Unfoldings of the cube

DOI10.1080/07468342.2019.1580108MaRDI QIDQ5383010zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Richard Goldstone, Robert Suzzi Valli

Publication date 19 June 2019

Published in The College Mathematics Journal (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1604.05004

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Enumeration in graph theory (05C30) Graph theory (educational aspects) (97K30)

Abstract: Just how many different connected shapes result from slicing a cube along some of its edges and unfolding it into the plane? In this article we answer this question by viewing the cube both as a surface and as a graph of vertices and edges. This dual perspective invites an interplay of geometric, algebraic, and combinatorial techniques. The initial observation is that a cutting pattern which unfolds the cubical surface corresponds to a spanning tree of the cube graph. The Matrix-Tree theorem can be used to calculate the number of spanning trees in a connected graph, and thus allows us to compute the number of ways to unfold the cube. Since two or more spanning trees may yield the same unfolding shape, Burnside's lemma is required to count the number of incongruent unfoldings. Such a count can be an arduous task. Here we employ a combination of elementary algebraic and geometric techniques to bring the problem within the range of simple hand calculations.

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Cites work

• A course in combinatorics.
• Applied combinatorics.
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3970770 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 42440 (Why is no real title available?)
• The number of nets of the regular convex polytopes in dimension \(\leq 4\)
• Über die Anzahl der inkongruenten ebenen Netze des Wurfels und des regulären Oktaeders

Cited in

(7)

• Unfolding cubes: nets, packings, partitions, chords
• The number of different unfoldings of polyhedra
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3970770 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1330132 (Why is no real title available?)
• Folding Polyominoes into (Poly)Cubes
• Shortest paths on cubes
• Every combinatorial polyhedron can unfold with overlap

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