Matching polytopes,toric geometry,and the totally non-negative Grassmannian

In this paper we use toric geometry to investigate the topology of the totally non-negative part of the Grassmannian, denoted (Gr _k,n )_≥0. This is a cell complex whose cells Δ _G can be parameterized in terms of the combinatorics of plane-bipartite graphs G. To each cell Δ _G we associate a certain polytope P(G). The polytopes P(G) are analogous to the well-known Birkhoff polytopes, and we describe their face lattices in terms of matchings and unions of matchings of G. We also demonstrate a close connection between the polytopes P(G) and matroid polytopes. We use the data of P(G) to define an associated toric variety X _G . We use our technology to prove that the cell decomposition of (Gr _k,n )_≥0 is a CW complex, and furthermore, that the Euler characteristic of the closure of each cell of (Gr _k,n )_≥0 is 1. Alexander Postnikov was supported in part by NSF CAREER Award DMS-0504629. David Speyer was supported by a research fellowship from the Clay Mathematics Institute. Lauren Williams was supported in part by the NSF.     

On Maximum-sized k-Regular Matroids

 Let k be an integer exceeding one. The class of k-regular matroids is a generalization of the classes of regular and near-regular matroids. A simple rank-r regular matroid has the maximum number of points if and only if it is isomorphic to M(K _r+1), the cycle matroid of the complete graph on r+1 vertices. A simple rank-r near-regular matroid has the maximum number of points if and only if it is isomorphic to the simplification of , that is, the simplification of the matroid obtained, geometrically, by freely adding a point to a 3-point line of M(K _r+2) and then contracting this point. This paper determines the maximum number of points that a simple rank-r k-regular matroid can have and determines all such matroids having this number. With one exception, there is exactly one such matroid. This matroid is isomorphic to the simplification of , that is, the simplification of the matroid obtained, geometrically, by freely adding k independent points to a flat of M(K _r+k+1) isomorphic to M(K _k+2) and then contracting each of these points. Revised: July 27, 1998     

Non-regular simplicial matroids

Let (ks) denote the set of all k-element-subsets of a finite set S. A k-simplical matroid on a subset E of (ks) is a binary matroid the circuit of which are simplicial complexes {X1,…Xm} ? E with boundary 0 (mod 2). The k-simplical matroid on (ks) is called the full simplicial matroid Gk(S). The polygon matroid on the edges of a finite graph is 2-simplicial. Polygon-matroids and their duals are regular. The dual of Gk(S) is Gn?k(S) if the cardinnlity of S is n. More details on simplicial matroids can be found in [3, Chapter 6] and also in [4, pp. 180–181].Welsh asked if every simplicial matroid is regular. We prove that this is not the case, for all full k-simplicial matroids Gk(S) with 3?k?n?3 are non-regular (n is the cardinality of S). This result has also been proved σy R. Cordovil and M. Las Vergnas recently. Their proof is different from our proof, which is somewhat shorter.     

Geometric realization of Adams maps

Let G/P be a homogenous space with G a compact connected Lie group and P a connected subgroup of G of equal rank. As the rational cohomology ring of G/P is concentrated in even dimensions, for an integer k we can define the Adams map of type k to be l _k : H*(G/P, ℚ) → H*(G/P, ℚ), l _k (u) = k ⁱ u, u ∈ H ²ⁱ (G/P, ℚ). We show that if k is prime to the order of the Weyl group of G, then l _k can be induced by a self map of G/P. We also obtain results which imply the condition that k is prime to the order of the Weyl group of G is necessary.     

Class Partition Algebras as Centralizer Algebras of Wreath Products

In this article, we study an important subalgebra of the tensor product partition algebra P _k (x)? P _k (y), denoted by P _k (x, y) and called “Class Partition Algebra.” We show that the algebra P _k (n, m) is the centralizer algebra of the wreath product S _m ? S _n . Furthermore, the algebra P _k (x, y) and the tensor product partition algebra P _k (x)? P _k (y) are subalgebras of the G-colored partition algebra P _k (x;G) and G-vertex colored partition algebra P _k (x, G) respectively, for every group G with |G|=y ≥ 2k.     

Tension polynomials of graphs

The tension polynomial F_G(k) of a graph G, evaluating the number of nowhere‐zero ?_k‐tensions in G, is the nontrivial divisor of the chromatic polynomial χ_G(k) of G, in that χ_G(k) = k^c(G)F_G(k), where c(G) denotes the number of components of G. We introduce the integral tension polynomial I_G(k), which evaluates the number of nowhere‐zero integral tensions in G with absolute values smaller than k. We show that 2^r(G)F_G(k)≥I_G(k)≥ (r(G)+1)F_G(k), where r(G)=|V(G)|?c(G), and, for every k>1, F_G(k+1)≥ F_G(k)˙k / (k?1) and I_G(k+1)≥I_G(k)˙k/(k?1). © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 40: 137–146, 2002     

Path graphs

The concept of a line graph is generalized to that of a path graph. The path graph P_k(G) of a graph G is obtained by representing the paths P_k in G by vertices and joining two vertices whenever the corresponding paths P_k in G form a path P_k+1 or a cycle C_k. P₃-graphs are characterized and investigated on isomorphism and traversability. Trees and unicyclic graphs with hamiltonian P₃-graphs are characterized.     

Bounded edge-connectivity and edge-persistence of Cartesian product of graphs

The bounded edge-connectivity λ_k(G) of a connected graph G with respect to is the minimum number of edges in G whose deletion from G results in a subgraph with diameter larger than k and the edge-persistence D⁺(G) is defined as λ_d(G)(G), where d(G) is the diameter of G. This paper considers the Cartesian product G₁×G₂, shows λ_k1+k2(G₁×G₂)≥λ_k1(G₁)+λ_k2(G₂) for k₁≥2 and k₂≥2, and determines the exact values of D⁺(G) for G=C_n×P_m, C_n×C_m, Q_n×P_m and Q_n×C_m.     

Circular choosability of graphs

This paper discusses the circular version of list coloring of graphs. We give two definitions of the circular list chromatic number (or circular choosability) χ_{c, l}(G) of a graph G and prove that they are equivalent. Then we prove that for any graph G, χ_{c, l}(G) ≥ χ_l(G) ? 1. Examples are given to show that this bound is sharp in the sense that for any ? 0, there is a graph G with χ_{c, l}(G) > χ_l(G) ? 1 + ?. It is also proved that k‐degenerate graphs G have χ_{c, l}(G) ≤ 2k. This bound is also sharp: for each ? < 0, there is a k‐degenerate graph G with χ_{c, l}(G) ≥ 2k ? ?. This shows that χ_{c, l}(G) could be arbitrarily larger than χ_l(G). Finally we prove that if G has maximum degree k, then χ_{c, l}(G) ≤ k + 1. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 48: 210–218, 2005     

The complete closure of a graph

We define the complete closure number cc(G) of a graph G of order n as the greatest integer k ≤ 2n ? 3 such that the kth Bondy-Chvátal closure Cl_k(G) is complete, and give some necessary or sufficient conditions for a graph to have cc(G) = k. Similarly, the complete stability cs(P) of a property P defined on all the graphs of order n is the smallest integer k such that if Cl_k(G) is complete then G satisfies P. For some properties P, we compare cs(P) with the classical stability s(P) of P and show that cs(P) may be far smaller than s(P). © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Two Paths Joining Given Vertices in 2k-Edge-Connected Graphs

Let k≥2 be an integer and G = (V(G), E(G)) be a k-edge-connected graph. For X⊆V(G), e(X) denotes the number of edges between X and V(G) − X. Let {s_i, t_i}⊆X_i⊆V(G) (i=1,2) and X₁∩X₂=∅. We here prove that if k is even and e(X_i)≤2k−1 (i=1,2), then there exist paths P₁ and P₂ such that P_i joins s_i and t_i, V(P_i)⊆X_i (i=1,2) and G − E(P₁∪P₂) is (k−2)-edge-connected (for odd k, if e(X₁)≤2k−2 and e(X₂)≤2k−1, then the same result holds [10]), and we give a generalization of this result and some other results about paths not containing given edges.     

Structures and Chromaticity of Extremal 3-Colourable Sparse Graphs

 Assume that G is a 3-colourable connected graph with e(G) = 2v(G) −k, where k≥ 4. It has been shown that s ₃(G) ≥ 2 ^{k −3}, where s _r (G) = P(G,r)/r! for any positive integer r and P(G, λ) is the chromatic polynomial of G. In this paper, we prove that if G is 2-connected and s ₃(G) < 2 ^{k −2}, then G contains at most v(G) −k triangles; and the upper bound is attained only if G is a graph obtained by replacing each edge in the k-cycle C _k by a 2-tree. By using this result, we settle the problem of determining if W(n, s) is χ-unique, where W(n, s) is the graph obtained from the wheel W _n by deleting all but s consecutive spokes. Received: January 29, 1999 Final version received: April 8, 2000     

The Alpha Function of a Matroid—I. Transversal Matroids

Let n be the nullity function of the matroid G(S). The Mason alpha function is defined on subsets A of S by the recursion α(A)=n(A)?∑_F?Aα(F), the summation being over all flats F strictly contained in A. The alpha function may be viewed as the first difference of the nullity. We study the behavior of a under strong maps, and apply our results to proving Mason's alpha criterion: a matroid is the dual of a transversal matroid if and only if its alpha function is non-negative.     

Path chromatic numbers of graphs

Let the finite, simple, undirected graph G = (V(G), E(G)) be vertex-colored. Denote the distinct colors by 1,2,…,c. Let V_i be the set of all vertices colored j and let <V_i be the subgraph of G induced by V_i. The k-path chromatic number of G, denoted by χ(G; P_k), is the least number c of distinct colors with which V(G) can be colored such that each connected component of V_i is a path of order at most k, 1 ? i ? c. We obtain upper bounds for χ(G; P_k) and χ(G; P_∞) for regular, planar, and outerplanar graphs.     

A remark on divisibility of definable groups

We show that if G is a definably compact, definably connected definable group defined in an arbitrary o‐minimal structure, then G is divisible. Furthermore, if G is defined in an o‐minimal expansion of a field, k ∈ ? and p_k : G → G is the definable map given by p_k (x ) = x^k for all x ∈ G , then we have |(p_k )^–1(x )| ≥ k^r for all x ∈ G , where r > 0 is the maximal dimension of abelian definable subgroups of G . (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Finding a monochromatic subgraph or a rainbow path

For simple graphs G and H, let f(G,H) denote the least integer N such that every coloring of the edges of K_N contains either a monochromatic copy of G or a rainbow copy of H. Here we investigate f(G,H) when H = P_k. We show that even if the number of colors is unrestricted when defining f(G,H), the function f(G,P_k), for k = 4 and 5, equals the (k ? 2)‐ coloring diagonal Ramsey number of G. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory     

Path extendable graphs

A pathP in a graphG is said to beextendable if there exists a pathP’ inG with the same endvertices asP such thatV(P)⊆V (P’) and |V(P’)|=|V(P)|+1. A graphG ispath extendable if every nonhamiltonian path inG is extendable. We investigate the extent to which known sufficient conditions for a graph to be hamiltonian-connected imply the extendability of paths in the graph. Several theorems are proved: for example, it is shown that ifG is a graph of orderp in which the degree sum of each pair of non-adjacent vertices is at leastp+1 andP is a nonextendable path of orderk inG thenk≤(p+1)/2 and 〈V (P)〉≅K _k orK _k −e. As corollaries of this we deduce that if δ(G)≥(p+2)/2 or if the degree sum of each pair of nonadjacent vertices inG is at least (3p−3)/2 thenG is path extendable, which strengthen results of Williamson [13].     

The Erdös-Jacobson-Lehel conjecture on potentiallyP k-graphic sequence is true

A variation in the classical Turan extrernal problem is studied. A simple graphG of ordern is said to have propertyPk if it contains a clique of sizek+1 as its subgraph. Ann-term nonincreasing nonnegative integer sequence π=(d₁, d₂,⋯, d₂) is said to be graphic if it is the degree sequence of a simple graphG of ordern and such a graphG is referred to as a realization of π. A graphic sequence π is said to be potentiallyP _k-graphic if it has a realizationG having propertyP _k . The problem: determine the smallest positive even number σ(k, n) such that everyn-term graphic sequence π=(d₁, d₂,…, d₂) without zero terms and with degree sum σ(π)=(d ₁+d ₂+ …+d ₂) at least σ(k,n) is potentially P_k-graphic has been proved positive. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 19671077) and the Doctoral Program Foundation of National Education Department of China.     

A Splitting of the Frobenius Morphism on the Whole Algebra of Distributions of SL 2

We define, over k = \BbbF_pk = {\Bbb{F}}_{p}, a splitting of the Frobenius morphism Fr : \textDist (G) ? \textDist (G)Fr : {\text{Dist}}\,(G) \rightarrow {\text{Dist}}\,(G) on the whole \textDist (G){\text{Dist}}\,(G), the algebra of distributions of the k-algebraic group G: = SL ₂. This splitting is compatible (and lifts) the theory of Frobenius descent for arithmetic D{\cal{D}}-modules over X:=\BbbP_k¹X:={\Bbb{P}}_{k}^{1}.