On minors of graphs with at least 3n −4 edges

A point disconnecting set S of a graph G is a nontrivial m-separator, where m = |S|, if the connected components of G - S can be partitioned into two subgraphs, each of which has at least two points. A 3-connected graph is quasi 4-connected if it has no nontrivial 3-separators. Suppose G is a graph having n ≥ 6 points. We prove three results: (1) If G is quasi 4-connected with at least 3n - 4 edges, then the graph K^?₁, obtained from K₆ by deleting an edge, is a minor of G. (2) If G has at least 3n - 4 edges then either K^?₆ or the graph obtained by pasting two disjoint copies of K₅ together along a triangle is a minor of G. (3) If the minimum degree of G is at least 6, then K^?₆ is a minor of G. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The 3-connected graphs with a maximum matching containing precisely one contractible edge

It has previously been shown that if M is a maximum matching in a 3-connected graph G, other than K₄, then M contains at least one contractible edge of G. In this paper, we give a constructive characterization of the 3-connected graphs G having a maximum matching containing only one contractible edge of G.     

On the computational complexity of ordered subgraph recognition

Let (G, <) be a finite graph G with a linearly ordered vertex set V. We consider the decision problem (G, <)ORD to have as an instance an (unordered) graph Γ and as a question whether there exists a linear order ≤ on V(Γ) and an order preserving graph isomorphism of (G, <) onto an induced subgraph of Γ. Several familiar classes of graph are characterized as the yes-instances of (G, < )ORD for appropriate choices of (G, <). Here the complexity of (G, <)ORD is investigated. We conjecture that for any 2-connected graph G, G ≠ K_k, (G, <)ORD is NP-complete. This is verified for almost all 2-connected graphs. Several related problems are formulated and discussed. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Optimal acyclic edge‐coloring of cubic graphs

An acyclic edge‐coloring of a graph is a proper edge‐coloring such that the subgraph induced by the edges of any two colors is acyclic. The acyclic chromatic index of a graph G is the smallest number of colors in an acyclic edge‐coloring of G. We prove that the acyclic chromatic index of a connected cubic graph G is 4, unless G is K₄ or K_3,3; the acyclic chromatic index of K₄ and K_3,3 is 5. This result has previously been published by Fiam?ík, but his published proof was erroneous.     

Minor and minimum cycle bases of a 3-connected planar graph

In this paper, we prove that if any set of ｜E（G）｜- ｜V（G）｜ ＋ 1 facial cycles of a 3-connected planar graph G embedded in the plane doesn＇t form a minimum cycle base of G, then any minimum cycle base of G contains a separating cycle, and G has a minor isomorphic to T6, where T6 is the graph obtained from the complete graph K6 by deleting a path with four edges.     

A characterization of Hamiltonian prisms

A characterization is established for a graph G to have a Hamilton cycle in G × K₂, the prism over G. Moreover, it is shown that every 3-connected graph has a 2-connected spanning bipartite subgraph. Using this result, the existence of a Hamilton cycle in the prism over every 3-connected cubic graph is established. Further, the existence of a Hamilton cycle in the prism over a cubic 2-connected graph is also discussed. Earlier results in this direction are shown to be particular cases of the results obtained here. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Removable edges in a 5-connected graph and a construction method of 5-connected graphs

An edge e of a k-connected graph G is said to be a removable edge if G?e is still k-connected. A k-connected graph G is said to be a quasi (k+1)-connected if G has no nontrivial k-separator. The existence of removable edges of 3-connected and 4-connected graphs and some properties of quasi k-connected graphs have been investigated [D.A. Holton, B. Jackson, A. Saito, N.C. Wormale, Removable edges in 3-connected graphs, J. Graph Theory 14(4) (1990) 465-473; H. Jiang, J. Su, Minimum degree of minimally quasi (k+1)-connected graphs, J. Math. Study 35 (2002) 187-193; T. Politof, A. Satyanarayana, Minors of quasi 4-connected graphs, Discrete Math. 126 (1994) 245-256; T. Politof, A. Satyanarayana, The structure of quasi 4-connected graphs, Discrete Math. 161 (1996) 217-228; J. Su, The number of removable edges in 3-connected graphs, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B 75(1) (1999) 74-87; J. Yin, Removable edges and constructions of 4-connected graphs, J. Systems Sci. Math. Sci. 19(4) (1999) 434-438]. In this paper, we first investigate the relation between quasi connectivity and removable edges. Based on the relation, the existence of removable edges in k-connected graphs (k?5) is investigated. It is proved that a 5-connected graph has no removable edge if and only if it is isomorphic to K₆. For a k-connected graph G such that end vertices of any edge of G have at most k-3 common adjacent vertices, it is also proved that G has a removable edge. Consequently, a recursive construction method of 5-connected graphs is established, that is, any 5-connected graph can be obtained from K₆ by a number of θ⁺-operations. We conjecture that, if k is even, a k-connected graph G without removable edge is isomorphic to either K_k+1 or the graph H_k/2+1 obtained from K_k+2 by removing k/2+1 disjoint edges, and, if k is odd, G is isomorphic to K_k+1.     

The number of vertices of degree 5 in a contraction-critically 5-connected graph

An edge of a 5-connected graph is said to be 5-contractible if the contraction of the edge results in a 5-connected graph. A 5-connected graph with no 5-contractible edge is said to be contraction-critically 5-connected. Let V(G) and V₅(G) denote the vertex set of a graph G and the set of degree 5 vertices of G, respectively. We prove that each contraction-critically 5-connected graph G has at least |V(G)|/2 vertices of degree 5. We also show that there is a sequence of contraction-critically 5-connected graphs {G_i} such that lim_i→∞|V₅(G_i)|/|V(G_i)|=1/2.     

4-factors in 2-connected star-free graphs

Let t≥3 be an integer. We show that if G is a 2-connected K_1,t-free graph with minimum degree at least (3t+1)/2, then G has a 4-factor.     

The b-Chromatic Number of Cubic Graphs

The b-chromatic number of a graph G is the largest integer k such that G admits a proper k-coloring in which every color class contains at least one vertex adjacent to some vertex in all the other color classes. It is proved that with four exceptions, the b-chromatic number of cubic graphs is 4. The exceptions are the Petersen graph, K _3,3, the prism over K ₃, and one more sporadic example on 10 vertices.     

Covering contractible edges in 3-connected graphs. II. Characterizing those with covers of size three

It is shown that if G is a 3-connected graph with |V(G)| ≥ 10, then, with the exception of one infinite class based on K_3,p, it takes at least four vertices to cover the set of contractible edges of G. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Every 3-connected,locally connected,claw-free graph is Hamilton-connected

A graph G is locally connected if the subgraph induced by the neighbourhood of each vertex is connected. We prove that a locally connected graph G of order p ≥ 4, containing no induced subgraph isomorphic to K_1,3, is Hamilton-connected if and only if G is 3-connected. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Topological minors in line graphs — A proof of Zha’s conjecture

In 1992, Xiaoya Zha conjectured that the line graph of a 3-connected non-planar graph contains a subdivision of K ₅. In this paper we prove this conjecture. This result is the main ingredient of [4] where a complete characterization of all the 4-connected claw-free graphs not containing a subdivision of K ₅ is obtained.     

Connected,locally 2-connected,K1,3-free graphs are panconnected

A graph G is locally n-connected, n ≥ 1, if the subgraph induced by the neighborhood of each vertex is n-connected. We prove that every connected, locally 2-connected graph containing no induced subgraph isomorphic to K_1,3 is panconnected.     

Generating planar 4-connected graphs

In this paper, we introduce three operations on planar graphs that we call face splitting, double face splitting, and subdivision of hexagons. We show that the duals of the planar 4-connected graphs can be generated from the graph of the cube by these three operations. That is, given any graphG that is the dual of a planar 4-connected graph, there is a sequence of duals of planar 4-connected graphsG ₀,G ₁, …,G _n such thatG ₀ is the graph of the cube,G _n=G, and each graph is obtained from its predecessor by one of our three operations. Research supported by a Sloan Foundation fellowship and by NSF Grant#GP-27963.     

Contractible edges in some k-connected graphs

An edge e of a k-connected graph G is said to be k-contractible (or simply contractible) if the graph obtained from G by contracting e (i.e., deleting e and identifying its ends, finally, replacing each of the resulting pairs of double edges by a single edge) is still k-connected. In 2002, Kawarabayashi proved that for any odd integer k ? 5, if G is a k-connected graph and G contains no subgraph D = K ₁ + (K ₂ ∪ K _1,2), then G has a k-contractible edge. In this paper, by generalizing this result, we prove that for any integer t ? 3 and any odd integer k ? 2t + 1, if a k-connected graph G contains neither K ₁ + (K ₂ ∪ K _1,t ), nor K ₁ + (2K ₂ ∪ K _1,2), then G has a k-contractible edge.     

On 2-Connected Spanning Subgraphs with Bounded Degree in K 1,r -Free Graphs

For any integer r > 1, an r-trestle of a graph G is a 2-connected spanning subgraph F with maximum degree Δ(F) ≤ r. A graph G is called K _1,r -free if G has no K _1,r as an induced subgraph. Inspired by the work of Ryjáček and Tkáč, we show that every 2-connected K _1,r -free graph has an r-trestle. The paper concludes with a corollary of this result for the existence of k-walks.     

局部连通图的群Z_3-连通性

本文研究了局部连通图的群连通性的问题.利用不断收缩非平凡Z_3-连通子图的方法,在G是3-边连通且局部连通的无爪无沙漏图的情况下,获得了G不是群Z_3-连通的当且仅当G是K_4或W_5.推广了当G是2-边连通且局部3-边连通时,G是群Z_3-连通的这个结果.     

Contractible Triples in Highly Connected Graphs

We prove that if G is k-connected (with k ≥ 2), then G contains either a cycle of length 4 or a connected subgraph of order 3 whose contraction results in a k-connected graph. This immediately implies that any k-connected graph has either a cycle of length 4 or a connected subgraph of order 3 whose deletion results in a (k − 1)-connected graph.     

On 3-regular 4-ordered graphs

A simple graph G is k-ordered (respectively, k-ordered hamiltonian), if for any sequence of k distinct vertices v₁,…,v_kof G there exists a cycle (respectively, hamiltonian cycle) in G containing these k vertices in the specified order. In 1997 Ng and Schultz introduced these concepts of cycle orderability and posed the question of the existence of 3-regular 4-ordered (hamiltonian) graphs other than K₄ and K_3,3. Ng and Schultz observed that a 3-regular 4-ordered graph on more than 4 vertices is triangle free. We prove that a 3-regular 4-ordered graph G on more than 6 vertices is square free,and we show that the smallest graph that is triangle and square free, namely the Petersen graph, is 4-ordered. Furthermore, we prove that the smallest graph after K₄ and K_3,3 that is 3-regular 4-ordered hamiltonianis the Heawood graph. Finally, we construct an infinite family of 3-regular 4-ordered graphs.