Pub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2025-12-22DOI: 10.1016/j.disc.2025.114958
William J. Keith , Rishi Nath , James A. Sellers
We consider simultaneous -core partitions in the large-p limit, or (when ), partitions in which no hook may be of length . We study generating functions, containment properties, and congruences when s is not coprime to t. As a boundary case of the general study made by Cho, Huh and Sohn, we provide enumerations when s is coprime to t, and answer positively a conjecture of Fayers on the polynomial behavior of the size of the set of simultaneous -core partitions when p grows arbitrarily large. Of particular interest throughout is the comparison to the behavior of simultaneous -cores.
{"title":"On simultaneous (s,s + t,s + 2t,…)-core partitions","authors":"William J. Keith , Rishi Nath , James A. Sellers","doi":"10.1016/j.disc.2025.114958","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.disc.2025.114958","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We consider simultaneous <span><math><mo>(</mo><mi>s</mi><mo>,</mo><mi>s</mi><mo>+</mo><mi>t</mi><mo>,</mo><mi>s</mi><mo>+</mo><mn>2</mn><mi>t</mi><mo>,</mo><mo>…</mo><mo>,</mo><mi>s</mi><mo>+</mo><mi>p</mi><mi>t</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span>-core partitions in the large-<em>p</em> limit, or (when <span><math><mi>s</mi><mo><</mo><mi>t</mi></math></span>), partitions in which no hook may be of length <span><math><mi>s</mi><mspace></mspace><mo>(</mo><mrow><mi>mod</mi></mrow><mspace></mspace><mi>t</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span>. We study generating functions, containment properties, and congruences when <em>s</em> is not coprime to <em>t</em>. As a boundary case of the general study made by Cho, Huh and Sohn, we provide enumerations when <em>s</em> is coprime to <em>t</em>, and answer positively a conjecture of Fayers on the polynomial behavior of the size of the set of simultaneous <span><math><mo>(</mo><mi>s</mi><mo>,</mo><mi>s</mi><mo>+</mo><mi>t</mi><mo>,</mo><mi>s</mi><mo>+</mo><mn>2</mn><mi>t</mi><mo>,</mo><mo>…</mo><mo>,</mo><mi>s</mi><mo>+</mo><mi>p</mi><mi>t</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span>-core partitions when <em>p</em> grows arbitrarily large. Of particular interest throughout is the comparison to the behavior of simultaneous <span><math><mo>(</mo><mi>s</mi><mo>,</mo><mi>t</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span>-cores.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50572,"journal":{"name":"Discrete Mathematics","volume":"349 5","pages":"Article 114958"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145841309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-01-16DOI: 10.1016/j.disc.2026.115000
Wannasiri Wannasit
We show that the generalized Petersen graphs admits a -labeling for every positive integer n. In this way, we obtain the existence of a cyclic -decomposition of for every .
{"title":"On cyclic P(4n,2n − 1)-designs","authors":"Wannasiri Wannasit","doi":"10.1016/j.disc.2026.115000","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.disc.2026.115000","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We show that the generalized Petersen graphs <span><math><mi>P</mi><mo>(</mo><mn>4</mn><mi>n</mi><mo>,</mo><mn>2</mn><mi>n</mi><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>)</mo></math></span> admits a <span><math><msup><mrow><mi>ρ</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo></mrow></msup></math></span>-labeling for every positive integer <em>n</em>. In this way, we obtain the existence of a cyclic <span><math><mi>P</mi><mo>(</mo><mn>4</mn><mi>n</mi><mo>,</mo><mn>2</mn><mi>n</mi><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>)</mo></math></span>-decomposition of <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>v</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> for every <span><math><mi>v</mi><mo>≡</mo><mn>1</mn><mspace></mspace><mo>(</mo><mrow><mi>mod</mi></mrow><mspace></mspace><mn>24</mn><mi>n</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50572,"journal":{"name":"Discrete Mathematics","volume":"349 5","pages":"Article 115000"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145977659","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-01-15DOI: 10.1016/j.disc.2026.114999
Teng Fang, Jinbao Li
<div><div>Let <em>A</em> and <em>B</em> be subsets of a finite group <em>G</em> and <em>r</em> a positive integer. If for every <span><math><mi>g</mi><mo>∈</mo><mi>G</mi></math></span>, there are precisely <em>r</em> pairs <span><math><mo>(</mo><mi>a</mi><mo>,</mo><mi>b</mi><mo>)</mo><mo>∈</mo><mi>A</mi><mo>×</mo><mi>B</mi></math></span> such that <span><math><mi>g</mi><mo>=</mo><mi>a</mi><mi>b</mi></math></span>, then <em>B</em> is called a code in <em>G</em> with respect to <em>A</em> and we write <span><math><mi>r</mi><mi>G</mi><mo>=</mo><mi>A</mi><mo>⋅</mo><mi>B</mi></math></span>. If in addition <em>B</em> is a subgroup of <em>G</em>, then we say that <em>B</em> is a subgroup code in <em>G</em>. In this paper we resolve a conjecture by Green and Liebeck <span><span>[8, Conjecture 2.3]</span></span> on certain subgroup codes in the symmetric group <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msub></math></span>. Let <span><math><mi>n</mi><mo>></mo><mn>2</mn><mi>k</mi></math></span> and let <em>j</em> be such that <span><math><msup><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow><mrow><mi>j</mi></mrow></msup><mo>⩽</mo><mi>k</mi><mo><</mo><msup><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow><mrow><mi>j</mi><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></msup></math></span>. Suppose that <em>X</em> is a conjugacy class in <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> containing <em>x</em>, and <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>Y</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> is the subgroup <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub><mo>×</mo><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi><mo>−</mo><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> of <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msub></math></span>, where the factor <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> permutes the subset <span><math><mo>{</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>,</mo><mo>…</mo><mo>,</mo><mi>k</mi><mo>}</mo></math></span> and the factor <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi><mo>−</mo><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> permutes the subset <span><math><mo>{</mo><mi>k</mi><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>,</mo><mo>…</mo><mo>,</mo><mi>n</mi><mo>}</mo></math></span>. We prove that <span><math><mi>r</mi><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msub><mo>=</mo><mi>X</mi><mo>⋅</mo><msub><mrow><mi>Y</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> for some positive integer <em>r</em> if and only if the cycle type of <em>x</em> has exactly one cycle of length <span><math><msup><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow></msup></math></span> for <span><math><mn>0</mn><mo>⩽</mo><mi>i</mi><mo>⩽</mo><mi>j</mi></math></span> and all other cycles have length at least <span><math><mi>k</mi><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn></math></span>. We also propose several problems concerning the existence of certain subgroup codes in a finite group <em>G</em> with respect to a conjugation-closed subset i
{"title":"Proof of a conjecture of Green and Liebeck on codes in symmetric groups","authors":"Teng Fang, Jinbao Li","doi":"10.1016/j.disc.2026.114999","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.disc.2026.114999","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Let <em>A</em> and <em>B</em> be subsets of a finite group <em>G</em> and <em>r</em> a positive integer. If for every <span><math><mi>g</mi><mo>∈</mo><mi>G</mi></math></span>, there are precisely <em>r</em> pairs <span><math><mo>(</mo><mi>a</mi><mo>,</mo><mi>b</mi><mo>)</mo><mo>∈</mo><mi>A</mi><mo>×</mo><mi>B</mi></math></span> such that <span><math><mi>g</mi><mo>=</mo><mi>a</mi><mi>b</mi></math></span>, then <em>B</em> is called a code in <em>G</em> with respect to <em>A</em> and we write <span><math><mi>r</mi><mi>G</mi><mo>=</mo><mi>A</mi><mo>⋅</mo><mi>B</mi></math></span>. If in addition <em>B</em> is a subgroup of <em>G</em>, then we say that <em>B</em> is a subgroup code in <em>G</em>. In this paper we resolve a conjecture by Green and Liebeck <span><span>[8, Conjecture 2.3]</span></span> on certain subgroup codes in the symmetric group <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msub></math></span>. Let <span><math><mi>n</mi><mo>></mo><mn>2</mn><mi>k</mi></math></span> and let <em>j</em> be such that <span><math><msup><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow><mrow><mi>j</mi></mrow></msup><mo>⩽</mo><mi>k</mi><mo><</mo><msup><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow><mrow><mi>j</mi><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></msup></math></span>. Suppose that <em>X</em> is a conjugacy class in <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> containing <em>x</em>, and <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>Y</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> is the subgroup <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub><mo>×</mo><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi><mo>−</mo><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> of <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msub></math></span>, where the factor <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> permutes the subset <span><math><mo>{</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>,</mo><mo>…</mo><mo>,</mo><mi>k</mi><mo>}</mo></math></span> and the factor <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi><mo>−</mo><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> permutes the subset <span><math><mo>{</mo><mi>k</mi><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>,</mo><mo>…</mo><mo>,</mo><mi>n</mi><mo>}</mo></math></span>. We prove that <span><math><mi>r</mi><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msub><mo>=</mo><mi>X</mi><mo>⋅</mo><msub><mrow><mi>Y</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> for some positive integer <em>r</em> if and only if the cycle type of <em>x</em> has exactly one cycle of length <span><math><msup><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow></msup></math></span> for <span><math><mn>0</mn><mo>⩽</mo><mi>i</mi><mo>⩽</mo><mi>j</mi></math></span> and all other cycles have length at least <span><math><mi>k</mi><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn></math></span>. We also propose several problems concerning the existence of certain subgroup codes in a finite group <em>G</em> with respect to a conjugation-closed subset i","PeriodicalId":50572,"journal":{"name":"Discrete Mathematics","volume":"349 5","pages":"Article 114999"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145977658","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-01-13DOI: 10.1016/j.disc.2025.114970
Karl Bartolo, Peter Borg, Dayle Scicluna
The 3-path isolation number of a connected n-vertex graph G, denoted by , is the size of a smallest subset D of the vertex set of G such that the closed neighbourhood of D intersects the vertex sets of the 3-vertex paths of G, meaning that no two edges of intersect. If G is not a 3-path or a 3-cycle or a 6-cycle, then . This was proved by Zhang and Wu, and independently by Borg in a slightly extended form. The bound is attained by infinitely many connected graphs having induced 6-cycles. Huang, Zhang and Jin showed that if G has no 6-cycles, or G has no induced 5-cycles and no induced 6-cycles, then unless G is a 3-path or a 3-cycle or a 7-cycle or an 11-cycle. They asked if the bound still holds asymptotically for connected graphs having no induced 6-cycles. Thus, the problem essentially is whether induced 6-cycles solely account for the difference between the two bounds. In this paper, we solve this problem for subcubic graphs, which need to be treated differently from other graphs. We show that if G is subcubic and has no induced 6-cycles, then unless G is a copy of one of 12 particular graphs whose orders are 3, 7, 11 and 15. The bound is sharp.
{"title":"Solution to a 3-path isolation problem for subcubic graphs","authors":"Karl Bartolo, Peter Borg, Dayle Scicluna","doi":"10.1016/j.disc.2025.114970","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.disc.2025.114970","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The 3-path isolation number of a connected <em>n</em>-vertex graph <em>G</em>, denoted by <span><math><mi>ι</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>G</mi><mo>,</mo><msub><mrow><mi>P</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow></msub><mo>)</mo></math></span>, is the size of a smallest subset <em>D</em> of the vertex set of <em>G</em> such that the closed neighbourhood <span><math><mi>N</mi><mo>[</mo><mi>D</mi><mo>]</mo></math></span> of <em>D</em> intersects the vertex sets of the 3-vertex paths of <em>G</em>, meaning that no two edges of <span><math><mi>G</mi><mo>−</mo><mi>N</mi><mo>[</mo><mi>D</mi><mo>]</mo></math></span> intersect. If <em>G</em> is not a 3-path or a 3-cycle or a 6-cycle, then <span><math><mi>ι</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>G</mi><mo>,</mo><msub><mrow><mi>P</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow></msub><mo>)</mo><mo>≤</mo><mn>2</mn><mi>n</mi><mo>/</mo><mn>7</mn></math></span>. This was proved by Zhang and Wu, and independently by Borg in a slightly extended form. The bound is attained by infinitely many connected graphs having induced 6-cycles. Huang, Zhang and Jin showed that if <em>G</em> has no 6-cycles, or <em>G</em> has no induced 5-cycles and no induced 6-cycles, then <span><math><mi>ι</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>G</mi><mo>,</mo><msub><mrow><mi>P</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow></msub><mo>)</mo><mo>≤</mo><mi>n</mi><mo>/</mo><mn>4</mn></math></span> unless <em>G</em> is a 3-path or a 3-cycle or a 7-cycle or an 11-cycle. They asked if the bound still holds asymptotically for connected graphs having no induced 6-cycles. Thus, the problem essentially is whether induced 6-cycles solely account for the difference between the two bounds. In this paper, we solve this problem for subcubic graphs, which need to be treated differently from other graphs. We show that if <em>G</em> is subcubic and has no induced 6-cycles, then <span><math><mi>ι</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>G</mi><mo>,</mo><msub><mrow><mi>P</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow></msub><mo>)</mo><mo>≤</mo><mi>n</mi><mo>/</mo><mn>4</mn></math></span> unless <em>G</em> is a copy of one of 12 particular graphs whose orders are 3, 7, 11 and 15. The bound is sharp.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50572,"journal":{"name":"Discrete Mathematics","volume":"349 5","pages":"Article 114970"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145977836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-01-05DOI: 10.1016/j.disc.2025.114975
Jagannath Bhanja
We study the following arithmetic questions regarding subsequence sums: How large is the set of subsequence sums, where each element of this set is a sum of at least s (a fixed number) distinct terms, and what are the sets for which the subsequence sum set minimizes? We prove a near-optimal lower bound for the size of this subsequence sum set over the group of residues modulo an odd prime p. We then establish the optimal lower bound for the size of this subsequence sum set over the group of integers and characterize the optimal sequences that achieve this lower bound.
{"title":"On the size and structure of certain subsequence sum set","authors":"Jagannath Bhanja","doi":"10.1016/j.disc.2025.114975","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.disc.2025.114975","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We study the following arithmetic questions regarding subsequence sums: How large is the set of subsequence sums, where each element of this set is a sum of at least <em>s</em> (a fixed number) distinct terms, and what are the sets for which the subsequence sum set minimizes? We prove a near-optimal lower bound for the size of this subsequence sum set over the group of residues modulo an odd prime <em>p</em>. We then establish the optimal lower bound for the size of this subsequence sum set over the group of integers and characterize the optimal sequences that achieve this lower bound.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50572,"journal":{"name":"Discrete Mathematics","volume":"349 5","pages":"Article 114975"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145938806","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2025-12-18DOI: 10.1016/j.disc.2025.114957
Laura Pierson
<div><div>The <em><strong>chromatic symmetric function</strong></em> <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>X</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>G</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> is a symmetric function generalization of the chromatic polynomial of a graph, introduced by Stanley <span><span>[7]</span></span>. Stanley <span><span>[7]</span></span> gave an expansion formula for <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>X</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>G</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> in terms of the <em><strong>power sum symmetric functions</strong></em> <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>p</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>λ</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> using the principle of inclusion-exclusion, and Bernardi and Nadeau <span><span>[1]</span></span> gave an alternate <em>p</em>-expansion for <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>X</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>G</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> in terms of acyclic orientations. Crew, Pechenik, and Spirkl <span><span>[3]</span></span> defined the <em><strong>Kromatic symmetric function</strong></em> <span><math><msub><mrow><mover><mrow><mi>X</mi></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover></mrow><mrow><mi>G</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> as a <em>K</em>-theoretic analogue of <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>X</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>G</mi></mrow></msub></math></span>, constructed in the same way except that each vertex is assigned a nonempty set of colors such that adjacent vertices have nonoverlapping color sets. They defined a <em>K</em>-analogue <span><math><msub><mrow><mover><mrow><mi>p</mi></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover></mrow><mrow><mi>λ</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> of the power sum basis and computed the first few coefficients of the <span><math><mover><mrow><mi>p</mi></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover></math></span>-expansion of <span><math><msub><mrow><mover><mrow><mi>X</mi></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover></mrow><mrow><mi>G</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> for some small graphs <em>G</em>. They conjectured that the <span><math><mover><mrow><mi>p</mi></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover></math></span>-expansion always has integer coefficients and asked whether there is an explicit formula for these coefficients. In this note, we give a formula for the <span><math><mover><mrow><mi>p</mi></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover></math></span>-expansion of <span><math><msub><mrow><mover><mrow><mi>X</mi></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover></mrow><mrow><mi>G</mi></mrow></msub></math></span>, show two ways to compute the coefficients recursively (along with examples), and prove that the coefficients are indeed always integers. In a more recent paper <span><span>[6]</span></span>, we use our formula from this note to give a combinatorial description of the <span><math><mover><mrow><mi>p</mi></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover></math></span>-coefficients <span><math><mo>[</mo><msub><mrow><mover><mrow><mi>p</mi></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover></mrow><mrow><mi>λ</mi></mrow></msub><mo>]</mo><msub><mrow><mover><mrow><mi>X</mi></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover></mrow><mrow><mi>G</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> and a simple characterization of their signs in the case of unweighted graphs.</
{"title":"A power sum expansion for the Kromatic symmetric function","authors":"Laura Pierson","doi":"10.1016/j.disc.2025.114957","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.disc.2025.114957","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The <em><strong>chromatic symmetric function</strong></em> <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>X</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>G</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> is a symmetric function generalization of the chromatic polynomial of a graph, introduced by Stanley <span><span>[7]</span></span>. Stanley <span><span>[7]</span></span> gave an expansion formula for <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>X</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>G</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> in terms of the <em><strong>power sum symmetric functions</strong></em> <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>p</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>λ</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> using the principle of inclusion-exclusion, and Bernardi and Nadeau <span><span>[1]</span></span> gave an alternate <em>p</em>-expansion for <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>X</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>G</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> in terms of acyclic orientations. Crew, Pechenik, and Spirkl <span><span>[3]</span></span> defined the <em><strong>Kromatic symmetric function</strong></em> <span><math><msub><mrow><mover><mrow><mi>X</mi></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover></mrow><mrow><mi>G</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> as a <em>K</em>-theoretic analogue of <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>X</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>G</mi></mrow></msub></math></span>, constructed in the same way except that each vertex is assigned a nonempty set of colors such that adjacent vertices have nonoverlapping color sets. They defined a <em>K</em>-analogue <span><math><msub><mrow><mover><mrow><mi>p</mi></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover></mrow><mrow><mi>λ</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> of the power sum basis and computed the first few coefficients of the <span><math><mover><mrow><mi>p</mi></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover></math></span>-expansion of <span><math><msub><mrow><mover><mrow><mi>X</mi></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover></mrow><mrow><mi>G</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> for some small graphs <em>G</em>. They conjectured that the <span><math><mover><mrow><mi>p</mi></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover></math></span>-expansion always has integer coefficients and asked whether there is an explicit formula for these coefficients. In this note, we give a formula for the <span><math><mover><mrow><mi>p</mi></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover></math></span>-expansion of <span><math><msub><mrow><mover><mrow><mi>X</mi></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover></mrow><mrow><mi>G</mi></mrow></msub></math></span>, show two ways to compute the coefficients recursively (along with examples), and prove that the coefficients are indeed always integers. In a more recent paper <span><span>[6]</span></span>, we use our formula from this note to give a combinatorial description of the <span><math><mover><mrow><mi>p</mi></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover></math></span>-coefficients <span><math><mo>[</mo><msub><mrow><mover><mrow><mi>p</mi></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover></mrow><mrow><mi>λ</mi></mrow></msub><mo>]</mo><msub><mrow><mover><mrow><mi>X</mi></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover></mrow><mrow><mi>G</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> and a simple characterization of their signs in the case of unweighted graphs.</","PeriodicalId":50572,"journal":{"name":"Discrete Mathematics","volume":"349 5","pages":"Article 114957"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145798324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2025-12-18DOI: 10.1016/j.disc.2025.114956
Julien Bensmail , Clara Marcille
For every graph G with size m and no connected component isomorphic to , we prove that, for , we can assign labels of L to the edges of G in an injective way so that no two adjacent vertices of G are incident to the same sum of labels. This implies that every such graph with size m can be labelled in an equitable and proper way with labels from , which improves on a result proved by Haslegrave, and Szabo Lyngsie and Zhong, implying this can be achieved with labels from .
{"title":"An improved bound for equitable proper labellings","authors":"Julien Bensmail , Clara Marcille","doi":"10.1016/j.disc.2025.114956","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.disc.2025.114956","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>For every graph <em>G</em> with size <em>m</em> and no connected component isomorphic to <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msub></math></span>, we prove that, for <span><math><mi>L</mi><mo>=</mo><mo>(</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>,</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>,</mo><mn>2</mn><mo>,</mo><mn>2</mn><mo>,</mo><mo>…</mo><mo>,</mo><mo>⌊</mo><mi>m</mi><mo>/</mo><mn>2</mn><mo>⌋</mo><mo>+</mo><mn>2</mn><mo>,</mo><mo>⌊</mo><mi>m</mi><mo>/</mo><mn>2</mn><mo>⌋</mo><mo>+</mo><mn>2</mn><mo>)</mo></math></span>, we can assign labels of <em>L</em> to the edges of <em>G</em> in an injective way so that no two adjacent vertices of <em>G</em> are incident to the same sum of labels. This implies that every such graph with size <em>m</em> can be labelled in an equitable and proper way with labels from <span><math><mo>{</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>,</mo><mo>…</mo><mo>,</mo><mo>⌊</mo><mi>m</mi><mo>/</mo><mn>2</mn><mo>⌋</mo><mo>+</mo><mn>2</mn><mo>}</mo></math></span>, which improves on a result proved by Haslegrave, and Szabo Lyngsie and Zhong, implying this can be achieved with labels from <span><math><mo>{</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>,</mo><mo>…</mo><mo>,</mo><mi>m</mi><mo>}</mo></math></span>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50572,"journal":{"name":"Discrete Mathematics","volume":"349 5","pages":"Article 114956"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145798383","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2025-12-08DOI: 10.1016/j.disc.2025.114939
Siyan Liu , Rong-Xia Hao , Rong Luo , Cun-Quan Zhang
A k-bisection (resp. k-quasi-bisection) of a bridgeless cubic graph G is a vertex 2-coloring satisfying: (i) the sizes of the two color classes are equal (resp. the sizes of the two color classes differ by at most 2), and (ii) the order of each connected component induced by each color class is at most k. Esperet et al. (2017) [7] conjectured that any cubic graph admits a 2-quasi-bisection. In this paper, we prove this conjecture for all bridgeless cubic graphs with oddness 2.
k-二分法。无桥三次图G的k-拟对分(k-拟对分)是顶点2着色,满足:(i)两个颜色类的大小相等(相对于;两个颜色类的大小相差不超过2),并且(ii)每个颜色类诱导的每个连通分量的阶数不超过k。Esperet et al.(2017)[7]推测任何三次图都允许2-拟对分。本文对奇异数为2的所有无桥三次图证明了这一猜想。
{"title":"A note on 2-quasi-bisection of cubic graphs with oddness 2","authors":"Siyan Liu , Rong-Xia Hao , Rong Luo , Cun-Quan Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.disc.2025.114939","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.disc.2025.114939","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A <em>k</em>-bisection (resp. <em>k</em>-quasi-bisection) of a bridgeless cubic graph <em>G</em> is a vertex 2-coloring satisfying: (i) the sizes of the two color classes are equal (resp. the sizes of the two color classes differ by at most 2), and (ii) the order of each connected component induced by each color class is at most <em>k</em>. Esperet et al. (2017) <span><span>[7]</span></span> conjectured that any cubic graph admits a 2-quasi-bisection. In this paper, we prove this conjecture for all bridgeless cubic graphs with oddness 2.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50572,"journal":{"name":"Discrete Mathematics","volume":"349 5","pages":"Article 114939"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145697782","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-01-09DOI: 10.1016/j.disc.2026.114980
Evan Leonard
Zhu [5] introduced a refined scale of choosability in 2020 and observed that the four color theorem is tight on this scale. We formalize and explore this idea of tightness in what we call strictly colorable graphs. We then characterize all strictly colorable complete multipartite graphs.
{"title":"Strictly k-colorable graphs","authors":"Evan Leonard","doi":"10.1016/j.disc.2026.114980","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.disc.2026.114980","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Zhu <span><span>[5]</span></span> introduced a refined scale of choosability in 2020 and observed that the four color theorem is tight on this scale. We formalize and explore this idea of tightness in what we call strictly colorable graphs. We then characterize all strictly colorable complete multipartite graphs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50572,"journal":{"name":"Discrete Mathematics","volume":"349 5","pages":"Article 114980"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145938805","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-01-06DOI: 10.1016/j.disc.2025.114976
Yanting Zhang , Ligong Wang
The spectral radius of a graph G, denoted by , is the largest eigenvalue of its adjacency matrix. The Brualdi-Hoffman-Turán type problem is to determine the maximum spectral radius among all m-edge graphs which do not contain specific forbidden subgraphs. Denote by the star on vertices. Let F be a star forest, where with and for . In this paper, we study the Brualdi-Hoffman-Turán type problem for star forests, and prove that if G is an F-free graph with size m, then its spectral radius satisfies , with equality if and only if , provided that .
{"title":"Spectral extrema of graphs with fixed size: Forbidden star forests","authors":"Yanting Zhang , Ligong Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.disc.2025.114976","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.disc.2025.114976","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The spectral radius of a graph <em>G</em>, denoted by <span><math><mi>ρ</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>G</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span>, is the largest eigenvalue of its adjacency matrix. The Brualdi-Hoffman-Turán type problem is to determine the maximum spectral radius among all <em>m</em>-edge graphs which do not contain specific forbidden subgraphs. Denote by <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>ℓ</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> the star on <span><math><mi>ℓ</mi><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn></math></span> vertices. Let <em>F</em> be a star forest, where <span><math><mi>F</mi><mo>=</mo><msubsup><mrow><mo>∪</mo></mrow><mrow><mi>i</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msubsup><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>ℓ</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></msub></math></span> with <span><math><mi>k</mi><mo>≥</mo><mn>2</mn></math></span> and <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>ℓ</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow></msub><mo>≥</mo><mn>1</mn></math></span> for <span><math><mi>i</mi><mo>∈</mo><mo>[</mo><mi>k</mi><mo>]</mo></math></span>. In this paper, we study the Brualdi-Hoffman-Turán type problem for star forests, and prove that if <em>G</em> is an <em>F</em>-free graph with size <em>m</em>, then its spectral radius satisfies <span><math><mi>ρ</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>G</mi><mo>)</mo><mo>≤</mo><mfrac><mrow><mn>1</mn></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></mfrac><mo>(</mo><mi>k</mi><mo>−</mo><mn>2</mn><mo>+</mo><msqrt><mrow><mn>4</mn><mi>m</mi><mo>−</mo><msup><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup><mo>+</mo><mn>2</mn><mi>k</mi></mrow></msqrt><mo>)</mo></math></span>, with equality if and only if <span><math><mi>G</mi><mo>=</mo><msub><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></msub><mo>∨</mo><mo>(</mo><mfrac><mrow><mi>m</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></mfrac><mo>−</mo><mfrac><mrow><mi>k</mi><mo>−</mo><mn>2</mn></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></mfrac><mo>)</mo><msub><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>1</mn></mrow></msub></math></span>, provided that <span><math><mi>m</mi><mo>≥</mo><msup><mrow><mo>(</mo><mn>2</mn><mi>k</mi><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>)</mo></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup><msup><mrow><mo>(</mo><msubsup><mrow><mo>∑</mo></mrow><mrow><mi>i</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msubsup><msub><mrow><mi>ℓ</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow></msub><mo>+</mo><mi>k</mi><mo>−</mo><mn>2</mn><mo>)</mo></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup></math></span>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50572,"journal":{"name":"Discrete Mathematics","volume":"349 5","pages":"Article 114976"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145939117","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}