arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Lara Pudwell.
We consider a 2-player permutation game inspired by the celebrated Erdős-Szekeres Theorem. The game depends on two positive integer parameters $a$ and $b$ and we determine the winner and give a winning strategy when $a \geq b$ and $b \in \left\{2,3,4,5\right\}$.
In this paper, we view parking functions viewed as labeled Dyck paths in order to study a notion of pattern avoidance first introduced by Remmel and Qiu. In particular we enumerate the parking functions avoiding any set of two or more patterns of length 3, and we obtain a number of well-known combinatorial sequences as a result. Along the way, we find bijections between specific sets of pattern-avoiding parking functions and a number of combinatorial objects such as partitions of polygons and trees with certain restrictions.
We consider the distribution of ascents, descents, peaks, valleys, double ascents, and double descents over permutations avoiding a set of patterns. Many of these statistics have already been studied over sets of permutations avoiding a single pattern of length 3. However, the distribution of peaks over 321-avoiding permutations is new and we relate it statistics on Dyck paths. We also obtain new interpretations of a number of well-known combinatorial sequences by studying these statistics over permutations avoiding two patterns of length 3.
We consider the set of permutations that are sorted after two passes through a pop stack. We characterize these permutations in terms of forbidden patterns (classical and barred) and enumerate them according to the ascent statistic. Then we show these permutations to be in bijection with a special family of polyominoes. As a consequence, the permutations sortable by this machine are shown to have the same enumeration as three classical permutation classes.
In this paper, we consider pattern avoidance in a subset of words on $\{1,1,2,2,\dots,n,n\}$ called reverse double lists. In particular a reverse double list is a word formed by concatenating a permutation with its reversal. We enumerate reverse double lists avoiding any permutation pattern of length at most 4 and completely determine the corresponding Wilf classes. For permutation patterns $ρ$ of length 5 or more, we characterize when the number of $ρ$-avoiding reverse double lists on $n$ letters has polynomial growth. We also determine the number of $1\cdots k$-avoiders of maximum length for any positive integer $k$.
We study the lexicographically least infinite $a/b$-power-free word on the alphabet of non-negative integers. Frequently this word is a fixed point of a uniform morphism, or closely related to one. For example, the lexicographically least $7/4$-power-free word is a fixed point of a $50847$-uniform morphism. We identify the structure of the lexicographically least $a/b$-power-free word for three infinite families of rationals $a/b$ as well many "sporadic" rationals that do not seem to belong to general families. To accomplish this, we develop an automated procedure for proving $a/b$-power-freeness for morphisms of a certain form, both for explicit and symbolic rational numbers $a/b$. Finally, we establish a connection to words on a finite alphabet. Namely, the lexicographically least $27/23$-power-free word is in fact a word on the finite alphabet $\{0, 1, 2\}$, and its sequence of letters is $353$-automatic.
We investigate pattern avoidance in permutations satisfying some additional restrictions. These are naturally considered in terms of avoiding patterns in linear extensions of certain forest-like partially ordered sets, which we call binary shrub forests. In this context, we enumerate forests avoiding patterns of length three. In four of the five non-equivalent cases, we present explicit enumerations by exhibiting bijections with certain lattice paths bounded above by the line $y=\ell x$, for some $\ell\in\mathbb{Q}^+$, one of these being the celebrated Duchon's club paths with $\ell=2/3$. In the remaining case, we use the machinery of analytic combinatorics to determine the minimal polynomial of its generating function, and deduce its growth rate.
We use Markov chains and numerical linear algebra -- and several CPU hours -- to determine the expected number of coins in a person's possession under certain conditions. We identify the spending strategy that results in the minimum possible expected number of coins, and we consider two other strategies that are more realistic.
We use modular arithmetic to construct a de Bruijn array containing all fillings of an L (a 2 x 2 array with the upper right corner removed) with digits chosen from {0,...,k-1}.
In this paper we consider the enumeration of ordered set partitions avoiding a permutation pattern of length 2 or 3. We provide an exact enumeration for avoiding the permutation 12. We also give exact enumeration for ordered partitions with 3 blocks and ordered partitions with n-1 blocks avoiding a permutation of length 3. We use enumeration schemes to recursively enumerate 123-avoiding ordered partitions with any block sizes. Finally, we give some asymptotic results for the growth rates of the number of ordered set partitions avoiding a single pattern; including a Stanley-Wilf type that exhibits existence of such growth rates.
In this paper we consider the enumeration of binary trees avoiding non-contiguous binary tree patterns. We begin by computing closed formulas for the number of trees avoiding a single binary tree pattern with 4 or fewer leaves and compare these results to analogous work for contiguous tree patterns. Next, we give an explicit generating function that counts binary trees avoiding a single non-contiguous tree pattern according to number of leaves. In addition, we enumerate binary trees that simultaneously avoid more than one tree pattern. Finally, we explore connections between pattern-avoiding trees and pattern-avoiding permutations.
This paper considers the enumeration of ternary trees (i.e. rooted ordered trees in which each vertex has 0 or 3 children) avoiding a contiguous ternary tree pattern. We begin by finding recurrence relations for several simple tree patterns; then, for more complex trees, we compute generating functions by extending a known algorithm for pattern-avoiding binary trees. Next, we present an alternate one-dimensional notation for trees which we use to find bijections that explain why certain pairs of tree patterns yield the same avoidance generating function. Finally, we compare our bijections to known "replacement rules" for binary trees and generalize these bijections to a larger class of trees.
In 1966, Alan Sutcliffe published an introductory paper on "numbers which are multiplied when their digits are reversed". Two years later T. J. Kaczynski extended Sutcliffe's work to show that there exists a 3 digit number in base n with this property if and only if there exists a 2 digit base n number with this property. This paper attempts to generalize Kaczynski's proof to the case of 4 and 5 digit integers and explores some unexpected consequences of this generalization.
A pebbling move on a graph consists of taking two pebbles off of one vertex and placing one pebble on an adjacent vertex. In the traditional pebbling problem we try to reach a specified vertex of the graph by a sequence of pebbling moves. In this paper we investigate the case when every vertex of the graph must end up with at least one pebble after a series of pebbling moves. The cover pebbling number of a graph is the minimum number of pebbles such that however the pebbles are initially placed on the vertices of the graph we can eventually put a pebble on every vertex simultaneously. We find the cover pebbling numbers of trees and some other graphs. We also consider the more general problem where (possibly different) given numbers of pebbles are required for the vertices.