Proof of the bandwidth conjecture of Bollobás and Komlós

In this paper we prove the following conjecture by Bollobás and Komlós: For every γ > 0 and integers r ≥ 1 and Δ, there exists β > 0 with the following property. If G is a sufficiently large graph with n vertices and minimum degree at least ((r ? 1)/r + γ)n and H is an r-chromatic graph with n vertices, bandwidth at most β n and maximum degree at most Δ, then G contains a copy of H.     

Note making a <Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis><Subscript>4</Subscript>-free graph bipartite

We show that every K ₄-free graph G with n vertices can be made bipartite by deleting at most n ²/9 edges. Moreover, the only extremal graph which requires deletion of that many edges is a complete 3-partite graph with parts of size n/3. This proves an old conjecture of P. Erdős. Research supported in part by NSF CAREER award DMS-0546523, NSF grant DMS-0355497, USA-Israeli BSF grant, and by an Alfred P. Sloan fellowship.     

On end degrees and infinite cycles in locally finite graphs

We introduce a natural extension of the vertex degree to ends. For the cycle space C(G) as proposed by Diestel and Kühn [4, 5], which allows for infinite cycles, we prove that the edge set of a locally finite graph G lies in C(G) if and only if every vertex and every end has even degree. In the same way we generalise to locally finite graphs the characterisation of the cycles in a finite graph as its 2-regular connected subgraphs.     

Lower bound on the profile of degree pairs in cross-intersecting set systems

We raise the following problem. For natural numbers m, n ≥ 2, determine pairs d′, d″ (both depending on m and n only) with the property that in every pair of set systems A, B with |A| ≤ m, |B| ≤ n, and A ∩ B ≠ 0 for all A ∈ A, B ∈ B, there exists an element contained in at least d′ |A| members of A and d″ |B| members of B. Generalizing a previous result of Kyureghyan, we prove that all the extremal pairs of (d′, d″) lie on or above the line (n − 1) x + (m − 1) y = 1. Constructions show that the pair (1 + ɛ / 2n − 2, 1 + ɛ / 2m − 2) is infeasible in general, for all m, n ≥ 2 and all ɛ > 0. Moreover, for m = 2, the pair (d′, d″) = (1 / n, 1 / 2) is feasible if and only if 2 ≤ n ≤ 4. The problem originates from Razborov and Vereshchagin’s work on decision tree complexity. Research supported in part by the Hungarian Research Fund under grant OTKA T-032969.     

On the complexity of the planar edge-disjoint paths problem with terminals on the outer boundary

It is shown that both the undirected and the directed edge-disjoint paths problem are NP-complete, if the supply graph is planar and all edges of the demand graph are incident with vertices lying on the outer boundary of the supply graph. In the directed case, the problem remains NP-complete, if in addition the supply graph is acyclic. The undirected case solves open problem no. 56 of A. Schrijver’s book Combinatorial Optimization.     

Quasi-randomness and the distribution of copies of a fixed graph

We show that if a graph G has the property that all subsets of vertices of size n/4 contain the “correct” number of triangles one would expect to find in a random graph G(n, 1/2), then G behaves like a random graph, that is, it is quasi-random in the sense of Chung, Graham, and Wilson [6]. This answers positively an open problem of Simonovits and Sós [10], who showed that in order to deduce that G is quasi-random one needs to assume that all sets of vertices have the correct number of triangles. A similar improvement of [10] is also obtained for any fixed graph other than the triangle, and for any edge density other than 1/2. The proof relies on a theorem of Gottlieb [7] in algebraic combinatorics, concerning the rank of set inclusion matrices.     

Ramsey goodness and beyond

In a seminal paper from 1983, Burr and Erdős started the systematic study of Ramsey numbers of cliques vs. large sparse graphs, raising a number of problems. In this paper we develop a new approach to such Ramsey problems using a mix of the Szemerédi regularity lemma, embedding of sparse graphs, Turán type stability, and other structural results. We give exact Ramsey numbers for various classes of graphs, solving five — all but one — of the Burr-Erdős problems.     

A note on a spanning 3-tree

A tree T is called a k-tree, if the maximum degree of T is at most k. In this paper, we prove that if G is an n-connected graph with independence number at most n + m + 1 (n≥1,n≥m≥0), then G has a spanning 3-tree T with at most m vertices of degree 3.     

An exact Turán result for the generalized triangle

Let Σ _k consist of all k-graphs with three edges D ₁, D ₂, D ₃ such that |D ₁ ∩ D ₂| = k − 1 and D ₁ Δ D ₂ ⊆ D ₃. The exact value of the Turán function ex(n, Σ _k ) was computed for k = 3 by Bollobás [Discrete Math. 8 (1974), 21–24] and for k = 4 by Sidorenko [Math Notes 41 (1987), 247–259]. Let the k-graph T _k ∈ Σ _k have edges

The mixed problem in <Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis><Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis></Superscript> for some two-dimensional Lipschitz domains

We consider the mixed problem,

On a graph packing conjecture by Bollobás,Eldridge and Catlin

Two graphs G ₁ and G ₂ of order n pack if there exist injective mappings of their vertex sets into [n], such that the images of the edge sets are disjoint. In 1978, Bollobás and Eldridge, and independently Catlin, conjectured that if (Δ(G ₁) + 1)(Δ(G ₂) + 1) ≤ n + 1, then G ₁ and G ₂ pack. Towards this conjecture, we show that for Δ(G ₁),Δ(G ₂) ≥ 300, if (Δ(G ₁) + 1)(Δ(G ₂) + 1) ≤ 0.6n + 1, then G ₁ and G ₂ pack. This is also an improvement, for large maximum degrees, over the classical result by Sauer and Spencer that G ₁ and G ₂ pack if Δ(G ₁)Δ(G ₂) < 0.5n. This work was supported in part by NSF grant DMS-0400498. The work of the second author was also partly supported by NSF grant DMS-0650784 and grant 05-01-00816 of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research. The work of the third author was supported in part by NSF grant DMS-0652306.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis><Subscript>4</Subscript>-free subgraphs of random graphs revisited

In Combinatorica 17(2), 1997, Kohayakawa, ?uczak and Rödl state a conjecture which has several implications for random graphs. If the conjecture is true, then, for example, an application of a version of Szemerédi’s regularity lemma for sparse graphs yields an estimation of the maximal number of edges in an H-free subgraph of a random graph G _{n, p} . In fact, the conjecture may be seen as a probabilistic embedding lemma for partitions guaranteed by a version of Szemerédi’s regularity lemma for sparse graphs. In this paper we verify the conjecture for H = K ₄, thereby providing a conceptually simple proof for the main result in the paper cited above.     

The minimum degree threshold for perfect graph packings

Let H be any graph. We determine up to an additive constant the minimum degree of a graph G which ensures that G has a perfect H-packing (also called an H-factor). More precisely, let δ(H,n) denote the smallest integer k such that every graph G whose order n is divisible by |H| and with δ(G)≥k contains a perfect H-packing. We show that

The toric ideal of a graphic matroid is generated by quadrics

Describing minimal generating sets of toric ideals is a well-studied and difficult problem. Neil White conjectured in 1980 that the toric ideal associated to a matroid is generated by quadrics corresponding to single element symmetric exchanges. We give a combinatorial proof of White’s conjecture for graphic matroids.     

The parity problem of polymatroids without double circuits

According to the present state of the theory of the matroid parity problem, the existence of a good characterization to the size of a maximum matching depends on the behavior of certain substructures, called double circuits. In this paper we prove that if a polymatroid has no double circuits then a partition type min-max formula characterizes the size of a maximum matching. Applications to parity constrained orientations and to a rigidity problem are given. Research is supported by OTKA grants K60802, TS049788 and by European MCRTN Adonet, Contract Grant No. 504438.     

A class of simple proper Bol loops

The existence of finite simple non-Moufang Bol loops has long been considered to be one of the main open problems in the theory of loops and quasigroups. In this paper, we present a class of simple proper Bol loops. This class contains finite and new infinite simple proper Bol loops. This paper was written during the author’s Marie Curie Fellowship MEIF-CT-2006-041105 at the University of Würzburg (Germany).     

Independent systems of representatives in weighted graphs

The following conjecture may have never been explicitly stated, but seems to have been floating around: if the vertex set of a graph with maximal degree Δ is partitioned into sets V _i of size 2Δ, then there exists a coloring of the graph by 2Δ colors, where each color class meets each V _i at precisely one vertex. We shall name it the strong 2Δ-colorability conjecture. We prove a fractional version of this conjecture. For this purpose, we prove a weighted generalization of a theorem of Haxell, on independent systems of representatives (ISR’s). En route, we give a survey of some recent developments in the theory of ISR’s. The research of the first author was supported by grant no 780/04 from the Israel Science Foundation, and grants from the M. & M. L. Bank Mathematics Research Fund and the fund for the promotion of research at the Technion. The research of the third author was supported by the Sacta-Rashi Foundation.