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.

Olof Heden 1, Papa A.Sissokho2
1Department of Mathematics, KTH, S-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden.
24520 Mathematics Department, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois 61790-4520, U.S.A.
Abstract:

An \((s, t)\)-spread in a finite vector space \(V = V(n, q)\) is a collection \(\mathcal{F}\) of \(t\)-dimensional subspaces of \(V\) with the property that every \(s\)-dimensional subspace of \(V\) is contained in exactly one member of \(F\). It is remarkable that no \((s, t)\)-spreads have been found yet, except in the case \(s = 1\).
In this note, the concept of an \(\alpha\)-point to a \((2,3)\)-spread \(\mathcal{F}\) in \(V = V(7,2)\) is introduced. A classical result of Thomas, applied to the vector space \(V\), states that all points of \(V\) cannot be \(\alpha\)-points to a given \((2,3)\)-spread \(\mathcal{F}\) in \(V\). In this note, we strengthen this result by proving that every \(6\)-dimensional subspace of \(V\) must contain at least one point that is not an \(\alpha\)-point to a given \((2, 3)\)-spread.

S.M. Mirafzal1
1DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS, UNIVERSITY OF ISFAHAN, ISFAHAN 81746-73441, IRAN
Abstract:

We construct explicitly the automorphism group of the folded hypercube \(FQ_n\) of dimension \(n > 3\), as a semidirect product of \(N\) by \(M\), where \(N\) is isomorphic to the Abelian group \(\mathbb{Z}_2^{n}\), and \(M\) is isomorphic to \(\mathrm{Sym}(n+1)\), the symmetric group of degree \(n+1\). Then, we will show that the folded hypercube \(FQ_n\) is a symmetric graph.

Ligong Wang1, Xuran Zhou1
1Department of Applied Mathematics, School of Science, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710072, P.R.China
Abstract:

The Merrifield-Simmons index \(\sigma(G)\) of a graph \(G\) is defined as the number of subsets of the vertex set, in which any two vertices are non-adjacent, i.e., the number of independent vertex sets of \(G\). A tree is called an \(r\)-leaf tree if it contains \(r\) vertices with degree one. In this paper, we obtain the smallest Merrifield-Simmons index among all trees with \(n\) vertices and exactly six leaves, and characterize the corresponding extremal graph.

Muhammad Imran1, A.Q. Baig2, Syed Ahtsham Ul Haq Bokhary3
1Center for Advanced Mathematics and Physics (CAMP), National University of Science and Technology (NUST) Sector H-12, Islamabad, Pakistan
2Department of Mathematics, GC University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan
3Center for Advanced Studies in Pure and Applied Mathematics, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan
Abstract:

A family \(\mathcal{G}\) of connected graphs is a family with constant metric dimension if \(\dim(G)\) is finite and does not depend upon the choice of \(G\) in \(\mathcal{G}\). The metric dimension of some classes of plane graphs has been determined in \([2], [3],[ 4], [9], [10], [14], [22]\). In this paper, we extend this study by considering some classes of plane graphs which are rotationally-symmetric. It is natural to ask for the characterization of classes of rotationally-symmetric plane graphs with constant metric dimension.

Xiaodong Chen1, MingChu Li2, Wei Liao2, Hajo Broersma3
1College of Science, Liaoning University of Technology, Jinzhou 121001, P.R. China
2School of Software, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, P.R. China
3 Faculty of EEMCS, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
Abstract:

is almost locally connected if \(B(G)\) is an independent set and for any \(x \in B(G)\), there is a vertex \(y\) in \(V(G) \setminus \{x\}\) such that \(N(x) \cup \{y\}\) induces a connected subgraph of \(G\), where \(B(G)\) denotes the set of vertices of \(G\) that are not locally connected. In this paper, we prove that an almost locally connected claw-free graph on at least \(4\) vertices is Hamilton-connected if and only if it is \(3\)-connected. This generalizes a result by Asratian that a locally connected claw-free graph on at least \(4\) vertices is Hamilton-connected if and only if it is \(3\)-connected [Journal of Graph Theory \(23 (1996) 191-201\)].

Christopher S.Withers1, Saralees Nadarajah2
1Applied Mathematics Group Industrial Research Limited Lower Hutt, NEW ZEALAND
2 School of Mathematics University of Manchester Manchester M13 9PL, UK
Abstract:

We give new expressions for Stirling numbers, and some partial sums of powers and products.

Tianyong Han1, Zehui Shao2, Enqiang Zhu2, Zepeng Li2, Fei Deng3
1 School of Information Science and Technology Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, China
2Peking University; Key Laboratory of High Confidence Software Technologies (Peking University), Ministry of Education, China
3School of Information Science and Technology, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, China
Abstract:

A star coloring of an undirected graph \(G\) is a proper vertex coloring of \(G\) such that any path on four vertices in \(G\) is not bicolored. The star chromatic number \(\chi_s(G)\) of an undirected graph \(G\) is the smallest integer \(k\) for which \(G\) admits a star coloring with \(k\) colors. In this paper, the star chromatic numbers for some infinite subgraphs of Cartesian products of paths and cycles are established. In particular, we show that \(\chi_s(P_i \Box C_j) = 5\) for \(i, j \geq 4\) and \(\chi_s(C_i \Box C_j) = 5\) for \(i, j \geq 30\). We also show that \(\chi_s(P_i \Box P_j \Box P_k) = 6\) for \(i, j, k \geq 4\), \(\chi_s(C_{3} \Box C_{3} \Box C_k) = 7\) for \(k \geq 3\), and \(\chi_s(C_{4i} \Box C_{4j} \Box P_{4k} \Box C_{4l}) \leq 9\) for \(i, j, k, l \geq 1\). Furthermore, we give the star chromatic numbers of \(d\)-dimensional hypercubes for \(d \leq 6\).

Rija Erved1, Janez Zerovnik2
1FCE, University of Maribor, Smetanova 17, Maribor 2000, Slovenia
2FME, University of Ljubljana, Askeréeva 6, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia and IMFM, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Abstract:

Mixed connectivity is a generalization of vertex and edge connectivity. A graph is \((p,0)\)-connected, \(p \geq 0\), if the graph remains connected after removal of any \(p – 1\) vertices. A graph is \((p,q)\)-connected, \(p \geq 0\), \(q \geq 0\), if it remains connected after removal of any \(p\) vertices and any \(q – 1\) edges. Cartesian graph bundles are graphs that generalize both covering graphs and Cartesian graph products. It is shown that if graph \(F\) is \((p_F, q_F)\)-connected and graph \(B\) is \((p_B, q_B)\)-connected, then Cartesian graph bundle \(G\) with fibre \(F\) over the base graph \(B\) is \((p_F + p_B, q_F + q_B)\)-connected. Furthermore, if \(q_F + p_B \geq 0\), then \(G\) is also \((p_F + p_B + 1, q_F + p_B – 1)\)-connected. Finally, let graphs \(G_i\), \(i = 1, \ldots, n\), be \((p_i, q_i)\)-connected and let \(k\) be the number of graphs with \(q_i > 0\). The Cartesian graph product \(G = G_1 \Box G_2 \Box \ldots \Box G_n\) is \((\sum p_i, \sum q_i)\)-connected, and, for \(k \geq 1\), it is also \((\sum p_i + k – 1, \sum q_i – k + 1)\)-connected.

Wei Zhuang1, Weihua Yang1, Xiaofeng Guo1
1School of Mathematical Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen Fujian 361005, China
Abstract:

Let \(\gamma_t(D)\) denote the total domination number of a digraph \(D\), and let \(C_m \Box C_n\) denote the Cartesian product graph of \(C_m\) and \(C_n\), where \(C_m\) denotes the directed cycle of length \(m\), \(m \leq n\). In [On domination number of Cartesian product of directed cycles, Information Processing Letters 110 (2010) 171-173], Liu et al. determined the domination number of \(C_2 \Box C_n\), \(C_3 \Box C_n\), and \(C_4 \Box C_n\). In this paper, we determine the exact values of \(\gamma_t(C_m \Box C_n)\) when at least one of \(m\) and \(n\) is even, or \(n\) is odd and \(m = 1, 3, 5,\) or \(7\).

Walter O.Krawec1
1University at Albany 1400 Washington Ave. Albany NY, 12222
Abstract:

In this paper, a new type of labeled graphs, called modular multiplicative graphs, is introduced and studied. Specifically, we show that every graph is a subgraph of a modular multiplicative graph. Later, we introduce \(k\)-modular multiplicative graphs and prove that certain families of paths and cycles admit such a label. We conclude with several open problems and areas of future possible research, including a note on harmonious graph labels.