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.

E.J. Cockayne1, C.M. Mynhardt2
1 Department of Mathematics University of Victoria P.O. Box 3045 Victoria, BC Canada V8W 3P4
2 Department of Mathematics, Applied Mathematics & Astronomy University of South Africa P.O. Box 392 Pretoria 0001 South Africa
Abstract:

For a positive integer \(k\), a \(k\)-subdominating function of \(G = (V, E)\) is a function \(f: V \to \{-1, 1\}\) such that the sum of the function values, taken over closed neighborhoods of vertices, is at least one for at least \(k\) vertices of \(G\). The sum of the function values taken over all vertices is called the aggregate of \(f\) and the minimum aggregate amongst all \(k\)-subdominating functions of \(G\) is the \(k\)-subdomination number \(\gamma_{ks}(G)\). In the special cases where \(k = |V|\) and \(k = \lceil|V|/2\rceil\), \(\gamma_{ks}\) is respectively the signed domination number [{4}] and the majority domination number [{2}]. In this paper we characterize minimal \(k\)-subdominating functions. By determining \(\gamma_{ks}\) for paths, we give a sharp lower bound for \(\gamma_{ks}\) for trees. We also determine an upper bound for \(\gamma_{ks}\) for trees which is sharp for \(k \leq |V|/2 \).

Qing-Xue Huang1
1Department of Mathematics Zhejiang University Hangzhou, CHINA
H.J. Broersma1, Li Xueliang2,3
1 Department of Applied Mathematics University of Twente 7500 AE Enschede The Netherlands
2 Department of Applied Mathematics University of Twente 7500 AE Enschede The Netherlands
3 Department of Mathematics, Xinjiang University, Urumchi, Xin- Jiang, P.R. China
Abstract:

Let \(G\) be a connected (multi)graph. We define the leaf-exchange spanning tree graph \( {T_l}\) of \(G\) as the graph with vertex set \(V_l = \{T|T \text{ is a spanning tree of } G\}\) and edge set \(E_l = \{(T, T’)|E(T)\Delta E(T’) = \{e, f\}, e \in E(T), f \in E(T’) \text{ and } e \text{ and } f \text{ are incident with a vertex } v \text{ of degree } 1 \text{ in } T \text{ and } T’\}\). \({T}(G)\) is a spanning subgraph of the so-called spanning tree graph of \(G\), and of the adjacency spanning tree graph of \(G\), which were studied by several authors. A variation on the leaf-exchange spanning tree graph appeared in recent work on basis graphs of branching greedoids. We characterize the graphs which have a connected leaf-exchange spanning tree graph and give a lower bound on the connectivity of \( {T_l}(G)\) for a \(3\)-connected graph \(G\).

A. Khodkar1
1Centre for Combinatorics Department of Mathematics The University of Queensland Queensland 4072, Australia
Abstract:

The fine structure of a directed triple system of index \(\lambda\) is the vector \((c_1,c_2,\ldots,c_\lambda)\), where \(c_i\) is the number of directed triples appearing precisely \(i\) times in the system. We determine necessary and sufficient conditions for a vector to be the fine structure of a directed triple system of index \(3\) for \(v \equiv 0\) or \(1 \pmod{3}\).

Antoni Marczyk1
1 Instytut Matematyki AGH Krakéw, Al. Mickiewicza 30 Poland
Abstract:

Let \(p\) denote the circumference of a two-connected graph \(G\). We construct a hamiltonian cycle in \(G^2\) which contains more than \(p/2\) edges of \(G\). Using this construction we prove some properties of hamiltonian cycles in the square of \(G\).

L’. Niepel1, M. Knor2, L’. Soltés3
1Department of Applied Mathemetics Faculty of Mathematics and Physics Comenius University 842 15, Bratislava Slovakia
2Department of Mathematics Faculty of Civil Engineering Slovak Technical Univeristy Radlinského 11 813 68, Bratislava Slovakia
3 Department of Mathematics Faculty of Chemical Technology Slovak Technical University Radlinského 9 812 37, Bratislava Slovakia
Abstract:

For a connected graph \(G\) that is not a cycle, a path or a claw, let its \(k\)-iterated line graph have the diameter \(diam_k\), and the radius \(r_k\). Then \(diam_{k+1} = diam_k + 1\) for sufficiently large \(k\). Moreover, \(\{r_k\}\) also tends to infinity and the sequence \(\{diam_k – r_k – \sqrt{2\log_2 k}\}\) is bounded.

O.V. Borodin1
1 Institute of Mathematics Novosibirsk, 630090 Russia
Abstract:

In \([1]\) it is proved that each \(4\)-critical plane graph contains either a \(4\)- or a \(5\)-cycle or otherwise a face of size between \(6\) and \(11\).

O. Favaron1, C.M. Mynhardt2
1Laboratoire de Recherche en Informatique Université de Paris-Sud Bat 490-91405 Orsay Cedex France
2Department of Mathematics, Applied Mathematics & Astronomy University of South Africa 0001 Pretoria South Africa
Abstract:

For nonempty graphs \(G\) and \(H\), \(H\) is said to be \(G\)-decomposable (written \(G|H\)) if \(E(H)\) can be partitioned into sets \(E_1, \ldots, E_n\) such that the subgraph induced by each \(E_i\) is isomorphic to \(G\). If \(H\) is a graph of minimum size such that \(F|H\) and \(G|H\), then \(H\) is called a least common multiple of \(F\) and \(G\). The size of such a least common multiple is denoted by \(\mathrm{lcm}(F,G)\). We show that if \(F\) and \(G\) are bipartite, then \(\mathrm{lcm}(F,G) \leq |V(F)|\cdot|V(G)|\), where equality holds if \((|V(F)|,|V(G)|) = 1\). We also determine \(\mathrm{lcm}(F,G)\) exactly if \(F\) and \(G\) are cycles or if \(F = P_m, G = K_n\), where \(n\) is odd and \((m-1,\frac{1}{2}(n-1)) = 1\), in the latter case extending a result in [{8}].

Margaret B.Cozzens1, Shu-Shih Y.Wu1
1 Department of Mathematics Northeastern University Boston, MA 02115, USA
Abstract:

Let \(G\) be a graph. A vertex subversion strategy of \(G\), \(S\), is a set of vertices in \(G\) whose closed neighborhood is deleted from \(G\). The survival-subgraph is denoted by \(G/S\). The vertex-neighbor-integrity of \(G\), \(\mathrm{VNI}(G)\), is defined to be \(\mathrm{VNI}(G) = \displaystyle\min_{S\subseteq V(G)} \{|S| + w(G/S)\}\), where \(S\) is any vertex subversion strategy of \(G\), and \(w(G/S)\) is the maximum order of the components of \(G/S\). In this paper, we show the minimum and the maximum vertex-neighbor-integrity among all trees with any fixed order, and also show that for any integer \(l\) between the extreme values there is a tree with the vertex-neighbor-integrity \(l\).

Huaitang Chen1, Kejie Ma2, Huishan Zhou3
1Mathematics Department. Linyi Teachers’ College Linyi, Shandong P.R. of China
2Institute of Operations Reseasrch Qufu Normal University Qufu, Shandong P.R. of China
3 Department of Mathematics and Computer Sciences Georgia State University University Plaza Atlanta, Georgia, 30303
Abstract:

Let \(G\) be a graph of size \(\binom{n+1}{2}\) for some integer \(n \geq 2\). Then \(G\) is said to have an ascending star subgraph decomposition if \(G\) can be decomposed into \(n\) subgraphs \(G_1, G_2, \ldots, G_n\) such that each \(G_i\) is a star of size \(i\) with \(1 \leq i \leq n\). We shall prove in this paper that a star forest with size \(\binom{n+1}{2}\) possesses an ascending star subgraph decomposition under some conditions on the number of components or the size of components.