Closure and Spanning k-Trees

In this paper, we propose a new closure concept for spanning k-trees. A k-tree is a tree with maximum degree at most k. We prove that: Let G be a connected graph and let u and v be nonadjacent vertices of G. Suppose that \({\sum_{w \in S}d_G(w) \geq |V(G)| -1}\) for every independent set S in G of order k with \({u,v \in S}\) . Then G has a spanning k-tree if and only if G + uv has a spanning k-tree. This result implies Win’s result (Abh Math Sem Univ Hamburg, 43:263–267, 1975) and Kano and Kishimoto’s result (Graph Comb, 2013) as corollaries.     

On Eccentric Connectivity Index of Eccentric Graph of Regular Dendrimer

The eccentric connectivity index \(\xi ^c(G)\) of a connected graph G is defined as \(\xi ^c(G) =\sum _{v \in V(G)}{deg(v) e(v)},\) where deg(v) is the degree of vertex v and e(v) is the eccentricity of v. The eccentric graph, \(G_e\), of a graph G has the same set of vertices as G,  with two vertices u, v adjacent in \(G_e\) if and only if either u is an eccentric vertex of v or v is an eccentric vertex of u. In this paper, we obtain a formula for the eccentric connectivity index of the eccentric graph of a regular dendrimer. We also derive a formula for the eccentric connectivity index for the second iteration of eccentric graph of regular dendrimer.     

d-strong Edge Colorings of Graphs

For a proper edge coloring of a graph G the palette S(v) of a vertex v is the set of the colors of the incident edges. If S(u) ≠ S(v) then the two vertices u and v of G are distinguished by the coloring. A d-strong edge coloring of G is a proper edge coloring that distinguishes all pairs of vertices u and v with distance 1 ≤ d (u, v) ≤ d. The d-strong chromatic index ${\chi_{d}^{\prime}(G)}$ of G is the minimum number of colors of a d-strong edge coloring of G. Such colorings generalize strong edge colorings and adjacent strong edge colorings as well. We prove some general bounds for ${\chi_{d}^{\prime}(G)}$ , determine ${\chi_{d}^{\prime}(G)}$ completely for paths and give exact values for cycles disproving a general conjecture of Zhang et al. (Acta Math Sinica Chin Ser 49:703–708 2006)).     

On the Lucky Choice Number of Graphs

Suppose that G is a graph and ${f: V (G) \rightarrow \mathbb{N}}$ is a labeling of the vertices of G. Let S(v) denote the sum of labels over all neighbors of the vertex v in G. A labeling f of G is called lucky if ${S(u) \neq S(v),}$ for every pair of adjacent vertices u and v. Also, for each vertex ${v \in V(G),}$ let L(v) denote a list of natural numbers available at v. A list lucky labeling, is a lucky labeling f such that ${f(v) \in L(v),}$ for each ${v \in V(G).}$ A graph G is said to be lucky k-choosable if every k-list assignment of natural numbers to the vertices of G permits a list lucky labeling of G. The lucky choice number of G, η _l (G), is the minimum natural number k such that G is lucky k-choosable. In this paper, we prove that for every graph G with ${\Delta \geq 2, \eta_{l}(G) \leq \Delta^2-\Delta + 1,}$ where Δ denotes the maximum degree of G. Among other results we show that for every 3-list assignment to the vertices of a forest, there is a list lucky labeling which is a proper vertex coloring too.     

2-Reducible Two Paths and an Edge Constructing a Path in (2k + 1)-Edge-Connected Graphs

Let k ≥ 5 be an odd integer and G = (V(G), E(G)) be a k-edge-connected graph. For ${X\subseteq V(G),e(X)}$ denotes the number of edges between X and V(G) ? X. We here prove that if ${\{s_i,t_i\}\subseteq X_i\subseteq V(G)(i=1,2),f}$ is an edge between s ₁ and ${s_2,X_1\cap X_2=\emptyset,e(X_1)\le 2k-3,e(X_2)\le 2k-2}$ , and e(Y) ≥ k + 1 for each ${Y\subseteq V(G)}$ with ${Y\cap\{s_1,t_1,s_2,t_2\}=\{s_1,t_2\}}$ , then there exist paths P ₁ and P ₂ such that P _i joins s _i and ${t_i,V(P_i)\subseteq X_i}$ (i = 1, 2) and ${G-f-E(P_1\cup P_2)}$ is (k ? 2)-edge-connected, and in fact we give a generalization of this result.     

Nowhere-Zero 5-Flows and Even (1,2)-Factors

A graph G = (V, E) admits a nowhere-zero k-flow if there exists an orientation H = (V, A) of G and an integer flow ${\varphi:A \to \mathbb{Z}}$ such that for all ${a \in A, 0 < |\varphi(a)| < k}$ . Tutte conjectured that every bridgeless graphs admits a nowhere-zero 5-flow. A (1,2)-factor of G is a set ${F \subseteq E}$ such that the degree of any vertex v in the subgraph induced by F is 1 or 2. Let us call an edge of G, F-balanced if either it belongs to F or both its ends have the same degree in F. Call a cycle of G F-even if it has an even number of F-balanced edges. A (1,2)-factor F of G is even if each cycle of G is F-even. The main result of the paper is that a cubic graph G admits a nowhere-zero 5-flow if and only if G has an even (1,2)-factor.     

Optimal channel assignment and <Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>, 1)-labeling

The optimal channel assignment is an important optimization problem with applications in optical networks. This problem was formulated to the L(p, 1)-labeling of graphs by Griggs and Yeh (SIAM J Discrete Math 5:586–595, 1992). A k-L(p, 1)-labeling of a graph G is a function \(f:V(G)\rightarrow \{0,1,2,\ldots ,k\}\) such that \(|f(u)-f(v)|\ge p\) if \(d(u,v)=1\) and \(|f(u)-f(v)|\ge 1\) if \(d(u,v)=2\), where d(u, v) is the distance between the two vertices u and v in the graph. Denote \(\lambda _{p,1}^l(G)= \min \{k \mid G\) has a list k-L(p, 1)-labeling\(\}\). In this paper we show upper bounds \(\lambda _{1,1}^l(G)\le \Delta +9\) and \(\lambda _{2,1}^l(G)\le \max \{\Delta +15,29\}\) for planar graphs G without 4- and 6-cycles, where \(\Delta \) is the maximum vertex degree of G. Our proofs are constructive, which can be turned to a labeling (channel assignment) method to reach the upper bounds.     

Contractible Edges in k-Connected Graphs with Some Forbidden Subgraphs

In 2001, Kawarabayashi proved that for any odd integer k ≥ 3, if a k-connected graph G is \({K^{-}_{4}}\) -free, then G has a k-contractible edge. He pointed out, by a counterexample, that this result does not hold when k is even. In this paper, we have proved the following two results on the subject: (1) For any even integer k ≥ 4, if a k-connected graph G is \({K_{4}^{-}}\) -free and d _G (x) + d _G (y) ≥ 2k + 1 hold for every two adjacent vertices x and y of V(G), then G has a k-contractible edge. (2) Let t ≥ 3, k ≥ 2t – 1 be integers. If a k-connected graph G is \({(K_{1}+(K_{2} \cup K_{1, t}))}\) -free and d _G (x) + d _G (y) ≥ 2k + 1 hold for every two adjacent vertices x and y of V(G), then G has a k-contractible edge.     

Rainbow Connection Number, Bridges and Radius

Let G be a connected graph. The notion of rainbow connection number rc(G) of a graph G was introduced by Chartrand et al. (Math Bohem 133:85–98, 2008). Basavaraju et al. (arXiv:1011.0620v1 [math.CO], 2010) proved that for every bridgeless graph G with radius r, ${rc(G)\leq r(r+2)}$ and the bound is tight. In this paper, we show that for a connected graph G with radius r and center vertex u, if we let D ^r  = {u}, then G has r?1 connected dominating sets ${ D^{r-1}, D^{r-2},\ldots, D^{1}}$ such that ${D^{r} \subset D^{r-1} \subset D^{r-2} \cdots\subset D^{1} \subset D^{0}=V(G)}$ and ${rc(G)\leq \sum_{i=1}^{r} \max \{2i+1,b_i\}}$ , where b _i is the number of bridges in E[D ⁱ , N(D ⁱ )] for ${1\leq i \leq r}$ . From the result, we can get that if ${b_i\leq 2i+1}$ for all ${1\leq i\leq r}$ , then ${rc(G)\leq \sum_{i=1}^{r}(2i+1)= r(r+2)}$ ; if b _i  > 2i + 1 for all ${1\leq i\leq r}$ , then ${rc(G)= \sum_{i=1}^{r}b_i}$ , the number of bridges of G. This generalizes the result of Basavaraju et al. In addition, an example is given to show that there exist infinitely graphs with bridges whose rc(G) is only dependent on the radius of G, and another example is given to show that there exist infinitely graphs with bridges whose rc(G) is only dependent on the number of bridges in G.     

Circuits of Each Length in Tournaments

A tournament is a directed graph whose underlying graph is a complete graph. A circuit is an alternating sequence of vertices and arcs of the form v ₁, a ₁, v ₂, a ₂, v ₃, . . . , v _n-1, a _n-1, v _n in which vertex v _n  = v ₁, arc a _i  = v _i v _i+1 for i = 1, 2, . . . , n?1, and \({a_i \neq a_j}\) if \({i \neq j}\) . In this paper, we shall show that every tournament T _n in a subclass of tournaments has a circuit of each length k for \({3 \leqslant k \leqslant \theta(T_n)}\) , where \({\theta(T_n) = \frac{n(n-1)}{2}-3}\) if n is odd and \({\theta(T_n) = \frac{n(n-1)}{2}-\frac{n}{2}}\) otherwise. Note that a graph having θ(G) > n can be used as a host graph on embedding cycles with lengths larger than n to it if congestions are allowed only on vertices.     

Signed k-independence in graphs

Let k ≥ 2 be an integer. A function f: V(G) → {?1, 1} defined on the vertex set V(G) of a graph G is a signed k-independence function if the sum of its function values over any closed neighborhood is at most k ? 1. That is, Σ _x∈N[v] f(x) ≤ k ? 1 for every v ∈ V(G), where N[v] consists of v and every vertex adjacent to v. The weight of a signed k-independence function f is w(f) = Σ _v∈V(G) f(v). The maximum weight w(f), taken over all signed k-independence functions f on G, is the signed k-independence number α _s ^k (G) of G. In this work, we mainly present upper bounds on α _s ^k (G), as for example α _s ^k (G) ≤ n ? 2?(Δ(G) + 2 ? k)/2?, and we prove the Nordhaus-Gaddum type inequality $\alpha _S^k \left( G \right) + \alpha _S^k \left( {\bar G} \right) \leqslant n + 2k - 3$ , where n is the order, Δ(G) the maximum degree and $\bar G$ the complement of the graph G. Some of our results imply well-known bounds on the signed 2-independence number.     

Linear 2-Arboricity of Planar Graphs with Neither 3-Cycles Nor Adjacent 4-Cycles

Let G be a planar graph with neither 3-cycles nor adjacent 4-cycles. We prove that if G is connected and δ(G) ≥ 2, then G contains an edge uv with d(u) + d(v) ≤ 7 or a 2-alternating cycle. By this result, we obtain that G’s linear 2-arboricity ${la_{2}(G)\leq\lceil\frac{\Delta(G)+1}{2}\rceil+4.}$ .     

The Signed k-Submatchings in Graphs

A signed k-submatching of a graph G is a function f : E(G) → {?1,1} satisfying f (E _G (v)) ≤ 1 for at least k vertices ${v \in V(G)}$ . The maximum of the values of f (E(G)), taken over all signed k-submatchings f, is called the signed k-submatching number and is denoted by ${\beta_S^{k}(G)}$ . In this paper, sharp bounds on ${\beta_S^{k}(G)}$ for general graphs are presented. Exact values of ${\beta_S^{k}(G)}$ for several classes of graphs are found.     

Minimum Difference Representations of Graphs

Define a k-minimum-difference-representation (k-MDR) of a graph G to be a family of sets \({\{S(v): v\in V(G)\}}\) such that u and v are adjacent in G if and only if min{|S(u)?S(v)|, |S(v)?S(u)|} ≥ k. Define ρ _min(G) to be the smallest k for which G has a k-MDR. In this note, we show that {ρ _min(G)} is unbounded. In particular, we prove that for every k there is an n ₀ such that for n > n ₀ ‘almost all’ graphs of order n satisfy ρ _min(G) > k. As our main tool, we prove a Ramsey-type result on traces of hypergraphs.     

Coloring of the Square of Kneser Graph $$$$

The Kneser graph K(n, k) is the graph whose vertices are the k-element subsets of an n elements set, with two vertices adjacent if they are disjoint. The square \(G^2\) of a graph G is the graph defined on V(G) such that two vertices u and v are adjacent in \(G^2\) if the distance between u and v in G is at most 2. Determining the chromatic number of the square of the Kneser graph K(n, k) is an interesting graph coloring problem, and is also related with intersecting family problem. The square of K(2k, k) is a perfect matching and the square of K(n, k) is the complete graph when \(n \ge 3k-1\). Hence coloring of the square of \(K(2k +1, k)\) has been studied as the first nontrivial case. In this paper, we focus on the question of determining \(\chi (K^2(2k+r,k))\) for \(r \ge 2\). Recently, Kim and Park (Discrete Math 315:69–74, 2014) showed that \(\chi (K^2(2k+1,k)) \le 2k+2\) if \( 2k +1 = 2^t -1\) for some positive integer t. In this paper, we generalize the result by showing that for any integer r with \(1 \le r \le k -2\),

1. (a)
   \(\chi (K^2 (2k+r, k)) \le (2k+r)^r\),   if   \(2k + r = 2^t\) for some integer t, and
    
2. (b)
   \(\chi (K^2 (2k+r, k)) \le (2k+r+1)^r\),   if  \(2k + r = 2^t-1\) for some integer t.
    

On the other hand, it was shown in Kim and Park (Discrete Math 315:69–74, 2014) that \(\chi (K^2 (2k+r, k)) \le (r+2)(3k + \frac{3r+3}{2})^r\) for \(2 \le r \le k-2\). We improve these bounds by showing that for any integer r with \(2 \le r \le k -2\), we have \(\chi (K^2 (2k+r, k)) \le 2 \left( \frac{9}{4}k + \frac{9(r+3)}{8} \right) ^r\). Our approach is also related with injective coloring and coloring of Johnson graph.

     

Collapsible Graphs and Hamiltonicity of Line Graphs

Thomassen conjectured that every 4-connected line graph is Hamiltonian. Chen and Lai (Combinatorics and Graph Theory, vol 95, World Scientific, Singapore, pp 53–69; Conjecture 8.6 of 1995) conjectured that every 3-edge connected and essentially 6-edge connected graph is collapsible. Denote D ₃(G) the set of vertices of degree 3 of graph G. For ${e = uv \in E(G)}$ , define d(e) = d(u) + d(v) ? 2 the edge degree of e, and ${\xi(G) = \min\{d(e) : e \in E(G)\}}$ . Denote by λ ^m (G) the m-restricted edge-connectivity of G. In this paper, we prove that a 3-edge-connected graph with ${\xi(G)\geq7}$ , and ${\lambda^3(G)\geq7}$ is collapsible; a 3-edge-connected simple graph with ${\xi(G)\geq7}$ , and ${\lambda^3(G)\geq6}$ is collapsible; a 3-edge-connected graph with ${\xi(G)\geq6}$ , ${\lambda^2(G)\geq4}$ , and ${\lambda^3(G)\geq6}$ with at most 24 vertices of degree 3 is collapsible; a 3-edge-connected simple graph with ${\xi(G)\geq6}$ , and ${\lambda^3(G)\geq5}$ with at most 24 vertices of degree 3 is collapsible; a 3-edge-connected graph with ${\xi(G)\geq5}$ , and ${\lambda^2(G)\geq4}$ with at most 9 vertices of degree 3 is collapsible. As a corollary, we show that a 4-connected line graph L(G) with minimum degree at least 5 and ${|D_3(G)|\leq9}$ is Hamiltonian.     

A Hardy type inequality for W m,1(0, 1) functions

In this paper, we consider functions ${u\in W^{m,1}(0,1)}$ where m ≥ 2 and u(0) = Du(0) = · · · = D ^m-1 u(0) = 0. Although it is not true in general that ${\frac{D^ju(x)}{x^{m-j}} \in L^1(0,1)}$ for ${j\in \{0,1,\ldots,m-1\}}$ , we prove that ${\frac{D^ju(x)}{x^{m-j-k}} \in W^{k,1}(0,1)}$ if k ≥ 1 and 1 ≤ j + k ≤ m, with j, k integers. Furthermore, we have the following Hardy type inequality, $$\left\|{D^k\left({\frac{D^ju(x)}{x^{m-j-k}}}\right)}\right\|_{L^1(0,1)} \leq \frac {(k-1)!}{(m-j-1)!} \|{D^mu}\|_{L^1(0,1)},$$ where the constant is optimal.     

The Cyclomatic Number of a Graph and its Independence Polynomial at −1

If by s _k is denoted the number of independent sets of cardinality k in a graph G, then ${I(G;x)=s_{0}+s_{1}x+\cdots+s_{\alpha}x^{\alpha}}$ is the independence polynomial of G (Gutman and Harary in Utilitas Mathematica 24:97–106, 1983), where α = α(G) is the size of a maximum independent set. The inequality |I (G; ?1)| ≤ 2 ^ν(G), where ν(G) is the cyclomatic number of G, is due to (Engström in Eur. J. Comb. 30:429–438, 2009) and (Levit and Mandrescu in Discret. Math. 311:1204–1206, 2011). For ν(G) ≤ 1 it means that ${I(G;-1)\in\{-2,-1,0,1,2\}.}$ In this paper we prove that if G is a unicyclic well-covered graph different from C ₃, then ${I(G;-1)\in\{-1,0,1\},}$ while if G is a connected well-covered graph of girth ≥ 6, non-isomorphic to C ₇ or K ₂ (e.g., every well-covered tree ≠ K ₂), then I (G; ?1) = 0. Further, we demonstrate that the bounds {?2 ^ν(G), 2 ^ν(G)} are sharp for I (G; ?1), and investigate other values of I (G; ?1) belonging to the interval [?2 ^ν(G), 2 ^ν(G)].     

Iterated Joining of Rooted Trees

For a given pair of trees T ₁, T ₂, two vertices ${v_1\in T_1}$ and ${v_2\in T_2}$ are said to be path-congruent if, for any integer k ≥ 1, the number p _k (v ₁) of paths contained in T ₁, of length k and passing through v ₁, equals the number p _k (v ₂) of paths contained in T ₂, of length k and passing through v ₂. We first provide polynomial constructions, and related examples, of pairs of non-isomorphic rooted trees ${T_{v_1}, T_{v_2}}$ with path-congruent roots v ₁, v ₂. Then we employ a joining operation between ${T_{v_1}, T_{v_2}}$ to get a tree J ₂ where v ₁, v ₂ do not necessarily belong to a maximal path. For any integer number m, the joining can be made such that the set {v ₁, v ₂} has distance m from the center Z(J ₂) of J ₂. By iterating the idea, an s-fold joining J _s can be considered, where the roots v ₁, . . . , v _s , s ≥ 2, are consecutive vertices of J _s . For s = 3 we give an explicit general construction where ${\{v_1, v_2, v_3\} \cap Z(J_3)=\emptyset}$ . On the other hand we prove that ${\{v_1,v_2,\ldots,v_s\} \cap Z(J_s)\neq\emptyset}$ for all s > 2, if ${T_{v_1}}$ and ${T_{v_s}}$ are isomorphic.     

Characterizations of Strength Extremal Graphs

With graphs considered as natural models for many network design problems, edge connectivity κ′(G) and maximum number of edge-disjoint spanning trees τ(G) of a graph G have been used as measures for reliability and strength in communication networks modeled as graph G (see Cunningham, in J ACM 32:549–561, 1985; Matula, in Proceedings of 28th Symposium Foundations of Computer Science, pp 249–251, 1987, among others). Mader (Math Ann 191:21–28, 1971) and Matula (J Appl Math 22:459–480, 1972) introduced the maximum subgraph edge connectivity \({\overline{\kappa'}(G) = {\rm max} \{\kappa'(H) : H {\rm is} \, {\rm a} \, {\rm subgraph} \, {\rm of} G \}}\) . Motivated by their applications in network design and by the established inequalities $$\overline{\kappa'}(G) \ge \kappa'(G) \ge \tau(G),$$ we present the following in this paper:

1. For each integer k > 0, a characterization for graphs G with the property that \({\overline{\kappa'}(G) \le k}\) but for any edge e not in G, \({\overline{\kappa'}(G + e) \ge k+1}\) .
2. For any integer n > 0, a characterization for graphs G with |V(G)| = n such that κ′(G) = τ(G) with |E(G)| minimized.