On the minor-minimal 2-connected graphs having a fixed minor

Let H be a graph with κ₁ components and κ₂ blocks, and let G be a minor-minimal 2-connected graph having H as a minor. This paper proves that |E(G)|−|E(H)|(κ₁−1)+β(κ₂−1) for all (,β) such that +β5,2+5β20, and β3. Moreover, if one of the last three inequalities fails, then there are graphs G and H for which the first inequality fails.     

Almost perfect matchings in random uniform hypergraphs

We consider the following model H_r(n, p) of random r-uniform hypergraphs. The vertex set consists of two disjoint subsets V of size | V | = n and U of size | U | = (r − 1)n. Each r-subset of V × (_r−1^U) is chosen to be an edge of H ε H_r(n, p) with probability p = p(n), all choices being independent. It is shown that for every 0 < < 1 if P = (C ln n)/n^r−1 with C = C() sufficiently large, then almost surely every subset V₁ V of size | V₁ | = (1 − )n is matchable, that is, there exists a matching M in H such that every vertex of V₁ is contained in some edge of M.     

Measurements of edge-uncolorability

Cubic bridgeless graphs with chromatic index four are called uncolorable. We introduce parameters measuring the uncolorability of those graphs and relate them to each other. For k=2,3, let c_k be the maximum size of a k-colorable subgraph of a cubic graph G=(V,E). We consider r₃=|E|−c₃ and . We show that on one side r₃ and r₂ bound each other, but on the other side that the difference between them can be arbitrarily large. We also compare them to the oddness ω of G, the smallest possible number of odd circuits in a 2-factor of G. We construct cyclically 5-edge connected cubic graphs where r₃ and ω are arbitrarily far apart, and show that for each 1c<2 there is a cubic graph such that ωcr₃. For k=2,3, let ζ_k denote the largest fraction of edges that can be k-colored. We give best possible bounds for these parameters, and relate them to each other.     

Triangles in 3-connected matroids

A collection F of 3-connected matroids is triangle-rounded if, whenever M is a 3-connected matroid having a minor in F, and T is a 3-element circuit of M, then M has a minor which uses T and is isomorphic to a member of F. An efficient theorem for testing a collection of matroids for this property is presented. This test is used to obtain several results including the following extension of a result of Asano, Nishizeki, and Seymour. Let T be a 3-element circuit of a 3-connected binary nonregular matroid M with at least eight elements. Then M has a minor using T that is isomorphic to S₈ or the generalized parallel connection across T of F₇ and M(K₄).     

Convexoid and generalized derivations

Let E,F be two Banach spaces and let S be a symmetric norm ideal of L(E,F). For AL(F) and BL(E) the generalized derivation δ_S,A,B is the operator on S that sends X to AX−XB. A bounded linear operator is said to be convexoid if its (algebraic) numerical range coincides with the convex hull of its spectrum. We show that δ_S,A,B is convexoid if and only if A and B are convexoid.     

On the number of flats spanned by a set of points in PG(d, q)

It is shown that for fixed 1 r s < d and > 0, if X PG(d, q) contains (1 + )q^s points, then the number of r-flats spanned by X is at least c()q^{(r+1)(s+1−r)}, i.e. a positive fraction of the number of r-flats in PG(s + 1,q).     

The extreme set condition of a graph

Let G be a simple graph. The size of any largest matching in G is called the matching number of G and is denoted by ν(G). Define the deficiency of G, def(G), by the equation def(G)=|V(G)|−2ν(G). A set of points X in G is called an extreme set if def(G−X)=def(G)+|X|. Let c₀(G) denote the number of the odd components of G. A set of points X in G is called a barrier if c₀(G−X)=def(G)+|X|. In this paper, we obtain the following:

(1) Let G be a simple graph containing an independent set of size i, where i2. If X is extreme in G for every independent set X of size i in G, then there exists a perfect matching in G.

(2) Let G be a connected simple graph containing an independent set of size i, where i2. Then X is extreme in G for every independent set X of size i in G if and only if G=(U,W) is a bipartite graph with |U|=|W|i, and |Γ(Y)||U|−i+m+1 for any Y U, |Y|=m (1mi−1).

(3) Let G be a connected simple graph containing an independent set of size i, where i2. Then X is a barrier in G for every independent set X of size i in G if and only if G=(U,W) is a bipartite graph with |U|=|W|=i, and |Γ(Y)|m+1 for any Y U, |Y|=m (1mi−1).     

Some results on integral sum graphs

Let Z denote the set of all integers. The integral sum graph of a finite subset S of Z is the graph (S,E) with vertex set S and edge set E such that for u,vS, uvE if and only if u+vS. A graph G is called an integral sum graph if it is isomorphic to the integral sum graph of some finite subset S of Z. The integral sum number of a given graph G, denoted by ζ(G), is the smallest number of isolated vertices which when added to G result in an integral sum graph. Let x denote the least integer not less than the real x. In this paper, we (i) determine the value of ζ(K_n−E(K_r)) for r2n/3−1, (ii) obtain a lower bound for ζ(K_n−E(K_r)) when 2r<2n/3−1 and n5, showing by construction that the bound is sharp when r=2, and (iii) determine the value of ζ(K_r,r) for r2. These results provide partial solutions to two problems posed by Harary (Discrete Math. 124 (1994) 101–108). Finally, we furnish a counterexample to a result on the sum number of K_r,s given by Hartsfiedl and Smyth (Graphs and Matrices, R. Rees (Ed.), Marcel, Dekker, New York, 1992, pp. 205–211).     

Maximum number of edges in a critically k-connected graph

A k-connected graph G is said to be critically k-connected if G−v is not k-connected for any vV(G). We show that if n,k are integers with k4 and nk+2, and G is a critically k-connected graph of order n, then |E(G)|n(n−1)/2−p(n−k)+p²/2, where p=(n/k)+1 if n/k is an odd integer and p=n/k otherwise. We also characterize extremal graphs.     

Bounds on the number of isolates in sum graph labeling

A simple undirected graph H is called a sum graph if there is a labeling L of the vertices of H into distinct positive integers such that any two vertices u and v of H are adjacent if and only if there is a vertex w with label L(w)=L(u)+L(v). The sum number σ(G) of a graph G=(V,E) is the least integer r such that the graph H consisting of G and r isolated vertices is a sum graph. It is clear that σ(G)|E|. In this paper, we discuss general upper and lower bounds on the sum number. In particular, we prove that, over all graphs G=(V,E) with fixed |V|3 and |E|, the average of σ(G) is at least

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. In other words, for most graphs, σ(G)Ω(|E|).     

Ramsey linear families and generalized subdivided graphs

The following results are obtained. (i) Let p, d, and k be fixed positive integers, and let G be a graph whose vertex set can be partitioned into parts V₁, V₂,…, V_a such that for each i at most d vertices in V₁ … V_i have neighbors in V_i+1 and r(K_k, V_i) p | V(G) |, where V_i denotes the subgraph of G induced by V_i. Then there exists a number c depending only on p, d, and k such that r(K_k, G)c | V(G) |. (ii) Let d be a positive integer and let G be a graph in which there is an independent set I V(G) such that each component of G−I has at most d vertices and at most two neighbors in I. Then r(G,G)c | V(G) |, where c is a number depending only on d. As a special case, r(G, G) 6 | V(G) | for a graph G in which all vertices of degree at least three are independent. The constant 6 cannot be replaced by one less than 4.     

Embeddings of the base and bundle isomorphisms

Let π_i :E_i→M, i=1,2, be oriented, smooth vector bundles of rank k over a closed, oriented n-manifold with zero sections s_i :M→E_i. Suppose that U is an open neighborhood of s₁(M) in E₁ and F :U→E₂ a smooth embedding so that π₂Fs₁ :M→M is homotopic to a diffeomorphism f. We show that if k>[(n+1)/2]+1 then E₁ and the induced bundle f^*E₂ are isomorphic as oriented bundles provided that f have degree +1; the same conclusion holds if f has degree −1 except in the case where k is even and one of the bundles does not have a nowhere-zero cross-section. For n≡0(4) and [(n+1)/2]+1<kn we give examples of nonisomorphic oriented bundles E₁ and E₂ of rank k over a homotopy n-sphere with total spaces diffeomorphic with orientation preserved, but such that E₁ and f^*E₂ are not isomorphic oriented bundles. We obtain similar results and counterexamples in the more difficult limiting case where k=[(n+1)/2]+1 and M is a homotopy n-sphere.     

Oscillation theorems for second-order half-linear differential equations

Oscillation criteria for the second-order half-linear differential equation

[r(t)|ξ′(t)|⁻¹ ξ′(t)]′ + p(t)|ξ(t)|⁻¹ξ(t)=0, t t₀

are established, where > 0 is a constant and exists for t [t₀, ∞). We apply these results to the following equation:

where , D = (D₁,…, D_N), Ω_a = x ^N : |x| ≥ a} is an exterior domain, and c C([a, ∞), ), n > 1 and N ≥ 2 are integers. Here, a > 0 is a given constant.     

ContributionsChromatic Ramsey numbers

Suppose G is a graph. The chromatic Ramsey number r_c(G) of G is the least integer m such that there exists a graph F of chromatic number m for which the following is true: for any 2-colouring of the edges of F there is a monochromatic subgraph isomorphic to G. Let M_n = min[r_c(G): χ(G) = n]. It was conjectured by Burr et al. (1976) that M_n = (n − 1)² + 1. This conjecture has been confirmed previously for n 4. In this paper, we shall prove that the conjecture is true for n = 5. We shall also improve the upper bounds for M₆ and M₇.     

Solving satisfiability in less than 2 steps

In this paper we describe and analyse an algorithm for solving the satisfiability problem. If E is a boolean formula in conjunctive normal form with n variables and r clauses, then we will show that this algorithm solves the satisfiability problem for formulas with at most k literals per clause in time O(|F|·_kⁿ), where _k is the greatest number satisfying _k = 2−1/_k^k−1 (in the case of 3-satisfiability ₃ = 1,6181).     

A theorem of the alternatives for the equation Ax + B|x| = b

The following theorem is proved: given square matrices A, D of the same size, D nonnegative, then either the equation Ax + B|x| = b has a unique solution for each B with |B| ≤ D and for each b, or the equation Ax + B₀|x| = 0 has a nontrivial solution for some matrix B₀ of a very special form, |B₀| ≤ D; the two alternatives exclude each other. Some consequences of this result are drawn. In particular, we define a λ to be an absolute eigenvalue of A if |Ax| = λ|x| for some x ≠ 0, and we prove that each square real matrix has an absolute eigenvalue.     

Bandwidth of the composition of two graphs

The bandwidth B(G) of a graph G is the minimum of the quantity max{|f(x)−f(y)| : xyE(G)} taken over all proper numberings f of G. The composition of two graphs G and H, written as G[H], is the graph with vertex set V(G)×V(H) and with (u₁,v₁) is adjacent to (u₂,v₂) if either u₁ is adjacent to u₂ in G or u₁=u₂ and v₁ is adjacent to v₂ in H. In this paper, we investigate the bandwidth of the composition of two graphs. Let G be a connected graph. We denote the diameter of G by D(G). For two distinct vertices x,yV(G), we define w_G(x,y) as the maximum number of internally vertex-disjoint (x,y)-paths whose lengths are the distance between x and y. We define w(G) as the minimum of w_G(x,y) over all pairs of vertices x,y of G with the distance between x and y is equal to D(G). Let G be a non-complete connected graph and let H be any graph. Among other results, we prove that if |V(G)|=B(G)D(G)−w(G)+2, then B(G[H])=(B(G)+1)|V(H)|−1. Moreover, we show that this result determines the bandwidth of the composition of some classes of graphs composed with any graph.     

Bipartite double cover and perfect 2-matching covered graph with its algorithm

Let B(G) denote the bipartite double cover of a non-bipartite graph G with v≥2 vertices and ? edges. We prove that G is a perfect 2-matching covered graph if and only if B(G) is a 1-extendable graph. Furthermore, we prove that B(G) is a minimally 1-extendable graph if and only if G is a minimally perfect 2-matching covered graph and for each e = xy ∈ E(G), there is an independent set S in G such that |Γ_G(S)| = |S| + 1, x ∈S and |Γ_G-xy(S) | = |S|. Then, we construct a digraph D from B(G) or G and show that D is a strongly connected digraph if and only if G is a perfect 2-matching covered graph. So we design an algorithm in O(v?) time that determines whether G is a perfect 2-matching covered graph or not.     

On the area of the intersection of disks in the plane

Let C₁,…, C_n and C′₁,…, C′_n be two collections of equal disks in the plane, with centers c₁,…, c_n and c′₁,…, c′_n. According to a well-known conjecture of Klee and Wagon (1991), if |c_i − c_j| ≥ |c′_i − c′_j| for all i, j, then Area(∩_i C_i) ≤ Area(∩_i C′_i).

We prove this statement in the special case when there is a continuous contraction of {c₁,…, c_n} onto {c′₁,…, c′_n}.     

ContributionsOn binary k-paving matroids and Reed-Muller codes

A matroid M of rank r k is k-paving if all of its circuits have cardinality exceeding r − k. In this paper, we develop some basic results concerning k-paving matroids and their connections with codes. Also, we determine all binary 2-paving matroids.