Journal of Integer Sequences, Vol. 15 (2012), Article 12.8.4

Proper n-Cell Polycubes in nāˆ’3 Dimensions


Andrei Asinowski
Department of Mathematics
The Technion–Israel Institute of Technology
Haifa 32000
Israel

Gill Barequet
Department of Computer Science
The Technion–Israel Institute of Technology
Haifa 32000
Israel

Ronnie Barequet
Department of Computer Science
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv 69978
Israel

Günter Rote
Institut für Informatik
Freie Universität Berlin
Takustraße 9
D-14195 Berlin
Germany

Abstract:

A d-dimensional polycube of size n is a connected set of n cubes in d dimensions, where connectivity is through (d-1)-dimensional faces. Enumeration of polycubes, and, in particular, specific types of polycubes, as well as computing the asymptotic growth rate of polycubes, is a popular problem in combinatorics and discrete geometry. This is also an important tool in statistical physics for computations and analysis of percolation processes and collapse of branched polymers. A polycube is said to be proper in d dimensions if the convex hull of the centers of its cubes is d-dimensional. In this paper we prove that the number of polycubes of size n that are proper in n-3 dimensions is 2n-6 nn-7 (n-3) (12n5 - 104n4 + 360n3 - 679n2 + 1122n - 1560) / 3.


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(Concerned with sequences A127670 A171860 A191092.)


Received June 6 2012; revised version received October 1 2012. Published in Journal of Integer Sequences, October 2 2012.


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