We introduce an inductively defined sequence of directed graphs and prove that the number of edges added at step $k$ is equal to the $k$th Catalan number. Furthermore, we establish an isomorphism between the set of edges adjoined at step $k$ and the set of planar rooted trees with $k$ edges.
We show that families of action graphs, with initial graphs which are linear of varying length, give rise to self-convolutions of the Catalan sequence. We prove this result via a comparison with planar rooted forests with a fixed number of trees.
We consider Catalan-pair graphs, a family of graphs that can be viewed as representing certain interactions between pairs of objects which are enumerated by the Catalan numbers. In this paper we study random Catalan-pair graphs and deduce various properties of these random graphs. In particular, we asymptotically determine the expected number of edges and isolated vertices, and more generally we determine the expected number of (induced) subgraphs isomorphic to a given connected graph.
We summarize some combinatoric problems solved by the higher Catalan numbers. These problems are generalizations of the combinatoric problems solved by the Catalan numbers. The generating function of the higher Catalan numbers appeared recently as an auxiliary function in enumerating maps and explicit computations of the asymptotic expansion of the partition function of random matrices in the unitary ensemble case. We give combinatoric proofs of the formulas for the number of genus 0 and genus 1 maps.
We prove various congruences for Catalan and Motzkin numbers as well as related sequences. The common thread is that all these sequences can be expressed in terms of binomial coefficients. Our techniques are combinatorial and algebraic: group actions, induction, and Lucas' congruence for binomial coefficients come into play. A number of our results settle conjectures of Benoit Cloitre and Reinhard Zumkeller. The Thue-Morse sequence appears in several contexts.
The Chan-Robbins-Yuen polytope can be thought of as the flow polytope of the complete graph with netflow vector $(1, 0, \ldots, 0, -1)$. The normalized volume of the Chan-Robbins-Yuen polytope equals the product of consecutive Catalan numbers, yet there is no combinatorial proof of this fact. We consider a natural generalization of this polytope, namely, the flow polytope of the complete graph with netflow vector $(1,1, 0, \ldots, 0, -2)$. We show that the volume of this polytope is a certain power of $2$ times the product of consecutive Catalan numbers. Our proof uses constant term identities…
We present the new combinatorial class of product-coproduct prographs which are planar assemblies of two types of operators: products having two inputs and a single output and coproducts having a single input and two outputs. We show that such graphs are enumerated by the $3$-dimensional Catalan numbers. We present some combinatorial bijections positioning product-coproduct prographs as key objects to probe families of objects enumerated by the $3$-dimensional Catalan numbers.
On an elliptic surface or threefold, Catalan numbers appear when one tries to compute the autoequivalence group action on the Bridgeland stability manifold. We explain why this happens by identifying a class of equations in the Chow ring of a fibration, where the solutions always involve Catalan numbers.
Recently, a combinatorial interpretation of Baldoni and Vergne's generalized Lidskii formula for the volume of a flow polytope was developed by Benedetti et al.. This converts the problem of computing Kostant partition functions into a problem of enumerating a set of objects called unified diagrams. We devise an enhanced version of this combinatorial model to compute the volumes of flow polytopes defined on a family of graphs called the k-caracol graphs, resulting in the first application of the model to non-planar graphs. At k=1 and k=n-1, we recover results for the classical caracol graph an…
We first observe that the relations of the canonical generating isometries of the Cuntz algebra ${\cal O}_N$ are naturally related to the $N$-colored Catalan numbers. For a directed graph $G$, we generalize the Catalan numbers by using the canonical generating partial isometries of the Cuntz-Krieger algebra ${\cal O}_{A^G}$ for the transition matrix $A^G$ of $G$. The generalized Catalan numbers $c_n^G, n=0,1,2,...$ enumerate the number of Dyck paths and oriented rooted trees for the graph $G$. Its generating functions will be studied.
In this short note, we describe a problem in algebraic geometry where the solution involves Catalan numbers. More specifically, we consider the derived category of coherent sheaves on an elliptic surface, and the action of its autoequivalence group on its Bridgeland stability manifold. In solving an equation involving this group action, the generating function of Catalan numbers arises, allowing us to use asymptotic estimates of Catalan numbers to arrive at a bound for the solution set.
In this paper we study spectral zeta functions associated to finite and infinite graphs. First we establish a meromorphic continuation of these functions under some general conditions. Then we study special values in the case of standard lattice graphs associated to free abelian groups. In particular we connect it to Catalan numbers in several ways, and obtain some non-trivial special values and functional symmetries. Furthermore we relate the values at the negative integers with the more studied Ihara zeta functions, and prove a few minor results that seem not to have been recorded before. Fi…
In 1995, the first author introduced a multivariate generating function {$G$} that tracks the distribution of ascents and descents in labeled binary trees. In addition to proving that $G$ is symmetric, he conjectured that $G$ is Schur positive. We prove this conjecture by expanding $G$ positively in terms of ribbon Schur functions. We obtain this expansion using a weight-preserving bijection whose inverse is inspired by the Push-Glide algorithm of Préville-Ratelle and Viennot. In fact, this weight-preserving bijection allows us to establish a stronger version of the first author's conjecture s…
Towards the study of the Kashiwara B(infinity) crystal, sets H^t of functions were introduced given by equivalence classes of unordered partitions satisfying certain boundary conditions. Here it is shown that H^t is a Catalan set of order t, that is to say the cardinality of H^t is the t-th Catalan number C(t). This is a new description of a Catalan set and moreover admits some remarkable features. Thus to H^t there is an associated labelled graph G_t which is shown to have a canonical decomposition into (t-1)! subgraphs each with 2^{t-1} vertices. These subgraphs, called S-graphs, have some t…
We investigate the tree gonality of a genus-$g$ metric graph, defined as the minimum degree of a tropical morphism from any tropical modification of the metric graph to a metric tree. We give a combinatorial constructive proof that this number is at most $\lceil g/2 \rceil + 1$, a fact whose proofs so far required an algebro-geometric detour via special divisors on curves. For even genus, the tropical morphism which realizes the bound belongs to a family of tropical morphisms that is pure of dimension $3g-3$ and that has a generically finite-to-one map onto the moduli space of genus-$g$ metric…
We study the average leaf-to-leaf path lengths on ordered Catalan tree graphs with $n$ nodes and show that these are equivalent to the average length of paths starting from the root node. We give an explicit analytic formula for the average leaf-to-leaf path length as a function of separation of the leaves and study its asymptotic properties. At the heart of our method is a strategy based on an abstract graph representation of generating functions.
We study integral representation of so-called $d$-dimensional Catalan numbers $C_{d}(n)$, defined by $[\prod_{p=0}^{d-1} \frac{p!}{(n+p)!}] (d n)!$, $d = 2, 3, ...$, $n=0, 1, ...$. We prove that the $C_{d}(n)$'s are the $n$th Hausdorff power moments of positive functions $W_{d}(x)$ defined on $x\in[0, d^d]$. We construct exact and explicit forms of $W_{d}(x)$ and demonstrate that they can be expressed as combinations of $d-1$ hypergeometric functions of type $_{d-1}F_{d-2}$ of argument $x/d^d$. These solutions are unique. We analyse them analytically and graphically. A combinatorially relevant…
The Catalan numbers occur in various counting problems in combinatorics. This paper reveals a connection between the Catalan numbers and list colouring of graphs. Assume $G$ is a graph and $f:V(G) \to N$ is a mapping. For a nonnegative integer $m$, let $f^{(m)}$ be the extension of $f$ to the graph $ G \diamondplus \overline{K_m}$ for which $f^{(m)}(v)=|V(G)|$ for each vertex $v$ of $\overline{K_m}$. Let $m_c(G,f)$ be the minimum $m$ such that $ G \diamondplus \overline{K_m}$ is not $f^{(m)}$-choosable and $m_p(G,f)$ be the minimum $m$ such that $ G \diamondplus \overline{K_m}$ is not $f^{(m)}…
For any graph consisting of $k$ vertices and $m$ edges we construct an ensemble of random pure quantum states which describe a system composed of $2m$ subsystems. Each edge of the graph represents a bi-partite, maximally entangled state. Each vertex represents a random unitary matrix generated according to the Haar measure, which describes the coupling between subsystems. Dividing all subsystems into two parts, one may study entanglement with respect to this partition. A general technique to derive an expression for the average entanglement entropy of random pure states associated to a given g…
The d-dimensional Catalan numbers form a well-known sequence of numbers which count balanced bracket expressions over an alphabet of size d. In this paper, we introduce and study what we call d-dimensional prime Catalan numbers, a sequence of numbers which count only a very specific subset of indecomposable balanced bracket expressions. We further introduce the notion of a trapezoidal diagram of a crossing-free geometric graph, such as a triangulation or a crossing-free perfect matching. In essence, such a diagram is obtained by augmenting the geometric graph in question with its trapezoidal d…
It is well-known that Catalan numbers $C_n = \frac{1}{n+1} \binom{2n}{n}$ count the number of dominant regions in the Shi arrangement of type $A$, and that they also count partitions which are both $n$-cores as well as $(n+1)$-cores. These concepts have natural extensions, which we call here the $m$-Catalan numbers and $m$-Shi arrangement. In this paper, we construct a bijection between dominant regions of the $m$-Shi arrangement and partitions which are both $n$-cores as well as $(mn+1)$-cores. The bijection is natural in the sense that it commutes with the action of the affine symmetric grou…
We show new bijective proofs of previously known formulas for the number of regions of some deformations of the braid arrangement, by means of a bijection between the no-broken-circuit sets of the corresponding integral gain graphs and some kinds of labelled binary trees. This leads to new bijective proofs for the Shi, Catalan, and similar hyperplane arrangements.
The paper by M. Baker and S. Norine in 2007 introduced a new parameter on configurations of graphs and gave a new result in the theory of graphs which has an algebraic geometry flavour. This result was called Riemann-Roch formula for graphs since it defines a combinatorial version of divisors and their ranks in terms of configuration on graphs. The so called chip firing game on graphs and the sandpile model in physics play a central role in this theory. In this paper we give a presentation of the theorem of Baker and Norine in purely combinatorial terms, which is more accessible and shorter th…
Horizontal visibility graphs (HVGs, for short) are a common tool used in the analysis and classification of time series with applications in many scientific fields. In this article, extending previous work by Lacasa and Luque, we prove that HVGs associated to data sequences without equal entries are completely determined by their ordered degree sequence. Moreover, we show that HVGs for data sequences without and with equal entries are counted by the Catalan numbers and the large Schröder numbers, respectively.
Let $Φ$ be an irreducible crystallographic root system with Weyl group $W$ and coroot lattice $\check{Q}$, spanning a Euclidean space $V$. Let $m$ be a positive integer and $\aA^m_Φ$ be the arrangement of hyperplanes in $V$ of the form $(α, x) = k$ for $α\in Φ$ and $k = 0, 1,...,m$. It is known that the number $N^+ (Φ, m)$ of bounded dominant regions of $\aA^m_Φ$ is equal to the number of facets of the positive part $Δ^m_+ (Φ)$ of the generalized cluster complex associated to the pair $(Φ, m)$ by S. Fomin and N. Reading. We define a statistic on the set of bounded dominant regions of $\aA^m_Φ$…
The authors of this paper have used the theory of Riordan matrices to introduce the notion of a Riordan graph in \cite{CJKM}. Riordan graphs are proved to have a number of interesting (fractal) properties, and they are a far-reaching generalization of the well known and well studied Pascal graphs and Toeplitz graphs, and also some other families of graphs. The main focus in \cite{CJKM} is the study of structural properties of families of Riordan graphs obtained from certain infinite Riordan graphs. In this paper, we use a number of results in~\cite{CJKM} to study spectral properties of Riordan…
Standard set-valued Young tableaux are a generalization of standard Young tableaux where cells can contain unordered sets of integers, with the added condition that every integer at position $(i,j)$ must be smaller that every integer at both $(i+1,j)$ and $(i,j+1)$. In this paper, we explore properties of standard set-valued Young tableaux with three rows and a fixed number of integers in every cell of each row (referred to as set-valued tableaux with row-constant density). Our primary focus is on standard set-valued Young tableaux with $1$ integer in each first-row cell, $k-1$ integers in eac…
In this paper, we introduce new combinatorial invariants of any finite simple graph, which arise in toric topology. We compute the $i$-th (rational) Betti number and Euler characteristic of the real toric variety associated to a graph associahedron $P_{\B(G)}$. They can be calculated by a purely combinatorial method (in terms of graphs) and are named $a_i(G)$ and $b(G)$, respectively. To our surprise, for specific families of the graph $G$, our invariants are deeply related to well-known combinatorial sequences such as the Catalan numbers and Euler zigzag numbers.
The cyclic sieving phenomenon (CSP) was introduced by Reiner, Stanton, and White to study combinatorial structures with actions of cyclic groups. The crucial step is to find a polynomial, for example a q-analog, that satisfies the CSP conditions for an action. This polynomial will give us a lot of information about the symmetry and structure of the set under the action. In this paper, we study the cyclic sieving phenomenon of the cyclic group $C_{2n}$ acting on $P_{n,k}$, which is the set of matchings of $2n$ points on a circle with $k$ crossings. The noncrossing matchings ($k=0$) was recently…
In this paper we prove that points in the space $X(k,n)$ of configurations of $n$ points in $\mathbb{CP}^{k-1}$ which are fixed under a certain cyclic action are the solutions to the generalized scattering equations on planar kinematics (PK). In the first part, we give a constructive upper bound: we show that these solutions inject into certain aperiodic k-element subsets of $\{1,\ldots, n\}$, and consequently that their number is bounded above by the number of Lyndon words with k one's and n-k zeros. The proof uses a somewhat surprising connection between the superpotential of the mirror of $…
Random walks are a series of up, down, and level steps that enumerate distinct paths from $(0,0)$ to $(2n,0)$, where $n$ is the semi-length of the path. We used these paths to analyze Catalan, Schröder, and Motzkin number sequences through a combination of matrix operations, quadratic functions, and inductive reasoning. Our results revealed a number of distinct patterns, some unnamed, between these number sequences and Pascal's triangle that can be explained through generating functions, first returns, group theory, and the Riordan matrix. Various proofs and properties of these number sequence…
We study the family of \emph{derangement action digraphs}, which are a subfamily of the group action graphs introduced in [Fred Annexstein, Marc Baumslag, and Arnold L. Rosenberg, Group action graphs and parallel architectures, \emph{SIAM J. Comput.} 19 (1990), no. 3, 544--569]. For any non-empty set $X$ and a non-empty subset $S$ of $\Der(X)$, the set of derangments of $X$, we define the derangement action digraph $\rm\overrightarrow{DA}(X;S)$ to have vertex set $X$, and an arc from $x$ to $y$ if and only if $y=x^s$ for some $s\in S$. In common with Cayley graphs and digraphs, derangement act…
We study locally $s$-arc-transitive graphs arising from the quasiprimitive product action (PA). We prove that, for any locally $(G,2)$-arc-transitive graph with $G$ acting quasiprimitively with type PA on both $G$-orbits of vertices, the group $G$ does not act primitively on either orbit. Moreover, we construct the first examples of locally $s$-arc-transitive graphs of PA type that are not standard double covers of $s$-arc-transitive graphs of PA type, answering the existence question for these graphs.
Arithmetical structures on a graph were introduced by Lorenzini as some intersection matrices that arise in the study of degenerating curves in algebraic geometry. In this article we study these arithmetical structures, in particular we are interested in the arithmetical structures on complete graphs, paths, and cycles. We begin by looking at the arithmetical structures on a multidigraph from the general perspective of $M$-matrices. As an application, we recover the result of Lorenzini about the finiteness of the number of arithmetical structures on a graph. We give a description on the arithm…
Let $Γ$ be a simple undirected graph on a finite vertex set and let $A$ be its adjacency matrix. Then $Γ$ is {\it singular} if $A$ is singular. The problem of characterising singular graphs is easy to state but very difficult to resolve in any generality. In this paper we investigate the singularity of graphs for which the dihedral group acts transitively on vertices as a group of automorphisms.
We consider two operations on an edge of an embedded graph (or equivalently a ribbon graph): giving a half-twist to the edge and taking the partial dual with respect to the edge. These two operations give rise to an action of S_3^{|E(G)|}, the ribbon group, on G. The action of the ribbon group on embedded graphs extends the concepts of duality, partial duality and Petrie duality. We show that this ribbon group action gives a complete characterization of duality in that if G is any cellularly embedded graph with medial graph G_m, then the orbit of G under the group action is precisely the set o…
In this paper, we discuss the structural information about 2-arc-transitive (non-bipartite and bipartite) graphs of product action type. It is proved that a 2-arc-transitive graph of product action type requires certain restrictions on either the vertex-stabilizers or the valency. Based on the existence of some equidistant linear codes, a construction is given for 2-arc-transitive graphs of non-diagonal product action type, which produces several families of such graphs. Besides, a nontrivial construction is given for 2-arc-transitive bipartite graphs of diagonal product action type
An arithmetical structure on a finite, connected graph $G$ is a pair of vectors $(\mathbf{d}, \mathbf{r})$ with positive integer entries for which $(\operatorname{diag}(\mathbf{d}) - A)\mathbf{r} = \mathbf{0}$, where $A$ is the adjacency matrix of $G$ and where the entries of $\mathbf{r}$ have no common factor. The critical group of an arithmetical structure is the torsion part of the cokernel of $(\operatorname{diag}(\mathbf{d}) - A)$. In this paper, we study arithmetical structures and their critical groups on bidents, which are graphs consisting of a path with two "prongs" at one end. We gi…
In this paper we consider the critical group of finite connected graphs which admit harmonic actions by the dihedral group $D_n$. In particular, we show that if the orbits of the $D_n$-action all have either $n$ or $2n$ points then the critical group of such a graph can be decomposed in terms of the critical groups of the quotients of the graph by certain subgroups of the automorphism group. This is analogous to a theorem of Kani and Rosen which decomposes the Jacobians of algebraic curves with a $D_n$-action.
This paper studies whether there are distance-transitive graphs arising from the coset actions of $G_2(q)$ on the subfield subgroup $G_2(\sqrt{q})$ or $G_2(q)$ on the Ree subgroup $^2G_2(q)$. It is found that there are no such graphs, even if the groups are extended by outer automorphisms of $G_2(q)$.
It has been known that an effective smooth $({\Bbb Z}_2)^k$-action on a smooth connected closed manifold $M^n$ fixing a finite set can be associated to a $({\Bbb Z}_2)^k$-colored regular graph. In this paper, we consider abstract graphs $(Γ,α)$ of $({\Bbb Z}_2)^k$-actions, called abstract 1-skeletons. We study when an abstract 1-skeleton is a colored graph of some $({\Bbb Z}_2)^k$-action. We also study the existence of faces of an abstract 1-skeleton (note that faces often have certain geometric meanings if an abstract 1-skeleton is a colored graph of some $({\Bbb Z}_2)^k$-action).
Generalizing the star graphs of Müller-Stach and Westrich, we describe a class of graphs whose associated graph hypersurface is equipped with a non-trivial torus action. For such graphs, we show that the Euler characteristic of the corresponding projective graph hypersurface complement is zero. In contrast, we also show that the Euler characteristic in question can take any integer value for a suitable graph. This disproves a conjecture of Aluffi in a strong sense.
We consider a finite, connected and simple graph $Γ$ that admits a vertex-transitive group of automorphisms $G$. Under the assumption that, for all $x \in V(Γ)$, the local action $G_x^{Γ(x)}$ is the action of $\mathrm{Sym}(n)$ on ordered pairs, we show that the group $G_x^{[3]}$, the pointwise stabiliser of a ball of radius three around $x$, is trivial.
The distinguishing number $D(G,X)$ of an action of a group $G$ on a set $X$ is the least size of a partition of $X$ such that no element of $G$ acting nontrivially on $X$ preserves this partition. In this paper we describe the distinguishing numbers for all actions of the symmetric group $S_n$, for any $n\geq 3$. This allows us to describe the distinguishing numbers for all graphs whose automorphism group is isomorphic with a symmetric group. Our description solves a few open problems posed by various authors in earlier papers on this topic.
In this paper we consider the critical group of finite connected graphs which admit harmonic actions by the dihedral group $D_n$, extending earlier work by the author and Criel Merino. In particular, we show that the critical group of such a graph can be decomposed in terms of the critical groups of the quotients of the graph by certain subgroups of the automorphism group. This is analogous to a theorem of Kani and Rosen which decomposes the Jacobians of algebraic curves with a $D_n$-action.