Pentavalent symmetric graphs of order 16p

A graph is said to be symmetric if its automorphism group acts transitively on its arcs. In this paper, a complete classification of connected pentavalent symmetric graphs of order 16p is given for each prime p. It follows from this result that a connected pentavalent symmetric graph of order 16p exists if and only if p = 2 or 31, and that up to isomorphism, there are three such graphs.     

Valency seven symmetric graphs of order 2<Emphasis Type="Italic">pq</Emphasis>

A graph is said to be symmetric if its automorphism group acts transitively on its arcs. In this paper, all connected valency seven symmetric graphs of order 2pq are classified, where p, q are distinct primes. It follows from the classification that there is a unique connected valency seven symmetric graph of order 4p, and that for odd primes p and q, there is an infinite family of connected valency seven one-regular graphs of order 2pq with solvable automorphism groups, and there are four sporadic ones with nonsolvable automorphism groups, which is 1, 2, 3-arc transitive, respectively. In particular, one of the four sporadic ones is primitive, and the other two of the four sporadic ones are bi-primitive.     

Cubic vertex-transitive non-Cayley graphs of order 12<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>

A graph is said to be vertex-transitive non-Cayley if its full automorphism group acts transitively on its vertices and contains no subgroups acting regularly on its vertices. In this paper, a complete classification of cubic vertex-transitive non-Cayley graphs of order 12p, where p is a prime, is given. As a result, there are 11 sporadic and one infinite family of such graphs, of which the sporadic ones occur when p equals 5, 7 or 17, and the infinite family exists if and only if p ≡ 1 (mod 4), and in this family there is a unique graph for a given order.     

Tetravalent Vertex-Transitive Graphs of Order Twice A Prime Square

A graph is vertex-transitive if its automorphism group acts transitively on vertices of the graph. A vertex-transitive graph is a Cayley graph if its automorphism group contains a subgroup acting regularly on its vertices. In this paper, a complete classification is given of tetravalent vertex-transitive non-Cayley graphs of order \(2p^2\) for any prime p.     

Graphs with small total rainbow connection number

A total-colored path is total rainbow if its edges and internal vertices have distinct colors. A total-colored graph G is total rainbow connected if any two distinct vertices are connected by some total rainbow path. The total rainbow connection number of G, denoted by trc(G), is the smallest number of colors required to color the edges and vertices of G in order to make G total rainbow connected. In this paper, we investigate graphs with small total rainbow connection number. First, for a connected graph G, we prove that \({\text{trc(G) = 3 if}}\left( {\begin{array}{*{20}{c}}{n - 1} \\2\end{array}} \right) + 1 \leqslant \left| {{\text{E(G)}}} \right| \leqslant \left( {\begin{array}{*{20}{c}}n \\2\end{array}} \right) - 1\), and \({\text{trc(G)}} \leqslant {\text{6 if }}\left| {{\text{E(G)}}} \right| \geqslant \left( {\begin{array}{*{20}{c}}{n - 2} \\2\end{array}} \right) + 2\). Next, we investigate the total rainbow connection numbers of graphs G with |V(G)| = n, diam(G) ≥ 2, and clique number ω(G) = n ? s for 1 ≤ s ≤ 3. In this paper, we find Theorem 3 of [Discuss. Math. Graph Theory, 2011, 31(2): 313–320] is not completely correct, and we provide a complete result for this theorem.     

Unicyclic nonintegral sum graphs

A graph G = (V,E) is an integral sum graph if there exists a labeling S(G) ? Z such that V = S(G) and every two distinct vertices u, υ ∈ V are adjacent if and only if u + υ ∈ V. A connected graph G = (V,E) is called unicyclic if |V| = |E|. In this paper two infinite series are constructed of unicyclic graphs that are not integral sum graphs.     

Unicyclic graphs with bicyclic inverses

A graph is nonsingular if its adjacency matrix A(G) is nonsingular. The inverse of a nonsingular graph G is a graph whose adjacency matrix is similar to A(G)^?1 via a particular type of similarity. Let H denote the class of connected bipartite graphs with unique perfect matchings. Tifenbach and Kirkland (2009) characterized the unicyclic graphs in H which possess unicyclic inverses. We present a characterization of unicyclic graphs in H which possess bicyclic inverses.     

Cayley graphs on abelian groups

Let A be an abelian group and let ι be the automorphism of A defined by: ι: a ? a^?1. A Cayley graph Γ = Cay(A,S) is said to have an automorphism group as small as possible if Aut(Γ)=A?<ι>. In this paper, we show that almost all Cayley graphs on abelian groups have automorphism group as small as possible, proving a conjecture of Babai and Godsil.     

Upper Bounds for the Paired-Domination Numbers of Graphs

A set \(S\subseteq V\) is a paired-dominating set if every vertex in \(V{\setminus } S\) has at least one neighbor in S and the subgraph induced by S contains a perfect matching. The paired-domination number of a graph G, denoted by \(\gamma _{pr}(G)\), is the minimum cardinality of a paired-dominating set of G. A conjecture of Goddard and Henning says that if G is not the Petersen graph and is a connected graph of order n with minimum degree \(\delta (G)\ge 3\), then \(\gamma _{pr}(G)\le 4n/7\). In this paper, we confirm this conjecture for k-regular graphs with \(k\ge 4\).     

No hexavalent half-arc-transitive graphs of order twice a prime square exist

A graph is half-arc-transitive if its automorphism group acts transitively on its vertex set and edge set, but not arc set. Let p be a prime. Wang and Feng (Discrete Math. 310 (2010) 1721–1724) proved that there exists no tetravalent half-arc-transitive graphs of order \(2p^2\). In this paper, we extend this result to prove that no hexavalent half-arc-transitive graphs of order \(2p^2\) exist.     

Edge-Colorings of 4-Regular Graphs with the Minimum Number of Palettes

A proper edge-coloring of a graph G is an assignment of colors to the edges of G such that adjacent edges receive distinct colors. A proper edge-coloring defines at each vertex the set of colors of its incident edges. Following the terminology introduced by Horňák, Kalinowski, Meszka and Wo?niak, we call such a set of colors the palette of the vertex. What is the minimum number of distinct palettes taken over all proper edge-colorings of G? A complete answer is known for complete graphs and cubic graphs. We study in some detail the problem for 4-regular graphs. In particular, we show that certain values of the palette index imply the existence of an even cycle decomposition of size 3 (a partition of the edge-set of a graph into 3 2-regular subgraphs whose connected components are cycles of even length). This result can be extended to 4d-regular graphs. Moreover, in studying the palette index of a 4-regular graph, the following problem arises: does there exist a 4-regular graph whose even cycle decompositions cannot have size smaller than 4?     

On Isomorphisms of Marušič–Scapellato Graphs

Maru?i?–Scapellato graphs are vertex-transitive graphs of order \(m(2^k + 1)\), where m divides \(2^k - 1\), whose automorphism group contains an imprimitive subgroup that is a quasiprimitive representation of \(\mathrm{SL}(2,2^k)\) of degree \(m(2^k + 1)\). We show that any two Maru?i?–Scapellato graphs of order pq, where p is a Fermat prime, and q is a prime divisor of \(p - 2\), are isomorphic if and only if they are isomorphic by a natural isomorphism derived from an automorphism of \(\mathrm{SL}(2,2^k)\). This work is a contribution towards the full characterization of vertex-transitive graphs of order a product of two distinct primes.     

Regular maps of graphs of order 4<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>

A 2-cell embedding f : X → S of a graph X into a closed orientable surface S can be described combinatorially by a pair M = (X;ρ ) called a map, where ρ is a product of disjoint cycle permutations each of which is the permutation of the arc set of X initiated at the same vertex following the orientation of S . It is well known that the automorphism group of M acts semi-regularly on the arc set of X and if the action is regular, then the map M and the embedding f are called regular. Let p and q be primes. Du et al. [J. Algebraic Combin., 19, 123-141 (2004)] classified the regular maps of graphs of order pq . In this paper all pairwise non-isomorphic regular maps of graphs of order 4 p are constructed explicitly and the genera of such regular maps are computed. As a result, there are twelve sporadic and six infinite families of regular maps of graphs of order 4 p ; two of the infinite families are regular maps with the complete bipartite graphs K2p,2p as underlying graphs and the other four infinite families are regular balanced Cayley maps on the groups Z4p , Z22 × Zp and D4p .     

The regular digraph of ideals of a commutative ring

Let R be a commutative ring and Max?(R) be the set of maximal ideals of R. The regular digraph of ideals of R, denoted by \(\overrightarrow{\Gamma_{\mathrm{reg}}}(R)\), is a digraph whose vertex set is the set of all non-trivial ideals of R and for every two distinct vertices I and J, there is an arc from I to J whenever I contains a J-regular element. The undirected regular (simple) graph of ideals of R, denoted by Γ_reg(R), has an edge joining I and J whenever either I contains a J-regular element or J contains an I-regular element. Here, for every Artinian ring R, we prove that |Max?(R)|?1≦ω(Γ_reg(R))≦|Max?(R)| and \(\chi(\Gamma_{\mathrm{ reg}}(R)) = 2|\mathrm{Max}\, (R)| -k-1\), where k is the number of fields, appeared in the decomposition of R to local rings. Among other results, we prove that \(\overrightarrow{\Gamma_{\mathrm{ reg}}}(R)\) is strongly connected if and only if R is an integral domain. Finally, the diameter and the girth of the regular graph of ideals of Artinian rings are determined.     

Variations of Landau’s theorem for p-regular and p-singular conjugacy classes

The well-known Landau’s theorem states that, for any positive integer k, there are finitely many isomorphism classes of finite groups with exactly k (conjugacy) classes. We study variations of this theorem for p-regular classes as well as p-singular classes. We prove several results showing that the structure of a finite group is strongly restricted by the number of p-regular classes or the number of p-singular classes of the group. In particular, if G is a finite group with O_p(G) = 1 then |G/F(G)|_p' is bounded in terms of the number of p-regular classes of G. However, it is not possible to prove that there are finitely many groups with no nontrivial normal p-subgroup and kp-regular classes without solving some extremely difficult number-theoretic problems (for instance, we would need to show that the number of Fermat primes is finite).     

Strictly Deza line graphs

For a given graph G, its line graph L(G) is defined as the graph with vertex set equal to the edge set of G in which two vertices are adjacent if and only if the corresponding edges of G have exactly one common vertex. A k-regular graph of diameter 2 on υ vertices is called a strictly Deza graph with parameters (υ, k, b, a) if it is not strongly regular and any two vertices have a or b common neighbors. We give a classification of strictly Deza line graphs.     

Proper connection number of bipartite graphs

An edge-colored graph G is proper connected if every pair of vertices is connected by a proper path. The proper connection number of a connected graph G, denoted by pc(G), is the smallest number of colors that are needed to color the edges of G in order to make it proper connected. In this paper, we obtain the sharp upper bound for pc(G) of a general bipartite graph G and a series of extremal graphs. Additionally, we give a proper 2-coloring for a connected bipartite graph G having δ(G) ≥ 2 and a dominating cycle or a dominating complete bipartite subgraph, which implies pc(G) = 2. Furthermore, we get that the proper connection number of connected bipartite graphs with δ ≥ 2 and diam(G) ≤ 4 is two.     

The graph Kre(4) does not exist

Suppose that a strongly regular graph Γ with parameters (v, k, λ, μ) has eigenvalues k, r, and s. If the graphs Γ and \(\bar \Gamma \) are connected, then the following inequalities, known as Krein’s conditions, hold: (i) (r + 1)(k + r + 2rs) ≤ (k + r)(s + 1)² and (ii) (s + 1)(k + s + 2rs) ≤ (k + s)(r + 1)². We say that Γ is a Krein graph if one of Krein’s conditions (i) and (ii) is an equality for this graph. A triangle-free Krein graph has parameters ((r ² + 3r)², r ³ + 3r ² + r, 0, r ² + r). We denote such a graph by Kre(r). It is known that, in the cases r = 1 and r = 2, the graphs Kre(r) exist and are unique; these are the Clebsch and Higman–Sims graphs, respectively. The latter was constructed in 1968 together with the Higman–Sims sporadic simple group. A.L. Gavrilyuk and A.A. Makhnev have proved that the graph Kre(3) does not exist. In this paper, it is proved that the graph Kre(4) (a strongly regular graph with parameters (784, 116, 0, 20)) does not exist either.     

2-Recognizability by prime graph of <Emphasis Type="Italic">PSL</Emphasis>(2, <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis><Superscript>2</Superscript>)

Let G be a finite group and let Γ(G) be the prime graph of G. Assume p prime. We determine the finite groups G such that Γ(G) = Γ(PSL(2, p ²)) and prove that if p ≠ 2, 3, 7 is a prime then k(Γ(PSL(2, p ²))) = 2. We infer that if G is a finite group satisfying |G| = |PSL(2, p ²)| and Γ(G) = Γ(PSL(2, p ²)) then G ? PSL(2, p ²). This enables us to give new proofs for some theorems; e.g., a conjecture of W. Shi and J. Bi. Some applications are also considered of this result to the problem of recognition of finite groups by element orders.     

Arc-Transitive Pentavalent Graphs of Square-Free Order

Hua et al. (Discrete Math 311, 2259–2267, 2011) and Yang et al. (Discrete Math. 339, 522–532, 2016) classify arc-transitive pentavalent graphs of order 2pq and of order 2pqr (with p, q, r distinct odd primes), respectively. In this paper, we extend their results by giving a classification of arc-transitive pentavalent graphs of any square-free order.