Maths Olympiad Prep

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Combinatorics Difficulty 5.6 AIME, harder Find the answer

Let V={1,,8}V=\{1, \ldots, 8\}. How many permutations σ:VV\sigma: V \rightarrow V are automorphisms of some tree?

A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.

Solution

We decompose into cycle types of σ\sigma. Note that within each cycle, all vertices have the same degree; also note that the tree has total degree 14 across its vertices (by all its seven edges). For any permutation that has a 1 in its cycle type (i.e it has a fixed point), let 1a81 \leq a \leq 8 be a fixed point. Consider the tree that consists of the seven edges from aa to the seven other vertices - this permutation (with aa as a fixed point) is an automorphism of this tree. For any permutation that has cycle type 2+62+6, let aa and bb be the two elements in the 2-cycle. If the 6-cycle consists of c,d,e,f,g,hc, d, e, f, g, h in that order, consider the tree with edges between aa and b,c,e,gb, c, e, g and between bb and d,f,hd, f, h. It's easy to see σ\sigma is an automorphism of this tree. For any permutation that has cycle type 2+2+42+2+4, let aa and bb be the two elements of the first two-cycle. Let the other two cycle consist of cc and dd, and the four cycle be e,f,g,he, f, g, h in that order. Then consider the tree with edges between aa and b,ab, a and c,bc, b and d,ad, a and e,be, b and f,af, a and g,bg, b and hh. It's easy to see σ\sigma is an automorphism of this tree. For any permutation that has cycle type 2+3+32+3+3, let aa and bb be the vertices in the 2-cycle. One of aa and bb must be connected to a vertex distinct from a,ba, b (follows from connectedness), so there must be an edge between a vertex in the 2-cycle and a vertex in a 3-cycle. Repeatedly applying σ\sigma to this edge leads to a cycle of length 4 in the tree, which is impossible (a tree has no cycles). Therefore, these permutations cannot be automorphisms of any tree. For any permutation that has cycle type 3+53+5, similarly, there must be an edge between a vertex in the 3-cycle and a vertex in the 5-cycle. Repeatedly applying σ\sigma to this edge once again leads to a cycle in the tree, which is not possible. So these permutations cannot be automorphisms of any tree. The only remaining possible cycle types of σ\sigma are 4+44+4 and 8 . In the first case, if we let xx and yy be the degrees of the vertices in each of the cycles, then 4x+4y=144 x+4 y=14, which is impossible for integer x,yx, y. In the second case, if we let xx be the degree of the vertices in the 8-cycle, then 8x=148 x=14, which is not possible either. So we are looking for the number of permutations whose cycle type is not 2+2+3,8,4+4,3+52+2+3,8,4+4,3+5. The number of permutations with cycle type 2+2+32+2+3 is (82)12(63)(2!)2=1120\binom{8}{2} \frac{1}{2}\binom{6}{3}(2!)^{2}=1120, with cycle type 8 is 7!=50407!=5040, with cycle type 4+44+4 is 12(84)(3!)2=1260\frac{1}{2}\binom{8}{4}(3!)^{2}=1260, with cycle type 3+53+5 is (83)(2!)(4!)=2688\binom{8}{3}(2!)(4!)=2688. Therefore, by complementary counting, the number of permutations that ARE automorphisms of some tree is 8 ! 1120126026885040=30212-1120-1260-2688-5040=30212.

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Source: Omni-MATH, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.