A 2-factor with Short Cycles Passing Through Specified Independent Vertices in Graph

For a graph G, we define σ₂(G) := min{d(u) + d(v)|u, v ≠ ∈ E(G), u ≠ v}. Let k ≥ 1 be an integer and G be a graph of order n ≥ 3k. We prove if σ₂(G) ≥ n + k − 1, then for any set of k independent vertices v ₁,...,v _k , G has k vertex-disjoint cycles C ₁,..., C _k of length at most four such that v _i ∈ V(C _i ) for all 1 ≤ i ≤ k. And show if σ₂(G) ≥ n + k − 1, then for any set of k independent vertices v ₁,...,v _k , G has k vertex-disjoint cycles C ₁,..., C _k such that v _i ∈ V(C _i ) for all 1 ≤ i ≤ k, V(C ₁) ∪...∪ V(C _k ) = V(G), and |C _i | ≤ 4 for all 1 ≤ i ≤ k − 1. The condition of degree sum σ₂(G) ≥ n + k − 1 is sharp. Received: December 20, 2006. Final version received: December 12, 2007.     

Bounds on the Distance Two-Domination Number of a Graph

 For a graph G = (V, E), a subset D⊆V(G) is said to be distance two-dominating set in G if for each vertex u∈V−D, there exists a vertex v∈D such that d(u,v)≤2. The minimum cardinality of a distance two-dominating set in G is called a distance two-domination number and is denoted by γ₂(G). In this note we obtain various upper bounds for γ₂(G) and characterize the classes of graphs attaining these bounds. Received: May 31, 1999 Final version received: July 13, 2000     

A Generalization of Orthogonal Factorizations in Graphs

Let G be a graph with vertex set V(G) and edge set E(G) and let g and f be two integer-valuated functions defined on V(G) such that g(x) ≤f(x) for all x∈V(G). Then a (g, f)-factor of G is a spanning subgraph H of G such that g(x) ≤d _H (x) ≤f(x) for all x∈V(G). A (g, f)-factorization of G is a partition of E(G) into edge-disjoint (g, f)-factors. Let = {F ₁, F ₂, ..., F _m } be a factorization of G and H be a subgraph of G with mr edges. If F _i , 1 ≤i≤m, has exactly r edges in common with H, then is said to be r-orthogonal to H. In this paper it is proved that every (mg + kr, mf−kr)-graph, where m, k and r are positive integers with k < m and g≥r, contains a subgraph R such that R has a (g, f)-factorization which is r-orthogonal to a given subgraph H with kr edges. This research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (19831080) and RSDP of China     

Hamiltonian Cycles in Almost Claw-Free Graphs

 Some known results on claw-free graphs are generalized to the larger class of almost claw-free graphs. In this paper, we prove the following two results and conjecture that every 5-connected almost claw-free graph is hamiltonian. (1). Every 2-connected almost claw-free graph G∉J on n≤ 4 δ vertices is hamiltonian, where J is the set of all graphs defined as follows: any graph G in J can be decomposed into three disjoint connected subgraphs G ₁, G ₂ and G ₃ such that E _G (G _i , G _j ) = {u _i , u _j , v _i v _j } for i≠j and i,j = 1, 2, 3 (where u _i ≠v _i ∈V(G _i ) for i = 1, 2, 3). Moreover the bound 4δ is best possible, thereby fully generalizing several previous results. (2). Every 3-connected almost claw-free graph on at most 5δ−5 vertices is hamiltonian, hereby fully generalizing the corresponding result on claw-free graphs. Received: September 21, 1998 Final version received: August 18, 1999     

On Group Chromatic Number of Graphs

Let G be a graph and A an Abelian group. Denote by F(G, A) the set of all functions from E(G) to A. Denote by D an orientation of E(G). For f ∈ F(G,A), an (A,f)-coloring of G under the orientation D is a function c : V(G)↦A such that for every directed edge uv from u to v, c(u)−c(v) ≠ f(uv). G is A-colorable under the orientation D if for any function f ∈ F(G, A), G has an (A, f)-coloring. It is known that A-colorability is independent of the choice of the orientation. The group chromatic number of a graph G is defined to be the least positive integer m for which G is A-colorable for any Abelian group A of order ≥m, and is denoted by χ_g(G). In this note we will prove the following results. (1) Let H₁ and H₂ be two subgraphs of G such that V(H₁)∩V(H₂)=∅ and V(H₁)∪V(H₂)=V(G). Then χ_g(G)≤min{max{χ_g(H₁), max_v∈V(H2)deg(v,G)+1},max{χ_g(H₂), max_u∈V(H1) deg (u, G) + 1}}. We also show that this bound is best possible. (2) If G is a simple graph without a K_3,3-minor, then χ_g(G)≤5.     

On Connected [g,f +1]-Factors in Graphs

Let G = (V (G),E(G)) be a graph with vertex set V (G) and edge set E(G), and g and f two positive integral functions from V (G) to Z⁺-{1} such that g(v) ≤ f(v) ≤ d_G(v) for all v ∈V (G), where d_G(v) is the degree of the vertex v. It is shown that every graph G, including both a [g,f]-factor and a hamiltonian path, contains a connected [g,f +1]-factor. This result also extends Kano’s conjecture concerning the existence of connected [k,k+1]-factors in graphs. * The work of this author was supported by NSFC of China under Grant No. 10271065, No. 60373025. † The work of these authors was also supported in part by the US Department of Energy’s Genomes to Life program (http://doegenomestolife.org/) under project, “Carbon Sequestration in Synechococcus sp.: From Molecular Machines to Hierarchical Modeling” (www.genomes2life.org) and by National Science Foundation (NSF/DBI-0354771,NSF/ITR-IIS-0407204).     

On periodic solvable groups having automorphisms with nilpotent fixed point groups

Letp be a prime,G a periodic solvablep′-group acted on by an elementary groupV of orderp ². We show that ifC _G(v) is abelian for eachv ∈V ^# thenG has nilpotent derived group, and ifp=2 andC _G(v) is nilpotent for eachv ∈V ^# thenG is metanilpotent. Earlier results of this kind were known only for finite groups.     

Computation of Legendre functions

The computation of the Legendre functions P_v(x) for −1 < x ≤ 1, v ∈ ℂ and of the adjoint Legendre functions P _v ^−m (x) for −1 < x ≤ 1, v ∈ ℂ, and m ∈ ℤ₊ is the subject of the paper. Bibliography: 5 titles. __________ Translated from Zapiski Nauchnykh Seminarov POMI, Vol. 342, 2007, pp. 14–30.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">f</Emphasis>-Colorings of some graphs of <Emphasis Type="Italic">f</Emphasis>-class 1

An f-coloring of a graph G is an edge-coloring of G such that each color appears at each vertex v V（G） at most f（v） times. The minimum number of colors needed to f-color G is called the f-chromatic index of G and is denoted by X′f（G）. Any simple graph G has the f-chromatic index equal to △f（G） or △f（G） ＋ 1, where △f（G） =max v V（G）{[d（v）/f（v）]}. If X′f（G） = △f（G）, then G is of f-class 1; otherwise G is of f-class 2. In this paper, a class of graphs of f-class 1 are obtained by a constructive proof. As a result, f-colorings of these graphs with △f（G） colors are given.     

Degree series of the 3-harmonic graphs

A λ harmonic graph G, a λ-Hgraph G for short, means that there exists a constant λ such that the equality λd（vi） = Σ（vi,vj）∈E（G） d（vj） holds for all i = 1, 2,..., ｜V（G）｜, where d（vi） denotes the degree of vertex vi. Let ni denote the number of vertices with degree i. This paper deals with the 3-Hgraphs and determines their degree series. Moreover, the 3-Hgraphs with bounded ni （1 ≤ i ≤ 7） are studied and some interesting results are obtained.     

Pan-connectedness of graphs with large neighborhood unions

Let G be a simple graph with n vertices. For any v ? V(G){v \in V(G)} , let N(v)={u ? V(G): uv ? E(G)}{N(v)=\{u \in V(G): uv \in E(G)\}} , NC(G) = min{|N(u) èN(v)|: u, v ? V(G){NC(G)= \min \{|N(u) \cup N(v)|: u, v \in V(G)} and uv \not ? E(G)}{uv \not \in E(G)\}} , and NC₂(G) = min{|N(u) èN(v)|: u, v ? V(G){NC_2(G)= \min\{|N(u) \cup N(v)|: u, v \in V(G)} and u and v has distance 2 in E(G)}. Let l ≥ 1 be an integer. A graph G on n ≥ l vertices is [l, n]-pan-connected if for any u, v ? V(G){u, v \in V(G)} , and any integer m with l ≤ m ≤ n, G has a (u, v)-path of length m. In 1998, Wei and Zhu (Graphs Combinatorics 14:263–274, 1998) proved that for a three-connected graph on n ≥ 7 vertices, if NC(G) ≥ n − δ(G) + 1, then G is [6, n]-pan-connected. They conjectured that such graphs should be [5, n]-pan-connected. In this paper, we prove that for a three-connected graph on n ≥ 7 vertices, if NC ₂(G) ≥ n − δ(G) + 1, then G is [5, n]-pan-connected. Consequently, the conjecture of Wei and Zhu is proved as NC ₂(G) ≥ NC(G). Furthermore, we show that the lower bound is best possible and characterize all 2-connected graphs with NC ₂(G) ≥ n − δ(G) + 1 which are not [4, n]-pan-connected.     

The Roman <Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis>-domatic number of a graph

Let k be a positive integer. A Roman k-dominating function on a graph G is a labeling f: V (G) → {0, 1, 2} such that every vertex with label 0 has at least k neighbors with label 2. A set {f ₁, f ₂, …, f _d } of distinct Roman k-dominating functions on G with the property that Σ _i=1 ^d f _i (v) ≤ 2 for each v ∈ V (G), is called a Roman k-dominating family (of functions) on G. The maximum number of functions in a Roman k-dominating family on G is the Roman k-domatic number of G, denoted by d _kR (G). Note that the Roman 1-domatic number d _1R (G) is the usual Roman domatic number d _R (G). In this paper we initiate the study of the Roman k-domatic number in graphs and we present sharp bounds for d _kR (G). In addition, we determine the Roman k-domatic number of some graphs. Some of our results extend those given by Sheikholeslami and Volkmann in 2010 for the Roman domatic number.     

Factors and Connected Induced Subgraphs

 Let G be a connected graph without loops and without multiple edges, and let p be an integer such that 0 < p<|V(G)|. Let f be an integer-valued function on V(G) such that 2≤f(x)≤ deg _G (x) for all x∈V(G). We show that if every connected induced subgraph of order p of G has an f-factor, then G has an f-factor, unless ∑ _{x ∈ V ( G )} f(x) is odd. Received: June 29, 1998?Final version received: July 30, 1999     

Bounds on the Total Restrained Domination Number of a Graph

Let G = (V, E) be a graph. A set S í V{S \subseteq V} is a total restrained dominating set if every vertex is adjacent to a vertex in S and every vertex of V − S is adjacent to a vertex in V − S. The total restrained domination number of G, denoted by γ _tr (G), is the smallest cardinality of a total restrained dominating set of G. We show that if δ ≥ 3, then γ _tr (G) ≤ n − δ − 2 provided G is not one of several forbidden graphs. Furthermore, we show that if G is r − regular, where 4 ≤ r ≤ n − 3, then γ _tr (G) ≤ n − diam(G) − r + 1.     

Full friendly index sets of Cartesian products of two cycles

Let G =（V, E） be a connected simple graph. A labeling f ： V → Z2 induces an edge labeling f＊ ： E → Z2 defined by f＊（xy） = f（x） ＋f（y） for each xy ∈ E. For i ∈ Z2, let vf（i） = ｜f^-1（i）｜ and ef（i） = ｜f＊^-1（i）｜. A labeling f is called friendly if ｜vf（1） - vf（0）｜ ≤ 1. For a friendly labeling f of a graph G, we define the friendly index of G under f by if（G） = e（1） - el（0）. The set [if（G） ｜ f is a friendly labeling of G} is called the full friendly index set of G, denoted by FFI（G）. In this paper, we will determine the full friendly index set of every Cartesian product of two cycles.     

On Cycle Sequences

. For each vertex v in a graph G, the maximum length of a cycle which passes through v is called the cycle number of v, denoted by c(v). A sequence a ₁,a ₂,…,a _n of nonnegative integers is called a cycle sequence of a graph G if the vertices of G can be labeled as v ₁,v ₂,…,v _n such that a _i =c(v _i ) for 1≤i≤n. We give some sufficient and necessary conditions for a sequence to be a cycle sequence. We can thereby derive a polynomial time procedure for recognizing cycle sequences. Received: July 14, 1997 Final version received: June 15, 1998     

On recognizability of some finite simple orthogonal groups by spectrum

It is proved that, if G is a finite group that has the same set of element orders as the simple group D _p (q), where p is prime, p ≥ 5 and q ∈ {2, 3, 5}, then the commutator group of G/F(G) is isomorphic to D _p (q), the subgroup F(G) is equal to 1 for q = 5 and to O _q (G) for q ∈ {2, 3}, F(G) ≤ G′, and |G/G′| ≤ 2.     

Sphere and Dot Product Representations of Graphs

A graph G is a k-sphere graph if there are k-dimensional real vectors v ₁,…,v _n such that ij∈E(G) if and only if the distance between v _i and v _j is at most 1. A graph G is a k-dot product graph if there are k-dimensional real vectors v ₁,…,v _n such that ij∈E(G) if and only if the dot product of v _i and v _j is at least 1.     

Nonexistence of sparse triple systems over abelian groups and involutions

In 1973 Paul Erdős conjectured that there is an integer v ₀(r) such that, for every v>v ₀(r) and v≡1,3 (mod 6), there exists a Steiner triple system of order v, containing no i blocks on i+2 points for every 1<i≤r. Such an STS is said to be r-sparse. In this paper we consider relations of automorphisms of an STS to its sparseness. We show that for every r≥13 there exists no point-transitive r-sparse STS over an abelian group. This bound and the classification of transitive groups give further nonexistence results on block-transitive, flag-transitive, 2-transitive, and 2-homogeneous STSs with high sparseness. We also give stronger bounds on the sparseness of STSs having some particular automorphisms with small groups. As a corollary of these results, it is shown that various well-known automorphisms, such as cyclic, 1-rotational over arbitrary groups, and involutions, prevent an STS from being high-sparse.