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.

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

The edge-neighbor-connectivity of a graph \(G\) is the minimum size of all edge-cut-strategies of \(G\), where an edge-cut-strategy consists of a set of common edges of double stars whose removal disconnects the graph \(G\) or leaves a single vertex or \(\emptyset\). This paper discusses the extreme values of the edge-neighbor-connectivity of graphs relative to the connectivity, \(\kappa\), and gives two classes of graphs — one class with minimum edge-neighbor-connectivity, and the other one with maximum edge-neighbor-connectivity.

Maria Rita Casali 1
1 Dipartimento di Matematica Pura ed Applicata Universita di Modena Via Campi 213 B I-41100 MODENA (lIlaly)
Abstract:

In \([V_2]\), Vince outlined three potential graph algorithms for \(S^3\) recognition, namely shelling, reducing, and closing; on the other hand, he conjectured that the graph \(H_0\ ) of Fig.1 – which proves the first two to fail – could be a counterexample for the third one, too. This note shows that the conjecture is false; so, the validity of the closing algorithm is still an open problem.

Siemion Fajilowicz1, Tamara McColgan2, Talmage Reid2, William Staton2
1 Department of Mathematics University of Houston Houston, TX 77204-3476
2Department of Mathematics The University of Mississippi University, MS 38677
Abstract:

We consider two variations of the classical Ramsey number. In particular, we seek the number of vertices necessary to force the existence of an induced regular subgraph on a prescribed number of vertices.

Mark K.Goldberg1, Hilton C.Russell2
1Department of Computer Science Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, New York 12181
2 Department of Mathematics United States Military Academy West Point, New York 10996
Clark Kimberling1
1Department of Mathematics University of Evansville Evansville, Indiana 47722 U.S.A.
Jiping Liu1, Qinglin Yu2,3
1Department of Mathematics and Statistics Simon Fraser University Bumaby, B.C. Canada
2Department of Mathematics University College of The Cariboo and Department of Mathematics
3 Statistics Simon Fraser University Burnaby, B.C. Canada
Abstract:

The \(i\)-center \(C_i(G)\) of a graph \(G\) is the set of vertices whose distances from any vertex of \(G\) are at most \(i\). A vertex set \(X\) \(k\)-dominates a vertex set \(Y\) if for every \(y \in Y\) there is a \(x \in X\) such that \(d(x,y) \leq k\). In this paper, we prove that if \(G\) is a \(P_t\)-free graph and \(i \geq \lfloor\frac{t}{2}\rfloor \), then \(C_i(G)\) \((q+1)\)-dominates \(C_{i+q}(G)\), as conjectured by Favaron and Fouquet [4].

John Gimbel 1, Preben D. Vestergaard 2
1Department of Mathematics University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska
2Department of Mathematics University of Aalborg Denmark
Abstract:

As a generalization of a matching consisting of edges only, Alavi et al. in [1] define a total matching which may contain both edges and vertices. Using total matchings, [1] defines a parameter \(\beta’_2(G)\) and proves that \(\beta’_2(G) \leq p-1\) holds for a connected graph of order \(p \geq 2\).
Our main result is to improve this inequality to \(\beta’_2(G) \leq p-2\sqrt{p}+{2}\) and we give an example demonstrating this bound to be best possible.
Relations of several other parameters to \(\beta’_2\) are demonstrated.

Topp SIMPSON1
1Department of Mathematics The Pennsylvania State University University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
Abstract:

We examine permutations having a unique fixed point and a unique reflected point; such permutations correspond to permutation matrices having exactly one \(1\) on each of the two main diagonals. The permutations are of two types according to whether or not the fixed point is the same as the reflected point. We also consider permutations having no fixed or reflected points; these have been enumerated using two different methods, and we employ one of these to count permutations with unique fixed and reflected points.

Bing Zhou1
1Department of Mathematics Trent University Peterborough, Ontario Canada K9J 7B8
Abstract:

Let \(G\) be a graph and \(t(G)\) be the number of triangles in \(G\). Define \(\mathcal G_n\) to be the set of all graphs on \(n\) vertices that do not contain a wheel and \(t_n = \max\{t(G) : G \in \mathcal G_n\}\).
T. Gallai conjectured that \(t_n \leq \lfloor\frac{n^2}{8}\rfloor\). In this note we describe a graph on \(n\) vertices that contains no wheel and has at least \(\frac{n^2+n}{8}-3\) triangles.

Kirsten Mackenzie-Fleming1
1 Department of Mathematics Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant MI 48859
Abstract:

A construction is given which uses \(\text{PG}_i(d, q)\) and \(q\) copies of \(\text{AG}_i(d, q)\) to construct designs having the parameters of \(\text{PG}_{i+1}(d+1, q)\), where \(q\) is a prime power and \(i \leq d-1\).