Necklaces and slimes (Q2185900)

In this paper bijective mappings are considered between the set \(\mathcal{N}_{n,k}\) of binary necklaces with \(n\) black beads and \(k\) white beads and a set \(\mathcal{F}_{n,k,0}\) of certain \((n,k)\)-codes, which are defined as sequences \((f_1,\ldots,f_n)\) of non-negative integers with \(f_1+\cdots+f_n=k\) and \(\sum_{i=1}^n i f_i\equiv 0 \pmod n\). In the case where \(n\) and \(k\) are coprime, a bijection \(\mathcal{N}_{n,k}\rightarrow\mathcal{F}_{n,k,0}\) was given in [\textit{S. Brauner} et al., Math. Z. 296, No. 3--4, 1101--1134 (2020; Zbl 1457.05053)]. The authors ask how far this can be generalised. As their main result they show in Theorem 2 that a bijective mapping \(\mathcal{N}_{n,k}\rightarrow\mathcal{F}_{n,k,0}\) can be constructed when \(n\) is prime. To achieve this, they introduce some auxiliary notions (``slime'', ``riwi-map''), which refer to code sections and codes of period \(n\), respectively. The construction method based on this also yields the mentioned result for coprime \(n\), \(k\). Finally, it is discussed whether the method also applies to the case of an arbitrary \(n\geq0\). The authors outline an idea that seems to work at least for some small values of \(n\). However, the general question remains open.