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arXiv · 2506.23237

Prime graphical parking functions and strongly recurrent configurations of the Abelian sandpile model

Thomas Selig·Haoyue Zhu
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Abstract

This work investigates the duality between two discrete dynamical processes: parking functions, and the Abelian sandpile model (ASM). Specifically, we are interested in the extension of classical parking functions, called $G$-parking functions, introduced by Postnikov and Shapiro in 2004. $G$-parking functions are in bijection with recurrent configurations of the ASM on $G$. In this work, we define a notion of prime $G$-parking functions. These are parking functions that are in a sense "indecomposable". Our notion extends the concept of primeness for classical parking functions, as well as the notion of prime $(p,q)$-parking functions introduced by Armon et al. in recent work. We show that from the ASM perspective, prime $G$-parking functions correspond to certain configurations of the ASM, which we call strongly recurrent. We study this new connection on a number of graph families, including wheel graphs, complete graphs, complete multi-partite graphs, and complete split graphs.

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Thomas Selig, Haoyue Zhu. 2025-06-29. Prime graphical parking functions and strongly recurrent configurations of the Abelian sandpile model. https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.23237

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