[next] [prev] [up] Date: Mon, 03 Aug 92 11:10:29 -0400 (EDT)
[next] [prev] [up] From: Dan Hoey <hoey@aic.nrl.navy.mil >
[next] [prev] [up] Subject: Re: cube theory

Dear Mark,

I sent you email on 8 June. Did you receive it? Are you interested
in acquiring a Tartan cube? Did you ever get Minh Thai's book on
Rubik's Revenge?

With respect to the 3x3x3 squares group,

How do you keep track of all the patterns without repeating yourself?

there are several ways. The most general is to use the Sims table
(aka the FHL table) for the subgroup, which gives a mixed-base
enumeration of the positions. See my message of 1 February 1981.

A local maxima is a state where any possible move will bring you
closer to a solution.

That's ``local maximum''. ``Maxima'' is the plural of ``maximum''.

Note that all possible patterns at maximum depth are local
maxima, ....

We call such positions ``global maxima'' because they are at the
overall maximum depth. The statement is then that every global
maximum is a local maximum.

To date, no work has been done to determine the depth of the
dodecahedron (megaminx)....

Well, I've done some looking at it. Since my initial remarks on 23
September 1982, I've figured out a way to generate a recurrence for
it, but it seems I haven't put it down anywhere. Are you interested?
(Do I have to tell anyone to answer that question only to
Hoey@AIC.NRL.Navy.Mil, not the list?)

What pattern is an example of local maxima? e.g. 3x3x3 at depth 3
-> 12-flip, 12-flip 8-twist

Jim Saxe and I listed the 25 symmetric local maxima in our message on
Symmetry and Local Maxima, dated 14 December 1980. We verified Jim's
conjecture that the four-spot is a local maximum, but not on the
grounds of symmetry, and reported that on 22 March 1981. Do you have
access to the cube-lovers archives?

Moves Deep       arrangements (q+h)   arrangements (q only) *
0                    1                   1
1                   18                  12
2                  243                 114
3                3,240               1,068
4            >  48,600              10,011

This is in the archives, too

5                                   93,840 (22 March 1981)
6                                  878,880 (14 August 1981)
7                                8,221,632 (7 December 1981)

David C. Plummer and I had hoped to use his program (which counted the 7
QT positions) to extend this to 8 QT, but we got busy. I still have
hopes....

At 2 moves deep it is redundant to turn the same side again....
However, with opposite turns order is not significant, e.g. T,D = D,T....

This approach appeared on 9 January 1981. It showed how to follow the
argument to 25 QT, and to get what are still the best known lower bounds
for the ordinary cube and for the supergroup.

Also what is an example of a local maxima close to the surface, e.g.
4 moves. I believe Jim Saxe and Dan Hoey have done some work in this
regard.

It's known there are no local maxima at 7 QT or less. The shortest
known local maxima are Pons Asinorum and the four-spot, both at 12 QT.
I know of no results between 8 and 11 QT.

Dan Hoey
Hoey@AIC.NRL.Navy.Mil


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