Sandwiching random graphs: universality between random graph models

The goal of this paper is to establish a connection between two classical models of random graphs: the random graph G(n,p) and the random regular graph G_d(n). This connection appears to be very useful in deriving properties of one model from the other and explains why many graph invariants are universal. In particular, one obtains one-line proofs of several highly non-trivial and recent results on G_d(n).     

On the domination number of the cartesian product of the cycle of length n and any graph

Let γ(G) denote the domination number of a graph G and let C_n□G denote the cartesian product of C_n, the cycle of length n?3, and G. In this paper, we are mainly concerned with the question: which connected nontrivial graphs satisfy γ(C_n□G)=γ(C_n)γ(G)? We prove that this equality can only hold if n≡1 (mod 3). In addition, we characterize graphs which satisfy this equality when n=4 and provide infinite classes of graphs for general n≡1 (mod 3).     

Sharp bounds for the largest eigenvalue of the signless Laplacian of a graph

Let G be a simple connected graph with n vertices and m edges. Denote the degree of vertex v_i by d(v_i). The matrix Q(G)=D(G)+A(G) is called the signless Laplacian of G, where D(G)=diag(d(v₁),d(v₂),…,d(v_n)) and A(G) denote the diagonal matrix of vertex degrees and the adjacency matrix of G, respectively. Let q₁(G) be the largest eigenvalue of Q(G). In this paper, we first present two sharp upper bounds for q₁(G) involving the maximum degree and the minimum degree of the vertices of G and give a new proving method on another sharp upper bound for q₁(G). Then we present three sharp lower bounds for q₁(G) involving the maximum degree and the minimum degree of the vertices of G. Moreover, we determine all extremal graphs which attain these sharp bounds.     

A characterization of the minimalbasis of the torus

D. König asks the interesting question in [7] whether there are facts corresponding to the theorem of Kuratowski which apply to closed orientable or non-orientable surfaces of any genus. Since then this problem has been solved only for the projective plane ([2], [3], [8]). In order to demonstrate that König’s question can be affirmed we shall first prove, that every minimal graph of the minimal basis of all graphs which cannot be embedded into the orientable surface f of genusp has orientable genusp+1 and non-orientable genusq with 1≦q≦2p+2. Then let f be the torus. We shall derive a characterization of all minimal graphs of the minimal basis with the nonorientable genusq=1 which are not embeddable into the torus. There will be two very important graphs signed withX ₈ andX ₇ later. Furthermore 19 graphsG ₁,G ₂, ...,G ₁₉ of the minimal basisM(torus, >₄) will be specified. We shall prove that five of them have non-orientable genusq=1, ten of them have non-orientable genusq=2 and four of them non-orientable genusq=3. Then we shall point out a method of determining graphs of the minimal basisM(torus, >₄) which are embeddable into the projective plane. Using the possibilities of embedding into the projective plane the results of [2] and [3] are necessary. This method will be called saturation method. Using the minimal basisM(projective plane, >₄) of [3] we shall at last develop a method of determining all graphs ofM(torus, >₄) which have non-orientable genusq≧2. Applying this method we shall succeed in characterizing all minimal graphs which are not embeddable into the torus. The importance of the saturation method will be shown by determining another graphG ₂₀≠G ₁,G ₂, ...,G ₁₉ ofM(torus, >₄).     

Total domination in claw-free graphs with minimum degree 2

A set S of vertices in a graph G is a total dominating set (TDS) of G if every vertex of G is adjacent to some vertex in S. The minimum cardinality of a TDS of G is the total domination number of G, denoted by γ_t(G). A graph is claw-free if it does not contain K_1,3 as an induced subgraph. It is known [M.A. Henning, Graphs with large total domination number, J. Graph Theory 35(1) (2000) 21-45] that if G is a connected graph of order n with minimum degree at least two and G∉{C₃,C₅, C₆, C₁₀}, then γ_t(G)?4n/7. In this paper, we show that this upper bound can be improved if G is restricted to be a claw-free graph. We show that every connected claw-free graph G of order n and minimum degree at least two satisfies γ_t(G)?(n+2)/2 and we characterize those graphs for which γ_t(G)=⌊(n+2)/2⌋.     

On the nullity of tricyclic graphs

The nullity of a graph G, denoted by η(G), is the multiplicity of the eigenvalue zero in its spectrum. It is known that η(G)?n-2 if G is a simple graph on n vertices and G is not isomorphic to nK₁. The extremal graphs attaining the upper bound n-2 and the second upper bound n-3 have been obtained. In this paper, the graphs with nullity n-4 are characterized. Furthermore the tricyclic graphs with maximum nullity are discussed.     

Connected graphs with maximal Q-index: The one-dominating-vertex case

By the signless Laplacian of a (simple) graph G we mean the matrix Q(G)=D(G)+A(G), where A(G),D(G) denote respectively the adjacency matrix and the diagonal matrix of vertex degrees of G. For every pair of positive integers n,k, it is proved that if 3?k?n-3, then H_n,k, the graph obtained from the star K_1,n-1 by joining a vertex of degree 1 to k+1 other vertices of degree 1, is the unique connected graph that maximizes the largest signless Laplacian eigenvalue over all connected graphs with n vertices and n+k edges.     

Counting perfect matchings in n-extendable graphs

The structural theory of matchings is used to establish lower bounds on the number of perfect matchings in n-extendable graphs. It is shown that any such graph on p vertices and q edges contains at least ⌈(n+1)!/4[q-p-(n-1)(2Δ-3)+4]⌉ different perfect matchings, where Δ is the maximum degree of a vertex in G.     

On bicyclic graphs with maximal energy

Let λ₁,λ₂,…,λ_n be the eigenvalues of a graph G of order n. The energy of G is defined as E(G)=|λ₁|+|λ₂|+?+|λ_n|. Let be the graph obtained from two copies of C₆ joined by a path P_n-10, B_n be the class of all bipartite bicyclic graphs that are not the graph obtained from two cycles C_a and C_b (a,b?10 and a≡b≡2 (mod 4)) joined by an edge. In this paper, we show that is the graph with maximal energy in B_n, which gives a partial solution to Gutman’s conjecture in Gutman and Vidovi? (2001) [I. Gutman, D. Vidovi?, Quest for molecular graphs with maximal energy: a computer experiment, J. Chem. Inf. Sci. 41 (2001) 1002-1005].     

On the Szeged and the Laplacian Szeged spectrum of a graph

For a given graph G its Szeged weighting is defined by w(e)=n_u(e)n_v(e), where e=uv is an edge of G,n_u(e) is the number of vertices of G closer to u than to v, and n_v(e) is defined analogously. The adjacency matrix of a graph weighted in this way is called its Szeged matrix. In this paper we determine the spectra of Szeged matrices and their Laplacians for several families of graphs. We also present sharp upper and lower bounds on the eigenvalues of Szeged matrices of graphs.     

An efficient condition for a graph to be Hamiltonian

Let G=(V,E) be a 2-connected simple graph and let d_G(u,v) denote the distance between two vertices u,v in G. In this paper, it is proved: if the inequality d_G(u)+d_G(v)?|V(G)|-1 holds for each pair of vertices u and v with d_G(u,v)=2, then G is Hamiltonian, unless G belongs to an exceptional class of graphs. The latter class is described in this paper. Our result implies the theorem of Ore [Note on Hamilton circuits, Amer. Math. Monthly 67 (1960) 55]. However, it is not included in the theorem of Fan [New sufficient conditions for cycles in graph, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B 37 (1984) 221-227].     

On the 2-rainbow domination in graphs

The concept of 2-rainbow domination of a graph G coincides with the ordinary domination of the prism G□K₂. In this paper, we show that the problem of deciding if a graph has a 2-rainbow dominating function of a given weight is NP-complete even when restricted to bipartite graphs or chordal graphs. Exact values of 2-rainbow domination numbers of several classes of graphs are found, and it is shown that for the generalized Petersen graphs GP(n,k) this number is between ⌈4n/5⌉ and n with both bounds being sharp.     

Subpancyclicity of line graphs and degree sums along paths

A graph is called subpancyclic if it contains a cycle of length ? for each ? between 3 and the circumference of the graph. We show that if G is a connected graph on n?146 vertices such that d(u)+d(v)+d(x)+d(y)>(n+10/2) for all four vertices u,v,x,y of any path P=uvxy in G, then the line graph L(G) is subpancyclic, unless G is isomorphic to an exceptional graph. Moreover, we show that this result is best possible, even under the assumption that L(G) is hamiltonian. This improves earlier sufficient conditions by a multiplicative factor rather than an additive constant.     

The game of arboricity

Using a fixed set of colors C, Ann and Ben color the edges of a graph G so that no monochromatic cycle may appear. Ann wins if all edges of G have been colored, while Ben wins if completing a coloring is not possible. The minimum size of C for which Ann has a winning strategy is called the game arboricity of G, denoted by A_g(G). We prove that A_g(G)?3k for any graph G of arboricity k, and that there are graphs such that A_g(G)?2k-2. The upper bound is achieved by a suitable version of the activation strategy, used earlier for the vertex coloring game. We also provide two other strategies based on induction and acyclic colorings.     

The convexity spectra of graphs

Let D be a connected oriented graph. A set S⊆V(D) is convex in D if, for every pair of vertices x,y∈S, the vertex set of every x-y geodesic (x-y shortest dipath) and y-x geodesic in D is contained in S. The convexity numbercon(D) of a nontrivial oriented graph D is the maximum cardinality of a proper convex set of D. Let G be a graph. We define that S_C(G)={con(D):D is an orientation of G} and S_SC(G)={con(D):D is a strongly connected orientation of G}. In the paper, we show that, for any n?4, 1?a?n-2, and a≠2, there exists a 2-connected graph G with n vertices such that S_C(G)=S_SC(G)={a,n-1} and there is no connected graph G of order n?3 with S_SC(G)={n-1}. Then, we determine that S_C(K₃)={1,2}, S_C(K₄)={1,3}, S_SC(K₃)=S_SC(K₄)={1}, S_C(K₅)={1,3,4}, S_C(K₆)={1,3,4,5}, S_SC(K₅)=S_SC(K₆)={1,3}, S_C(K_n)={1,3,5,6,…,n-1}, S_SC(K_n)={1,3,5,6,…,n-2} for n?7. Finally, we prove that, for any integers n, m, and k with , 1?k?n-1, and k≠2,4, there exists a strongly connected oriented graph D with n vertices, m edges, and convexity number k.     

Laplacian coefficients of trees with a given bipartition

Let G be a graph of order n and the Laplacian characteristic polynomial of G. Zhou and Gutman [19] proved that among all trees of order n, the kth coefficient c_k is largest when the tree is a path and is smallest for a star. In this paper, for two given positive integers p and q(p≤q), we characterize the trees with a given bipartition (p,q) which have the minimal and second minimal Laplacian coefficients.     

The partition dimension of circulant graphs

Let Π = {S₁, S₂, . . . , S_k} be an ordered partition of the vertex set V (G) of a graph G. The partition representation of a vertex v ∈ V (G) with respect to Π is the k-tuple r(v|Π) = (d(v, S₁), d(v, S₂), . . . , d(v, S_k)), where d(v, S) is the distance between v and a set S. If for every pair of distinct vertices u, v ∈ V (G), we have r(u|Π) ≠ r(v|Π), then Π is a resolving partition and the minimum cardinality of a resolving partition of V (G) is called the partition dimension of G. We study the partition dimension of circulant graphs, which are Cayley graphs of cyclic groups. Grigorious et al. [On the partition dimension of circulant graphs] proved that pd(C_n(1, 2, . . . , t)) ≥ t + 1 for n ≥ 3. We disprove this statement by showing that if t ≥ 4 is even, then there exists an infinite set of values of n, such that . We also present exact values of the partition dimension of circulant graphs with 3 generators.     

Equitable coloring of random graphs

An equitable coloring of a graph is a proper vertex coloring such that the sizes of any two color classes differ by at most one. The least positive integer k for which there exists an equitable coloring of a graph G with k colors is said to be the equitable chromatic number of G and is denoted by χ₌(G). The least positive integer k such that for any k′ ≥ k there exists an equitable coloring of a graph G with k′ colors is said to be the equitable chromatic threshold of G and is denoted by χ₌*(G). In this paper, we investigate the asymptotic behavior of these coloring parameters in the probability space G(n,p) of random graphs. We prove that if n^?1/5+? < p < 0.99 for some 0 < ?, then almost surely χ(G(n,p)) ≤ χ₌(G(n,p)) = (1 + o(1))χ(G(n,p)) holds (where χ(G(n,p)) is the ordinary chromatic number of G(n,p)). We also show that there exists a constant C such that if C/n < p < 0.99, then almost surely χ(G(n,p)) ≤ χ₌(G(n,p)) ≤ (2 + o(1))χ(G(n,p)). Concerning the equitable chromatic threshold, we prove that if n^?(1??) < p < 0.99 for some 0 < ?, then almost surely χ(G(n,p)) ≤ χ₌* (G(n,p)) ≤ (2 + o(1))χ(G(n,p)) holds, and if < p < 0.99 for some 0 < ?, then almost surely we have χ(G(n,p)) ≤ χ₌*(G(n,p)) = O_?(χ(G(n,p))). © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 2009     

On equality in an upper bound for the restrained and total domination numbers of a graph

Let G=(V,E) be a graph. A set S⊆V is a restrained dominating set (RDS) if every vertex not in S is adjacent to a vertex in S and to a vertex in V?S. The restrained domination number of G, denoted by γ_r(G), is the minimum cardinality of an RDS of G. A set S⊆V is a total dominating set (TDS) if every vertex in V is adjacent to a vertex in S. The total domination number of a graph G without isolated vertices, denoted by γ_t(G), is the minimum cardinality of a TDS of G.Let δ and Δ denote the minimum and maximum degrees, respectively, in G. If G is a graph of order n with δ?2, then it is shown that γ_r(G)?n-Δ, and we characterize the connected graphs with δ?2 achieving this bound that have no 3-cycle as well as those connected graphs with δ?2 that have neither a 3-cycle nor a 5-cycle. Cockayne et al. [Total domination in graphs, Networks 10 (1980) 211-219] showed that if G is a connected graph of order n?3 and Δ?n-2, then γ_t(G)?n-Δ. We further characterize the connected graphs G of order n?3 with Δ?n-2 that have no 3-cycle and achieve γ_t(G)=n-Δ.     

On the spectral radius of bipartite graphs with given diameter

Let GB(n,d) be the set of bipartite graphs with order n and diameter d. This paper characterizes the extremal graph with the maximal spectral radius in GB(n,d). Furthermore, the maximal spectral radius is a decreasing function on d. At last, bipartite graphs with the second largest spectral radius are determined.