Toughness and the existence of fractional k-factors of graphs

The toughness of a graph G, t(G), is defined as t(G)=min{|S|/ω(G-S)|S⊆V(G),ω(G-S)>1} where ω(G-S) denotes the number of components of G-S or t(G)=+∞ if G is a complete graph. Much work has been contributed to the relations between toughness and the existence of factors of a graph. In this paper, we consider the relationship between the toughness and the existence of fractional k-factors. It is proved that a graph G has a fractional 1-factor if t(G)?1 and has a fractional k-factor if t(G)?k-1/k where k?2. Furthermore, we show that both results are best possible in some sense.     

Spectral upper bounds for the order of a k-regular induced subgraph

Let G be a simple graph with least eigenvalue λ and let S be a set of vertices in G which induce a subgraph with mean degree k. We use a quadratic programming technique in conjunction with the main angles of G to establish an upper bound of the form |S|?inf{(k+t)q_G(t):t>-λ} where q_G is a rational function determined by the spectra of G and its complement. In the case k=0 we obtain improved bounds for the independence number of various benchmark graphs.     

The diameter of total domination vertex critical graphs

A graph G with no isolated vertex is total domination vertex critical if for any vertex v of G that is not adjacent to a vertex of degree one, the total domination number of G-v is less than the total domination number of G. These graphs we call γ_t-critical. If such a graph G has total domination number k, we call it k-γ_t-critical. We characterize the connected graphs with minimum degree one that are γ_t-critical and we obtain sharp bounds on their maximum diameter. We calculate the maximum diameter of a k-γ_t-critical graph for k?8 and provide an example which shows that the maximum diameter is in general at least 5k/3-O(1).     

A spectral condition for odd cycles in graphs

Let G be a graph of sufficiently large order n, and let the largest eigenvalue μ(G) of its adjacency matrix satisfies . Then G contains a cycle of length t for every t?n/320This condition is sharp: the complete bipartite graph T₂(n) with parts of size ⌊n/2⌋ and ⌈n/2⌉ contains no odd cycles and its largest eigenvalue is equal to .This condition is stable: if μ(G) is close to and G fails to contain a cycle of length t for some t?n/321, then G resembles T₂(n).     

Total domination subdivision numbers of trees

A set S of vertices in a graph G is a total dominating set of G if every vertex is adjacent to a vertex in S. The total domination number γ_t(G) is the minimum cardinality of a total dominating set of G. The total domination subdivision number sd_γt(G) of a graph G is the minimum number of edges that must be subdivided (where each edge in G can be subdivided at most once) in order to increase the total domination number. Haynes et al. (J. Combin. Math. Combin. Comput. 44 (2003) 115) showed that for any tree T of order at least 3, 1?sd_γt(T)?3. In this paper, we give a constructive characterization of trees whose total domination subdivision number is 3.     

Heterochromatic tree partition numbers for complete bipartite graphs

An r-edge-coloring of a graph G is a surjective assignment of r colors to the edges of G. A heterochromatic tree is an edge-colored tree in which any two edges have different colors. The heterochromatic tree partition number of an r-edge-colored graph G, denoted by t_r(G), is the minimum positive integer p such that whenever the edges of the graph G are colored with r colors, the vertices of G can be covered by at most p vertex-disjoint heterochromatic trees. In this paper we give an explicit formula for the heterochromatic tree partition number of an r-edge-colored complete bipartite graph K_m,n.     

Total domination in claw-free graphs with minimum degree 2

A set S of vertices in a graph G is a total dominating set (TDS) of G if every vertex of G is adjacent to some vertex in S. The minimum cardinality of a TDS of G is the total domination number of G, denoted by γ_t(G). A graph is claw-free if it does not contain K_1,3 as an induced subgraph. It is known [M.A. Henning, Graphs with large total domination number, J. Graph Theory 35(1) (2000) 21-45] that if G is a connected graph of order n with minimum degree at least two and G∉{C₃,C₅, C₆, C₁₀}, then γ_t(G)?4n/7. In this paper, we show that this upper bound can be improved if G is restricted to be a claw-free graph. We show that every connected claw-free graph G of order n and minimum degree at least two satisfies γ_t(G)?(n+2)/2 and we characterize those graphs for which γ_t(G)=⌊(n+2)/2⌋.     

The strong metric dimension of graphs and digraphs

Let G be a connected (di)graph. A vertex w is said to strongly resolve a pair u,v of vertices of G if there exists some shortest u-w path containing v or some shortest v-w path containing u. A set W of vertices is a strong resolving set for G if every pair of vertices of G is strongly resolved by some vertex of W. The smallest cardinality of a strong resolving set for G is called the strong dimension of G. It is shown that the problem of finding the strong dimension of a connected graph can be transformed to the problem of finding the vertex covering number of a graph. Moreover, it is shown that computing this invariant is NP-hard. Related invariants for directed graphs are defined and studied.     

Bounds on total domination in claw-free cubic graphs

A set S of vertices in a graph G is a total dominating set, denoted by TDS, of G if every vertex of G is adjacent to some vertex in S (other than itself). The minimum cardinality of a TDS of G is the total domination number of G, denoted by γ_t(G). If G does not contain K_1,3 as an induced subgraph, then G is said to be claw-free. It is shown in [D. Archdeacon, J. Ellis-Monaghan, D. Fischer, D. Froncek, P.C.B. Lam, S. Seager, B. Wei, R. Yuster, Some remarks on domination, J. Graph Theory 46 (2004) 207-210.] that if G is a graph of order n with minimum degree at least three, then γ_t(G)?n/2. Two infinite families of connected cubic graphs with total domination number one-half their orders are constructed in [O. Favaron, M.A. Henning, C.M. Mynhardt, J. Puech, Total domination in graphs with minimum degree three, J. Graph Theory 34(1) (2000) 9-19.] which shows that this bound of n/2 is sharp. However, every graph in these two families, except for K₄ and a cubic graph of order eight, contains a claw. It is therefore a natural question to ask whether this upper bound of n/2 can be improved if we restrict G to be a connected cubic claw-free graph of order at least 10. In this paper, we answer this question in the affirmative. We prove that if G is a connected claw-free cubic graph of order n?10, then γ_t(G)?5n/11.     

Packing directed circuits

We prove a conjecture of Younger, that for every integern0 there exists an integert0 such that for every digraphG, eitherG hasn vertex-disjoint directed circuits, orG can be made acyclic by deleting at mostt vertices.Research partially supported by DONET ECHM contract CHRXCT930090.Research partially supported by DIMACS, by NSF grant DMS-9401981 and by ONR grant N00014-92-J-1965, and partially performed under a consulting agreement with Bellcore.Research partially supported by DIMACS, by Université de Paris VI, by NSF grant DMS-9303761 and by ONR grant N00014-93-1-0325, and partially performed under a consulting agreement with Bellcore.     

On incidence energy of a graph

The Laplacian-energy like invariant LEL(G) and the incidence energy IE(G) of a graph are recently proposed quantities, equal, respectively, to the sum of the square roots of the Laplacian eigenvalues, and the sum of the singular values of the incidence matrix of the graph G. However, IE(G) is closely related with the eigenvalues of the Laplacian and signless Laplacian matrices of G. For bipartite graphs, IE=LEL. We now point out some further relations for IE and LEL: IE can be expressed in terms of eigenvalues of the line graph, whereas LEL in terms of singular values of the incidence matrix of a directed graph. Several lower and upper bounds for IE are obtained, including those that pertain to the line graph of G. In addition, Nordhaus-Gaddum-type results for IE are established.     

On equality in an upper bound for the restrained and total domination numbers of a graph

Let G=(V,E) be a graph. A set S⊆V is a restrained dominating set (RDS) if every vertex not in S is adjacent to a vertex in S and to a vertex in V?S. The restrained domination number of G, denoted by γ_r(G), is the minimum cardinality of an RDS of G. A set S⊆V is a total dominating set (TDS) if every vertex in V is adjacent to a vertex in S. The total domination number of a graph G without isolated vertices, denoted by γ_t(G), is the minimum cardinality of a TDS of G.Let δ and Δ denote the minimum and maximum degrees, respectively, in G. If G is a graph of order n with δ?2, then it is shown that γ_r(G)?n-Δ, and we characterize the connected graphs with δ?2 achieving this bound that have no 3-cycle as well as those connected graphs with δ?2 that have neither a 3-cycle nor a 5-cycle. Cockayne et al. [Total domination in graphs, Networks 10 (1980) 211-219] showed that if G is a connected graph of order n?3 and Δ?n-2, then γ_t(G)?n-Δ. We further characterize the connected graphs G of order n?3 with Δ?n-2 that have no 3-cycle and achieve γ_t(G)=n-Δ.     

On multiplicative graphs and the product conjecture

We study the following problem: which graphsG have the property that the class of all graphs not admitting a homomorphism intoG is closed under taking the product (conjunction)? Whether all undirected complete graphs have the property is a longstanding open problem due to S. Hedetniemi. We prove that all odd undirected cycles and all prime-power directed cycles have the property. The former result provides the first non-trivial infinite family of undirected graphs known to have the property, and the latter result verifies a conjecture of Ne?et?il and Pultr These results allow us (in conjunction with earlier results of Ne?et?il and Pultr [17], cf also [7]) to completely characterize all (finite and infinite, directed and undirected) paths and cycles having the property. We also derive the property for a wide class of 3-chromatic graphs studied by Gerards, [5].     

Graphs determined by their generalized characteristic polynomials

For a given graph G with (0, 1)-adjacency matrix A_G, the generalized characteristic polynomial of G is defined to be ?_G=?_G(λ,t)=det(λI-(A_G-tD_G)), where I is the identity matrix and D_G is the diagonal degree matrix of G. In this paper, we are mainly concerned with the problem of characterizing a given graph G by its generalized characteristic polynomial ?_G. We show that graphs with the same generalized characteristic polynomials have the same degree sequence, based on which, a unified approach is proposed to show that some families of graphs are characterized by ?_G. We also provide a method for constructing graphs with the same generalized characteristic polynomial, by using GM-switching.     

Kernels in edge-coloured orientations of nearly complete graphs

We call the digraph D an orientation of a graph G if D is obtained from G by the orientation of each edge of G in exactly one of the two possible directions. The digraph D is an m-coloured digraph if the arcs of D are coloured with m-colours.Let D be an m-coloured digraph. A directed path (or a directed cycle) is called monochromatic if all of its arcs are coloured alike.A set N⊆V(D) is said to be a kernel by monochromatic paths if it satisfies the two following conditions: (i) for every pair of different vertices u,v∈N there is no monochromatic directed path between them and (ii) for every vertex x∈V(D)-N there is a vertex y∈N such that there is an xy-monochromatic directed path.In this paper we obtain sufficient conditions for an m-coloured orientation of a graph obtained from K_n by deletion of the arcs of K_1,r(0?r?n-1) to have a kernel by monochromatic.     

On an open problem concerning total domination critical graphs

A graph G   with no isolated vertex is total domination vertex critical if for any vertex v$v$ of G   that is not adjacent to a vertex of degree one, the total domination number of G-v$G-v$ is less than the total domination number of G  . We call these graphs _γt${\gamma }_t$-critical. If such a graph G has total domination number k, we call it k  -_γt${\gamma }_t$-critical. We verify an open problem of k  -_γt${\gamma }_t$-critical graphs and obtain some results on the characterization of total domination critical graphs of order n=Δ(G)(_γt(G)-1)+1$n=\Delta (G)({\gamma }_t(G)-1)+1$.     

Integral trees of diameter 6

A graph G is called integral if all eigenvalues of its adjacency matrix A(G) are integers. In this paper, the trees T(p,q)•T(r,m,t) and K_1,s•T(p,q)•T(r,m,t) of diameter 6 are defined. We determine their characteristic polynomials. We also obtain for the first time sufficient and conditions for them to be integral. To do so, we use number theory and apply a computer search. New families of integral trees of diameter 6 are presented. Some of these classes are infinite. They are different from those in the existing literature. We also prove that the problem of finding integral trees of diameter 6 is equivalent to the problem of solving some Diophantine equations. We give a positive answer to a question of Wang et al. [Families of integral trees with diameters 4, 6 and 8, Discrete Appl. Math. 136 (2004) 349-362].     

On Turán’s theorem for sparse graphs

For a graphG withn vertices and average valencyt, Turán’s theorem yields the inequalityα≧n/(t+1) whereα denotes the maximum size of an independent set inG. We improve this bound for graphs containing no large cliques.     

Hamilton decompositions of directed cubes and products

Call a directed graph symmetric if it is obtained from an undirected graph G by replacing each edge of G by two directed edges, one in each direction. We will show that if G has a Hamilton decomposition with certain additional structure, then has a directed Hamilton decomposition. In particular, it will follow that the bidirected cubes for m?2 are decomposable into 2m+1 directed Hamilton cycles and that a product of cycles is decomposable into 2m+1 directed Hamilton cycles if n_i?3 and m?2.     

Optimal clustering of multipartite graphs

Given a graph G=(X,U), the problem dealt within this paper consists in partitioning X into a disjoint union of cliques by adding or removing a minimum number z(G) of edges (Zahn's problem). While the computation of z(G) is NP-hard in general, we show that its computation can be done in polynomial time when G is bipartite, by relating it to a maximum matching problem. When G is a complete multipartite graph, we give an explicit formula specifying z(G) with respect to some structural features of G. In both cases, we give also the structure of all the optimal clusterings of G.