Extremal double hexagonal chains with respect to k-matchings and k-independent sets

“Double hexagonal chains” can be considered as benzenoids constructed by successive fusions of successive naphthalenes along a zig-zag sequence of triples of edges as appear on opposite sides of each naphthalene unit. In this paper, we discuss the numbers of k-matchings and k-independent sets of double hexagonal chains, as well as Hosoya indices and Merrifield-Simmons indices, and obtain some extremal results: among all the double hexagonal chains with the same number of naphthalene units, (a) the double linear hexagonal chain has minimal k-matching number and maximal k-independent set number and (b) the double zig-zag hexagonal chain has maximal k-matching number and minimal k-independent set number, which are extensions to hexagonal chains [L. Zhang and F. Zhang, Extremal hexagonal chains concerning k-matchings and k-independent sets, J. Math. Chem. 27 (2000) 319-329].     

A matching problem with side conditions

Given a graph G, a 2-matching is an assignment of nonnegative integers to the edges of G such that for each node i of G, the sum of the values on the edges incident with i is at most 2. A triangle-free 2-matching is a 2-matching such that no cycle of size 3 in G has the value 1 assigned to all of its edges. In this paper we describe explicity the convex hull of triangle-free 2-matchings by means of its extreme points and of its facets. We give a polynomially bounded algorithm which maximizes a linear function over the set of triangle-free 2-matchings. Finally we discuss some related problems.     

Critical graphs,matchings and tours or a hierarchy of relaxations for the travelling salesman problem

A(perfect) 2-matching in a graphG=(V, E) is an assignment of an integer 0, 1 or 2 to each edge of the graph in such a way that the sum over the edges incident with each node is at most (exactly) two. The incidence vector of a Hamiltonian cycle, if one exists inG, is an example of a perfect 2-matching. Fork satisfying 1≦k≦|V|, we letP _k denote the problem of finding a perfect 2-matching ofG such that any cycle in the solution contains more thank edges. We call such a matching aperfect P _k -matching. Then fork<l, the problemP _k is a relaxation ofP ₁. Moreover if |V| is odd, thenP _1V1–2 is simply the problem of determining whether or notG is Hamiltonian. A graph isP _k -critical if it has no perfectP _k -matching but whenever any node is deleted the resulting graph does have one. Ifk=|V|, then a graphG=(V, E) isP _k -critical if and only if it ishypomatchable (the graph has an odd number of nodes and whatever node is deleted the resulting graph has a perfect matching). We prove the following results:

1. If a graph isP _k -critical, then it is alsoP _l -critical for all largerl. In particular, for allk, P _k -critical graphs are hypomatchable.
2. A graphG=(V, E) has a perfectP _k -matching if and only if for anyX?V the number ofP _k -critical components inG[V - X] is not greater than |X|.
3. The problemP _k can be solved in polynomial time provided we can recognizeP _k -critical graphs in polynomial time. In addition, we describe a procedure for recognizingP _k -critical graphs which is polynomial in the size of the graph and exponential ink.

     

Perfect codes in the graphs Ok

In this paper we consider the existence of perfect codes in the infinite class of distance-transitive graphs O_k. Perfect 1-codes correspond to certain Steiner systems and necessary conditions for the existence of such a code are satisfied if k + 1 is prime. We give some nonexistence results for perfect 2-, 3-, and 4-codes and for perfect e-codes in general, including a lower bound for k in terms of e.     

Adjacent vertices on the b-matching polyhedron

Given a graph G = (V,E) and an integer vector $\text{b?}\text{N}{}^{\mathrm{v}}$, a b-matching is a set of edges F?E such that any vertex v?V is incident to at most b_v edges in F. The adjacency on the convex hull of the incidence vectors of the b-matchings is characterized by a very general adjacency criterion, the coloring criter on, which is at least sufficient for all 0–1-polyhedra and which can be checked in the b-matching case by a linear algorithm.     

A factorization theorem for a certain class of graphs

In this note we give a necessary and sufficient condition for factorization of graphs satisfying the “odd cycle property”. We show that a graph G with the odd cycle property contains a [k_i] factor if and only if the sequence [H]+[k_i] is graphical for all subgraphs H of the complement of G.A similar theorem is shown to be true for all digraphs.     

Exponentially Many Monochromatic <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-Matchings in <Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis><Subscript>3<Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-1</Subscript>

Erdös et al and Gerencsér et al had shown that in any 2-edge-coloring of K _3n-1, there is a n-matching containing edges with the same color(we call such matching monochromatic matching). In this paper we show that for any 2-edge-coloring of K _3n-1 there exists a monochromatic subgraph H of K _3n-1 which contains exponentially many monochromatic n-matchings.     

Partition of a unity on infinite-dimensional manifold of the Lipschiz class Lip<Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis></Superscript>

In the present paper we prove a criterion of Lip ^k -paracompactness for infinitedimensional manifold M modeled in nonnormable topological vector Fréchet space F. We establish that a manifold is Lip ^k -paracompact if and only if the model space F is paracompact and Lip ^k -normal. We prove a sufficient condition for existence of Lip ^k -partition of a unity on a manifold of class Lip ^k .     

The 3-choosability of plane graphs of girth 4

A set S of vertices of the graph G is called k-reducible if the following is true: G is k-choosable if and only if G-S is k-choosable. A k-reduced subgraphH of G is a subgraph of G such that H contains no k-reducible set of some specific forms. In this paper, we show that a 3-reduced subgraph of a non-3-choosable plane graph G contains either adjacent 5-faces, or an adjacent 4-face and k-face, where k?6. Using this result, we obtain some sufficient conditions for a plane graph to be 3-choosable. In particular, if G is of girth 4 and contains no 5- and 6-cycles, then G is 3-choosable.     

Generalization of matching extensions in graphs (III)

Proposing them as a general framework, Liu and Yu (2001) [6] introduced (n,k,d)-graphs to unify the concepts of deficiency of matchings, n-factor-criticality and k-extendability. Let G be a graph and let n,k and d be non-negative integers such that n+2k+d+2?|V(G)| and |V(G)|−n−d is even. If on deleting any n vertices from G the remaining subgraph H of G contains a k-matching and each k-matching can be extended to a defect-d matching in H, then G is called an (n,k,d)-graph. In this paper, we obtain more properties of (n,k,d)-graphs, in particular the recursive relations of (n,k,d)-graphs for distinct parameters n,k and d. Moreover, we provide a characterization for maximal non-(n,k,d)-graphs.     

Group Weighted Matchings in Bipartite Graphs

Let G be a bipartite graph with bicoloration {A, B}, |A| = |B|, and let w : E(G) K where K is a finite abelian group with k elements. For a subset S E(G) let . A Perfect matching M E(G) is a w-matching if w(M) = 1.A characterization is given for all w's for which every perfect matching is a w-matching.It is shown that if G = K _k+1,k+1 then either G has no w-matchings or it has at least 2 w-matchings.If K is the group of order 2 and deg(a) d for all a A, then either G has no w-matchings, or G has at least (d – 1)! w-matchings.R. Meshulam: Research supported by a Technion V.P.R. Grant No. 100-854.     

Fractional perfect b-matching polytopes I: General theory

The fractional perfect b-matching polytope of an undirected graph G is the polytope of all assignments of nonnegative real numbers to the edges of G such that the sum of the numbers over all edges incident to any vertex v   is a prescribed nonnegative number _bv$b_v$. General theorems which provide conditions for nonemptiness, give a formula for the dimension, and characterize the vertices, edges and face lattices of such polytopes are obtained. Many of these results are expressed in terms of certain spanning subgraphs of G which are associated with subsets or elements of the polytope. For example, it is shown that an element u of the fractional perfect b-matching polytope of G is a vertex of the polytope if and only if each component of the graph of u either is acyclic or else contains exactly one cycle with that cycle having odd length, where the graph of u is defined to be the spanning subgraph of G whose edges are those at which u is positive.     

Toward optimal gossiping schemes with conference calls

n people have distinct bits of information which they can communicate by k-person conference calls. The object of gossip is to inform everyone of everyone else's information. Which networks admit a minimum call gossip scheme? For k = 2 a necessary and sufficient condition for such a network is that it is connected and contains a cycle of length 4. We address the same question for k>2. The values of n are partitioned into 2 classes: trivial and nontrivial. A necessary and sufficient condition is given for networks of size n for trivial n. For nontrivial n a sufficient condition is given and its necessity is conjectured.     

The Fifth and Sixth Coefficients of the Characteristic Polynomial of a Graph

It is well known that the coefficients of the characteristic polynomial of a graph G are determined by the elementary subgraphs of G; in particular there are simple expressions for the four higest coefficients. Here we use an enumeration of elementary subgraphs called k-matchings to obtain expressions for the next two coefficients.     

On chains and Sperner k-families in ranked posets,II

A ranked poset P satisfies condition S if for all k the set of elements of the k largest ranks in P is a Sperner k-family. It satisfies condition T if for all k there exist disjoint chains in P which each meet the k largest ranks and which cover the kth largest rank. Griggs employed the theory of saturated partitions to prove that if P satisfies S it also satisfies T, and that the converse is true for posets with unimodal Whitney numbers. Here we present new proofs of these facts which do not require the existence of saturated partitions. The first result is proven with a simple network flow argument and the second is proven directly.     

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.     

Perfect matchings in uniform hypergraphs with large minimum degree

A perfect matching in a k-uniform hypergraph on n vertices, n divisible by k, is a set of n/k disjoint edges. In this paper we give a sufficient condition for the existence of a perfect matching in terms of a variant of the minimum degree. We prove that for every k≥3 and sufficiently large n, a perfect matching exists in every n-vertex k-uniform hypergraph in which each set of k−1 vertices is contained in n/2+Ω(logn) edges. Owing to a construction in [D. Kühn, D. Osthus, Matchings in hypergraphs of large minimum degree, J. Graph Theory 51 (1) (2006) 269–280], this is nearly optimal. For almost perfect and fractional perfect matchings we show that analogous thresholds are close to n/k rather than n/2.     

Generalization of matching extensions in graphs (II)

Proposed as a general framework, Liu and Yu [Generalization of matching extensions in graphs, Discrete Math. 231 (2001) 311-320.] introduced (n,k,d)-graphs to unify the concepts of deficiency of matchings, n-factor-criticality and k-extendability. Let G be a graph and let n,k and d be non-negative integers such that n+2k+d?|V(G)|-2 and |V(G)|-n-d is even. If when deleting any n vertices from G, the remaining subgraph H of G contains a k-matching and each such k-matching can be extended to a defect-d matching in H, then G is called an (n,k,d)-graph. Liu and Yu's Papee's paper, the recursive relations for distinct parameters n,k and d were presented and the impact of adding or deleting an edge also was discussed for the case d=0. In this paper, we continue the study begun by Liu and Yu and obtain new recursive results for (n,k,d)-graphs in the general case d?0.