The rank and size of graphs

We show that the number of points with pairwise different sets of neighbors in a graph is O(2^r/2), where r is the rank of the adjacency matrix. We also give an example that achieves this bound. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The size of graphs without nowhere-zero 4-flows

Let G be a 2-edge-connected simple graph with order n. We show that if | V(G)| ≤ 17, then either G has a nowhere-zero 4-flow, or G is contractible to the Petersen graph. We also show that for n large, if | V(G)| n ? 17/2 + 34, then either G has a nonwhere-zero 4-flow, or G can be contracted to the Petersen graph. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Cycle-saturated graphs of minimum size

A graph G is called C_k-saturated if G contains no cycles of length k but does contain such a cycle after the addition of any new edge. Bounds are obtained for the minimum number of edges in C_k-saturated graphs for all k ≠ 8 or 10 and n sufficiently large. In general, it is shown that the minimum is between n + c₁n/k and n + c₂n/k for some positive constants c₁ and C₂. Our results provide an asymptotic solution to a 15-year-old problem of Bollobás.     

Proper connection and size of graphs

An edge-coloured graph $G$ is called properly connected if any two vertices are connected by a path whose edges are properly coloured. The proper connection number of a connected graph $G,$ denoted by $\mathrm{pc}\left(G\right)$, is the smallest number of colours that are needed in order to make $G$ properly connected. Our main result is the following: Let $G$ be a connected graph of order $n$ and $k\ge 2$. If $\left|E\left(G\right)\right|\ge \left(\genfrac{}{}{0ex}{}{n?k?1}{2}\right)+k+2$, then $\mathrm{pc}\left(G\right)\le k$ except when $k=2$ and $G\in \{G_1,G_2\},$ where $G_1=K_1\vee (2K_1+K_2)$ and $G_2=K_1\vee (K_1+2K_2).$     

Strong edge-magic graphs of maximum size

An edge-magic total labeling on G is a one-to-one map λ from V(G)∪E(G) onto the integers 1,2,…,|V(G)∪E(G)| with the property that, given any edge (x,y), λ(x)+λ(x,y)+λ(y)=k for some constant k. The labeling is strong if all the smallest labels are assigned to the vertices. Enomoto et al. proved that a graph admitting a strong labeling can have at most 2|V(G)|-3 edges. In this paper we study graphs of this maximum size.     

The minimum degree distance of graphs of given order and size

In this note, we study the degree distance of a graph which is a degree analogue of the Wiener index. Given n and e, we determine the minimum degree distance of a connected graph of order n and size e.     

Covering graphs with matchings of fixed size

Let m be a positive integer and let G be a graph. We consider the question: can the edge set E(G) of G be expressed as the union of a set M of matchings of G each of which has size exactly m? If this happens, we say that G is [m]-coverable and we call M an [m]-covering of G. It is interesting to consider minimum[m]-coverings, i.e. [m]-coverings containing as few matchings as possible. Such [m]-coverings will be called excessive[m]-factorizations. The number of matchings in an excessive [m]-factorization is a graph parameter which will be called the excessive[m]-index and denoted by . In this paper we begin the study of this new parameter as well as of a number of other related graph parameters.     

Matchings in graphs of size ℵ1

A criterion is proved for a graph of size ?₁ or less to possess a perfect matching.     

On the size of Edge-Chromatic critical graphs

A conjecture of V.G. Vizing states that if G is a Δ-critical graph of order ? and size m, thenm ≥ 1/2(n(Δ - 1) + 3). This conjecture has been verified for Δ ≤ 4 by I.T. Jakobsen, L.W. Beineke, S. Fiorini and H.P. Yap. In this paper, we prove the conjecture for Δ = 5.     

Clique-critical graphs: Maximum size and recognition

The clique graph of G, K(G), is the intersection graph of the family of cliques (maximal complete sets) of G. Clique-critical graphs were defined as those whose clique graph changes whenever a vertex is removed. We prove that if G has m edges then any clique-critical graph in K^-1(G) has at most 2m vertices, which solves a question posed by Escalante and Toft [On clique-critical graphs, J. Combin. Theory B 17 (1974) 170-182]. The proof is based on a restatement of their characterization of clique-critical graphs. Moreover, the bound is sharp. We also show that the problem of recognizing clique-critical graphs is NP-complete.     

The maximum spectral radius of -free graphs of given order and size

Suppose that G is a graph with n vertices and m edges, and let μ be the spectral radius of its adjacency matrix.Recently we showed that if G has no 4-cycle, then μ²-μn-1, with equality if and only if G is the friendship graph.Here we prove that if m9 and G has no 4-cycle, then μ²m, with equality if G is a star. For 4m8 this assertion fails.     

Hamiltonian path saturated graphs with small size

A graph G is said to be hamiltonian path saturated (HPS for short), if G has no hamiltonian path but any addition of a new edge in G creates a hamiltonian path in G. It is known that an HPS graph of order n has size at most and, for n?6, the only HPS graph of order n and size is K_n-1∪K₁. Denote by sat(n,HP) the minimum size of an HPS graph of order n. We prove that sat(n,HP)?⌊(3n-1)/2⌋-2. Using some properties of Isaacs’ snarks we give, for every n?54, an HPS graph G_n of order n and size ⌊(3n-1)/2⌋. This proves sat(n,HP)?⌊(3n-1)/2⌋ for n?54. We also consider m-path cover saturated graphs and P_m-saturated graphs with small size.     

Coloring graphs from random lists of fixed size

Let G = G(n) be a graph on n vertices with maximum degree bounded by some absolute constant Δ. Assign to each vertex v of G a list L(v) of colors by choosing each list uniformly at random from all k‐subsets of a color set of size . Such a list assignment is called a random ‐list assignment. In this paper, we are interested in determining the asymptotic probability (as ) of the existence of a proper coloring ? of G, such that for every vertex v of G. We show, for all fixed k and growing n, that if , then the probability that G has such a proper coloring tends to 1 as . A similar result for complete graphs is also obtained: if and L is a random ‐list assignment for the complete graph K_n on n vertices, then the probability that K_n has a proper coloring with colors from the random lists tends to 1 as .Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 44, 317‐327, 2014     

Remarks on the size Ramsey number of graphs

In this paper we prove that the cyclomatic number of a graph whose every 2-edgecolouring contains a monochromatic path witht edges is not less than 3t/4 ? 2. This fact leads to a simple non-probabilistic proof of the following theorem of Beck: $$\begin{array}{*{20}c} {lim inf{{\hat r\left( {P_t } \right)} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{\hat r\left( {P_t } \right)} t}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} t} \geqslant {9 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {9 4}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} 4},} & {t \to \infty ,} \\ \end{array}$$ where \(\hat r(P_t )\) is the size Ramsey number of a pathP _t ont edges. We also show that the size Ramsey number of a (q + 1)-edge star with a tail of length one equals 4q ? 2, i.e., it is linear on the number of edges of the graph. Finally, we calculate that the upper bound for the size Ramsey number of a (q + 2)-edge star with a tail of length two is not greater than 5q + 3.     

Coloring graphs from random lists of size 2

Let G=G(n) be a graph on n vertices with girth at least g and maximum degree bounded by some absolute constant Δ. Assign to each vertex v of G a list L(v) of colors by choosing each list independently and uniformly at random from all 2-subsets of a color set C of size σ(n). In this paper we determine, for each fixed g and growing n, the asymptotic probability of the existence of a proper coloring φ such that φ(v)∈L(v) for all v∈V(G). In particular, we show that if g is odd and σ(n)=ω(n^1/(2g−2)), then the probability that G has a proper coloring from such a random list assignment tends to 1 as n→∞. Furthermore, we show that this is best possible in the sense that for each fixed odd g and each n≥g, there is a graph H=H(n,g) with bounded maximum degree and girth g, such that if σ(n)=o(n^1/(2g−2)), then the probability that H has a proper coloring from such a random list assignment tends to 0 as n→∞. A corresponding result for graphs with bounded maximum degree and even girth is also given. Finally, by contrast, we show that for a complete graph on n vertices, the property of being colorable from random lists of size 2, where the lists are chosen uniformly at random from a color set of size σ(n), exhibits a sharp threshold at σ(n)=2n.     

Adjacency matrices of polarity graphs and of other C 4-free graphs of large size

In this paper we give a method for obtaining the adjacency matrix of a simple polarity graph G _q from a projective plane PG(2, q), where q is a prime power. Denote by ex(n; C ₄) the maximum number of edges of a graph on n vertices and free of squares C ₄. We use the constructed graphs G _q to obtain lower bounds on the extremal function ex(n; C ₄), for some n < q ² + q + 1. In particular, we construct a C ₄-free graph on ${n=q^2 -\sqrt{q}}$ vertices and ${\frac{1}{2} q(q^2-1)-\frac{1}{2}\sqrt{q} (q-1) }$ edges, for a square prime power q.