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].     

On the minimal number of edges in color-critical graphs

A graphG isk-critical if it has chromatic numberk, but every proper subgraph of it is (k?1)-colorable. This paper is devoted to investigating the following question: for givenk andn, what is the minimal number of edges in ak-critical graph onn vertices, with possibly some additional restrictions imposed? Our main result is that for everyk≥4 andn>k this number is at least $\left( {\frac{{k - 1}}{2} + \frac{{k - 3}}{{2(k^2 - 2k - 1)}}} \right)n$ , thus improving a result of Gallai from 1963. We discuss also the upper bounds on the minimal number of edges ink-critical graphs and provide some constructions of sparsek-critical graphs. A few applications of the results to Ramsey-type problems and problems about random graphs are described.     

Packing seagulls

A seagull in a graph is an induced three-vertex path. When does a graph G have k pairwise vertex-disjoint seagulls? This is NP-complete in general, but for graphs with no stable set of size three we give a complete solution. This case is of special interest because of a connection with Hadwiger’s conjecture which was the motivation for this research; and we deduce a unification and strengthening of two theorems of Blasiak [2] concerned with Hadwiger’s conjecture. Our main result is that a graph G (different from the five-wheel) with no three-vertex stable set contains k disjoint seagulls if and only if

1. |V (G)|≥3k
2. G is k-connected
3. for every clique C of G, if D denotes the set of vertices in V (G)\C that have both a neighbour and a non-neighbour in C then |D|+|V (G)\C|≥2k, and
4. the complement graph of G has a matching with k edges.

We also address the analogous fractional and half-integral packing questions, and give a polynomial time algorithm to test whether there are k disjoint seagulls.     

Slightly triangulated graphs are perfect

A graph istriangulated if it has no chordless cycle with at least four vertices (?k ≥ 4,C _k ?G). These graphs Jhave been generalized by R. Hayward with theweakly triangulated graphs $(\forall k \geqslant 5,C_{k,} \bar C_k \nsubseteq G)$ . In this note we propose a new generalization of triangulated graphs. A graph G isslightly triangulated if it satisfies the two following conditions;

1. G contains no chordless cycle with at least 5 vertices.
2. For every induced subgraphH of G, there is a vertex inH the neighbourhood of which inH contains no chordless path of 4 vertices.

     

The dynamics of the line and path graph operators

For any integerk e 1 thek- path graph P_k (G) of a graph G has all length-k subpaths ofG as vertices, and two such vertices are adjacent whenever their union (as subgraphs ofG) forms a path or cycle withk + 1 edges. Fork = 1 we get the well-known line graphP ₁ (G) =L(G). Iteratedk-path graphs P^t _k(G) are defined as usual by P^t _k (G) := P_k(P ^t?1 _k(G)) ift < 1, and by P¹ _k(G): = P_k(G). A graph G isP _k -periodic if it is isomorphic to some iteratedk-path graph of itself; itP _k -converges if some iteratedk-path graph of G isP _k -periodic. A graph has infiniteP _k -depth if for any positive integert there is a graphH such that P^t _k(H) ?G. In this paperP _k -periodic if it is isomorphic to some iteratedk-path graph of itself; itP _k -converges if some iteratedk-path graph of G isP _k -periodic graphs,P _k -periodic if it is isomorphic to some iteratedk-path graph of itself; itP _k -converges if some iteratedk-path graph of G isP _k -convergent graphs, and graphs with infiniteP _k -periodic if it is isomorphic to some iteratedk-path graph of itself; itP _k -converges if some iteratedk-path graph of G isP _k -depth are characterized inside some subclasses of the class of locally finite graphs fork = 1, 2.     

On a construction of critical graphs which are not sensitive

Let ?(G) be theclosed-set lattice of a graphG. G issensitive if the following implication is always true for any graphG′: ?(G)??(G′)?(G)?G′G iscritical if ?(G)??(G-e) for anye inE(G) and ?(G)??(G+e) for anye in \(\left( {\bar G} \right)\) where \(\bar G\) is the complement ofG. Every sensitive graph is, a fortiori, critical. Is every critical graph sensitive? A negative answer to this question is given in this note.     

Matching properties in connected domination critical graphs

A dominating set of vertices S of a graph G is connected if the subgraph G[S] is connected. Let γ_c(G) denote the size of any smallest connected dominating set in G. A graph G is k-γ-connected-critical if γ_c(G)=k, but if any edge is added to G, then γ_c(G+e)?k-1. This is a variation on the earlier concept of criticality of edge addition with respect to ordinary domination where a graph G was defined to be k-critical if the domination number of G is k, but if any edge is added to G, the domination number falls to k-1.A graph G is factor-critical if G-v has a perfect matching for every vertex v∈V(G), bicritical if G-u-v has a perfect matching for every pair of distinct vertices u,v∈V(G) or, more generally, k-factor-critical if, for every set S⊆V(G) with |S|=k, the graph G-S contains a perfect matching. In two previous papers [N. Ananchuen, M.D. Plummer, Matching properties in domination critical graphs, Discrete Math. 277 (2004) 1-13; N. Ananchuen, M.D. Plummer, 3-factor-criticality in domination critical graphs, Discrete Math. 2007, to appear [3].] on ordinary (i.e., not necessarily connected) domination, the first and third authors showed that under certain assumptions regarding connectivity and minimum degree, a critical graph G with (ordinary) domination number 3 will be factor-critical (if |V(G)| is odd), bicritical (if |V(G)| is even) or 3-factor-critical (again if |V(G)| is odd). Analogous theorems for connected domination are presented here. Although domination and connected domination are similar in some ways, we will point out some interesting differences between our new results for the case of connected domination and the results in [N. Ananchuen, M.D. Plummer, Matching properties in domination critical graphs, Discrete Math. 277 (2004) 1-13; N. Ananchuen, M.D. Plummer, 3-factor-criticality in domination critical graphs, Discrete Math. 2007, to appear [3].].     

Note on group distance magic complete bipartite graphs

A Γ-distance magic labeling of a graph G = (V, E) with |V| = n is a bijection ? from V to an Abelian group Γ of order n such that the weight $w(x) = \sum\nolimits_{y \in N_G (x)} {\ell (y)}$ of every vertex x ∈ V is equal to the same element µ ∈ Γ, called the magic constant. A graph G is called a group distance magic graph if there exists a Γ-distance magic labeling for every Abelian group Γ of order |V(G)|. In this paper we give necessary and sufficient conditions for complete k-partite graphs of odd order p to be ? _p -distance magic. Moreover we show that if p ≡ 2 (mod 4) and k is even, then there does not exist a group Γ of order p such that there exists a Γ-distance labeling for a k-partite complete graph of order p. We also prove that K _m,n is a group distance magic graph if and only if n + m ? 2 (mod 4).     

3-Factor-criticality in domination critical graphs

A graph G is said to be k-γ-critical if the size of any minimum dominating set of vertices is k, but if any edge is added to G the resulting graph can be dominated with k-1 vertices. The structure of k-γ-critical graphs remains far from completely understood when k?3.A graph G is factor-critical if G-v has a perfect matching for every vertex v∈V(G) and is bicritical if G-u-v has a perfect matching for every pair of distinct vertices u,v∈V(G). More generally, a graph is said to be k-factor-critical if G-S has a perfect matching for every set S of k vertices in G. In three previous papers [N. Ananchuen, M.D. Plummer, Some results related to the toughness of 3-domination-critical graphs, Discrete Math. 272 (2003) 5-15; N. Ananchuen, M.D. Plummer, Matching properties in domination critical graphs, Discrete Math. 277 (2004) 1-13; N. Ananchuen, M.D. Plummer, Some results related to the toughness of 3-domination-critical graphs. II. Utilitas Math. 70 (2006) 11-32], we explored the toughness of 3-γ-critical graphs and some of their matching properties. In particular, we obtained some properties which are sufficient for a 3-γ-critical graph to be factor-critical and, respectively, bicritical. In the present work, we obtain similar results for k-factor-critical graphs when k=3.     

Odd cycles and matrices with integrality properties

A cycle of a bipartite graphG(V⁺, V^?; E) is odd if its length is 2 (mod 4), even otherwise. An odd cycleC is node minimal if there is no odd cycleC′ of cardinality less than that ofC′ such that one of the following holds:C′ ∩V ⁺ ?C ∩V ⁺ orC′ ∩V ^? ?C ∩V ^?. In this paper we prove the following theorem for bipartite graphs: For a bipartite graphG, one of the following alternatives holds:

-All the cycles ofG are even.

-G has an odd chordless cycle.

-For every node minimal odd cycleC, there exist four nodes inC inducing a cycle of length four.

-An edge (u, v) ofG has the property that the removal ofu, v and their adjacent nodes disconnects the graphG.

To every (0, 1) matrixA we can associate a bipartite graphG(V⁺, V^?; E), whereV ⁺ andV ^? represent respectively the row set and the column set ofA and an edge (i,j) belongs toE if and only ifa _ij = 1. The above theorem, applied to the graphG(V⁺, V^?; E) can be used to show several properties of some classes of balanced and perfect matrices. In particular it implies a decomposition theorem for balanced matrices containing a node minimal odd cycleC, having the property that no four nodes ofC induce a cycle of length 4. The above theorem also yields a proof of the validity of the Strong Perfect Graph Conjecture for graphs that do not containK ₄?e as an induced subgraph.     

On Perfect k-Matchings

In this paper, we generalize the notions of perfect matchings, perfect 2-matchings to perfect k-matchings and give a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of perfect k-matchings. We show that a bipartite graph G contains a perfect k-matching if and only if it contains a perfect matching. Moreover, for regular graphs, we provide a sufficient condition for the existence of perfect k-matching in terms of the edge connectivity.     

Matching Properties in Total Domination Vertex Critical Graphs

A vertex subset S of a graph G = (V,E) is a total dominating set if every vertex of G is adjacent to some vertex in S. The total domination number of G, denoted by γ _t (G), is the minimum cardinality of a total dominating set of G. A graph G with no isolated vertex is said to be total domination vertex critical if for any vertex v of G that is not adjacent to a vertex of degree one, γ _t (G?v) < γ _t (G). A total domination vertex critical graph G is called k-γ _t -critical if γ _t (G) = k. In this paper we first show that every 3-γ _t -critical graph G of even order has a perfect matching if it is K _1,5-free. Secondly, we show that every 3-γ _t -critical graph G of odd order is factor-critical if it is K _1,5-free. Finally, we show that G has a perfect matching if G is a K _1,4-free 4-γ _t (G)-critical graph of even order and G is factor-critical if G is a K _1,4-free 4-γ _t (G)-critical graph of odd order.     

On Extensions of a Conjecture of Gallai

A graphGisk-criticalif it has chromatic numberkbut every proper subgraph ofGhas a (k−1)-coloring. We prove the following result. IfGis ak-critical graph of ordern>k3, thenGcontains fewer thann−3k/5+2 complete subgraphs of orderk−1.     

Some remarks on (k−1)-critical subgraphs ofk-critical graphs

A graphG is said to bek-critical if it has chromatic numberk, but every proper subgraph ofG has a (k–1)-coloring. Gallai asked whether every largek-critical graph contains many (k–1)-critical subgraphs. We provide some information concerning this question and some related questions.     

Some results related to the toughness of 3-domination critical graphs

A graph G is said to be k-γ-critical if the size of any minimum dominating set of vertices is k, but if any edge is added to G the resulting graph can be dominated with k−1 vertices. The structure of k-γ-critical graphs remains far from completely understood, even in the special case when the domination number γ=3. In a 1983 paper, Sumner and Blitch proved a theorem which may regarded as a result related to the toughness of 3-γ-critical graphs which says that if S is any vertex cutset of such a graph, then G−S has at most |S|+1 components. In the present paper, we improve and extend this result considerably.     

Iteratedk-line graphs

For integersk≥2, thek-line graph L_k(G) of a graph G is defined as a graph whose vertices correspond to the complete subgraphs onk vertices in G with two distinct vertices adjacent if the corresponding complete subgraphs have 1 common vertices inG. We define iteratedk-line graphs byL _k ⁿ (G) ?L _k (L _k ^n?1 (G), whereL _k ⁰ (G) ?G. In this paper the iterated behavior of thek-line graph operator is investigated. It turns out that the behavior is quite different fork = 2 (the well-known line graph case),k = 3, and k≥4.     

Small cycles and 2-factor passing through any given vertices in graphs

The theory of vertex-disjoint cycles and 2-factor of graphs has important applications in computer science and network communication. For a graph G, let σ ₂(G):=min?{d(u)+d(v)|uv ? E(G),u≠v}. In the paper, the main results of this paper are as follows:

1. Let k≥2 be an integer and G be a graph of order n≥3k, if σ ₂(G)≥n+2k?2, then for any set of k distinct vertices v ₁,…,v _k , G has k vertex-disjoint cycles C ₁,C ₂,…,C _k of length at most four such that v _i ∈V(C _i ) for all 1≤i≤k.
2. Let k≥1 be an integer and G be a graph of order n≥3k, if σ ₂(G)≥n+2k?2, then for any set of k distinct vertices v ₁,…,v _k , G has k vertex-disjoint cycles C ₁,C ₂,…,C _k such that:
   1. v _i ∈V(C _i ) for all 1≤i≤k.
   2. V(C ₁)∪???∪V(C _k )=V(G), and
   3. |C _i |≤4, 1≤i≤k?1.

Moreover, the condition on σ ₂(G)≥n+2k?2 is sharp.     

Extremal theory for convex matchings in convex geometric graphs

A convex geometric graphG of ordern consists of the set of vertices of a plane convexn-gonP together with some edges, and/or diagonals ofP as edges. CallG 1-free ifG does not havel disjoint edges in convex position. We answer the following questions:

1. What is the maximum possible number of edges ofG ifG isl-free (as a function ofn andl)?
2. What is the minimum possible number of edges ofG ifG isl-free and saturated, i.e., ifG∪{e} is notl-free for any edge or diagonale ofP that is not, already inG..

We also fully describe the graphsG where the maximum (in (a)) or the minimum (in (b)) is attained. Then we remove the word “disjoint” from the definition of “l-free” and do the same over again. The results obtained are quite similar and closely related to the corresponding results (Turán's theorem, etc) in extremal abstract graph theory.     

A relationship between bounds on the sum of squares of degrees of a graph

LetG = (V, E) be a simple graph withn vertices and e edges. Letdi be the degree of the ith vertex v_i ∈ V andm _i the average of the degrees of the vertices adjacent to vertexv _i ∈ V. It is known by Caen [1] and Das [2] that $\frac{{4e^2 }}{n} \leqslant d_1^2 + ... + d_n^2 \leqslant e max \{ d_j + m_j |v_j \in V\} \leqslant e\left( {\frac{{2e}}{{n - 1}} + n - 2} \right)$ . In general, the equalities do not hold in above inequality. It is shown that a graphG is regular if and only if $\frac{{4e^2 }}{n} = d_1^2 + ... + d_n^2 $ . In fact, it is shown a little bit more strong result that a graphG is regular if and only if $\frac{{4e^2 }}{n} = d_1^2 + ... + d_n^2 = e max \{ d_j + m_j |v_j \in V\} $ . For a graphG withn < 2 vertices, it is shown that G is a complete graphK _n if and only if $\frac{{4e^2 }}{n} = d_1^2 + ... + d_n^2 = e max \{ d_j + m_j |v_j \in V\} = e\left( {\frac{{2e}}{{n - 1}} + n - 2} \right)$ .     

Matching behaviour is asymptotically normal

Ak-matching in a graphG is a set ofk edges, no two of which have a vertex in common. The number of these inG is writtenp(G, k). Using an idea due to L. H. Harper, we establish a condition under which these numbers are approximately normally distributed. We show that our condition is satisfied ifn=|V(G)| is large compared to the maximum degree Δ of a vertex inG(i.e. Δ=o(n)) orG is a large complete graph. One corollary of these results is that the number of points fixed by a randomly chosen involution in the symmetric groupS is asymptotically normally distributed.