On The De Bruijn Torus Problem

A (kn;n)k-de Bruijn Cycle is a cyclic k-ary sequence with the property that every k-ary n-tuple appears exactly once contiguously on the cycle. A (kr, ks; m, n)k-de Bruijn Torus is a k-ary krXks toroidal array with the property that every k-ary m x n matrix appears exactly once contiguously on the torus. As is the case with de Bruijn cycles, the 2-dimensional version has many interesting applications, from coding and communications to pseudo-random arrays, spectral imaging, and robot self-location. J.C. Cock proved the existence of such tori for all m, n, and k, and Chung, Diaconis, and Graham asked if it were possible that r = s and m -= n for n even. Fan, Fan, Ma and Siu showed this was possible for k - 2. Combining new techniques with old, we prove the result for k \u3e 2 and show that actually much more is possible. The cases in 3 or more dimensions remain

On the Cost of Participating in a Peer-to-Peer Network

In this paper, we model the cost incurred by each peer participating in a peer-to-peer network. Such a cost model allows to gauge potential disincentives for peers to collaborate, and provides a measure of the ``total cost'' of a network, which is a possible benchmark to distinguish between proposals. We characterize the cost imposed on a node as a function of the experienced load and the node connectivity, and show how our model applies to a few proposed routing geometries for distributed hash tables (DHTs). We further outline a number of open questions this research has raised.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures. Short version to be published in the Proceedings of the Third International Workshop on Peer-to-Peer Systems (IPTPS'04). San Diego, CA. February 200

The asymptotical error of broadcast gossip averaging algorithms

In problems of estimation and control which involve a network, efficient distributed computation of averages is a key issue. This paper presents theoretical and simulation results about the accumulation of errors during the computation of averages by means of iterative "broadcast gossip" algorithms. Using martingale theory, we prove that the expectation of the accumulated error can be bounded from above by a quantity which only depends on the mixing parameter of the algorithm and on few properties of the network: its size, its maximum degree and its spectral gap. Both analytical results and computer simulations show that in several network topologies of applicative interest the accumulated error goes to zero as the size of the network grows large.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures. Based on a draft submitted to IFACWC201

Using alternating de Bruijn sequences to construct de Bruijn tori

A de Bruijn torus is the two dimensional generalization of a de Bruijn sequence. While some methods exist to generate these tori, only a few methods of construction are known. We present a novel method to generate de Bruijn tori with rectangular windows by combining two variants de Bruijn sequences called `Alternating de Bruijn sequences' and `De Bruijn families'.Comment: 21 pages, comments welcom

Enumeration of points, lines, planes, etc

One of the earliest results in enumerative combinatorial geometry is the following theorem of de Bruijn and Erd\H{o}s: Every set of points $E$ in a projective plane determines at least $|E|$ lines, unless all the points are contained in a line. Motzkin and others extended the result to higher dimensions, who showed that every set of points $E$ in a projective space determines at least $|E|$ hyperplanes, unless all the points are contained in a hyperplane. Let $E$ be a spanning subset of a $d$-dimensional vector space. We show that, in the partially ordered set of subspaces spanned by subsets of $E$, there are at least as many $(d-k)$-dimensional subspaces as there are $k$-dimensional subspaces, for every $k$ at most $d/2$. This confirms the "top-heavy" conjecture of Dowling and Wilson for all matroids realizable over some field. The proof relies on the decomposition theorem package for $\ell$-adic intersection complexes.Comment: 18 pages, major revisio