Automated Discharging Arguments for Density Problems in Grids

Discharging arguments demonstrate a connection between local structure and global averages. This makes it an effective tool for proving lower bounds on the density of special sets in infinite grids. However, the minimum density of an identifying code in the hexagonal grid remains open, with an upper bound of $\frac{3}{7} \approx 0.428571$ and a lower bound of $\frac{5}{12}\approx 0.416666$. We present a new, experimental framework for producing discharging arguments using an algorithm. This algorithm replaces the lengthy case analysis of human-written discharging arguments with a linear program that produces the best possible lower bound using the specified set of discharging rules. We use this framework to present a lower bound of $\frac{23}{55} \approx 0.418181$ on the density of an identifying code in the hexagonal grid, and also find several sharp lower bounds for variations on identifying codes in the hexagonal, square, and triangular grids.Comment: This is an extended abstract, with 10 pages, 2 appendices, 5 tables, and 2 figure

An improved lower bound for (1,<=2)-identifying codes in the king grid

We call a subset $C$ of vertices of a graph $G$ a $(1,\leq \ell)$-identifying code if for all subsets $X$ of vertices with size at most $\ell$, the sets $\{c\in C |\exists u \in X, d(u,c)\leq 1\}$ are distinct. The concept of identifying codes was introduced in 1998 by Karpovsky, Chakrabarty and Levitin. Identifying codes have been studied in various grids. In particular, it has been shown that there exists a $(1,\leq 2)$-identifying code in the king grid with density 3/7 and that there are no such identifying codes with density smaller than 5/12. Using a suitable frame and a discharging procedure, we improve the lower bound by showing that any $(1,\leq 2)$-identifying code of the king grid has density at least 47/111

Uniform hypergraphs containing no grids

A hypergraph is called an r×r grid if it is isomorphic to a pattern of r horizontal and r vertical lines, i.e.,a family of sets {A1, ..., Ar, B1, ..., Br} such that Ai∩Aj=Bi∩Bj=φ for 1≤i<j≤r and {pipe}Ai∩Bj{pipe}=1 for 1≤i, j≤r. Three sets C1, C2, C3 form a triangle if they pairwise intersect in three distinct singletons, {pipe}C1∩C2{pipe}={pipe}C2∩C3{pipe}={pipe}C3∩C1{pipe}=1, C1∩C2≠C1∩C3. A hypergraph is linear, if {pipe}E∩F{pipe}≤1 holds for every pair of edges E≠F.In this paper we construct large linear r-hypergraphs which contain no grids. Moreover, a similar construction gives large linear r-hypergraphs which contain neither grids nor triangles. For r≥. 4 our constructions are almost optimal. These investigations are motivated by coding theory: we get new bounds for optimal superimposed codes and designs. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd

Finding codes on infinite grids automatically

We apply automata theory and Karp's minimum mean weight cycle algorithm to minimum density problems in coding theory. Using this method, we find the new upper bound $53/126 \approx 0.4206$ for the minimum density of an identifying code on the infinite hexagonal grid, down from the previous record of $3/7 \approx 0.4286$.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figure