The shuffle anti-square existence conjecture

For a binary even word WW of length 2n2n, let s(W)s(W) be the number of circular shifts of WW that are shuffle squares. Let s2ns_{2n} be the minimum of s(W)s(W) over all binary even words of length 2n2n. A shuffle anti-square is a binary even word for which no circular shift is a shuffle square. The shuffle anti-square existence conjecture. There exists a shuffle anti-square of length 2n2n for every n12n\geqslant12. Equivalently, s2n=0s_{2n}=0 for every n12n\geqslant12. Computational data establish this for the listed small values but do not prove the assertion for all n12n\geqslant12; the conjecture remains open.

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Primary source

Jarosław Grytczuk, Bartłomiej Pawlik and Mariusz Pleszczyński, “Variations on shuffle squares”, arXiv:2308.13882 (2024).

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