A Fixed-Offset Transition for Random Stackability on Paths

Source abstract

We study a support-collapse version of graph pebbling on paths. A configuration is stackable if a sequence of legal pebbling moves can produce a nonzero configuration supported on a single vertex. On the path P_n, we choose a configuration uniformly from all weak compositions of total n times mu_n, where mu_n is a positive integer. We prove a two-sided fixed-offset transition for the logarithmic density. The transition is centred at sqrt(log_2 n) - (1/2) log_2 log_2 n + log_2(3e). For every fixed epsilon greater than zero, the stackability probability tends to zero when log_2 mu_n is eventually at most the centre minus epsilon, and tends to one when it is eventually at least the centre plus epsilon. No assertion is made at zero offset. The proof uses an exact recursive stackability score on trees, a one-dimensional path-message recurrence, binary-partition asymptotics for rare dyadic deficit excursions, a constant-cost regeneration argument, and an exact deep-message necessity theorem. Conditioning independent geometric occupancies on their sum returns the uniform fixed-total model. The finite deterministic necessity theorem and its exact fixed-total corollary are formalised in Lean and registered with Palomar; the full probabilistic asymptotic theorem is not part of that registration.