Graphic and protographic lists of integers (Q1422142)

Summary: A positive list (list of positive integers) is protographic if its merger with all but finitely many positive graphic lists is graphic. Define the family \(\mathcal P_s\) of \(s\)-protogaphic lists by letting \(\mathcal P_0\) be the family of positive graphic lists and letting \(\mathcal P_s\) for \(s>0\) be the family of positive lists whose merger with all but finitely many lists in \(\mathcal P_{s-1}\) is in \(\mathcal P_{s-1}\). The main result is that \(X\in \mathcal P_s\) if and only if \(t(X)\in \mathcal P_{s-1}\), where \(t(X)\) is the list obtained from \(X\) by subtracting one from each term of \(X\) (deleting those that become \(0\)) and appending a \(1\) for each term of \(X\). A corollary is that the maximum number of iterations to reach a graphic list from an \(n\)-term even list with sum \(2k\) is \(k-n+1\) (when \(k\geq n)\), achieved by the unique such list having one term larger than \(1\).