On lower bounds for the chromatic number in terms of vertex degree

In this paper we discuss the existence of lower bounds for the chromatic number of graphs in terms of the average degree or the coloring number of graphs. We obtain a lower bound for the chromatic number of K_1,t-free graphs in terms of the maximum degree and show that the bound is tight. For any tree T, we obtain a lower bound for the chromatic number of any K_2,t-free and T-free graph in terms of its average degree. This answers affirmatively a modified version of Problem 4.3 in [T.R. Jensen, B. Toft, Graph Coloring Problems, Wiley, New York, 1995]. More generally, we discuss δ-bounded families of graphs and then we obtain a necessary and sufficient condition for a family of graphs to be a δ-bounded family in terms of its induced bipartite Turán number. Our last bound is in terms of forbidden induced even cycles in graphs; it extends a result in [S.E. Markossian, G.S. Gasparian, B.A. Reed, β-perfect graphs, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B 67 (1996) 1–11].     

On non-strong jumping numbers and density structures of hypergraphs

Estimating Turán densities of hypergraphs is believed to be one of the most challenging problems in extremal set theory. The concept of ‘jump’ concerns the distribution of Turán densities. A number α∈[0,1) is a jump for r-uniform graphs if there exists a constant c>0 such that for any family F of r-uniform graphs, if the Turán density of F is greater than α, then the Turán density of F is at least α+c. A fundamental result in extremal graph theory due to Erd?s and Stone implies that every number in [0,1) is a jump for graphs. Erd?s also showed that every number in [0,r!/r^r) is a jump for r-uniform hypergraphs. Furthermore, Frankl and Rödl showed the existence of non-jumps for hypergraphs. Recently, more non-jumps were found in [r!/r^r,1) for r-uniform hypergraphs. But there are still a lot of unknowns regarding jumps for hypergraphs. In this paper, we propose a new but related concept-strong-jump and describe several sequences of non-strong-jumps. It might help us to understand the distribution of Turán densities for hypergraphs better by finding more non-strong-jumps.     

On extremal hypergraphs for Hamiltonian cycles

We study sufficient conditions for Hamiltonian cycles in hypergraphs, and obtain both Turán- and Dirac-type results. While the Turán-type result gives an exact threshold for the appearance of a Hamiltonian cycle in a hypergraph depending only on the extremal number of a certain path, the Dirac-type result yields a sufficient condition relying solely on the minimum vertex degree.     

Upper Bounds for α-Domination Parameters

We provide a new upper bound for the α-domination number in terms of a parameter α, 0 < α ≤ 1, and graph vertex degrees. This result generalises the well-known Caro-Roditty bound for the domination number of a graph. The same probabilistic construction is used to generalise another well-known upper bound for the classical domination in graphs. Using a different probabilistic construction, we prove similar upper bounds for the α-rate domination number, which combines the concepts of α-domination and k-tuple domination.     

Covering the vertex set of a graph with subgraphs of smaller degree

The problem of covering the vertex set of a graph with subsets spanning subgraphs of smaller degree is studied. The result of this study is applied to give a new bound on the chromatic number of a graph in terms of the maximum vertex-degree of the graph and the maximum number of vertices in a clique of the graph. By using this bound, it is shown that if d is at least 7 and e is at least 4, then there is no regular graph of valency d, chromatic number d, whose smallest circuit has at least e edges; this settles a conjecture of Branko Grünbaum.     

On the topological lower bound for the multichromatic number

In 1976, Stahl [14] defined the m-tuple coloring of a graph G and formulated a conjecture on the multichromatic number of Kneser graphs. For m=1 this conjecture is Kneser’s conjecture, which was proved by Lovász in 1978 [10]. Here we show that Lovász’s topological lower bound given in this way cannot be used to prove Stahl’s conjecture. We obtain that the strongest index bound only gives the trivial m⋅ω(G) lower bound if m≥|V(G)|. On the other hand, the connectivity bound for Kneser graphs is constant if m is sufficiently large. These findings provide new examples of graphs showing that the gaps between the chromatic number, the index bound and the connectivity bound can be arbitrarily large.     

The vertex (edge) independence number, vertex (edge) cover number and the least eigenvalue of a graph

In this paper we characterize the unique graph whose least eigenvalue attains the minimum among all graphs of a fixed order and a given vertex (edge) independence number or vertex (edge) cover number, and get some bounds for the vertex (edge) independence number, vertex (edge) cover number of a graph in terms of the least eigenvalue of the graph.     

Relaxations of vertex packing

A polynomially computable upper bound for the weighted independence number of a graph is studied. This gives rise to a convex body containing the vertex packing polytope of the graph. This body is a polytope if and only if the graph is perfect. As an application of these notions, we show that the maximum weight independent set of an h-perfect graph can be found in polynomial time.     

Maximal and minimal entry in the principal eigenvector for the distance matrix of a graph

Let G=(V,E) be a simple, connected and undirected graph with vertex set V(G) and edge set E(G). Also let D(G) be the distance matrix of a graph G (Jane?i? et al., 2007) [13]. Here we obtain Nordhaus–Gaddum-type result for the spectral radius of distance matrix of a graph.A sharp upper bound on the maximal entry in the principal eigenvector of an adjacency matrix and signless Laplacian matrix of a simple, connected and undirected graph are investigated in Das (2009) [4] and Papendieck and Recht (2000) [15]. Generally, an upper bound on the maximal entry in the principal eigenvector of a symmetric nonnegative matrix with zero diagonal entries and without zero diagonal entries are investigated in Zhao and Hong (2002) [21] and Das (2009) [4], respectively. In this paper, we obtain an upper bound on minimal entry in the principal eigenvector for the distance matrix of a graph and characterize extremal graphs. Moreover, we present the lower and upper bounds on maximal entry in the principal eigenvector for the distance matrix of a graph and characterize extremal graphs.     

Every cycle-connected multipartite tournament has a universal arc

A digraph D is cycle-connected if for every pair of vertices u,v∈V(D) there exists a directed cycle in D containing both u and v. In 1999, Ádám [A. Ádám, On some cyclic connectivity properties of directed graphs, Acta Cybernet. 14 (1) (1999) 1-12] posed the following problem. Let D be a cycle-connected digraph. Does there exist a universal arc in D, i.e., an arc e∈A(D) such that for every vertex w∈V(D) there is a directed cycle in D containing both e and w?A c-partite or multipartite tournament is an orientation of a complete c-partite graph. Recently, Hubenko [A. Hubenko, On a cyclic connectivity property of directed graphs, Discrete Math. 308 (2008) 1018-1024] proved that each cycle-connected bipartite tournament has a universal arc. As an extension of this result, we show in this note that each cycle-connected multipartite tournament has a universal arc.     

Graphs with equal eternal vertex cover and eternal domination numbers

Mobile guards on the vertices of a graph are used to defend it against an infinite sequence of attacks on either its vertices or its edges. If attacks occur at vertices, this is known at the eternal domination problem. If attacks occur at edges, this is known as the eternal vertex cover problem. We focus on the model in which all guards can move to neighboring vertices in response to an attack. Motivated by the question of which graphs have equal eternal vertex cover and eternal domination numbers, a number of results are presented; one of the main results of the paper is that the eternal vertex cover number is greater than the eternal domination number (in the all-guards move model) in all graphs of minimum degree at least two.     

The diameter of paired-domination vertex critical graphs

In this paper we continue the study of paired-domination in graphs introduced by Haynes and Slater (Networks 32 (1998), 199–206). A paired-dominating set of a graph G with no isolated vertex is a dominating set of vertices whose induced subgraph has a perfect matching. The paired-domination number of G, denoted by γ _pr(G), is the minimum cardinality of a paired-dominating set of G. The graph G is paired-domination vertex critical if for every vertex v of G that is not adjacent to a vertex of degree one, γ _pr(G − v) < γ _pr(G). We characterize the connected graphs with minimum degree one that are paired-domination vertex critical and we obtain sharp bounds on their maximum diameter. We provide an example which shows that the maximum diameter of a paired-domination vertex critical graph is at least 3/2 (γ _pr(G) − 2). For γ _pr(G) ⩽ 8, we show that this lower bound is precisely the maximum diameter of a paired-domination vertex critical graph. The first author was supported in part by the South African National Research Foundation and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the second author was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.     

Sylow subgraphs in self-complementary vertex transitive graphs

A graph is self-complementary if it is isomorphic to its complement. A graph is vertex transitive if for each choice of vertices u and $v$ there is an automorphism that carries the vertex u to $v$. The number of vertices in a self-complementary vertex-transitive graph must necessarily be congruent to 1 mod 4. However, Muzychuk has shown that if $p^m$ is the largest power of a prime p dividing the order of a self-complementary vertex-transitive graph, then $p^m$ must individually be congruent to 1 mod 4. This is accomplished by establishing the existence of a self-complementary vertex transitive subgraph of order $p^m$, a result reminiscent of the Sylow theorems. This article is a self-contained survey, culminating with a detailed proof of Muzychuk's result.     

Properties of vertex cover obstructions

We study properties of the sets of minimal forbidden minors for the families of graphs having a vertex cover of size at most k. We denote this set by O(k-VERTEX COVER) and call it the set of obstructions. Our main result is to give a tight vertex bound of O(k-VERTEX COVER), and then confirm a conjecture made by Liu Xiong that there is a unique connected obstruction with maximum number of vertices for k-VERTEX COVER and this graph is C_2k+1. We also find two iterative methods to generate graphs in O((k+1)-VERTEX COVER) from any graph in O(k-VERTEX COVER).     

Concept of a vertex in a matroid and 3-connected graphs

The concept of a matroid vertex is introduced. The vertices of a matroid of a 3-connected graph are in one-to-one correspondence with vertices of the graph. Thence directly follows Whitney's theorem that cyclic isomorphism of 3-connected graphs implies isomorphism. The concept of a vertex of a matroid leads to an equally simple proof of Whitney's theorem on the unique embedding of a 3-connected planar graph in the sphere. It also leads to a number of new facts about 3-connected graphs. Thus, consideration of a vertex in a matroid that is the dual of the matroid of a graph leads to a natural concept of a nonseparating cycle of a graph. Whitney's theorem on cyclic isomorphism can be strengthened (even if the nonseparating cycles of a graph are considered, the theorem is found to work) and a new criterion for planarity of 3-connected graphs is obtained (in terms of nonseparating cycles).     

Finitely forcible graphons

We investigate families of graphs and graphons (graph limits) that are determined by a finite number of prescribed subgraph densities. Our main focus is the case when the family contains only one element, i.e., a unique structure is forced by finitely many subgraph densities. Generalizing results of Turán, Erd?s-Simonovits and Chung-Graham-Wilson, we construct numerous finitely forcible graphons. Most of these fall into two categories: one type has an algebraic structure and the other type has an iterated (fractal-like) structure. We also give some necessary conditions for forcibility, which imply that finitely forcible graphons are “rare”, and exhibit simple and explicit non-forcible graphons.     

Subdivisions of Transitive Tournaments

We prove that, for r ≥ 2 andn ≥ n(r), every directed graph with n vertices and more edges than the r -partite Turán graph T(r, n) contains a subdivision of the transitive tournament on r + 1 vertices. Furthermore, the extremal graphs are the orientations ofT (r, n) induced by orderings of the vertex classes.     

Vertex splitting and the recognition of trapezoid graphs

Trapezoid graphs are the intersection family of trapezoids where every trapezoid has a pair of opposite sides lying on two parallel lines. These graphs have received considerable attention and lie strictly between permutation graphs (where the trapezoids are lines) and cocomparability graphs (the complement has a transitive orientation). The operation of “vertex splitting”, introduced in (Cheah and Corneil, 1996) [3], first augments a given graph G and then transforms the augmented graph by replacing each of the original graph’s vertices by a pair of new vertices. This “splitted graph” is a permutation graph with special properties if and only if G is a trapezoid graph. Recently vertex splitting has been used to show that the recognition problems for both tolerance and bounded tolerance graphs is NP-complete (Mertzios et al., 2010) [11]. Unfortunately, the vertex splitting trapezoid graph recognition algorithm presented in (Cheah and Corneil, 1996) [3] is not correct. In this paper, we present a new way of augmenting the given graph and using vertex splitting such that the resulting algorithm is simpler and faster than the one reported in (Cheah and Corneil, 1996) [3].     

Hamiltonicity in vertex envelopes of plane cubic graphs

In this paper we study a graph operation which produces what we call the “vertex envelope” G^∗_V from a graph G. We apply it to plane cubic graphs and investigate the hamiltonicity of the resulting graphs, which are also cubic. To this end, we prove a result giving a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of hamiltonian cycles in the vertex envelopes of plane cubic graphs. We then use these conditions to identify graphs or classes of graphs whose vertex envelopes are either all hamiltonian or all non-hamiltonian, paying special attention to bipartite graphs. We also show that deciding if a vertex envelope is hamiltonian is NP-complete, and we provide a polynomial algorithm for deciding if a given cubic plane graph is a vertex envelope.     

Acyclic vertex coloring of graphs of maximum degree 5

An acyclic vertex coloring of a graph is a proper vertex coloring such that there are no bichromatic cycles. The acyclic chromatic number of G, denoted a(G), is the minimum number of colors required for acyclic vertex coloring of graph G. For a family F of graphs, the acyclic chromatic number of F, denoted by a(F), is defined as the maximum a(G) over all the graphs G∈F. In this paper we show that a(F)=8 where F is the family of graphs of maximum degree 5 and give a linear time algorithm to achieve this bound.