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.

Frank Rubin1
1 59 DeGarmo Hills Road Wappingers Falls, NY 12590
Abstract:

A computer program for finding knight coverings of a chessboard is described, and some improved coverings for boards of sizes \(16\times 16\) through \(25\times 25\) are shown.

Daphne Der-Fen Liu1, Xuding Zhu2
1Department of Mathematics California State University, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA
2Department of Applied Mathematics National Sun Yat-sen University Kaohsien, Taiwan 80424
Abstract:

Let \(G\) be a graph and \(d, d’\) be positive integers, \(d’ \geq d\). An \(m\)-\((d, d’)\)-circular distance two labeling is a function \(f\) from \(V(G)\) to \(\{0, 1, 2, \ldots, m-1\}\) such that:\(|f(u) – f(v)|_m \geq d\) if \(u\) and \(v\) are adjacent; and \(|f(u) – f(v)|_m \geq d’\) if \(u\) and \(v\) are distance two apart, where \(|x|_m := \min\{|x|, m – |x|\}\) .The minimum \(m\) such that there exists an \(m\)-\((d, d’)\)-circular labeling for \(G\) is called the \(\sigma_{d, d’}\)-number of \(G\) and denoted by \(\sigma_{d, d’}(G)\). The \(\sigma_{d, d’}\)-numbers for trees can be obtained by a first-fit algorithm. In this article, we completely determine the \(\sigma_{d, 1}\)-numbers for cycles. In addition, we show connections between generalized circular distance labeling and circular chromatic number.

Clark Kimberling1
1Department of Mathematics, University of Evansville, Evansville, IN 47722
Abstract:

The inventory of a \(2 \times m\) array \(A = A(i,j)\) consisting of \(n\) not necessarily distinct positive integers \(\mathbb{I}(2,j)\) is the \(2 \times n\) array \(\mathbb{I}(A) = \mathbb{I}(i,j)\), where \(\mathbb{I}(i,j)\) is the number of occurrences of \(\mathbb{I}(1,j)\) in \(A\). Define \(\mathbb{I}^q(A) = I(\mathbb{I}^{q-1}(A))\) for \(q \geq 1\), with \(\mathbb{I}^0(A) = A\). For every \(A\), the chain \(\{\mathbb{I}^q(A)\}\) of inventories is eventually periodic, with period \(1, 2\), or \(3\). The proof depends on runlengths of partitions of integers. A final section is devoted to an open question about cumulative inventory chains.

Tomoki Nakamigawa1
1Department of Mathematics, Keio University Yokohama 223-8522, Japan
Abstract:

A decomposition \(\mathcal{F} = \{F_1, \ldots, F_r\}\) of the edge set of a graph \(G\) is called a resolving \(r\)-decomposition if for any pair of edges \(e_1\) and \(e_2\), there exists an index \(i\) such that \(d(e_1, F_i) \neq d(e_2, F_i)\), where \(d(e, F)\) denotes the distance from \(e\) to \(F\). The decomposition dimension \(dec(G)\) of a graph \(G\) is the least integer \(r\) such that there exists a resolving \(r\)-decomposition. Let \(K_n\) be the complete graph with \(n\) vertices. It is proved that \(dec(K_n) \leq \frac{1}{2} (\log_2 n)^2 (1 + o(1)).\)

Sheng Bau1, Michael A.Henning1, Peter Dankelmann2
1School of Mathematics, Statistics, & Information Technology University of Natal Private Bag X01 Pietermaritzburg, 3209 South Africa
2School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences University of Natal Durban, 4041 South Africa
Abstract:

For a vertex \(v\) of a graph \(G = (V, E)\), the lower independence number \(i_v(G)\) of \(G\) relative to \(v\) is the minimum cardinality of a maximal independent set in \(G\) that contains \(v\). The average lower independence number of \(G\) is \(i_{av}(G) = \frac{1}{|V|} \sum_{v\in V} i_v(G)\). In this paper, we show that if \(G\) is a tree of order \(n\), then \(i_{av}(G) \geq {2}\sqrt{n} + O(1)\), while if \(G\) is an outer-planar graph of order \(n\), then \(i_{av}(G) \geq 2\sqrt{\frac{n}{3}} + O(1)\). Both bounds are asymptotically sharp.

James A.Sellers1
1Department of Mathematics Penn State University 107 Whitmore Lab University Park, PA 16802
Abstract:

We consider the partition function \(b’_p(n)\), which counts the number of partitions of the integer \(n\) into distinct parts with no part divisible by the prime \(p\). We prove the following: Let \(p\) be a prime greater than \(3\) and let \(r\) be an integer between \(1\) and \(p-1\), inclusively, such that \(24r+1\) is a quadratic nonresidue modulo \(p\). Then, for all nonnegative integers \(n\), \(b’_p{(pn+r)} \equiv 0 \pmod{2}.\)

M.M. Jaradat1
1Department. of Mathematics, Yarmouk University, Irbid-Jordan,
Abstract:

We show that:(a) the special product of two cycles is Hamiltonian decomposable, and (b) if \(G_1\) and \(G_2\) are two Hamiltonian decomposable graphs and at least one of their complements is Hamiltonian decomposable, then the special product of \(G_1\) and \(G_2\) is Hamiltonian decomposable.

I.D. Gray1, J.A. MacDougall1, R.J. Simpson2, W. D.Wallis3
1School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Newcastle
2School of Mathematics and Statistics, Curtin University of Technology
3Department of Mathematics, Southern Illinois University
Abstract:

A vertex-magic total labeling on a graph \(G\) is a one-to-one map \(\lambda\) from \(V(G) \cup E(G)\) onto the integers \(1, 2, \ldots, |V(G) \cup E(G)|\) with the property that, given any vertex \(x\), \(\lambda(x) + \sum_{y \sim x} \lambda(y) = k\) for some constant \(k\).

In this paper, we completely determine which complete bipartite graphs have vertex-magic total labelings.

A. Panayotopoulos1, A. Sapounakis1
1Department of Informatics, University of Pireaus, Karaoli & Dimitriou 80, 18534 Pireaus, Greece.
Abstract:

In this paper, the notions of \(c\)-Motzkin and \(d\)-Motzkin words are introduced, studied, and the cardinal numbers of their sets are evaluated. Finally, bijections between the sets of the introduced Motzkin words and certain sets of noncrossing partitions are exhibited.

W.Edwin Clark1, Mourad E.H.Ismail1, Stephen Suen1
1Department of Mathematics, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620-5700
Abstract:

Vizing conjectured that \(\gamma(G)\gamma(H) \leq \gamma(G \Box H)\) for all graphs \(G\) and \(H\), where \(\gamma(G)\) denotes the domination number of \(G\) and \(G \Box H\) is the Cartesian product of \(G\) and \(H\). We prove that if \(G\) and \(H\) are \(\delta\)-regular, then, with only a few possible exceptions, Vizing’s conjecture holds. We also prove that if \(\delta(G), \Delta(G), \delta(H)\), and \(\Delta(H)\) are in a certain range, then Vizing’s conjecture holds. In particular, we show that for graphs of order at most \(n\) with minimum degrees at least \(\sqrt{n} \ln n\), the conjecture holds.