Retracts of box products with odd‐angulated factors

Let G be a connected graph with odd girth 2κ+1. Then G is a (2κ+1)‐angulated graph if every two vertices of G are connected by a path such that each edge of the path is in some (2κ+1)‐cycle. We prove that if G is (2κ+1)‐angulated, and H is connected with odd girth at least 2κ+3, then any retract of the box (or Cartesian) product G□ H is S□T where S is a retract of G and T is a connected subgraph of H. A graph G is strongly (2κ+1)‐angulated if any two vertices of G are connected by a sequence of (2κ+1)‐cycles with consecutive cycles sharing at least one edge. We prove that if G is strongly (2κ+1)‐angulated, and H is connected with odd girth at least 2κ+1, then any retract of G□ H is S□T where S is a retract of G and T is a connected subgraph of H or |V(S)|=1 and T is a retract of H. These two results improve theorems on weakly and strongly triangulated graphs by Nowakowski and Rival [Disc Math 70 ( 13 ), 169–184]. As a corollary, we get that the core of the box product of two strongly (2κ+1)‐angulated cores must be either one of the factors or the box product itself. Furthermore, if G is a strongly (2κ+1)‐angulated core, then either Gⁿ is a core for all positive integers n, or the core of Gⁿ is G for all positive integers n. In the latter case, G is homomorphically equivalent to a normal Cayley graph [Larose, Laviolette, Tardiff, European J Combin 19 ( 12 ), 867–881]. In particular, let G be a strongly (2κ+1)‐angulated core such that either G is not vertex‐transitive, or G is vertex‐transitive and any two maximum independent sets have non‐empty intersection. Then Gⁿ is a core for any positive integer n. On the other hand, let G_i be a (2κ_i+1)‐angulated core for 1 ≤ i≤ n where κ₁ < κ₂ < … < κ_n. If G_i has a vertex that is fixed under any automorphism for 1 ≤ i ≤ n‐1, or G_i is vertex‐transitive such that any two maximum independent sets have non‐empty intersection for 1 ≤ i ≤ n‐1, then □_i=1ⁿ G_i is a core. We then apply the results to construct cores that are box products with Mycielski construction factors or with odd graph factors. We also show that K(r,2r+1) □ C_2l+1 is a core for any integers l ≥ r ≥ 2. It is open whether K(r,2r+1) □ C_2l+1 is a core for r > l ≥ 2. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory     

List Colorings of K5‐Minor‐Free Graphs With Special List Assignments

The following question was raised by Bruce Richter. Let G be a planar, 3‐connected graph that is not a complete graph. Denoting by d(v) the degree of vertex v, is G L‐list colorable for every list assignment L with |L(v)| = min{d(v), 6} for all v∈V(G)? More generally, we ask for which pairs (r, k) the following question has an affirmative answer. Let r and k be the integers and let G be a K₅‐minor‐free r‐connected graph that is not a Gallai tree (i.e. at least one block of G is neither a complete graph nor an odd cycle). Is G L‐list colorable for every list assignment L with |L(v)| = min{d(v), k} for all v∈V(G)? We investigate this question by considering the components of G[S_k], where S_k: = {v∈V(G)|d(v)8k} is the set of vertices with small degree in G. We are especially interested in the minimum distance d(S_k) in G between the components of G[S_k]. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 71:18–30, 2012     

New Ore‐Type Conditions for H‐Linked Graphs

For a fixed (multi)graph H, a graph G is H‐linked if any injection f: V(H)→V(G) can be extended to an H‐subdivision in G. The notion of an H ‐linked graph encompasses several familiar graph classes, including k‐linked, k‐ordered and k‐connected graphs. In this article, we give two sharp Ore‐type degree sum conditions that assure a graph G is H ‐linked for arbitrary H. These results extend and refine several previous results on H ‐linked, k‐linked, and k‐ordered graphs. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 71:69–77, 2012     

Connected subgraphs with small degree sums in 3‐connected planar graphs

It is well‐known that every planar graph has a vertex of degree at most five. Kotzig proved that every 3‐connected planar graph has an edge xy such that deg(x) + deg (y) ≤ 13. In this article, considering a similar problem for the case of three or more vertices that induce a connected subgraph, we show that, for a given positive integer t, every 3‐connected planar graph G with |V(G)| ≥ t has a connected subgraph H of order t such that Σ_x∈V(H) deg_G(x) ≤ 8t − 1. As a tool for proving this result, we consider decompositions of 3‐connected planar graphs into connected subgraphs of order at least t and at most 2t − 1. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 30: 191–203, 1999     

OD-Characterization of Some Projective Special Linear Groups Over the Binary Field and Their Automorphism Groups

The Gruenberg–Kegel graph GK(G) = (V _G , E _G ) of a finite group G is a simple graph with vertex set V _G  = π(G), the set of all primes dividing the order of G, and such that two distinct vertices p and q are joined by an edge, {p, q} ∈ E _G , if G contains an element of order pq. The degree deg _G (p) of a vertex p ∈ V _G is the number of edges incident to p. In the case when π(G) = {p ₁, p ₂,…, p _h } with p ₁ < p ₂ < … <p _h , we consider the h-tuple D(G) = (deg _G (p ₁), deg _G (p ₂),…, deg _G (p _h )), which is called the degree pattern of G. The group G is called k-fold OD-characterizable if there exist exactly k non-isomorphic groups H satisfying condition (|H|, D(H)) = (|G|, D(G)). Especially, a 1-fold OD-characterizable group is simply called OD-characterizable. In this paper, we prove that the simple groups L ₁₀(2) and L ₁₁(2) are OD-characterizable. It is also shown that automorphism groups Aut(L _p (2)) and Aut(L _p+1(2)), where 2 ^p  ? 1 is a Mersenne prime, are OD-characterizable. Finally, a list of finite (simple) groups which are presently known to be k-fold OD-characterizable, for certain values of k, is presented.     

A sufficient condition for planar graphs to be acyclically 5‐choosable

A proper vertex coloring of a graph G = (V, E) is acyclic if G contains no bicolored cycle. Given a list assignment L = {L(v)|v∈V} of G, we say G is acyclically L‐list colorable if there exists a proper acyclic coloring π of G such that π(v)∈L(v) for all v∈V. If G is acyclically L‐list colorable for any list assignment with |L(v)|≥k for all v∈V, then G is acyclically k‐choosable. In this article we prove that every planar graph without 4‐cycles and without intersecting triangles is acyclically 5‐choosable. This improves the result in [M. Chen and W. Wang, Discrete Math 308 (2008), 6216–6225], which says that every planar graph without 4‐cycles and without two triangles at distance less than 3 is acyclically 5‐choosable. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory     

On the chromatic spectrum of acyclic decompositions of graphs

If G is any graph, a G‐decomposition of a host graph H = (V, E) is a partition of the edge set of H into subgraphs of H which are isomorphic to G. The chromatic index of a G‐decomposition is the minimum number of colors required to color the parts of the decomposition so that two parts which share a node get different colors. The G‐spectrum of H is the set of all chromatic indices taken on by G‐decompositions of H. If both S and T are trees, then the S‐spectrum of T consists of a single value which can be computed in polynomial time. On the other hand, for any fixed tree S, not a single edge, there is a unicyclic host whose S‐spectrum has two values, and if the host is allowed to be arbitrary, the S‐spectrum can take on arbitrarily many values. Moreover, deciding if an integer k is in the S‐spectrum of a general bipartite graph is NP‐hard. We show that if G has c > 1 components, then there is a host H whose G‐spectrum contains both 3 and 2c + 1. If G is a forest, then there is a tree T whose G‐spectrum contains both 2 and 2c. Furthermore, we determine the complete spectra of both paths and cycles with respect to matchings. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 56: 83–104, 2007     

Orthogonal factorizations of graphs

Let G be a graph with vertex set V(G) and edge set E(G). Let k₁, k₂,…,k_m be positive integers. It is proved in this study that every [0,k₁+…+k_m?m+1]‐graph G has a [0, k_i]₁^m‐factorization orthogonal to any given subgraph H with m edges. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 40: 267–276, 2002     

On H‐immersions

For a fixed multigraph H, possibly containing loops, with V(H) = {h₁,…, h_k}, we say a graph G is H‐linked if for every choice of k vertices v₁,…,v_k in G, there exists a subdivision of H in G such that v_i represents h_i (for all i). An H‐immersion in G is similar except that the paths in G, playing the role of the edges of H, are only required to be edge disjoint. In this article, we extend the notion of an H‐linked graph by determining minimum degree conditions for a graph G to contain an H‐immersion with a bounded number of vertex repetitions on any choice of k vertices. In particular, we extend results found in [2,3,5]. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 57: 245–254, 2008     

Long cycles passing through a specified path in a graph

For a graph G and an integer k ≥ 1, let ς_k(G) = d_G(v_i): {v₁, …, v_k} is an independent set of vertices in G}. Enomoto proved the following theorem. Let s ≥ 1 and let G be a (s + 2)-connected graph. Then G has a cycle of length ≥ min{|V(G)|, ς₂(G) − s} passing through any path of length s. We generalize this result as follows. Let k ≥ 3 and s ≥ 1 and let G be a (k + s − 1)-connected graph. Then G has a cycle of length ≥ min{|V(G)|, − s} passing through any path of length s. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Graph Theory 29: 177–184, 1998     

Generalized 3-edge-connectivity of Cartesian product graphs

The generalized k-connectivity κ _k (G) of a graph G was introduced by Chartrand et al. in 1984. As a natural counterpart of this concept, Li et al. in 2011 introduced the concept of generalized k-edge-connectivity which is defined as λ _k (G) = min{λ(S): S ? V (G) and |S| = k}, where λ(S) denotes the maximum number l of pairwise edge-disjoint trees T ₁, T ₂, …, T _l in G such that S ? V (T _i ) for 1 ? i ? l. In this paper we prove that for any two connected graphs G and H we have λ ₃(G □ H) ? λ ₃(G) + λ ₃(H), where G □ H is the Cartesian product of G and H. Moreover, the bound is sharp. We also obtain the precise values for the generalized 3-edge-connectivity of the Cartesian product of some special graph classes.     

Total weight choosability of graphs

A graph G = (V, E) is called (k, k′)‐total weight choosable if the following holds: For any total list assignment L which assigns to each vertex x a set L(x) of k real numbers, and assigns to each edge e a set L(e) of k′ real numbers, there is a mapping f: V∪E→? such that f(y)∈L(y) for any y∈V∪Eand for any two adjacent vertices x, x′, . We conjecture that every graph is (2, 2)‐total weight choosable and every graph without isolated edges is (1, 3)‐total weight choosable. It follows from results in [7] that complete graphs, complete bipartite graphs, trees other than K₂ are (1, 3)‐total weight choosable. Also a graph G obtained from an arbitrary graph H by subdividing each edge with at least three vertices is (1, 3)‐total weight choosable. This article proves that complete graphs, trees, generalized theta graphs are (2, 2)‐total weight choosable. We also prove that for any graph H, a graph G obtained from H by subdividing each edge with at least two vertices is (2, 2)‐total weight choosable as well as (1, 3)‐total weight choosable. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 66:198‐212, 2011     

Tight products and graph expansion

In this article, we study a new product of graphs called tight product. A graph H is said to be a tight product of two (undirected multi) graphs G₁ and G₂, if V(H) = V(G₁) × V(G₂) and both projection maps V(H)→V(G₁) and V(H)→V(G₂) are covering maps. It is not a priori clear when two given graphs have a tight product (in fact, it is NP‐hard to decide). We investigate the conditions under which this is possible. This perspective yields a new characterization of class‐1 (2k+ 1)‐regular graphs. We also obtain a new model of random d‐regular graphs whose second eigenvalue is almost surely at most O(d^3/4). This construction resembles random graph lifts, but requires fewer random bits. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory     

List multicoloring problems involving the k‐fold Hall numbers

We show that the four‐cycle has a k‐fold list coloring if the lists of colors available at the vertices satisfy the necessary Hall's condition, and if each list has length at least ?5k/3?; furthermore, the same is not true with shorter list lengths. In terms of h^(k)(G), the k ‐fold Hall number of a graph G, this result is stated as h^(k)(C₄)=2k??k/3?. For longer cycles it is known that h^(k)(C_n)=2k, for n odd, and 2k??k/(n?1)?≤h^(k)(C_n)≤2k, for n even. Here we show the lower bound for n even, and conjecture that this is the right value (just as for C₄). We prove that if G is the diamond (a four‐cycle with a diagonal), then h^(k)(G)=2k. Combining these results with those published earlier we obtain a characterization of graphs G with h^(k)(G)=k. As a tool in the proofs we obtain and apply an elementary generalization of the classical Hall–Rado–Halmos–Vaughan theorem on pairwise disjoint subset representatives with prescribed cardinalities. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 65: 16–34, 2010.     

Iterated line graphs are maximally ordered

A graph G is k‐ordered if for every ordered sequence of k vertices, there is a cycle in G that encounters the vertices of the sequence in the given order. We prove that if G is a connected graph distinct from a path, then there is a number t_G such that for every t ≥ t_G the t‐iterated line graph of G, L^t (G), is (δ(L^t (G)) + 1)‐ordered. Since there is no graph H which is (δ(H)+2)‐ordered, the result is best possible. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 52: 171–180, 2006     

Planar graphs without 4‐cycles are acyclically 6‐choosable

A proper vertex coloring of a graph G=(V, E) is acyclic if G contains no bicolored cycle. A graph G is acyclically L‐list colorable if for a given list assignment L={L(v)|v∈V}, there exists a proper acyclic coloring π of G such that π(v)∈L(v) for all v∈V. If G is acyclically L‐list colorable for any list assignment with |L(v)|≥k for all v∈V, then G is acyclically k‐choosable. In this paper we prove that every planar graph G without 4‐cycles is acyclically 6‐choosable. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 61: 307–323, 2009     

Centers to centroids in graphs

For S ? V(G) the S-center and S-centroid of G are defined as the collection of vertices u ∈ V(G) that minimize e_s(u) = max {d(u, v): v ∈ S} and d_s(u) = ∑_u∈S d(u, v), respectively. This generalizes the standard definition of center and centroid from the special case of S = V(G). For 1 ? k ?|V(G)| and u ∈ V(G) let r_k(u) = max {∑_s∈S d(u, s): S ? V(G), |S| = k}. The k-centrum of G, denoted C(G; k), is defined to be the subset of vertices u in G for which r_k(u) is a minimum. This also generalizes the standard definitions of center and centroid since C(G; 1) is the center and C(G; |V(G)|) is the centroid. In this paper the structure of these sets for trees is examined. Generalizations of theorems of Jordan and Zelinka are included.     

The number of pancyclic arcs in a k‐strong tournament

A tournament is a digraph, where there is precisely one arc between every pair of distinct vertices. An arc is pancyclic in a digraph D, if it belongs to a cycle of length l, for all 3 ≤ l ≤ |V (D) |. Let p(D) denote the number of pancyclic arcs in a digraph D and let h(D) denote the maximum number of pancyclic arcs belonging to the same Hamilton cycle of D. Note that p(D) ≥ h(D). Moon showed that h(T) ≥ 3 for all strong non‐trivial tournaments, T, and Havet showed that h(T) ≥ 5 for all 2‐strong tournaments T. We will show that if T is a k‐strong tournament, with k ≥ 2, then p(T) ≥ 1/2, nk and h(T) ≥ (k + 5)/2. This solves a conjecture by Havet, stating that there exists a constant α_k, such that p(T) ≥ α_k n, for all k‐strong tournaments, T, with k ≥ 2. Furthermore, the second results gives support for the conjecture h(T) ≥ 2k + 1, which was also stated by Havet. The previously best‐known bounds when k ≥ 2 were p(T) ≥ 2k + 3 and h(T) ≥ 5. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory     

Precoloring extension for K4‐minor‐free graphs

Let G=(V, E) be a graph where every vertex v∈V is assigned a list of available colors L(v). We say that G is list colorable for a given list assignment if we can color every vertex using its list such that adjacent vertices get different colors. If L(v)={1, …, k} for all v∈V then a corresponding list coloring is nothing other than an ordinary k‐coloring of G. Assume that W?V is a subset of V such that G[W] is bipartite and each component of G[W] is precolored with two colors taken from a set of four. The minimum distance between the components of G[W] is denoted by d(W). We will show that if G is K₄‐minor‐free and d(W)≥7, then such a precoloring of W can be extended to a 4‐coloring of all of V. This result clarifies a question posed in 10. Moreover, we will show that such a precoloring is extendable to a list coloring of G for outerplanar graphs, provided that |L(v)|=4 for all v∈V\W and d(W)≥7. In both cases the bound for d(W) is best possible. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 60: 284‐294, 2009