Arranging Solid Balls to Represent a Graph

 By solid balls, we mean a set of balls in R ³ no two of which can penetrate each other. Every finite graph G can be represented by arranging solid balls in the following way: Put red balls in R ³, one for each vertex of G, and connect two red balls by a chain when they correspond to a pair of adjacent vertices of G, where a chain means a finite sequence of blue solid balls in which each consecutive balls are tangent. (We may omit the chain if the two red balls are already tangent.) The ball number b(G) of G is the minimum number of balls (red and blue) necessary to represent G. If we put the balls and chains on a table so that all balls sit on the table, then the minimum number of balls for G is denoted by b _T (G). Among other things, we prove that b(K ₆)=8,b(K ₇)=13 and b _T (K ₅)=8,b _T (K ₆)=14. We also prove that c ₁ n ³<b(K _n )<c ₂ n ³ log n, c ₃ n ⁴ log n<b _T (K _n )<c ₄ n ⁴. Received: March 29, 1999 Final version received: January 17, 2000     

The Clique Numbers of Regular Graphs

 Let ω(G) be the clique number of a graph G. We prove that if G runs over the set of graphs with a fixed degree sequence d, then the values ω(G) completely cover a line segment [a,b] of positive integers. For an arbitrary graphic degree sequence d, we define min(ω,d) and max(ω,d) as follows:

Bipartite rainbow numbers of matchings

Given two graphs G and H, let f(G,H) denote the maximum number c for which there is a way to color the edges of G with c colors such that every subgraph H of G has at least two edges of the same color. Equivalently, any edge-coloring of G with at least rb(G,H)=f(G,H)+1 colors contains a rainbow copy of H, where a rainbow subgraph of an edge-colored graph is such that no two edges of it have the same color. The number rb(G,H) is called the rainbow number ofHwith respect toG, and simply called the bipartite rainbow number ofH if G is the complete bipartite graph K_m,n. Erd?s, Simonovits and Sós showed that rb(K_n,K₃)=n. In 2004, Schiermeyer determined the rainbow numbers rb(K_n,K_k) for all n≥k≥4, and the rainbow numbers rb(K_n,kK₂) for all k≥2 and n≥3k+3. In this paper we will determine the rainbow numbers rb(K_m,n,kK₂) for all k≥1.     

The upper connected geodetic number and forcing connected geodetic number of a graph

For a connected graph G of order p≥2, a set S⊆V(G) is a geodetic set of G if each vertex v∈V(G) lies on an x-y geodesic for some elements x and y in S. The minimum cardinality of a geodetic set of G is defined as the geodetic number of G, denoted by g(G). A geodetic set of cardinality g(G) is called a g-set of G. A connected geodetic set of G is a geodetic set S such that the subgraph G[S] induced by S is connected. The minimum cardinality of a connected geodetic set of G is the connected geodetic number of G and is denoted by g_c(G). A connected geodetic set of cardinality g_c(G) is called a g_c-set of G. A connected geodetic set S in a connected graph G is called a minimal connected geodetic set if no proper subset of S is a connected geodetic set of G. The upper connected geodetic number is the maximum cardinality of a minimal connected geodetic set of G. We determine bounds for and determine the same for some special classes of graphs. For positive integers r,d and n≥d+1 with r≤d≤2r, there exists a connected graph G with , and . Also, for any positive integers 2≤a<b≤c, there exists a connected graph G such that g(G)=a, g_c(G)=b and . A subset T of a g_c-set S is called a forcing subset for S if S is the unique g_c-set containing T. A forcing subset for S of minimum cardinality is a minimum forcing subset of S. The forcing connected geodetic number of S, denoted by f_c(S), is the cardinality of a minimum forcing subset of S. The forcing connected geodetic number of G, denoted by f_c(G), is f_c(G)=min{f_c(S)}, where the minimum is taken over all g_c-sets S in G. It is shown that for every pair a,b of integers with 0≤a≤b−4, there exists a connected graph G such that f_c(G)=a and g_c(G)=b.     

Stability for large forbidden subgraphs

In this note we strengthen the stability theorem of Erd?s and Simonovits. Write K_r(s₁, …, s_r) for the complete r‐partite graph with classes of sizes s₁, …, s_r and T_r(n) for the r‐partite Turán graph of order n. Our main result is: For all r≥2 and all sufficiently small c>0, ε>0, every graph G of sufficiently large order n with e(G)>(1?1/r?ε)n²/2 satisfies one of the conditions:

• (a) G contains a $K_{r+1} (\lfloor c\,\mbox{ln}\,n \rfloor,\ldots,\lfloor c\,\mbox{ln}\,n \rfloor,\lceil n^{{1}-\sqrt{c}}\rceil)In this note we strengthen the stability theorem of Erd?s and Simonovits. Write K_r(s₁, …, s_r) for the complete r‐partite graph with classes of sizes s₁, …, s_r and T_r(n) for the r‐partite Turán graph of order n. Our main result is: For all r≥2 and all sufficiently small c>0, ε>0, every graph G of sufficiently large order n with e(G)>(1?1/r?ε)n²/2 satisfies one of the conditions:
  • (a) G contains a $K_{r+1} (\lfloor c\,\mbox{ln}\,n \rfloor,\ldots,\lfloor c\,\mbox{ln}\,n \rfloor,\lceil n^{{1}-\sqrt{c}}\rceil)$;
  • (b) G differs from T_r(n) in fewer than (ε^1/3+c^1/(3r+3))n² edges.
  Letting µ(G) be the spectral radius of G, we prove also a spectral stability theorem: For all r≥2 and all sufficiently small c>0, ε>0, every graph G of sufficiently large order n with µ(G)>(1?1/r?ε)n satisfies one of the conditions:
  • (a) G contains a $K_{r+1}(\lfloor c\,\mbox{ln}\,n\rfloor,\ldots,\lfloor c\,\mbox{ln}\,n\rfloor,\lceil n^{1-\sqrt{c}}\rceil)$;
  • (b) G differs from T_r(n) in fewer than (ε^1/4+c^1/(8r+8))n² edges.
  © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 62: 362–368, 2009     

Triangle-free distance-regular graphs

Let Γ denote a distance-regular graph with diameter d≥3. By a parallelogram of length 3, we mean a 4-tuple xyzw consisting of vertices of Γ such that ∂(x,y)=∂(z,w)=1, ∂(x,z)=3, and ∂(x,w)=∂(y,w)=∂(y,z)=2, where ∂ denotes the path-length distance function. Assume that Γ has intersection numbers a ₁=0 and a ₂≠0. We prove that the following (i) and (ii) are equivalent. (i) Γ is Q-polynomial and contains no parallelograms of length 3; (ii) Γ has classical parameters (d,b,α,β) with b<−1. Furthermore, suppose that (i) and (ii) hold. We show that each of b(b+1)²(b+2)/c ₂, (b−2)(b−1)b(b+1)/(2+2b−c ₂) is an integer and that c ₂≤b(b+1). This upper bound for c ₂ is optimal, since the Hermitian forms graph Her₂(d) is a triangle-free distance-regular graph that satisfies c ₂=b(b+1). Work partially supported by the National Science Council of Taiwan, R.O.C.     

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     

Large holes in sparse random graphs

We show that there is a function α(r) such that for each constantr≧3, almost everyr-regular graph onn vertices has a hole (vertex induced cycle) of size at least α(r)n asn→∞. We also show that there is a function β(c) such that forc>0 large enough,G _{n, p} ,p=c/n almost surely has a hole of size at least β(c)n asn→∞.     

Choosability of Powers of Circuits

 It is proved that ch(G)=χ(G) if G=C _n ^p , the pth power of the circuit graph C _n , or if G is a uniform inflation of such a graph. The proof uses the method of Alon and Tarsi. As a corollary, the (a : b)-choosability conjectures hold for all such graphs. Received: October 10, 2000 Final version received: November 8, 2001     

The phase transition in the cluster‐scaled model of a random graph

For 0 < p < 1 and q > 0 let G_q(n,p) denote the random graph with vertex set [n]={1,…,n} such that, for each graph G on [n] with e(G) edges and c(G) components, the probability that G_q(n,p)=G is proportional to . The first systematic study of G_q(n,p) was undertaken by 6 , who analyzed the phase transition phenomenon corresponding to the emergence of the giant component. In this paper we describe the structure of G_q(n,p) very close the critical threshold. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 2006     

The Sigma Chromatic Number of a Graph

For a nontrivial connected graph G, let ${c: V(G)\to {{\mathbb N}}}For a nontrivial connected graph G, let c: V(G)? \mathbb N{c: V(G)\to {{\mathbb N}}} be a vertex coloring of G, where adjacent vertices may be colored the same. For a vertex v of G, let N(v) denote the set of vertices adjacent to v. The color sum σ(v) of v is the sum of the colors of the vertices in N(v). If σ(u) ≠ σ(v) for every two adjacent vertices u and v of G, then c is called a sigma coloring of G. The minimum number of colors required in a sigma coloring of a graph G is called its sigma chromatic number σ(G). The sigma chromatic number of a graph G never exceeds its chromatic number χ(G) and for every pair a, b of positive integers with a ≤ b, there exists a connected graph G with σ(G) = a and χ(G) = b. There is a connected graph G of order n with σ(G) = k for every pair k, n of positive integers with k ≤n if and only if k ≠ n − 1. Several other results concerning sigma chromatic numbers are presented.     

Maximum nullity of outerplanar graphs and the path cover number

Let G=(V,E) be a graph with V={1,2,…,n}. Define S(G) as the set of all n×n real-valued symmetric matrices A=[a_ij] with a_ij≠0,i≠j if and only if ij∈E. By M(G) we denote the largest possible nullity of any matrix A∈S(G). The path cover number of a graph G, denoted P(G), is the minimum number of vertex disjoint paths occurring as induced subgraphs of G which cover all the vertices of G.There has been some success with relating the path cover number of a graph to its maximum nullity. Johnson and Duarte [5], have shown that for a tree T,M(T)=P(T). Barioli et al. [2], show that for a unicyclic graph G,M(G)=P(G) or M(G)=P(G)-1. Notice that both families of graphs are outerplanar. We show that for any outerplanar graph G,M(G)?P(G). Further we show that for any partial 2-path G,M(G)=P(G).     

A multiplicative inequality for vertex Folkman numbers

Let G be a graph and a₁,…,a_r be positive integers. The symbol G→(a₁,…,a_r) denotes that in every r-coloring of the vertex set V(G) there exists a monochromatic a_i-clique of color i for some i∈{1,…,r}. The vertex Folkman numbers F(a₁,…,a_r;q)=min{|V(G)|:G→(a₁,…,a_r) and K_q?G} are considered. Let a_i, b_i, c_i, i∈{1,…,r}, s, t be positive integers and c_i=a_ib_i, 1?a_i?s,1?b_i?t. Then we prove that

F(c₁,c₂,…,c_r;st+1)?F(a₁,a₂,…,a_r;s+1)F(b₁,b₂,…,b_r;t+1).     

Maximum weight independent sets and matchings in sparse random graphs. Exact results using the local weak convergence method

Let G(n,c/n) and G_r(n) be an n‐node sparse random graph and a sparse random r‐regular graph, respectively, and let I(n,r) and I(n,c) be the sizes of the largest independent set in G(n,c/n) and G_r(n). The asymptotic value of I(n,c)/n as n → ∞, can be computed using the Karp‐Sipser algorithm when c ≤ e. For random cubic graphs, r = 3, it is only known that .432 ≤ lim inf_n I(n,3)/n ≤ lim sup_n I(n,3)/n ≤ .4591 with high probability (w.h.p.) as n → ∞, as shown in Frieze and Suen [Random Structures Algorithms 5 (1994), 649–664] and Bollabas [European J Combin 1 (1980), 311–316], respectively. In this paper we assume in addition that the nodes of the graph are equipped with nonnegative weights, independently generated according to some common distribution, and we consider instead the maximum weight of an independent set. Surprisingly, we discover that for certain weight distributions, the limit lim_n I(n,c)/n can be computed exactly even when c > e, and lim_n I(n,r)/n can be computed exactly for some r ≥ 1. For example, when the weights are exponentially distributed with parameter 1, lim_n I(n,2e)/n ≈ .5517, and lim_n I(n,3)/n ≈ .6077. Our results are established using the recently developed local weak convergence method further reduced to a certain local optimality property exhibited by the models we consider. We extend our results to maximum weight matchings in G(n,c/n) and G_r(n). For the case of exponential distributions, we compute the corresponding limits for every c > 0 and every r ≥ 2. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 2006     

The energy of unitary cayley graphs

A graph G of order n is called hyperenergetic if E(G)>2n-2, where E(G) denotes the energy of G. The unitary Cayley graph X_n has vertex set Z_n={0,1,2,…,n-1} and vertices a and b are adjacent, if gcd(a-b,n)=1. These graphs have integral spectrum and play an important role in modeling quantum spin networks supporting the perfect state transfer. We show that the unitary Cayley graph X_n is hyperenergetic if and only if n has at least two prime factors greater than 2 or at least three distinct prime factors. In addition, we calculate the energy of the complement of unitary Cayley graph and prove that is hyperenergetic if and only if n has at least two distinct prime factors and n≠2p, where p is a prime number. By extending this approach, for every fixed , we construct families of k hyperenergetic non-cospectral integral circulant n-vertex graphs with equal energy.     

On Optimal Orientations of Cartesian Products of Trees

. Let d(D) (resp., d(G)) denote the diameter and r(D) (resp., r(G)) the radius of a digraph D (resp., graph G). Let G×H denote the cartesian product of two graphs G and H. An orientation D of G is said to be (r, d)-invariant if r(D)=r(G) and d(D)=d(G). Let {T _i }, i=1,…,n, where n≥2, be a family of trees. In this paper, we show that the graph ∏ _{i =1} ⁿ T _i admits an (r, d)-invariant orientation provided that d(T ₁)≥d(T ₂)≥4 for n=2, and d(T ₁)≥5 and d(T ₂)≥4 for n≥3. Received: July 30, 1997 Final version received: April 20, 1998     

The rainbow number of matchings in regular bipartite graphs

Given a graph G and a subgraph H of G, let rb(G,H) be the minimum number r for which any edge-coloring of G with r colors has a rainbow subgraph H. The number rb(G,H) is called the rainbow number of H with respect to G. Denote as mK₂ a matching of size m and as B_n,k the set of all the k-regular bipartite graphs with bipartition (X,Y) such that X=Y=n and k≤n. Let k,m,n be given positive integers, where k≥3, m≥2 and n>3(m−1). We show that for every GB_n,k, rb(G,mK₂)=k(m−2)+2. We also determine the rainbow numbers of matchings in paths and cycles.     

Distance-regular subgraphs in a distance-regular graph, II

Let Γ be a distance-regular graph with r = l(1, a₁, b₁), a₁ > 0 and c_2r+1 = 1. We show the existence of a collinearity graph of a Moore geometry of diameter r + 1 as a subgraph in Γ. In particular, we show that r = 1.     

Classification of finite groups according to the number of conjugacy classes II

In the following,G denotes a finite group,r(G) the number of conjugacy classes ofG, β(G) the number of minimal normal subgroups ofG andα(G) the number of conjugate classes ofG not contained in the socleS(G). Let Φ _j = {G|β(G) =r(G) −j}. In this paper, the family Φ₁₁ is classified. In addition, from a simple inspection of the groups withr(G) =b conjugate classes that appear in ϒ _j ^=1/11 Φ _j , we obtain all finite groups satisfying one of the following conditions: (1)r(G) = 12; (2)r(G) = 13 andβ(G) > 1; …; (9)r(G) = 20 andβ(G) > 8; (10)r(G) =n andβ(G) =n −a with 1 ≦a ≦ 11, for each integern ≧ 21. Also, we obtain all finite groupsG with 13 ≦r(G) ≦ 20,β(G) ≦r(G) − 12, and satisfying one of the following conditions: (i) 0 ≦α(G) ≦ 4; (ii) 5 ≦α(G) ≦ 10 andS(G) solvable.