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1. Channels, Billiards, and Perfect Matching 2-Divisibility

   https://doi.org/10.37236/9151  

   Barkley, Grant T.; Liu, Ricky Ini (April 2021, The Electronic Journal of Combinatorics)

   null (Ed.)

   Let $$m_G$$ denote the number of perfect matchings of the graph $$G$$. We introduce a number of combinatorial tools for determining the parity of $$m_G$$ and giving a lower bound on the power of 2 dividing $$m_G$$. In particular, we introduce certain vertex sets called channels, which correspond to elements in the kernel of the adjacency matrix of $$G$$ modulo $$2$$. A result of Lovász states that the existence of a nontrivial channel is equivalent to $$m_G$$ being even. We give a new combinatorial proof of this result and strengthen it by showing that the number of channels gives a lower bound on the power of $$2$$ dividing $$m_G$$ when $$G$$ is planar. We describe a number of local graph operations which preserve the number of channels. We also establish a surprising connection between 2-divisibility of $$m_G$$ and dynamical systems by showing an equivalency between channels and billiard paths. We exploit this relationship to show that $$2^{\frac{\gcd(m+1,n+1)-1}{2}}$$ divides the number of domino tilings of the $$m\times n$$ rectangle. We also use billiard paths to give a fast algorithm for counting channels (and hence determining the parity of the number of domino tilings) in simply connected regions of the square grid. 

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2. Hook-length Formulas for Skew Shapes via Contour Integrals and Vertex Models

   Panova, Greta; Petrov, Leonid (September 2024, arXiv)

   The number of standard Young tableaux of a skew shape $$\lambda/\mu$$ can be computed as a sum over excited diagrams inside $$\lambda$$. Excited diagrams are in bijection with certain lozenge tilings, with flagged semistandard tableaux and also nonintersecting lattice paths inside $$\lambda$$. We give two new proofs of a multivariate generalization of this formula, which allow us to extend the setup beyond standard Young tableaux and the underlying Schur symmetric polynomials. The first proof uses multiple contour integrals. The second one interprets excited diagrams as configurations of a six-vertex model at a free fermion point, and derives the formula for the number of standard Young tableaux of a skew shape from the Yang-Baxter equation. 

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3. Tiling Patterns and the Mechanical Properties of Topologically Interlocked Materials

   A. Williams, T. Siegmund (October 2019, Proceedings of the 56th Annual Technical Meeting of the Society of Engineering Science)

   Topologically interlocked materials (TIMs) are material systems consisting of one or more repeating unit blocks assembled in a planar configuration such that each block is fully constrained geometrically by its neighbours. The assembly is terminated by a frame that constrains the outermost blocks. The resulting plate-like structure does not use any type of adhesive or fastener between blocks but is capable of carrying transverse loads. These material systems are advantageous due to their potential attractive combination of strength, toughness, and damage tolerance as compared to monolithic plates, especially when using lower strength materials. TIMs are damage tolerant due to the fact that cracks in any single block cannot propagate to neighbouring blocks. Many configurations of TIMs have been conceptualized in the past, particularly in architecture, but less work has been done to understand the mechanics of such varied assembly architectures. This work seeks to expand our knowledge of how TIM architecture is related to TIM mechanics. The present study considers TIMs created from the Archimedean and Laves tessellations. Each tessellation is configured as a TIM by projecting each edge of a tile at alternating angles from the normal to the tiling plane. For each tiling, multiple symmetries exist depending on where the frame is placed relative to the tiling. Six unique tilings and their multiple symmetries and load directions were considered, resulting in 19 unique TIM configurations. All TIM configurations were realized with identical equivalent overall assembly dimensions. The radius of the inscribed circle of the square and hexagon frames were the same, as well as the thickness of the assemblies. The tilings were scaled to possess the similar same number of building blocks within the frame. Finite element models were created for each configuration and subjected to two load types under quasi-static conditions: a prescribed displacement applied at the center of the assembly, and by a gravity load. The force deflection response of all TIM structures was found to be similar to that of a Mises truss, comprised of an initial positive stiffness followed by a period of negative stiffness until failure of the assembly. This response is indeed related to the internal working of load transfer in TIMs. Owing to the granular type character of the TIM assembly, the stress distribution follows a force-network. The key findings of this study are: • The load transfer in TIMs follows from force networks and the geometry of the force network is associated with the dual tessellation of the respective TIM system. • In TIMs based on Laves tessellations (centered around a vertex of the tiling rather than the center of a tile), displayed chirality and exerted a moment normal to the tile plane as they were loaded. • TIMs resulting from tessellations with more than one unique tile, such as squares and octagons, are asymmetric along the normal to the tile plane causing a dependence of the load response to the direction of the transverse load. Work is underway to transform these findings into general rules allowing for a predictive relationship between material architecture and mechanical response of TIM systems. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1662177. 

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4. Arctic Curves of the Twenty-Vertex Model with Domain Wall Boundaries

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s10955-020-02518-y  

   Debin, Bryan; Di Francesco, Philippe; Guitter, Emmanuel (March 2020, Journal of Statistical Physics)

   We use the tangent method to compute the arctic curve of the Twenty-Vertex (20V) model with particular domain wall boundary conditions for a wide set of integrable weights. To this end, we extend to the finite geometry of domain wall boundary conditions the standard connection between the bulk 20V and 6V models via the Kagome lattice ice model. This allows to express refined partition functions of the 20V model in terms of their 6V counterparts, leading to explicit parametric expressions for the various portions of its arctic curve. The latter displays a large variety of shapes depending on the weights and separates a central liquid phase from up to six different frozen phases. A number of numerical simulations are also presented, which highlight the arctic curve phenomenon and corroborate perfectly the analytic predictions of the tangent method. We finally compute the arctic curve of the Quarter Turn symmetric Holey Aztec Domino Tiling (QTHADT) model, a problem closely related to the 20V model and whose asymptotics may be analyzed via a similar tangent method approach. Again results for the QTHADT model are found to be in perfect agreement with our numerical simulations. 

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5. Magnetic Sphere Constructions

   Segerman, Henry; Zwier, Rosa (July 2017, Bridges 2017 Conference Proceedings)

   We investigate constructions made from magnetic spheres. We give heuristic rules for making stable constructions of polyhedra and planar tilings from loops and saddles of magnetic spheres, and give a theoretical restriction on possible configurations, derived from the Poincaré-Hopf theorem. Based on our heuristic rules, we build relatively stable new planar tilings, and, with the aid of a 3D printed scaffold, a construction of the buckyball. From our restriction, we argue that the dodecahedron is probably impossible to construct. We finish with a simplified physical model, within which we show that a hexagonal loop is in static equilibrium. 

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