arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Paul Ellis.
We present three versions of the classic two-pile game \textsc{one-or-one-or-one-of-both} generalized to the multi-pile context. In each case, we explore the resulting $\mathcal{P}$-positions. In the first version, there is a simple pattern. In the other two versions, we find partial solutions in each case through two experimental routes. First by limiting the number of piles, then by limiting the number of tokens per pile.
We generalize the results and conjectures of Tam\'{a}s Lengyel, showing that the \textsc{nim}-values of a large class of two-dimensional subtraction-transfer games are periodic. These are impartial, normal-play games with two piles of tokens, where players alternate either taking some tokens from a pile or transferring tokens from one pile to the other. In many cases, we calculate the exact period. We also develop several new notions of periodicitiy.
For normal play, impartial games, we define penults as those positions in which every option results in an immediate win for the other player. We explore the number of tokens in penults of two positional games, Impartial Tic and Impartial Tak. We obtain a complete classification in the former case. We then explore winning strategies and further directions.
The traditional mathematical model for an impartial combinatorial game is defined recursively as a set of the options of the game, where the options are games themselves. We propose a model called gamegraph, together with its generalization rulegraph, based on the natural description of a game as a digraph where the vertices are positions and the arrows represent possible moves. Such digraphs form a category where the morphisms are option preserving maps. We study several versions of this category. Our development includes congruence relations, quotients, and isomorphism theorems and is analogous to the corresponding notions in universal algebra. The quotient by the maximum congruence relation produces an object that is essentially equivalent to the traditional model. After the development of the general theory, we count the number of non-isomorphic gamegraphs and rulegraphs by formal birthday and the number of positions.
We investigate the Sprague-Grundy sequences for two normal-play impartial games based on arithmetic functions, first described by Iannucci and Larsson in \cite{sum}. In each game, the set of positions is N (natural numbers). In saliquant, the options are to subtract a non-divisor. Here we obtain several nice number theoretic lemmas, a fundamental theorem, and two conjectures about the eventual density of Sprague-Grundy values. In nontotient, the only option is to subtract the number of relatively prime residues. Here are able to calculate certain Sprague-Grundy values, and start to understand an appropriate class function.
We investigate Tukey morphisms between binary relations, establishing several fundamental lemmas. We then specialize to finite binary relations, using computational methods to classify all binary relations with at most $6$ points in the domain and codomain up to bimorphism. Finally we give a construction of finite binary relations with arbitrary dominating number and dual dominating number.
\textsc{cut} is a class of partition games played on a finite number of finite piles of tokens. Each version of \textsc{cut} is specified by a cut-set $\mathcal{C}\subseteq\mathbb{N}$. A legal move consists of selecting one of the piles and partitioning it into $d+1$ nonempty piles, where $d\in\mathcal{C}$. No tokens are removed from the game. It turns out that the nim-set for any $\mathcal{C}=\{1,2c\}$ with $c\geq 2$ is arithmetic-periodic, which answers an open question of \cite{par}. The key step is to show that there is a correspondence between the nim-sets of \textsc{cut} for $\mathcal{C}=\{1,6\}$ and the nim-sets of \textsc{cut} for $\mathcal{C}=\{1,2c\}, c\geq 4$. The result easily extends to the case of $\mathcal{C} = \{1, 2c_1, 2c_2, 2c_3, ...\}$, where $c_1,c_2, ... \geq 2$.
We prove the following conjecture of S. Thomassé: for every (potentially infinite) digraph $ D $ it is possible to iteratively reverse directed cycles in such a way that the dichromatic number of the final reorientation $ D^{*} $ of $ D $ is at most two and each edge is flipped only finitely many times. In addition, we guarantee that in every strong component of $ D^{*} $ all the local edge-connectivities are finite and any edge is reversed at most twice.
We show that for any countable homogeneous ordered graph $G$, the conjugacy problem for automorphisms of $G$ is Borel complete. In fact we establish that each such $G$ satisfies a strong extension property called ABAP, which implies that the isomorphism relation on substructures of $G$ is Borel reducible to the conjugacy relation on automorphisms of $G$.
The Borel complexity of the isomorphism problem for finite-rank unital simple dimension groups increases with rank. This implies that the isomorphism problems for the corresponding classes of Bratteli diagrams and LDA-groups also increase with rank.
We show that if $D$ is a tournament of arbitrary size then $D$ has finite strong components after reversing a locally finite sequence of cycles. In turn, we prove that any tournament can be covered by two acyclic sets after reversing a locally finite sequence of cycles. This provides a partial solution to a conjecture of S. Thomassé.
We decide the Borel complexity of the conjugacy problem for automorphism groups of countable homogeneous digraphs. Many of the homogeneous digraphs, as well as several other homogeneous structures, have already been addressed in previous articles. In this article we complete the program, and establish a dichotomy theorem that this complexity is either the minimum or the maximum among relations which are classifiable by countable structures. We also discuss the possibility of extending our results beyond graphs to more general classes of countable homogeneous structures.
We show that a version of López-Escobar's theorem holds in the setting of logic for metric structures. More precisely, let $\mathbb{U}$ denote the Urysohn sphere and let $\mathrm{Mod}(\mathcal{L},\mathbb{U})$ be the space of metric $\mathcal{L}$-structures supported on $\mathbb{U}$. Then for any $\mathrm{Iso}(\mathbb{U})$-invariant Borel function $f\colon \mathrm{Mod}(\mathcal{L}, \mathbb{U})\rightarrow \lbrack 0,1]$, there exists a sentence $ϕ$ of $\mathcal{L}_{ω_{1}ω}$ such that for all $M\in \mathrm{Mod}(\mathcal{L},\mathbb{U})$ we have $f(M)=ϕ^{M}$. At the same time we introduce a variant $\mathcal{L}_{ω_1ω}^\ast$ of $\mathcal{L}_{ω_1ω}$ in which the usual quantifiers are replaced with category quantifiers, and establish the analogous theorem for $\mathcal{L}_{ω_1ω}^\ast$. This answers a question of Ivanov and Majcher-Iwanow. We prove several consequences, for example every orbit equivalence relation of a Polish group action is Borel isomorphic to the isomorphism relation on the set of models of a given $\mathcal{L}_{ω_{1}ω}$-sentence that are supported on the Urysohn sphere. This in turn provides a model-theoretic reformulation of the topological Vaught conjecture.
We prove that the conjugacy problem for the automorphism group of the random graph is Borel complete, and discuss the analogous problem for some other countably categorical structures.