The deficient path forest conjecture on impossibly burnable forests

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For m∈Nm\in\mathbb{N} and 1≤l≤m21\leq l\leq m^2, let Bm(l)B_m(l) be the least positive integer tt having the same parity as ll such that

l≤∑i=1t[2m−(2i−1)]=2mt−t2.l\leq\sum_{i=1}^t[2m-(2i-1)]=2mt-t^2.

Let T=(l1,l2,…,ln)T=(l_1,l_2,\ldots,l_n) be an nn-path forest of order m2m^2. Call TT deficient when it cannot be burned in mm rounds, and call it impossibly burnable when

∑i=1nBm(li)>m.\sum_{i=1}^n B_m(l_i)>m.

Deficient path forest conjecture. Let n≥4n\geq4. If TT is a deficient nn-path forest with l1≥Ln−1l_1\geq L_{n-1}, then TT is impossibly burnable. The conjecture is motivated by computational verification for small values of nn, but its general validity remains open.

References

Primary source

Ta Sheng Tan and Wen Chean Teh, “A Note on Graph Burning of Path Forests”, arXiv:2312.10914 (2024).

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