Partitioning de Bruijn Graphs into Fixed-Length Cycles for Robot Identification and Tracking

We propose a new camera-based method of robot identification, tracking and orientation estimation. The system utilises coloured lights mounted in a circle around each robot to create unique colour sequences that are observed by a camera. The number of robots that can be uniquely identified is limited by the number of colours available, $q$, the number of lights on each robot, $k$, and the number of consecutive lights the camera can see, $\ell$. For a given set of parameters, we would like to maximise the number of robots that we can use. We model this as a combinatorial problem and show that it is equivalent to finding the maximum number of disjoint $k$-cycles in the de Bruijn graph $\text{dB}(q,\ell)$. We provide several existence results that give the maximum number of cycles in $\text{dB}(q,\ell)$ in various cases. For example, we give an optimal solution when $k=q^{\ell-1}$. Another construction yields many cycles in larger de Bruijn graphs using cycles from smaller de Bruijn graphs: if $\text{dB}(q,\ell)$ can be partitioned into $k$-cycles, then $\text{dB}(q,\ell)$ can be partitioned into $tk$-cycles for any divisor $t$ of $k$. The methods used are based on finite field algebra and the combinatorics of words.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Discrete Applied Mathematic

Regular quantum graphs

We introduce the concept of regular quantum graphs and construct connected quantum graphs with discrete symmetries. The method is based on a decomposition of the quantum propagator in terms of permutation matrices which control the way incoming and outgoing channels at vertex scattering processes are connected. Symmetry properties of the quantum graph as well as its spectral statistics depend on the particular choice of permutation matrices, also called connectivity matrices, and can now be easily controlled. The method may find applications in the study of quantum random walks networks and may also prove to be useful in analysing universality in spectral statistics.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure

Sandpile groups of generalized de Bruijn and Kautz graphs and circulant matrices over finite fields

A maximal minor $M$ of the Laplacian of an $n$-vertex Eulerian digraph $\Gamma$ gives rise to a finite group $\mathbb{Z}^{n-1}/\mathbb{Z}^{n-1}M$ known as the sandpile (or critical) group $S(\Gamma)$ of $\Gamma$. We determine $S(\Gamma)$ of the generalized de Bruijn graphs $\Gamma=\mathrm{DB}(n,d)$ with vertices $0,\dots,n-1$ and arcs $(i,di+k)$ for $0\leq i\leq n-1$ and $0\leq k\leq d-1$, and closely related generalized Kautz graphs, extending and completing earlier results for the classical de Bruijn and Kautz graphs. Moreover, for a prime $p$ and an $n$-cycle permutation matrix $X\in\mathrm{GL}_n(p)$ we show that $S(\mathrm{DB}(n,p))$ is isomorphic to the quotient by $\langle X\rangle$ of the centralizer of $X$ in $\mathrm{PGL}_n(p)$. This offers an explanation for the coincidence of numerical data in sequences A027362 and A003473 of the OEIS, and allows one to speculate upon a possibility to construct normal bases in the finite field $\mathbb{F}_{p^n}$ from spanning trees in $\mathrm{DB}(n,p)$.Comment: I+24 page

A Characterization of Uniquely Representable Graphs

The betweenness structure of a finite metric space $M = (X, d)$ is a pair $\mathcal{B}(M) = (X,\beta_M)$ where $\beta_M$ is the so-called betweenness relation of $M$ that consists of point triplets $(x, y, z)$ such that $d(x, z) = d(x, y) + d(y, z)$. The underlying graph of a betweenness structure $\mathcal{B} = (X,\beta)$ is the simple graph $G(\mathcal{B}) = (X, E)$ where the edges are pairs of distinct points with no third point between them. A connected graph $G$ is uniquely representable if there exists a unique metric betweenness structure with underlying graph $G$. It was implied by previous works that trees are uniquely representable. In this paper, we give a characterization of uniquely representable graphs by showing that they are exactly the block graphs. Further, we prove that two related classes of graphs coincide with the class of block graphs and the class of distance-hereditary graphs, respectively. We show that our results hold not only for metric but also for almost-metric betweenness structures.Comment: 16 pages (without references); 3 figures; major changes: simplified proofs, improved notations and namings, short overview of metric graph theor

An extensive English language bibliography on graph theory and its applications, supplement 1

Graph theory and its applications - bibliography, supplement