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Notes on Combinatorics
Peter J. Cameron
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Preface: What is Combinatorics?
Combinatorics, the mathematics of patterns, . . . , helps us design com-
puter networks, crack security codes, or solve sudokus
Ursula Martin, Vice-Principal (Science and Engineering),
Queen Mary, University of London
These notes accompanied the course MAS219, Combinatorics, at Queen Mary,
University of London, in the Autumn semester 2007.

It is impossible to de\ufb01ne combinatorics, but an approximate description would go like this. We are given the job of arranging certain objects or items according to a speci\ufb01ed pattern. Some of the questions that arise include:

\u2022Is the arrangement possible?
\u2022In how many ways can the arrangement be made?
\u2022How do we go about \ufb01nding such an arrangement?

This is best illustrated by examples.
Example 1: SudokuYou are given a 9\u00d7 9 grid, divided into nine 3\u00d7 3 squares.

Your job is to put the numbers 1, 2,..., 9 into the cells of the grid in such a way that each number occurs just once in each row, once in each column, and once in each 3\u00d7 3 subsquare.

It is not hard to see that the arrangement is indeed possible. A heroic calcula-
tion by Bertram Felgenhauer and Frazer Jarvis in 2005 showed that there are
6, 670, 903, 752, 021, 072, 936, 960
different ways of \ufb01lling the grid.

Now suppose that someone has complicated the problem by writing some numbers into the grid already. In general it may or may not be possible to complete the grid; and even if it is, it may be very dif\ufb01cult to \ufb01nd a solution. Nevertheless, many people around the world enjoy engaging with this combinatorial problem every day.

Example 2: Euler\u2019s of\ufb01cersThe great mathematician Leonhard Euler asked in
1782:
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Six different regiments have six of\ufb01cers, each one holding a different rank (of six different ranks altogether). Can these36 of\ufb01cers be ar- ranged in a square formation so that each row and column contains one of\ufb01cer of each rank and one from each regiment?

Euler conjectured that the answer is \u201cno\u201d, and this guess was eventually proved correct in 1900. However Euler also conjectured that the answer is \u201cno\u201d if six is replaced by 10, 14, or any number congruent to 2 mod 4. He was completely wrong about this, but this was not discovered until the 1960s.

Example 3: Kirkman\u2019s schoolgirlsIn 1843, Thomas Kirkman asked:

Fifteen schoolgirls go for a walk every day for a week in \ufb01ve rows of three. Is it possible to arrange the walks so that every two girls walk together exactly once during the week?

This is certainly plausible. Each girl has to walk with fourteen others; every day there are two other girls in her row, so seven days would be the right number for the schedule. However, this does not prove that the arrangement is possible.

In fact, it can be done; Kirkman himself found a schedule satisfying the con-
ditions.
Examples and realityThe examples may give you the impression that combi-

natorics is a collection of charming puzzles of little relevance to our modern tech- nological world. In fact this is completely wrong. The course is not really about applications, but in the digital world this subject is of enormous signi\ufb01cance. Peo- ple (and computers!) spend a lot of time sorting data, sending messages through networks, correcting faulty data or encoding data to keep it safe from unauthorised access, designing better networks, looking for new combinations of atoms to form molecules which will provide us with better drugs, and so on. We need to decide when such a problem has a solution, and to \ufb01nd the solution ef\ufb01ciently.

These notesThese notes re\ufb02ect the contents of the course in 2007. I have added
a couple of proofs of major theorems not covered in the course. The notes have
been provided with exercises (some of them with worked solutions) and an index.
The recommended textbook for the course was my own bookCombinatorics:
Topics, Techniques, Algorithms, \ufb01rst published in 1994; but rather than following
the book I have written everything anew. The course covers roughly the \ufb01rst half
of the book; if you enjoyed this, you may want to read more, or to look at my
Notes on countingon the Web.
I am grateful to Volkan Yildiz who spotted a number of misprints in a prelim-
inary version of the notes.
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