Utilitas Algorithmica (UA)

ISSN: xxxx-xxxx (print)

Utilitas Algorithmica (UA) is a premier, open-access international journal dedicated to advancing algorithmic research and its applications. Launched to drive innovation in computer science, UA publishes high-impact theoretical and experimental papers addressing real-world computational challenges. The journal underscores the vital role of efficient algorithm design in navigating the growing complexity of modern applications. Spanning domains such as parallel computing, computational geometry, artificial intelligence, and data structures, UA is a leading venue for groundbreaking algorithmic studies.

Daan Rijpert1, Hendrik Van Maldeghem1
1Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Statistics, Ghent University, Belgium
Abstract:

Recently, the notion of a Weyl substructure in a spherical building was introduced type by type. In this paper we provide a uniform (axiomatic) definition across all types. In particular, this provides a new characterisation of the Ree-Tits octagons. We then show that uniclass automorphisms of spherical buildings are uniformly characterised by their fix structure. For type preserving automorphisms, this follows from earlier work, and so the focus here is on dualities. In particular, it follows that a duality pointwise fixing a Weyl substructure is automatically a polarity. This characterises all polarities in self-dual spherical buildings where opposition acts trivially on the types.

Patrick Cesarz1, Eugene Fiorini2, Charles Gong3, Kyle Kelley4, Philip Thomas5, Andrew Woldar6
1University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
2Rutgers University, DIMACS, Piscataway, NJ, USA
3Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
4University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
5Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA, USA
6Villanova University, Villanova, PA, USA
Abstract:

We introduce the notion of a move graph, that is, a directed graph whose vertex set is a \(\mathbb Z\)-module \(\mathbb Z_n^m\), and whose arc set is uniquely determined by the action \(M\!:\!\mathbb Z_n^m\to \mathbb Z_n^m\) where \(M\) is an \(m\times m\) matrix with integer entries. We study the manner in which properties of move graphs differ when one varies the choice of cyclic group \(\mathbb Z_n\). Our principal focus is on a special family of such graphs, which we refer to as “sub-add move graphs.”

Žarko Randelović1
1Mathematical Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Kneza Mihaila 36, Belgrade 11000, Serbia
Abstract:

Given functions \(f,g: [n] \rightarrow [n]\), do there exist \(n\) points \(A_1,A_2,\ldots,A_n\) in some metric space such that \(A_{f(i)},A_{g(i)}\) are the points closest and farthest from point \(A_i\)? In this paper we characterize precisely which pairs of functions have this property. Define \(m(k)\) to be the maximum integer such that any pair of functions \(f,g:[m(k)]\rightarrow [m(k)]\) realizable in some metric space is also realizable in \(\mathbb{R}^k\). We show that \(m(k)\) grows exponentially in \(k\). This answers a question of Croft. We also discuss what happens when looking at minimum and maximum distances separately.

Timothy Bennett1, Michael C. Bowdoin2, Haley Broadus3, Daniel Hodgins4, Jeffrey A. Mudrock3, Adam K. Nusair5, Gabriel Sharbel6, Joshua Silverman3
1Department of Mathematics and Statistics University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
2Mitchell College of Business, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
3Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
4Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
5College of Engineering, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
6School of Computing, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
Abstract:

Suppose \(G\) is a graph and \(L\) is a list assignment for \(G\). A request of \(L\) is a function \(r\) with nonempty domain \(D\subseteq V(G)\) such that \(r(v) \in L(v)\) for each \(v \in D\). The triple \((G,L,r)\) is \(\epsilon\)-satisfiable if there exists a proper \(L\)-coloring \(f\) of \(G\) such that \(f(v) = r(v)\) for at least \(\epsilon|D|\) vertices in \(D\). We say \(G\) is \((k, \epsilon)\)-flexible if \((G,L’,r’)\) is \(\epsilon\)-satisfiable whenever \(L’\) is a \(k\)-assignment for \(G\) and \(r’\) is a request of \(L’\). It is known that a graph \(G\) is not \((k, \epsilon)\)-flexible for any \(k\) if and only if \(\epsilon > 1/ \rho(G)\) where \(\rho(G)\) is the Hall ratio of \(G\). The list flexibility number of a graph \(G\), denoted \(\chi_{\ell flex}(G)\), is the smallest \(k\) such that \(G\) is \((k,1/ \rho(G))\)-flexible. A fundamental open question on list flexibility numbers asks: Is there a graph with list flexibility number greater than its coloring number? In this paper, we show that the list flexibility number of any complete multipartite graph \(G\) is at most the coloring number of \(G\). We also initiate the study of list epsilon flexibility functions of complete bipartite graphs which was first suggested by Kaul, Mathew, Mudrock, and Pelsmajer in 2024. Specifically, we completely determine the list epsilon flexibility function of \(K_{m,n}\) when \(m \in \{1,2\}\) and establish some additional bounds for small \(m\). Our proofs reveal a connection to list coloring complete bipartite graphs with asymmetric list sizes which is a topic that was explored by Alon, Cambie, and Kang in 2021.

Derrick DeMars1, Peter Johnson1
1Auburn University, Alabama 36849, USA
Abstract:

A \(k\)-edge coloring \(c\) of the edge set \(E (G)\) of a graph \(G\) is a surjective mapping \(c : E (G) \to [k] = \{1, 2, \ldots, k\}\). If \(\mathcal{F}\) and \(\mathcal{H}\) are families of graphs, \(MRS(K_n; \mathcal{F}, \mathcal{H})\) is the set of numbers \(k\) such that there is a \(k\)-edge coloring of \(K_n\) with respect to which there is neither a monochromatic copy of any \(F \in \mathcal{F}\) nor a rainbow copy of any \(H \in \mathcal{H}\) in \(K_n\). Our main result is that for all \(n \geq 2\), \(MRS(K_n;\{\text{odd cycles}\},\{\text{cycles}\}) = \{\lceil \log_2 n \rceil, \ldots, n – 1\}\). The proof will exploit an idea for edge-coloring connected graphs so as to forbid rainbow cycles to be found in [4].

M. A. Moreno-Frías1, J. C. Rosales2
1Dpto. de Matemáticas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Cádiz, E-11510, Puerto Real (Cádiz, Spain)
2Dpto. de Álgebra, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada E-18071, Granada. (Spain)
Abstract:

If \(S\) is a numerical semigroup, we will denote by \({\mathrm F}(S),\) \({\mathrm g}(S)\) and \({\mathrm t}(S),\) the Frobenius number, the genus and the type of \(S,\) respectively. We will also denote by \({\mathrm n}(S)\) and \({\mathrm i}(S)\) the cardinality of the sets \(\{s\in S\mid s<{\mathrm F}(S)\}\) and \(\{x\in \mathbb{N}\backslash S\mid x-1\in S\},\) respectively. In this paper we will study the \(\mathrm{PTT}\)-semigroups. That is, perfect numerical semigroups with type two. In particular, we will see that if \(S\) is a numerical semigroup, then the following conditions are equivalent: 1) \(S\) is a \(\mathrm{PTT}\)-semigroup; 2) The set of pseudo-Frobenius numbers of \(S\) is \(\{{\mathrm F}(S),{\mathrm F}(S)-1\}\); 3) \(S\) is maximal in the set \(\{T\mid T \mbox{ is a numerical semigroup } T\cap \{{\mathrm F}(S),{\mathrm F}(S)-1\}=\emptyset \mbox{ and } {\mathrm t}(T)=2\}\); and 4) \({\mathrm F}(S)-1\notin S\) and \({\mathrm n}(S)={\mathrm g}(S)-{\mathrm i}(S).\) As an application of these characterizations, we will provide several algorithms for calculating all the \(\mathrm{PTT}\)-semigroups with a given Frobenius number.

Michael J. Gottstein1, Leila Parsaei-Majd2, Thomas Zaslavsky3
1Mathematics and Computer Science Department, Marywood University, Scranton, PA 18509, U.S.A.
2University of Potsdam, Germany
3Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000, U.S.A.
Abstract:

Clustering a signed graph means partitioning the vertices into clusters so that every positive edge, and no negative edge, is within a cluster. The obstruction to clustering is circles with exactly one negative edge (“weakly negative circles’’). The correlation clustering problem is to cluster with the minimum number \(Q\) of edges that violate the clustering rule. A lower bound is \(w\), the maximum number of edge-disjoint weakly negative circles. If every two such circles are edge disjoint, then \(Q=w\). We characterize the signed graphs in which no two weakly negative circles share any edges. A corollary is a straightforward recognition algorithm for such signed graphs. An unsolved problem is to characterize the signed graphs with \(Q=w\).

Yomi Anifowoshe1, Chong Han1,2
1BAUM TenPers Institute, Virginia, USA
2University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Abstract:

Recently, Luo [3] introduced the Adding–Swapping Mapping Method to provide an alternative and constructive proof of Stanley’s [4] conjecture on perfect square permutations in \(S_n\) and asked whether the method extends to higher powers. In this paper we answer that question in a more limited but precise structural sense. For each fixed \(k\ge 2\), we define the \(k\)-signature \(R_k(w)\) recording the cycle-count vector modulo \(\gcd(m,k)\) in each length \(m\), and we prove a local residue transition law describing how the insertion map \(D_i\) updates the signature once the cycle length of the insertion point is specified. We also prove explicitly that every \(k\)-th power permutation has zero \(k\)-signature, so the signature gives a necessary obstruction to being a \(k\)-th power. This yields a residue-based partition of \(S_n\) that serves as an indexing scheme for insertion updates. We then show that for \(k\ge 3\) the insertion family does not preserve the class of \(k\)-th powers, explaining why the square case is exceptional from the standpoint of Luo’s method. Finally, we include explicit small-\(n\) data for \(k=3,4\) and prove that the density of \(k\)-th powers in \(S_n\) tends to \(0\) as \(n\to\infty\).

Muhammad Shahzad1, Muhammad Ahsan Asim2, Roslan Hasni3, Ali Ahmad4
1Department of Computing Sciences, Gulf College, Muscat, 133, Oman
2Division of Computing, Analytics and Mathematics, School of Science and Engineering, University of Missouri-Kansas City, MO 64110, USA
3Special Interest Group on Modeling and Data Analytics (SIGMDA), Faculty of Computer Science and Mathematics, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia
4Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia
Abstract:

This article studies edge irregular \((k)\)-labelings of complete graphs \((K_n)\) and aims to improve the existing upper bound for the edge irregularity strength \((es(K_n))\) through an algorithmic approach. The improvement is achieved using the branch and bound algorithm design strategy, whose selection is important because of the problem structure, computational complexity, possible serial or parallel execution, and accuracy requirements. Labeling complete graphs is difficult because the number of edges grows rapidly and many triangles are involved, making it challenging to maintain unique edge weights while searching for optimal labels. Since complete graphs serve as supergraphs for many graph families, results on them are particularly valuable. In 2018, Asim et al. proposed an algorithmic solution for complete graphs and gave the upper bound \((es(K_n)\leq E\log_2 |V|)\). This article uses the branch and bound strategy to address edge deficiency and improve that bound. Computational experiments are conducted for higher-order graphs, where the algorithm recursively generates constrained combinatorial structures to ensure unique edge weights. The results show that the proposed branch and bound algorithm significantly improves the upper bound for \((es(K_n))\) compared with previous results.

Jirapha Limbupasiriporn1
1Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Silpakorn University, Nakorn Pathom 73000, Thailand
Abstract:

In finite desarguesian projective planes of prime power order \(q\), we consider the MDS codes obtained from ovals and generate new codes for the purpose of permutation decoding. We show that those new codes are \([q^2-1,3,(q-1)^2]_q\) codes and have \(s\)-PD-sets for \(s\le q-1\).

Special Issues

The Combinatorial Press Editorial Office routinely extends invitations to scholars for the guest editing of Special Issues, focusing on topics of interest to the scientific community. We actively encourage proposals from our readers and authors, directly submitted to us, encompassing subjects within their respective fields of expertise. The Editorial Team, in conjunction with the Editor-in-Chief, will supervise the appointment of Guest Editors and scrutinize Special Issue proposals to ensure content relevance and appropriateness for the journal. To propose a Special Issue, kindly complete all required information for submission;