Structure Theorem for U5‐free Tournaments

Let U₅ be the tournament with vertices v₁, …, v₅ such that , and if , and . In this article, we describe the tournaments that do not have U₅ as a subtournament. Specifically, we show that if a tournament G is “prime”—that is, if there is no subset , , such that for all , either for all or for all —then G is U₅‐free if and only if either G is a specific tournament or can be partitioned into sets X, Y, Z such that , , and are transitive. From the prime U₅‐free tournaments we can construct all the U₅‐free tournaments. We use the theorem to show that every U₅‐free tournament with n vertices has a transitive subtournament with at least vertices, and that this bound is tight.     

Finite 2‐Geodesic Transitive Graphs of Prime Valency

We classify noncomplete prime valency graphs satisfying the property that their automorphism group is transitive on both the set of arcs and the set of 2‐geodesics. We prove that either Γ is 2‐arc transitive or the valency p satisfies , and for each such prime there is a unique graph with this property: it is a nonbipartite antipodal double cover of the complete graph with automorphism group and diameter 3.     

On the Number of 4‐Cycles in a Tournament

If T is an n‐vertex tournament with a given number of 3‐cycles, what can be said about the number of its 4‐cycles? The most interesting range of this problem is where T is assumed to have cyclic triples for some and we seek to minimize the number of 4‐cycles. We conjecture that the (asymptotic) minimizing T is a random blow‐up of a constant‐sized transitive tournament. Using the method of flag algebras, we derive a lower bound that almost matches the conjectured value. We are able to answer the easier problem of maximizing the number of 4‐cycles. These questions can be equivalently stated in terms of transitive subtournaments. Namely, given the number of transitive triples in T, how many transitive quadruples can it have? As far as we know, this is the first study of inducibility in tournaments.     

Extremal H‐Colorings of Graphs with Fixed Minimum Degree

For graphs G and H, a homomorphism from G to H, or H‐coloring of G, is a map from the vertices of G to the vertices of H that preserves adjacency. When H is composed of an edge with one looped endvertex, an H‐coloring of G corresponds to an independent set in G. Galvin showed that, for sufficiently large n, the complete bipartite graph is the n‐vertex graph with minimum degree δ that has the largest number of independent sets. In this article, we begin the project of generalizing this result to arbitrary H. Writing for the number of H‐colorings of G, we show that for fixed H and or , for any n‐vertex G with minimum degree δ (for sufficiently large n). We also provide examples of H for which the maximum is achieved by and other H for which the maximum is achieved by . For (and sufficiently large n), we provide an infinite family of H for which for any n‐vertex G with minimum degree δ. The results generalize to weighted H‐colorings.     

Clique minors in double‐critical graphs

A connected t‐chromatic graph G is double‐critical if is ‐colorable for each edge . A long‐standing conjecture of Erdős and Lovász that the complete graphs are the only double‐critical t‐chromatic graphs remains open for all . Given the difficulty in settling Erdős and Lovász's conjecture and motivated by the well‐known Hadwiger's conjecture, Kawarabayashi, Pedersen, and Toft proposed a weaker conjecture that every double‐critical t‐chromatic graph contains a minor and verified their conjecture for . Albar and Gonçalves recently proved that every double‐critical 8‐chromatic graph contains a K₈ minor, and their proof is computer assisted. In this article, we prove that every double‐critical t‐chromatic graph contains a minor for all . Our proof for is shorter and computer free.     

Unitary Graphs

Unitary graphs are arc‐transitive graphs with vertices the flags of Hermitian unitals and edges defined by certain elements of the underlying finite fields. They played a significant role in a recent classification of a class of arc‐transitive graphs that admit an automorphism group acting imprimitively on the vertices. In this article, we prove that all unitary graphs are connected of diameter two and girth three. Based on this, we obtain, for any prime power , a lower bound of order on the maximum number of vertices in an arc‐transitive graph of degree and diameter two.     

Highly Connected Infinite Digraphs Without Edge‐Disjoint Back and Forth Paths Between a Certain Vertex Pair

We construct for all a k‐edge‐connected digraph D with such that there are no edge‐disjoint and paths. We use in our construction “self‐similar” graphs which technique could be useful in other problems as well.     

On Rooted Packings,Decompositions, and Factors of Graphs

In this article, we study so‐called rooted packings of rooted graphs. This concept is a mutual generalization of the concepts of a vertex packing and an edge packing of a graph. A rooted graph is a pair , where G is a graph and . Two rooted graphs and are isomorphic if there is an isomorphism of the graphs G and H such that S is the image of T in this isomorphism. A rooted graph is a rooted subgraph of a rooted graph if H is a subgraph of G and . By a rooted ‐packing into a rooted graph we mean a collection of rooted subgraphs of isomorphic to such that the sets of edges are pairwise disjoint and the sets are pairwise disjoint. In this article, we concentrate on studying maximum ‐packings when H is a star. We give a complete classification with respect to the computational complexity status of the problems of finding a maximum ‐packing of a rooted graph when H is a star. The most interesting polynomial case is the case when H is the 2‐edge star and S contains the center of the star only. We prove a min–max theorem for ‐packings in this case.     

Some results on cyclic interval edge colorings of graphs

A proper edge coloring of a graph G with colors is called a cyclic interval t‐coloring if for each vertex v of G the edges incident to v are colored by consecutive colors, under the condition that color 1 is considered as consecutive to color t. We prove that a bipartite graph G of even maximum degree admits a cyclic interval ‐coloring if for every vertex v the degree satisfies either or . We also prove that every Eulerian bipartite graph G with maximum degree at most eight has a cyclic interval coloring. Some results are obtained for ‐biregular graphs, that is, bipartite graphs with the vertices in one part all having degree a and the vertices in the other part all having degree b; it has been conjectured that all these have cyclic interval colorings. We show that all (4, 7)‐biregular graphs as well as all ‐biregular () graphs have cyclic interval colorings. Finally, we prove that all complete multipartite graphs admit cyclic interval colorings; this proves a conjecture of Petrosyan and Mkhitaryan.     

The Degree‐Diameter Problem for Claw‐Free Graphs and Hypergraphs

We study the degree‐diameter problem for claw‐free graphs and 2‐regular hypergraphs. Let be the largest order of a claw‐free graph of maximum degree Δ and diameter D. We show that , where , for any D and any even . So for claw‐free graphs, the well‐known Moore bound can be strengthened considerably. We further show that for with (mod 4). We also give an upper bound on the order of ‐free graphs of given maximum degree and diameter for . We prove similar results for the hypergraph version of the degree‐diameter problem. The hypergraph Moore bound states that the order of a hypergraph of maximum degree Δ, rank k, and diameter D is at most . For 2‐regular hypergraph of rank and any diameter D, we improve this bound to , where . Our construction of claw‐free graphs of diameter 2 yields a similar result for hypergraphs of diameter 2, degree 2, and any even rank .     

Forbidden Pairs of Disconnected Graphs Implying Hamiltonicity

Let H be a given graph. A graph G is said to be H‐free if G contains no induced copies of H. For a class of graphs, the graph G is ‐free if G is H‐free for every . Bedrossian characterized all the pairs of connected subgraphs such that every 2‐connected ‐free graph is hamiltonian. Faudree and Gould extended Bedrossian's result by proving the necessity part of the result based on infinite families of non‐hamiltonian graphs. In this article, we characterize all pairs of (not necessarily connected) graphs such that there exists an integer n₀ such that every 2‐connected ‐free graph of order at least n₀ is hamiltonian.     

Extremal Graphs for Homomorphisms II

Extremal problems for graph homomorphisms have recently become a topic of much research. Let denote the number of homomorphisms from G to H. A natural set of problems arises when we fix an image graph H and determine which graph(s) G on n vertices and m edges maximize . We prove that if H is loop‐threshold, then, for every n and m, there is a threshold graph G with n vertices and m edges that maximizes . Similarly, we show that loop‐quasi‐threshold image graphs have quasi‐threshold extremal graphs. In the case , the path on three vertices in which every vertex in looped, the authors [5] determined a set of five graphs, one of which must be extremal for . Also in this article, using similar techniques, we determine a set of extremal graphs for “the fox,” a graph formed by deleting the loop on one of the end‐vertices of . The fox is the unique connected loop‐threshold image graph on at most three vertices for which the extremal problem was not previously solved.     

Low Polynomial Exclusion of Planar Graph Patterns

The celebrated grid exclusion theorem states that for every h‐vertex planar graph H , there is a constant such that if a graph G does not contain H as a minor then G has treewidth at most . We are looking for patterns of H where this bound can become a low degree polynomial. We provide such bounds for the following parameterized graphs: the wheel , the double wheel , any graph of pathwidth at most 2 , and the yurt graph .     

List‐Coloring the Squares of Planar Graphs without 4‐Cycles and 5‐Cycles

Let G be a planar graph without 4‐cycles and 5‐cycles and with maximum degree . We prove that . For arbitrarily large maximum degree Δ, there exist planar graphs of girth 6 with . Thus, our bound is within 1 of being optimal. Further, our bound comes from coloring greedily in a good order, so the bound immediately extends to online list‐coloring. In addition, we prove bounds for ‐labeling. Specifically, and, more generally, , for positive integers p and q with . Again, these bounds come from a greedy coloring, so they immediately extend to the list‐coloring and online list‐coloring variants of this problem.     

An Algebraic Formulation of the Graph Reconstruction Conjecture

The graph reconstruction conjecture asserts that every finite simple graph on at least three vertices can be reconstructed up to isomorphism from its deck—the collection of its vertex‐deleted subgraphs. Kocay's Lemma is an important tool in graph reconstruction. Roughly speaking, given the deck of a graph G and any finite sequence of graphs, it gives a linear constraint that every reconstruction of G must satisfy. Let be the number of distinct (mutually nonisomorphic) graphs on n vertices, and let be the number of distinct decks that can be constructed from these graphs. Then the difference measures how many graphs cannot be reconstructed from their decks. In particular, the graph reconstruction conjecture is true for n‐vertex graphs if and only if . We give a framework based on Kocay's lemma to study this discrepancy. We prove that if M is a matrix of covering numbers of graphs by sequences of graphs, then . In particular, all n‐vertex graphs are reconstructible if one such matrix has rank . To complement this result, we prove that it is possible to choose a family of sequences of graphs such that the corresponding matrix M of covering numbers satisfies .     

Hamilton Cycles,Minimum Degree,and Bipartite Holes

We present a tight extremal threshold for the existence of Hamilton cycles in graphs with large minimum degree and without a large “bipartite hole” (two disjoint sets of vertices with no edges between them). This result extends Dirac's classical theorem, and is related to a theorem of Chvátal and Erd?s. In detail, an ‐bipartite‐hole in a graph G consists of two disjoint sets of vertices S and T with and such that there are no edges between S and T ; and is the maximum integer r such that G contains an ‐bipartite‐hole for every pair of nonnegative integers s and t with . Our central theorem is that a graph G with at least three vertices is Hamiltonian if its minimum degree is at least . From the proof we obtain a polynomial time algorithm that either finds a Hamilton cycle or a large bipartite hole. The theorem also yields a condition for the existence of k edge‐disjoint Hamilton cycles. We see that for dense random graphs , the probability of failing to contain many edge‐disjoint Hamilton cycles is . Finally, we discuss the complexity of calculating and approximating .     

Two‐sided Group Digraphs and Graphs

We study a family of digraphs (directed graphs) that generalises the class of Cayley digraphs. For nonempty subsets of a group G, we define the two‐sided group digraph to have vertex set G, and an arc from x to y if and only if for some and . In common with Cayley graphs and digraphs, two‐sided group digraphs may be useful to model networks as the same routing and communication scheme can be implemented at each vertex. We determine necessary and sufficient conditions on L and R under which may be viewed as a simple graph of valency , and we call such graphs two‐sided group graphs. We also give sufficient conditions for two‐sided group digraphs to be connected, vertex‐transitive, or Cayley graphs. Several open problems are posed. Many examples are given, including one on 12 vertices with connected components of sizes 4 and 8.     

Uniquely Cycle‐Saturated Graphs

Given a graph F, a graph G is uniquely F‐saturated if F is not a subgraph of G and adding any edge of the complement to G completes exactly one copy of F. In this article, we study uniquely ‐saturated graphs. We prove the following: (1) a graph is uniquely C₅‐saturated if and only if it is a friendship graph. (2) There are no uniquely C₆‐saturated graphs or uniquely C₇‐saturated graphs. (3) For , there are only finitely many uniquely ‐saturated graphs (we conjecture that in fact there are none). Additionally, our results show that there are finitely many k‐friendship graphs (as defined by Kotzig) for .     

Equimatchable Graphs on Surfaces

A graph G is equimatchable if each matching in G is a subset of a maximum‐size matching and it is factor critical if has a perfect matching for each vertex v of G. It is known that any 2‐connected equimatchable graph is either bipartite or factor critical. We prove that for 2‐connected factor‐critical equimatchable graph G the graph is either or for some n for any vertex v of G and any minimal matching M such that is a component of . We use this result to improve the upper bounds on the maximum number of vertices of 2‐connected equimatchable factor‐critical graphs embeddable in the orientable surface of genus g to if and to if . Moreover, for any nonnegative integer g we construct a 2‐connected equimatchable factor‐critical graph with genus g and more than vertices, which establishes that the maximum size of such graphs is . Similar bounds are obtained also for nonorientable surfaces. In the bipartite case for any nonnegative integers g, h, and k we provide a construction of arbitrarily large 2‐connected equimatchable bipartite graphs with orientable genus g, respectively nonorientable genus h, and a genus embedding with face‐width k. Finally, we prove that any d‐degenerate 2‐connected equimatchable factor‐critical graph has at most vertices, where a graph is d‐degenerate if every its induced subgraph contains a vertex of degree at most d.     

Gomory‐Hu trees of infinite graphs with finite total weight

A well‐known theorem of Gomory and Hu states that if G is a finite graph with nonnegative weights on its edges, then there exists a tree T (now called a Gomory‐Hu tree) on such that for all there is an such that the two components of determine an optimal (minimal valued) cut between u an v in G. In this article, we extend their result to infinite weighted graphs with finite total weight. Furthermore, we show by an example that one cannot omit the condition of the finiteness of the total weight.