Nonseparating K4‐subdivisions in graphs of minimum degree at least 4

We first prove that for every vertex x of a 4‐connected graph G, there exists a subgraph H in G isomorphic to a subdivision of the complete graph K₄ on four vertices such that is connected and contains x. This implies an affirmative answer to a question of Kühnel whether every 4‐connected graph G contains a subdivision H of K₄ as a subgraph such that is connected. The motor for our induction is a result of Fontet and Martinov stating that every 4‐connected graph can be reduced to a smaller one by contracting a single edge, unless the graph is the square of a cycle or the line graph of a cubic graph. It turns out that this is the only ingredient of the proof where 4‐connectedness is used. We then generalize our result to connected graphs of minimum degree at least 4 by developing the respective motor, a structure theorem for the class of simple connected graphs of minimum degree at least 4. A simple connected graph G of minimum degree 4 cannot be reduced to a smaller such graph by deleting a single edge or contracting a single edge and simplifying if and only if it is the square of a cycle or the edge disjoint union of copies of certain bricks as follows: Each brick is isomorphic to K₃, K₅, K_{2, 2, 2}, , , or one the four graphs , , , obtained from K₅ and K_{2, 2, 2} by deleting the edges of a triangle, or replacing a vertex x by two new vertices and adding four edges to the endpoints of two disjoint edges of its former neighborhood, respectively. Bricks isomorphic to K₅ or K_{2, 2, 2} share exactly one vertex with the other bricks of the decomposition, vertices of degree 4 in any other brick are not contained in any further brick of the decomposition, and the vertices of a brick isomorphic to K₃ must have degree 4 in G and have pairwise no common neighbors outside that brick.     

Forbidden Pairs of Disconnected Graphs Implying Hamiltonicity

Let H be a given graph. A graph G is said to be H‐free if G contains no induced copies of H. For a class of graphs, the graph G is ‐free if G is H‐free for every . Bedrossian characterized all the pairs of connected subgraphs such that every 2‐connected ‐free graph is hamiltonian. Faudree and Gould extended Bedrossian's result by proving the necessity part of the result based on infinite families of non‐hamiltonian graphs. In this article, we characterize all pairs of (not necessarily connected) graphs such that there exists an integer n₀ such that every 2‐connected ‐free graph of order at least n₀ is hamiltonian.     

The hamiltonian chromatic number of a connected graph without large hamiltonian-connected subgraphs

If G is a connected graph of order n ⩾ 1, then by a hamiltonian coloring of G we mean a mapping c of V (G) into the set of all positive integers such that |c(x) − c(y)| ⩾ n − 1 − D _G (x, y) (where D _G (x, y) denotes the length of a longest x − y path in G) for all distinct x, y ∈ V (G). Let G be a connected graph. By the hamiltonian chromatic number of G we mean

Fan‐type theorem for path‐connectivity

For a connected noncomplete graph G, let μ(G):=min{max {d_G(u), d_G(v)}:d_G(u, v)=2}. A well‐known theorem of Fan says that every 2‐connected noncomplete graph has a cycle of length at least min{|V(G)|, 2μ(G)}. In this paper, we prove the following Fan‐type theorem: if G is a 3‐connected noncomplete graph, then each pair of distinct vertices of G is joined by a path of length at least min{|V(G)|?1, 2μ(G)?2}. As consequences, we have: (i) if G is a 3‐connected noncomplete graph with , then G is Hamilton‐connected; (ii) if G is a (s+2)‐connected noncomplete graph, where s≥1 is an integer, then through each path of length s of G there passes a cycle of length≥min{|V(G)|, 2μ(G)?s}. Several results known before are generalized and a conjecture of Enomoto, Hirohata, and Ota is proved. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 39: 265–282, 2002 DOI 10.1002/jgt.10028     

More on foxes

An edge in a k‐connected graph G is called k‐contractible if the graph obtained from G by contracting e is k‐connected. Generalizing earlier results on 3‐contractible edges in spanning trees of 3‐connected graphs, we prove that (except for the graphs if ) (a) every spanning tree of a k‐connected triangle free graph has two k‐contractible edges, (b) every spanning tree of a k‐connected graph of minimum degree at least has two k‐contractible edges, (c) for , every DFS tree of a k‐connected graph of minimum degree at least has two k‐contractible edges, (d) every spanning tree of a cubic 3‐connected graph nonisomorphic to K₄ has at least many 3‐contractible edges, and (e) every DFS tree of a 3‐connected graph nonisomorphic to K₄, the prism, or the prism plus a single edge has two 3‐contractible edges. We also discuss in which sense these theorems are best possible.     

Characterization of edge‐colored complete graphs with properly colored Hamilton paths

An edge‐colored graph H is properly colored if no two adjacent edges of H have the same color. In 1997, J. Bang‐Jensen and G. Gutin conjectured that an edge‐colored complete graph G has a properly colored Hamilton path if and only if G has a spanning subgraph consisting of a properly colored path C₀ and a (possibly empty) collection of properly colored cycles C₁,C₂,…, C_d such that provided . We prove this conjecture. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 53: 333–346, 2006     

Average distance,minimum degree,and spanning trees

The average distance μ(G) of a connected graph G of order n is the average of the distances between all pairs of vertices of G, i.e., μ(G) = ()⁻¹ Σ_{x,y}⊂V(G) d_G(x, y), where V(G) denotes the vertex set of G and d_G(x, y) is the distance between x and y. We prove that every connected graph of order n and minimum degree δ has a spanning tree T with average distance at most . We give improved bounds for K₃‐free graphs, C₄‐free graphs, and for graphs of given girth. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 33: 1–13, 2000     

Group connectivity of complementary graphs

Let G be a 2‐edge‐connected undirected graph, A be an (additive) abelian group and A* = A?{0}. A graph G is A‐connected if G has an orientation D(G) such that for every function b: V(G)?A satisfying , there is a function f: E(G)?A* such that for each vertex v∈V(G), the total amount of f values on the edges directed out from v minus the total amount of f values on the edges directed into v equals b(v). For a 2‐edge‐connected graph G, define Λ_g(G) = min{k: for any abelian group A with |A|?k, G is A‐connected }. In this article, we prove the following Ramsey type results on group connectivity:

1. Let G be a simple graph on n?6 vertices. If min{δ(G), δ(G^c)}?2, then either Λ_g(G)?4, or Λ_g(G^c)?4.
2. Let Z₃ denote the cyclic group of order 3, and G be a simple graph on n?44 vertices. If min{δ(G), δ(G^c)}?4, then either G is Z₃‐connected, or G^c is Z₃‐connected. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory

     

One sufficient condition for hamiltonian graphs

Let G be a 2-connected graph of order n. We show that if for each pair of nonadjacent vertices x,y ∈ V(G), then G is Hamiltonian.     

Balloons,cut‐edges,matchings, and total domination in regular graphs of odd degree

A balloon in a graph G is a maximal 2‐edge‐connected subgraph incident to exactly one cut‐edge of G. Let b(G) be the number of balloons, let c(G) be the number of cut‐edges, and let α′(G) be the maximum size of a matching. Let ${\mathcal{F}}_{{{n}},{{r}}}A balloon in a graph G is a maximal 2‐edge‐connected subgraph incident to exactly one cut‐edge of G. Let b(G) be the number of balloons, let c(G) be the number of cut‐edges, and let α′(G) be the maximum size of a matching. Let ${\mathcal{F}}_{{{n}},{{r}}}$ be the family of connected (2r+1)‐regular graphs with n vertices, and let ${{b}}={{max}}\{{{b}}({{G}}): {{G}}\in {\mathcal{F}}_{{{n}},{{r}}}\}$. For ${{G}}\in{\mathcal{F}}_{{{n}},{{r}}}$, we prove the sharp inequalities c(G)?[r(n?2)?2]/(2r²+2r?1)?1 and α′(G)?n/2?rb/(2r+1). Using b?[(2r?1)n+2]/(4r²+4r?2), we obtain a simple proof of the bound proved by Henning and Yeo. For each of these bounds and each r, the approach using balloons allows us to determine the infinite family where equality holds. For the total domination number γ_t(G) of a cubic graph, we prove γ_t(G)?n/2?b(G)/2 (except that γ_t(G) may be n/2?1 when b(G)=3 and the balloons cover all but one vertex). With α′(G)?n/2?b(G)/3 for cubic graphs, this improves the known inequality γ_t(G)?α′(G). © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 64: 116–131, 2010     

Equimatchable Regular Graphs

A graph is called equimatchable if all of its maximal matchings have the same size. Kawarabayashi, Plummer, and Saito showed that the only connected equimatchable 3‐regular graphs are K₄ and K_{3, 3}. We extend this result by showing that for an odd positive integer r, if G is a connected equimatchable r‐regular graph, then . Also it is proved that for an even r, a connected triangle‐free equimatchable r‐regular graph is isomorphic to one of the graphs C₅, C₇, and .     

Coloring Graphs with Constraints on Connectivity

A graph G has maximal local edge‐connectivity k if the maximum number of edge‐disjoint paths between every pair of distinct vertices x and y is at most k. We prove Brooks‐type theorems for k‐connected graphs with maximal local edge‐connectivity k, and for any graph with maximal local edge‐connectivity 3. We also consider several related graph classes defined by constraints on connectivity. In particular, we show that there is a polynomial‐time algorithm that, given a 3‐connected graph G with maximal local connectivity 3, outputs an optimal coloring for G. On the other hand, we prove, for , that k‐colorability is NP‐complete when restricted to minimally k‐connected graphs, and 3‐colorability is NP‐complete when restricted to ‐connected graphs with maximal local connectivity k. Finally, we consider a parameterization of k‐colorability based on the number of vertices of degree at least , and prove that, even when k is part of the input, the corresponding parameterized problem is FPT.     

On s‐Hamiltonian Line Graphs

For an integer s ≥ 0, a graph G is s‐hamiltonian if for any vertex subset with |S^′| ≤ s, G ‐ S^′ is hamiltonian. It is well known that if a graph G is s‐hamiltonian, then G must be (s+2)‐connected. The converse is not true, as there exist arbitrarily highly connected nonhamiltonian graphs. But for line graphs, we prove that when s ≥ 5, a line graph is s‐hamiltonian if and only if it is (s+2)‐connected.     

On an anti‐Ramsey problem of Burr,Erdős,Graham, and T. Sós

Given a graph L, in this article we investigate the anti‐Ramsey number χ_S(n,e,L), defined to be the minimum number of colors needed to edge‐color some graph G(n,e) with n vertices and e edges so that in every copy of L in G all edges have different colors. We call such a copy of L totally multicolored (TMC). In 7 among many other interesting results and problems, Burr, Erd?s, Graham, and T. Sós asked the following question: Let L be a connected bipartite graph which is not a star. Is it true then that In this article, we prove a slightly weaker statement, namely we show that the statement is true if L is a connected bipartite graph, which is not a complete bipartite graph. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 52: 147–156, 2006     

Forbidden subgraphs that imply hamiltonian‐connectedness*

It is proven that if G is a 3‐connected claw‐free graph which is also H₁‐free (where H₁ consists of two disjoint triangles connected by an edge), then G is hamiltonian‐connected. Also, examples will be described that determine a finite family of graphs such that if a 3‐connected graph being claw‐free and L‐free implies G is hamiltonian‐connected, then L . © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 40: 104–119, 2002     

Some sufficient conditions for Hamiltonian property in terms of Wiener-type invariants

The Wiener-type invariants of a simple connected graph G = (V, E) can be expressed in terms of the quantities \(W_{f}=\sum_{\{u,v\}\subseteq V}f(d_{G}(u,v))\) for various choices of the function f(x), where d_G(u,v) is the distance between vertices u and v in G. In this paper, we give some sufficient conditions for a connected graph to be Hamiltonian, a connected graph to be traceable, and a connected bipartite graph to be Hamiltonian in terms of the Wiener-type invariants.     

Eulerian subgraphs in 3‐edge‐connected graphs and Hamiltonian line graphs

In this paper, we show that if G is a 3‐edge‐connected graph with and , then either G has an Eulerian subgraph H such that , or G can be contracted to the Petersen graph in such a way that the preimage of each vertex of the Petersen graph contains at least one vertex in S. If G is a 3‐edge‐connected planar graph, then for any , G has an Eulerian subgraph H such that . As an application, we obtain a new result on Hamiltonian line graphs. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 42: 308–319, 2003     

Connected subgraphs with small degree sums in 3‐connected planar graphs

It is well‐known that every planar graph has a vertex of degree at most five. Kotzig proved that every 3‐connected planar graph has an edge xy such that deg(x) + deg (y) ≤ 13. In this article, considering a similar problem for the case of three or more vertices that induce a connected subgraph, we show that, for a given positive integer t, every 3‐connected planar graph G with |V(G)| ≥ t has a connected subgraph H of order t such that Σ_x∈V(H) deg_G(x) ≤ 8t − 1. As a tool for proving this result, we consider decompositions of 3‐connected planar graphs into connected subgraphs of order at least t and at most 2t − 1. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 30: 191–203, 1999     

Vertex‐disjoint cycles of length at most four each of which contains a specified vertex*

We obtain a sharp minimum degree condition δ (G) ≥ of a graph G of order n ≥ 3k guaranteeing that, for any k distinct vertices, G contains k vertex‐disjoint cycles of length at most four each of which contains one of the k prescribed vertices. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 37: 37–47, 2001     

On Forbidden Pairs Implying Hamilton‐Connectedness

Let X, Y be connected graphs. A graph G is ‐free if G contains a copy of neither X nor Y as an induced subgraph. Pairs of connected graphs such that every 3‐connected ‐free graph is Hamilton connected have been investigated most recently in (Guantao Chen and Ronald J. Gould, Bull. Inst. Combin. Appl., 29 (2000), 25–32.) [8] and (H. Broersma, R. J. Faudree, A. Huck, H. Trommel, and H. J. Veldman, J. Graph Theory, 40(2) (2002), 104–119.) [5]. This paper improves those results. Specifically, it is shown that every 3‐connected ‐free graph is Hamilton connected for and or N_{1, 2, 2} and the proof of this result uses a new closure technique developed by the third and fourth authors. A discussion of restrictions on the nature of the graph Y is also included.