(v_{i_2}) \leq \ldots \leq \text{exp}_D(v_{i_n})\). The number \(\text{exp}_D(v_{i_k})\) is called \(k\)-exponent of \(D\), denoted by \(\text{exp}_D(k)\). In this paper, we completely characterize \(1\)-exponent set of primitive, minimally strong digraphs with \(n\) vertices.