An inequality for Tutte polynomials

Let G be a graph without loops or bridges and a, b be positive real numbers with b ≥ a(a+2). We show that the Tutte polynomial of G satisfies the inequality T _G (b, 0)T _G (0, b) ≥ T _G (a, a)². Our result was inspired by a conjecture of Merino and Welsh that T _G (1, 1) ≤ max{T _G (2, 0),T _G (0, 2)}.     

Graphs of actions on R-trees

LetG be a finitely generated group acting on anR-treeT. First assume that the action is free, and minimal (there is no proper invariant subtree), or more generally that it satisfies a certain finiteness condition. Then it may be described as agraph of transitive actions: the action may be recovered from a finite graph, together with additional data; in particular, every vertexv carries an action (G _v, T_v) whose orbits are dense. For the action (G, T), it follows for instance that the closure of any orbit is a discrete union of closed subtrees: it cannot meet a segment in a Cantor set. Now let ℓ be the length function for an arbitrary action ofG. For ɛ>0 small enough, the subgroupG(ɛ)⊂G generated by elementsg withg is independent of ɛ, andG/G(ɛ) is free. Several interpretations are given for the rank ofG/G(ɛ).     

On aschbacher’s localC(G; T) theorem

Aschbacher’s localC(G; T) theorem asserts that ifG is a finite group withF*(G)=O ₂(G), andTεSyl₂(G), thenG=C(G; T)K(G), whereC(G; T)=〈N _G (T ₀)|1≠T ₀ charT〉 andK(G) is the product of all near components ofG of typeL ₂(2 ⁿ ) orA ₂ ⁿ ₊₁. Near components are also known asχ-blocks or Aschbacher blocks. In this paper we give a proof of Aschbacher’s theorem in the case thatG is aK-group, i.e., in the case that every simple section ofG is isomorphic to one of the known simple groups. Our proof relies on a result of Meierfrankenfeld and Stroth [MS] on quadratic four-groups and on the Baumann-Glauberman-Niles theorem, for which Stellmacher [St2] has given an amalgam-theoretic proof. Apart from those results, our proof is essentially self-contained. For John Thompson Supported in part by NSF grant #DMS 89-03124, by DIMACS, an NSF Science and Technology Center, funded under contract STC-88-09648, and by NSA grant #MDA-904-91-H-0043. Prof. Gorenstein died on August 26, 1992.     

[a,b]-factorization of a graph

Let a and b be integers such that 0 ? a ? b. Then a graph G is called an [a, b]-graph if a ? d_G(x) ? b for every x ? V(G), and an [a, b]-factor of a graph is defined to be its spanning subgraph F such that a ? d_F(x) ? b for every vertex x, where d_G(x) and d_F(x) denote the degrees of x in G and F, respectively. If the edges of a graph can be decomposed into [a.b]-factors then we say that the graph is [2a, 2a]-factorable. We prove the following two theorems: (i) a graph G is [2a, 2b)-factorable if and only if G is a [2am,2bm]-graph for some integer m, and (ii) every [8m + 2k, 10m + 2k]-graph is [1,2]-factorable.     

Acyclic and oriented chromatic numbers of graphs

The oriented chromatic number χ_o(G ^→) of an oriented graph G ^→ = (V, A) is the minimum number of vertices in an oriented graph H ^→ for which there exists a homomorphism of G ^→ to H ^→. The oriented chromatic number χ_o(G) of an undirected graph G is the maximum of the oriented chromatic numbers of all the orientations of G. This paper discusses the relations between the oriented chromatic number and the acyclic chromatic number and some other parameters of a graph. We shall give a lower bound for χ_o(G) in terms of χ_a(G). An upper bound for χ_o(G) in terms of χ_a(G) was given by Raspaud and Sopena. We also give an upper bound for χ_o(G) in terms of the maximum degree of G. We shall show that this upper bound is not far from being optimal. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The average Steiner distance of a graph

The average distance μ(G) of a graph G is the average among the distances between all pairs of vertices in G. For n ≥ 2, the average Steiner n-distance μ_n(G) of a connected graph G is the average Steiner distance over all sets of n vertices in G. It is shown that for a connected weighted graph G, μ_n(G) ≤ μ_k(G) + μ_n+1−k(G) where 2 ≤ k ≤ n − 1. The range for the average Steiner n-distance of a connected graph G in terms of n and |V(G)| is established. Moreover, for a tree T and integer k, 2 ≤ k ≤ n − 1, it is shown that μ_n(T) ≤ (n/k)μ_k(T) and the range for μ_n(T) in terms of n and |V(T)| is established. Two efficient algorithms for finding the average Steiner n-distance of a tree are outlined. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Decomposition of bipartite graphs into closed trails

Let Lct(G) denote the set of all lengths of closed trails that exist in an even graph G. A sequence (t ₁,..., t _p ) of elements of Lct(G) adding up to |E(G)| is G-realisable provided there is a sequence (T ₁,..., t _p ) of pairwise edge-disjoint closed trails in G such that T _i is of length T _i for i = 1,..., p. The graph G is arbitrarily decomposable into closed trails if all possible sequences are G-realisable. In the paper it is proved that if a ⩾ 1 is an odd integer and M _a,a is a perfect matching in K _a,a , then the graph K _a,a -M _a,a is arbitrarily decomposable into closed trails.      

Unique ergodicity of flows on homogeneous spaces

LetG be a unimodular Lie group, Γ a co-compact discrete subgroup ofG and ‘a’ a semisimple element ofG. LetT _a be the mapgΓ →ag Γ:G/Γ →G/Γ. The following statements are pairwise equivalent: (1) (T _a, G/Γ,θ) is weak-mixing. (2) (T _a, G/Γ) is topologically weak-mixing. (3) (G ^u, G/Γ) is uniquely ergodic. (4) (G ^u, G/Γ,θ) is ergodic. (5) (G ^u, G/Γ) is point transitive. (6) (G ^u, G/Γ) is minimal. If in additionG is semisimple with finite center and no compact factors, then the statement “(T _a, G/Γ,θ) is ergodic” may be added to the above list. The authors were partially supported by NSF grant MCS 75-05250.     

Edge‐face chromatic number and edge chromatic number of simple plane graphs

Given a simple plane graph G, an edge‐face k‐coloring of G is a function ? : E(G) ∪ F(G) → {1,…,k} such that, for any two adjacent or incident elements a, b ∈ E(G) ∪ F(G), ?(a) ≠ ?(b). Let χ_e(G), χ_ef(G), and Δ(G) denote the edge chromatic number, the edge‐face chromatic number, and the maximum degree of G, respectively. In this paper, we prove that χ_ef(G) = χ_e(G) = Δ(G) for any 2‐connected simple plane graph G with Δ (G) ≥ 24. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory     

Fundamental cycles and graph embeddings

In this paper, we investigate fundamental cycles in a graph G and their relations with graph embeddings. We show that a graph G may be embedded in an orientable surface with genus at least g if and only if for any spanning tree T , there exists a sequence of fundamental cycles C1, C2, . . . , C2g with C2i-1 ∩ C2i≠ф for 1≤ i ≤g. In particular, among β(G) fundamental cycles of any spanning tree T of a graph G, there are exactly 2γM (G) cycles C1, C2, . . . , C2γM (G) such that C2i-1 ∩ C2i≠ф for 1 ≤i≤γM (G), w...     

The chromatic difference sequence of a graph

Let α_k(G) denote the maximum number of vertices in a k-colorable subgraph of G. Set α_k(G)=α_k(G)?α_(k?1)(G). The sequence a₁(G), a₂(G),… is called the chromatic difference sequence of the graph G. We present necessary and sufficient conditions for a sequence to be the chromatic difference sequence of some 4-colorable graph.     

Fixed-edge theorem for graphs with loops

Let G be an undirected graph without multiple edges and with a loop at every vertex—the set of edges of G corresponds to a reflexive and symmetric binary relation on its set of vertices. Then every edge-preserving map of the set of vertices of G to itself fixes an edge [{f(a), f(b)} = {a, b} for some edge (a, b) of G] if and only if (i) G is connected, (ii) G contains no cycles, and (iii) G contains no infinte paths. The proof is conerned with those subgraphs H of a graph G for which there is an edge-preserving map f of the set of vertices of G onto the set of vertices of H and satisfying f(a) = a for each vertex a of H.     

On the signless Laplacian spectral characterization of the line graphs of T-shape trees

A graph is determined by its signless Laplacian spectrum if no other nonisomorphic graph has the same signless Laplacian spectrum (simply G is DQS). Let T (a, b, c) denote the T-shape tree obtained by identifying the end vertices of three paths P _a+2, P _b+2 and P _c+2. We prove that its all line graphs L(T(a, b, c)) except L(T(t, t, 2t+1)) (t ? 1) are DQS, and determine the graphs which have the same signless Laplacian spectrum as L(T(t, t, 2t + 1)). Let µ₁(G) be the maximum signless Laplacian eigenvalue of the graph G. We give the limit of µ₁(L(T(a, b, c))), too.     

On the maximal number of certain subgraphs inK r -free graphs

Given two graphsH andG, letH(G) denote the number of subgraphs ofG isomorphic toH. We prove that ifH is a bipartite graph with a one-factor, then for every triangle-free graphG withn verticesH(G) H(T ₂(n)), whereT ₂(n) denotes the complete bipartite graph ofn vertices whose colour classes are as equal as possible. We also prove that ifK is a completet-partite graph ofm vertices,r > t, n max(m, r – 1), then there exists a complete (r – 1)-partite graphG* withn vertices such thatK(G) K(G*) holds for everyK _r -free graphG withn vertices. In particular, in the class of allK _r -free graphs withn vertices the complete balanced (r – 1)-partite graphT _r–1(n) has the largest number of subgraphs isomorphic toK _t (t < r),C ₄,K _2,3. These generalize some theorems of Turán, Erdös and Sauer.Dedicated to Paul Turán on his 80th Birthday     

Maximum hitting time for random walks on graphs

For x and y vertices of a connected graph G, let T_G(x, y) denote the expected time before a random walk starting from x reaches y. We determine, for each n > 0, the n-vertex graph G and vertices x and y for which T_G(x, y) is maximized. the extremal graph consists of a clique on ?(2n + 1)/3?) (or ?)(2_n ? 2)/3?) vertices, including x, to which a path on the remaining vertices, ending in y, has been attached; the expected time T_G(x, y) to reach y from x in this graph is approximately 4_n³/27.     

Infinitely many pairs of cospectral integral regular graphs

A graph G is called integral if all the eigenvalues of the adjacency matrix A(G) of G are integers. In this paper, the graphs G ₄(a, b) and G ₅(a, b) with 2a+6b vertices are defined. We give their characteristic polynomials from matrix theory and prove that the (n+2)-regular graphs G ₄(n, n+2) and G ₅(n, n+2) are a pair of non-isomorphic connected cospectral integral regular graphs for any positive integer n.     

Spectral Characterization of Some Generalized Odd Graphs

Suppose G is a connected, k-regular graph such that Spec(G)=Spec(Γ) where Γ is a distance-regular graph of diameter d with parameters a ₁=a ₂=⋯=a _d−1=0 and a _d>0; i.e., a generalized odd graph, we show that G must be distance-regular with the same intersection array as that of Γ in terms of the notion of Hoffman Polynomials. Furthermore, G is isomorphic to Γ if Γ is one of the odd polygon C _2d+1, the Odd graph O _d+1, the folded (2d+1)-cube, the coset graph of binary Golay code (d=3), the Hoffman-Singleton graph (d=2), the Gewirtz graph (d=2), the Higman-Sims graph (d=2), or the second subconstituent of the Higman-Sims graph (d=2). Received: March 28, 1996 / Revised: October 20, 1997     

THE TOTAL CHROMATIC NUMBER OF PSEUDO-OUTERPLANAR GRAPHS

A Planar graph g is called a ipseudo outerplanar graph if there is a subset v.∈V(G),[V.]=i,such that G-V. is an outerplanar graph in particular when G-V.is a forest ,g is called a i-pseudo-tree .in this paper.the following results are proved;(1)the conjecture on the total coloring is true for all 1-pseudo-outerplanar graphs;(2)X1(G) 1 fo any 1-pseudo outerplanar graph g with △(G)≥3,where x4(G)is the total chromatic number of a graph g.     

Odd‐angulated graphs and cancelling factors in box products

Under what conditions is it true that if there is a graph homomorphism G □ H → G □ T, then there is a graph homomorphism H→ T? Let G be a connected graph of odd girth 2k + 1. We say that G is (2k + 1)‐angulated if every two vertices of G are joined by a path each of whose edges lies on some (2k + 1)‐cycle. We call G strongly (2k + 1)‐angulated if every two vertices are connected by a sequence of (2k + 1)‐cycles with consecutive cycles sharing at least one edge. We prove that if G is strongly (2k + 1)‐angulated, H is any graph, S, T are graphs with odd girth at least 2k + 1, and ?: G□ H→S□T is a graph homomorphism, then either ? maps G□{h} to S□{t_h} for all h∈V(H) where t_h∈V(T) depends on h; or ? maps G□{h} to {s_h}□ T for all h∈V(H) where s_h∈V(S) depends on h. This theorem allows us to prove several sufficient conditions for a cancelation law of a graph homomorphism between two box products with a common factor. We conclude the article with some open questions. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 58:221‐238, 2008     

On 2-factors with given properties in claw-free graphs

Let G be a claw-free graph such that (i) k(G) 3 2k(G) \geq 2, (ii) $|V (G)| \geq 8$|V (G)| \geq 8 and (iii) d(G) 3 4\delta(G) \geq 4. For every pair of edges e₁, e₂ of G the graph G^* = G - {e₁, e₂}G^* = G - \{e_1, e_2\} has a 2-factor.