On non-normal arc-transitive 4-valent dihedrants

Let X be a connected non-normal 4-valent arc-transitive Cayley graph on a dihedral group Dn such that X is bipartite, with the two bipartition sets being the two orbits of the cyclic subgroup within Dn. It is shown that X is isomorphic either to the lexicographic product Cn[2K1] with n 〉 4 even, or to one of the five sporadic graphs on 10, 14, 26, 28 and 30 vertices, respectively.     

Cubic one-regular graphs of order twice a square-free integer

A graph is one-regular if its automorphism group acts regularly on the set of its arcs.Let n be a square-free integer.In this paper,we show that a cubic one-regular graph of order 2n exists if and only if n=3~tp1p2…p_s≥13,where t≤1,s≥1 and p_i's are distinct primes such that 3|(P_i—1). For such an integer n,there are 2~(s-1) non-isomorphic cubic one-regular graphs of order 2n,which are all Cayley graphs on the dihedral group of order 2n.As a result,no cubic one-regular graphs of order 4 times an odd square-free integer exist.     

Topological minors in bipartite graphs

For a bipartite graph G on m and n vertices, respectively, in its vertices classes, and for integers s and t such that 2 ≤ s ≤ t, 0 ≤ m − s ≤ n − t, and m + n ≤ 2s + t − 1, we prove that if G has at least mn − (2(m − s) + n − t) edges then it contains a subdivision of the complete bipartite K _(s,t) with s vertices in the m-class and t vertices in the n-class. Furthermore, we characterize the corresponding extremal bipartite graphs with mn − (2(m − s) + n − t + 1) edges for this topological Turan type problem.     

Almost regular edge colorings and regular decompositions of complete graphs

For k = 1 and k = 2, we prove that the obvious necessary numerical conditions for packing t pairwise edge‐disjoint k‐regular subgraphs of specified orders m₁,m₂,… ,m_t in the complete graph of order n are also sufficient. To do so, we present an edge‐coloring technique which also yields new proofs of various known results on graph factorizations. For example, a new construction for Hamilton cycle decompositions of complete graphs is given. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 16: 499–506, 2008     

On the Maximum Number of Cliques in a Graph

A clique is a set of pairwise adjacent vertices in a graph. We determine the maximum number of cliques in a graph for the following graph classes: (1) graphs with n vertices and m edges; (2) graphs with n vertices, m edges, and maximum degree Δ; (3) d-degenerate graphs with n vertices and m edges; (4) planar graphs with n vertices and m edges; and (5) graphs with n vertices and no K₅-minor or no K_3,3-minor. For example, the maximum number of cliques in a planar graph with n vertices is 8(n − 2). Research supported by a Marie Curie Fellowship of the European Community under contract 023865, and by the projects MCYT-FEDER BFM2003-00368 and Gen. Cat 2001SGR00224.     

On cubic non‐Cayley vertex‐transitive graphs

In 1983, the second author [D. Maru?i?, Ars Combinatoria 16B (1983), 297–302] asked for which positive integers n there exists a non‐Cayley vertex‐transitive graph on n vertices. (The term non‐Cayley numbers has later been given to such integers.) Motivated by this problem, Feng [Discrete Math 248 (2002), 265–269] asked to determine the smallest valency ?(n) among valencies of non‐Cayley vertex‐transitive graphs of order n. As cycles are clearly Cayley graphs, ?(n)?3 for any non‐Cayley number n. In this paper a goal is set to determine those non‐Cayley numbers n for which ?(n) = 3, and among the latter to determine those for which the generalized Petersen graphs are the only non‐Cayley vertex‐transitive graphs of order n. It is known that for a prime p every vertex‐transitive graph of order p, p² or p³ is a Cayley graph, and that, with the exception of the Coxeter graph, every cubic non‐Cayley vertex‐transitive graph of order 2p, 4p or 2p² is a generalized Petersen graph. In this paper the next natural step is taken by proving that every cubic non‐Cayley vertex‐transitive graph of order 4p², p>7 a prime, is a generalized Petersen graph. In addition, cubic non‐Cayley vertex‐transitive graphs of order 2p^k, where p>7 is a prime and k?p, are characterized. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 69: 77–95, 2012     

One-regular Normal Cayley Graphs on Dihedral Groups of Valency 4 or 6 with Cyclic Vertex Stabilizer

A graph G is one-regular if its automorphism group Aut（G） acts transitively and semiregularly on the arc set. A Cayley graph Cay（Г, S） is normal if Г is a normal subgroup of the full automorphism group of Cay（Г, S）. Xu, M. Y., Xu, J. （Southeast Asian Bulletin of Math., 25, 355-363 （2001）） classified one-regular Cayley graphs of valency at most 4 on finite abelian groups. Marusic, D., Pisanski, T. （Croat. Chemica Acta, 73, 969-981 （2000）） classified cubic one-regular Cayley graphs on a dihedral group, and all of such graphs turn out to be normal. In this paper, we classify the 4-valent one-regular normal Cayley graphs G on a dihedral group whose vertex stabilizers in Aut（G） are cyclic. A classification of the same kind of graphs of valency 6 is also discussed.     

On the Ramsey number of trees versus graphs with large clique number

Chvátal established that r(T_m, K_n) = (m – 1)(n – 1) + 1, where T_m is an arbitrary tree of order m and K_n is the complete graph of order n. This result was extended by Chartrand, Gould, and Polimeni who showed K_n could be replaced by a graph with clique number n and order n + 1 provided n ≧ 3 and m ≧ 3. We further extend these results to show that K_n can be replaced by any graph on n + 2 vertices with clique number n, provided n ≧ 5 and m ≧ 4. We then show that further extensions, in particular to graphs on n + 3 vertices with clique number n are impossible. We also investigate the Ramsey number of trees versus complete graphs minus sets of independent edges. We show that r(T_m, K_n –tK₂) = (m – 1)(n – t – 1) + 1 for m ≧ 3, n ≧ 6, where T_m is any tree of order m except the star, and for each t, O ≦ t ≦ [(n – 2)/2].     

Hamilton cycle rich two‐factorizations of complete graphs

For all integers n ≥ 5, it is shown that the graph obtained from the n‐cycle by joining vertices at distance 2 has a 2‐factorization is which one 2‐factor is a Hamilton cycle, and the other is isomorphic to any given 2‐regular graph of order n. This result is used to prove several results on 2‐factorizations of the complete graph K_n of order n. For example, it is shown that for all odd n ≥ 11, K_n has a 2‐factorization in which three of the 2‐factors are isomorphic to any three given 2‐regular graphs of order n, and the remaining 2‐factors are Hamilton cycles. For any two given 2‐regular graphs of even order n, the corresponding result is proved for the graph K_n ‐ I obtained from the complete graph by removing the edges of a 1‐factor. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Partitioning complete multipartite graphs by monochromatic trees

The tree partition number of an r‐edge‐colored graph G, denoted by t_r(G), is the minimum number k such that whenever the edges of G are colored with r colors, the vertices of G can be covered by at most k vertex‐disjoint monochromatic trees. We determine t₂(K(n₁, n₂,…, n_k)) of the complete k‐partite graph K(n₁, n₂,…, n_k). In particular, we prove that t₂(K(n, m)) = ? (m‐2)/2ⁿ? + 2, where 1 ≤ n ≤ m. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 48: 133–141, 2005     

The energy of unitary cayley graphs

A graph G of order n is called hyperenergetic if E(G)>2n-2, where E(G) denotes the energy of G. The unitary Cayley graph X_n has vertex set Z_n={0,1,2,…,n-1} and vertices a and b are adjacent, if gcd(a-b,n)=1. These graphs have integral spectrum and play an important role in modeling quantum spin networks supporting the perfect state transfer. We show that the unitary Cayley graph X_n is hyperenergetic if and only if n has at least two prime factors greater than 2 or at least three distinct prime factors. In addition, we calculate the energy of the complement of unitary Cayley graph and prove that is hyperenergetic if and only if n has at least two distinct prime factors and n≠2p, where p is a prime number. By extending this approach, for every fixed , we construct families of k hyperenergetic non-cospectral integral circulant n-vertex graphs with equal energy.     

Normal Cayley graphs of finite groups

LetG be a finite group and let S be a nonempty subset of G not containing the identity element 1. The Cayley (di) graph X = Cay(G, S) of G with respect to S is defined byV (X)=G, E (X)={(g,sg)|g∈G, s∈S} A Cayley (di) graph X = Cay (G,S) is said to be normal ifR(G) ◃A = Aut (X). A group G is said to have a normal Cayley (di) graph if G has a subset S such that the Cayley (di) graph X = Cay (G, S) is normal. It is proved that every finite group G has a normal Cayley graph unlessG≅ℤ₄×ℤ₂ orG≅Q ₈×ℤ ₂ ^r (r⩾0) and that every finite group has a normal Cayley digraph, where Z_m is the cyclic group of orderm and Q₈ is the quaternion group of order 8. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 10231060) and the Doctorial Program Foundation of Institutions of Higher Education of China.     

Non-cover generalized Mycielski, Kneser, and Schrijver graphs

A graph is said to be a cover graph if it is the underlying graph of the Hasse diagram of a finite partially ordered set. We prove that the generalized Mycielski graphs M_m(C_2t+1) of an odd cycle, Kneser graphs KG(n,k), and Schrijver graphs SG(n,k) are not cover graphs when m?0,t?1, k?1, and n?2k+2. These results have consequences in circular chromatic number.     

Error-correcting pooling designs associated with some distance-regular graphs

Motivated by the pooling designs over the incidence matrices of matchings with various sizes of the complete graph K_2n considered by Ngo and Du [Ngo and Du, Discrete Math. 243 (2003) 167–170], two families of pooling designs over the incidence matrices oft-cliques (resp. strongly t-cliques) with various sizes of the Johnson graph J(n,t) (resp. the Grassmann graph J_q(n,t)) are considered. Their performances as pooling designs are better than those given by Ngo and Du. Moreover, pooling designs associated with other special distance-regular graphs are also considered.     

Tetravalent half‐edge‐transitive graphs and non‐normal Cayley graphs

Let X be a vertex‐transitive graph, that is, the automorphism group Aut(X) of X is transitive on the vertex set of X. The graph X is said to be symmetric if Aut(X) is transitive on the arc set of X. suppose that Aut(X) has two orbits of the same length on the arc set of X. Then X is said to be half‐arc‐transitive or half‐edge‐transitive if Aut(X) has one or two orbits on the edge set of X, respectively. Stabilizers of symmetric and half‐arc‐transitive graphs have been investigated by many authors. For example, see Tutte [Canad J Math 11 (1959), 621–624] and Conder and Maru?i? [J Combin Theory Ser B 88 (2003), 67–76]. It is trivial to construct connected tetravalent symmetric graphs with arbitrarily large stabilizers, and by Maru?i? [Discrete Math 299 (2005), 180–193], connected tetravalent half‐arc‐transitive graphs can have arbitrarily large stabilizers. In this article, we show that connected tetravalent half‐edge‐transitive graphs can also have arbitrarily large stabilizers. A Cayley graph Cay(G, S) on a group G is said to be normal if the right regular representation R(G) of G is normal in Aut(Cay(G, S)). There are only a few known examples of connected tetravalent non‐normal Cayley graphs on non‐abelian simple groups. In this article, we give a sufficient condition for non‐normal Cayley graphs and by using the condition, infinitely many connected tetravalent non‐normal Cayley graphs are constructed. As an application, all connected tetravalent non‐normal Cayley graphs on the alternating group A₆ are determined. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory     

The Crossing Number of Cartesian Products of Complete Bipartite Graphs K 2, m with Paths P n

Most results on the crossing number of a graph focus on the special graphs, such as Cartesian products of small graphs with paths P_n, cycles C_n or stars S_n. In this paper, we extend the results to Cartesian products of complete bipartite graphs K_2,m with paths P_n for arbitrary m ≥ 2 and n ≥ 1. Supported by the NSFC (No. 10771062) and the program for New Century Excellent Talents in University.     

Strongly Regular Semi-Cayley Graphs

We consider strongly regular graphs = (V, E) on an even number, say 2n, of vertices which admit an automorphism group G of order n which has two orbits on V. Such graphs will be called strongly regular semi-Cayley graphs. For instance, the Petersen graph, the Hoffman–Singleton graph, and the triangular graphs T(q) with q 5 mod 8 provide examples which cannot be obtained as Cayley graphs. We give a representation of strongly regular semi-Cayley graphs in terms of suitable triples of elements in the group ring Z G. By applying characters of G, this approach allows us to obtain interesting nonexistence results if G is Abelian, in particular, if G is cyclic. For instance, if G is cyclic and n is odd, then all examples must have parameters of the form 2n = 4s ² + 4s + 2, k = 2s ² + s, = s ² – 1, and = s ²; examples are known only for s = 1, 2, and 4 (together with a noncyclic example for s = 3). We also apply our results to obtain new conditions for the existence of strongly regular Cayley graphs on an even number of vertices when the underlying group H has an Abelian normal subgroup of index 2. In particular, we show the nonexistence of nontrivial strongly regular Cayley graphs over dihedral and generalized quaternion groups, as well as over two series of non-Abelian 2-groups. Up to now these have been the only general nonexistence results for strongly regular Cayley graphs over non-Abelian groups; only the first of these cases was previously known.     

Zero-Divisor Semigroups and Some Simple Graphs

In this article, we study commutative zero-divisor semigroups determined by graphs. We prove that for all n ≥ 4, the complete graph K _n together with two end vertices has a unique corresponding zero-divisor semigroup, while the complete graph K _n together with three end vertices has no corresponding semigroups. We determine all the twenty zero-divisor semigroups whose zero-divisor graphs are the complete graph K ₃ together with an end vertex.     

Dihedral Biembeddings and Triangulations by Complete and Complete Tripartite Graphs

We construct biembeddings of some Latin squares which are Cayley tables of dihedral groups. These facilitate the construction of ${n^{an^2}}$ nonisomorphic face 2-colourable triangular embeddings of the complete tripartite graph K _n,n,n and the complete graph K _n for linear classes of values of n and suitable constants a. Previously the best known lower bounds for the number of such embeddings that are applicable to linear classes of values of n were of the form ${2^{an^2}.}$ We remark that trivial upper bounds are ${n^{n^2/3}}$ in the case of complete graphs K _n and ${n^{2n^2}}$ in the case of complete tripartite graphs K _n,n,n .     

Factorizations of complete multipartite graphs into generalized cubes

For a positive integer d, the usual d‐dimensional cube Q_d is defined to be the graph (K₂)^d, the Cartesian product of d copies of K₂. We define the generalized cube Q(K_k, d) to be the graph (K_k)^d for positive integers d and k. We investigate the decomposition of the complete multipartite graph K into factors that are vertex‐disjoint unions of generalized cubes Q(K_k, d_i), where k is a power of a prime, n and j are positive integers with j ≤ n, and the d_i may be different in different factors. We also use these results to partially settle a problem of Kotzig on Q_d‐factorizations of K_n. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 33: 144–150, 2000