Permutations that separate close elements, and rectangle packings in the torus

Simon Blackburn, Tuvi Etzion

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Abstract

Let $n$, $s$ and $k$ be positive integers. For distinct $i,j\in\mathbb{Z}_n$, define $||i,j||_n$ to be the distance between $i$ and $j$ when the elements of $\mathbb{Z}_n$ are written in a circle. So
\[
||i,j||_n=\min\{(i-j)\bmod n,(j-i)\bmod n\}.
\]
A permutation $\pi:\mathbb{Z}_n\rightarrow\mathbb {Z}_n$ is \emph{$(s,k)$-clash-free} if $||\pi(i),\pi(j)||_n\geq k$ whenever $||i,j||_n<s$. So an $(s,k)$-clash-free permutation moves every pair of close elements (at distance less than $s$) to a pair of elements at large distance (at distance at least $k$). The notion of an $(s,k)$-clash-free permutation can be reformulated in terms of certain packings of $s\times k$ rectangles on an $n\times n$ torus.

For integers $n$ and $k$ with $1\leq k<n$, let $\sigma(n,k)$ be the largest value of $s$ such that an $(s,k)$-clash-free permutation of $\mathbb{Z}_n$ exists.
Strengthening a recent paper of Blackburn, which proved a conjecture of Mammoliti and Simpson, we determine the value of $\sigma(n,k)$ in all cases.
Original languageEnglish
Article numberP4.27
Number of pages17
JournalThe Electronic Journal of Combinatorics
Volume31
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2024

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