On removable even circuits in graphs

Let G be a connected graph with minimum degree at least 3. We prove that there exists an even circuit C in G such that G−E(C) is either connected or contains precisely two components one of which is isomorphic to a 1-bond. We further prove sufficient conditions for there to exist an even circuit C in a 2-connected simple graph G such that G−E(C) is 2-connected. As a consequence of this, we obtain sufficient conditions for there to exist an even circuit C in a 2-connected graph G for which G−E(C) is 2-connected.     

Connectivity of iterated line graphs

Let k≥0 be an integer and L^k(G) be the kth iterated line graph of a graph G. Niepel and Knor proved that if G is a 4-connected graph, then κ(L²(G))≥4δ(G)−6. We show that the connectivity of G can be relaxed. In fact, we prove in this note that if G is an essentially 4-edge-connected and 3-connected graph, then κ(L²(G))≥4δ(G)−6. Similar bounds are obtained for essentially 4-edge-connected and 2-connected (1-connected) graphs.     

Cycles in k-connected graphs whose deletion results in a (k-2)-connected graph

It is shown that for k ≥ 3, every k-connected graph G with girth at least 4 contains an induced cycle C such that G − V(C) is (k − 2)-connected.     

A generalization of Fan’s results: Distribution of cycle lengths in graphs

Fan [G. Fan, Distribution of cycle lengths in graphs, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B 84 (2002) 187-202] proved that if G is a graph with minimum degree δ(G)≥3k for any positive integer k, then G contains k+1 cycles C₀,C₁,…,C_k such that k+1<|E(C₀)|<|E(C₁)|<?<|E(C_k)|, |E(C_i)−E(C_i−1)|=2, 1≤i≤k−1, and 1≤|E(C_k)|−|E(C_k−1)|≤2, and furthermore, if δ(G)≥3k+1, then |E(C_k)|−|E(C_k−1)|=2. In this paper, we generalize Fan’s result, and show that if we let G be a graph with minimum degree δ(G)≥3, for any positive integer k (if k≥2, then δ(G)≥4), if d_G(u)+d_G(v)≥6k−1 for every pair of adjacent vertices u,v∈V(G), then G contains k+1 cycles C₀,C₁,…,C_k such that k+1<|E(C₀)|<|E(C₁)|<?<|E(C_k)|, |E(C_i)−E(C_i−1)|=2, 1≤i≤k−1, and 1≤|E(C_k)|−|E(C_k−1)|≤2, and furthermore, if d_G(u)+d_G(v)≥6k+1, then |E(C_k)|−|E(C_k−1)|=2.     

Packing edge-disjoint cycles in graphs and the cyclomatic number

For a graph G let μ(G) denote the cyclomatic number and let ν(G) denote the maximum number of edge-disjoint cycles of G.We prove that for every k≥0 there is a finite set P(k) such that every 2-connected graph G for which μ(G)−ν(G)=k arises by applying a simple extension rule to a graph in P(k). Furthermore, we determine P(k) for k≤2 exactly.     

Hamiltonian connectedness in 3-connected line graphs

We investigate graphs G such that the line graph L(G) is hamiltonian connected if and only if L(G) is 3-connected, and prove that if each 3-edge-cut contains an edge lying in a short cycle of G, then L(G) has the above mentioned property. Our result extends Kriesell’s recent result in [M. Kriesell, All 4-connected line graphs of claw free graphs are hamiltonian-connected, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B 82 (2001) 306-315] that every 4-connected line graph of a claw free graph is hamiltonian connected. Another application of our main result shows that if L(G) does not have an hourglass (a graph isomorphic to K₅−E(C₄), where C₄ is an cycle of length 4 in K₅) as an induced subgraph, and if every 3-cut of L(G) is not independent, then L(G) is hamiltonian connected if and only if κ(L(G))≥3, which extends a recent result by Kriesell [M. Kriesell, All 4-connected line graphs of claw free graphs are hamiltonian-connected, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B 82 (2001) 306-315] that every 4-connected hourglass free line graph is hamiltonian connected.     

A degree sum condition for graphs to be prism hamiltonian

Win, in 1975, and Jackson and Wormald, in 1990, found the best sufficient conditions on the degree sum of a graph to guarantee the properties of “having a k-tree” and “having a k-walk”, respectively. The property of “being prism hamiltonian” is an intermediate property between “having a 2-tree” and “having a 2-walk”. Thus, it is natural to ask what is the best degree sum condition for graphs to be prism hamiltonian. As an answer to this problem, in this paper, we show that a connected graph G of order n with σ₃(G)≥n is prism hamiltonian. The degree sum condition “σ₃(G)≥n” is best possible.     

Removable matchings and hamiltonian cycles

For a graph G, let σ₂(G) denote the minimum degree sum of two nonadjacent vertices (when G is complete, we let σ₂(G)=∞). In this paper, we show the following two results: (i) Let G be a graph of order n≥4k+3 with σ₂(G)≥n and let F be a matching of size k in G such that G−F is 2-connected. Then G−F is hamiltonian or G≅K₂+(K₂∪K_n−4) or ; (ii) Let G be a graph of order n≥16k+1 with σ₂(G)≥n and let F be a set of k edges of G such that G−F is hamiltonian. Then G−F is either pancyclic or bipartite. Examples show that first result is the best possible.     

Circuit double covers in special types of cubic graphs

Suppose that a 2-connected cubic graph G of order n has a circuit C of length at least n−4 such that G−V(C) is connected. We show that G has a circuit double cover containing a prescribed set of circuits which satisfy certain conditions. It follows that hypohamiltonian cubic graphs (i.e., non-hamiltonian cubic graphs G such that G−v is hamiltonian for every v∈V(G)) have strong circuit double covers.     

On spanning connected graphs

A k-containerC(u,v) of G between u and v is a set of k internally disjoint paths between u and v. A k-container C(u,v) of G is a k^*-container if the set of the vertices of all the paths in C(u,v) contains all the vertices of G. A graph G is k^*-connected if there exists a k^*-container between any two distinct vertices. Therefore, a graph is 1^*-connected (respectively, 2^*-connected) if and only if it is hamiltonian connected (respectively, hamiltonian). In this paper, a classical theorem of Ore, providing sufficient conditional for a graph to be hamiltonian (respectively, hamiltonian connected), is generalized to k^*-connected graphs.     

The equivariant topology of stable Kneser graphs

The stable Kneser graph SG_n,k, n?1, k?0, introduced by Schrijver (1978) [19], is a vertex critical graph with chromatic number k+2, its vertices are certain subsets of a set of cardinality m=2n+k. Björner and de Longueville (2003) [5] have shown that its box complex is homotopy equivalent to a sphere, Hom(K₂,SG_n,k)?Sk. The dihedral group D2m acts canonically on SG_n,k, the group C₂ with 2 elements acts on K₂. We almost determine the (C₂×D2m)-homotopy type of Hom(K₂,SG_n,k) and use this to prove the following results.The graphs SG_2s,4 are homotopy test graphs, i.e. for every graph H and r?0 such that Hom(SG_2s,4,H) is (r−1)-connected, the chromatic number χ(H) is at least r+6.If k∉{0,1,2,4,8} and n?N(k) then SG_n,k is not a homotopy test graph, i.e. there are a graph G and an r?1 such that Hom(SG_n,k,G) is (r−1)-connected and χ(G)<r+k+2.     

Upon the removal of the edges of a 1-factor from an even circuit in a 2-connected graph

Let G be a 2-connected graph with minimum degree at least 3. We prove that there exists an even circuit C in G with factorization F={F₁,F₂} such that G−E(F₁) is 2-connected.     

A note on traversing specified vertices in graphs embedded with large representativity

A graph G is said to have property P(2,k) if given any k+2 distinct vertices a,b,v₁,…,v_k, there is a path P in G joining a and b and passing through all of v₁,…,v_k. A graph G is said to have property C(k) if given any k distinct vertices v₁,…,v_k, there is a cycle C in G containing all of v₁,…,v_k. It is shown that if a 4-connected graph G is embedded in an orientable surface Σ (other than the sphere) of Euler genus eg(G,Σ), with sufficiently large representativity (as a function of both eg(G,Σ) and k), then G possesses both properties P(2,k) and C(k).     

On the spanning connectivity of graphs

A k-containerC(u,v) of G between u and v is a set of k internally disjoint paths between u and v. A k-container C(u,v) of G is a k^*-container if it contains all vertices of G. A graph G is k^*-connected if there exists a k^*-container between any two distinct vertices. The spanning connectivity of G, κ^*(G), is defined to be the largest integer k such that G is w^*-connected for all 1?w?k if G is a 1^*-connected graph. In this paper, we prove that κ^*(G)?2δ(G)-n(G)+2 if (n(G)/2)+1?δ(G)?n(G)-2. Furthermore, we prove that κ^*(G-T)?2δ(G)-n(G)+2-|T| if T is a vertex subset with |T|?2δ(G)-n(G)-1.     

5-Shredders in 5-connected graphs

For a graph G, a subset S of V(G) is called a shredder if G−S consists of three or more components. We show that if G is a 5-connected graph with |V(G)|≥135, then the number of shredders of cardinality 5 of G is less than or equal to (2|V(G)|−10)/3.     

On 3-connected minors of 3-connected matroids and graphs

Whittle proved, for k=1,2, that if N is a 3-connected minor of a 3-connected matroid M, satisfying r(M)−r(N)≥k, then there is a k-independent set I of M such that, for every x∈I, si(M/x) is a 3-connected matroid with an N-minor. In this paper, we establish this result for k=3. It is already known that it cannot be extended to greater values of k. But, here we also show that, in the graphic case, with the extra assumption that r(M)−r(N)≥6, we can guarantee the existence of a 4-independent set of M with such a property. Moreover, in the binary case, we show that if r(M)−r(N)≥5, then M has such a 4-independent set or M has a triangle T meeting 3 triads and such that M/T is a 3-connected matroid with an N-minor.     

Deligne's topological central extension is universal

We give a purely “local” proof of the fact that the topological central extension of G(k), G an absolutely almost simple algebraic group defined and isotropic over a nonarchimedean local field k, by the finite group μ(k) of roots of unity in k, constructed by Pierre Deligne, is a universal topological central extension of G(k).     

The 2-extendability of 5-connected graphs on surfaces with large representativity

A graph with at least 2k+2 vertices is said to be k-extendable if any independent set of k edges in it extends to a perfect matching. We shall show that every 5-connected graph G of even order embedded on a closed surface F², except the sphere, is 2-extendable if ρ(G)?7−2χ(F²), where ρ(G) stands for the representativity of G on F² and χ(F²) for the Euler characteristic of F².     

Long cycles in graphs without hamiltonian paths

For a graph G, p(G) and c(G) denote the order of a longest path and a longest cycle of G, respectively. Bondy and Locke [J.A. Bondy, S.C. Locke, Relative length of paths and cycles in 3-connected graphs, Discrete Math. 33 (1981) 111-122] consider the gap between p(G) and c(G) in 3-connected graphs G. Starting with this result, there are many results appeared in this context, see [H. Enomoto, J. van den Heuvel, A. Kaneko, A. Saito, Relative length of long paths and cycles in graphs with large degree sums, J. Graph Theory 20 (1995) 213-225; M. Lu, H. Liu, F. Tian, Relative length of longest paths and cycles in graphs, Graphs Combin. 23 (2007) 433-443; K. Ozeki, M. Tsugaki, T. Yamashita, On relative length of longest paths and cycles, preprint; I. Schiermeyer, M. Tewes, Longest paths and longest cycles in graphs with large degree sums, Graphs Combin. 18 (2002) 633-643]. In this paper, we investigate graphs G with p(G)−c(G) at most 1 or at most 2, but with no hamiltonian paths. Let G be a 2-connected graph of order n, which has no hamiltonian paths. We show two results as follows: (i) if , then p(G)−c(G)≤1, and (ii) if σ₄(G)≥n+3, then p(G)−c(G)≤2.