Degree conditions for hamiltonicity: Counting the number of missing edges

In 1960 Ore proved the following theorem: Let G be a graph of order n. If $d(u)+d(v)⩾n$ for every pair of nonadjacent vertices u and $v$, then G is hamiltonian. In this note we strengthen Ore's theorem as follows: we determine the maximum number of pairs of nonadjacent vertices that can have degree sum less than n (i.e. violate Ore's condition) but still imply that the graph is hamiltonian. Some other sufficient conditions (i.e. Fan's condition) for hamiltonian graphs are strengthened as well.     

Closure Concepts: A Survey

In this paper we survey results of the following type (known as closure results). Let P be a graph property, and let C(u,v) be a condition on two nonadjacent vertices u and v of a graph G. Then G+uv has property P if and only if G has property P. The first and now well-known result of this type was established by Bondy and Chvátal in a paper published in 1976: If u and v are two nonadjacent vertices with degree sum n in a graph G on n vertices, then G+uv is hamiltonian if and only if G is hamiltonian. Based on this result, they defined the n-closure cl_n (G) of a graph G on n vertices as the graph obtained from G by recursively joining pairs of nonadjacent vertices with degree sum n until no such pair remains. They showed that cl_n(G) is well-defined, and that G is hamiltonian if and only if cl_n(G) is hamiltonian. Moreover, they showed that cl_n(G) can be obtained by a polynomial algorithm, and that a Hamilton cycle in cl_n(G) can be transformed into a Hamilton cycle of G by a polynomial algorithm. As a consequence, for any graph G with cl_n(G)=K _n (and n≥3), a Hamilton cycle can be found in polynomial time, whereas this problem is NP-hard for general graphs. All classic sufficient degree conditions for hamiltonicity imply a complete n-closure, so the closure result yields a common generalization as well as an easy proof for these conditions. In their first paper on closures, Bondy and Chvátal gave similar closure results based on degree sum conditions for nonadjacent vertices for other graph properties. Inspired by their first results, many authors developed other closure concepts for a variety of graph properties, or used closure techniques as a tool for obtaining deeper sufficiency results with respect to these properties. Our aim is to survey this progress on closures made in the past (more than) twenty years. Revised: September 27, 1999     

Degree conditions for k‐ordered hamiltonian graphs

For a positive integer k, a graph G is k-ordered hamiltonian if for every ordered sequence of k vertices there is a hamiltonian cycle that encounters the vertices of the sequence in the given order. It is shown that if G is a graph of order n with 3 ≤ k ≤ n/2, and deg(u) + deg(v) ≥ n + (3k − 9)/2 for every pair u, v of nonadjacent vertices of G, then G is k-ordered hamiltonian. Minimum degree conditions are also given for k-ordered hamiltonicity. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 42: 199–210, 2003     

Hamiltonian Connected Claw-Free Graphs

A well-known result by O. Ore is that every graph of order n with d(u)+d(v)n+1 for any pair of nonadjacent vertices u and v is hamiltonian connected (i.e., for every pair of vertices, there is a hamiltonian path joining them). In this paper, we show that every 3-connected claw-free graph G on at most 5–8 vertices is hamiltonian connected, where denotes the minimum degree in G. This result generalizes several previous results.Acknowledgments. The author would like to thank the referee for his important suggestions and careful corrections.Final version received: March 12, 2003Supported by the project of Nature Science Funds of China     

On spanning connected graphs

A k-containerC(u,v) of G between u and v is a set of k internally disjoint paths between u and v. A k-container C(u,v) of G is a k^*-container if the set of the vertices of all the paths in C(u,v) contains all the vertices of G. A graph G is k^*-connected if there exists a k^*-container between any two distinct vertices. Therefore, a graph is 1^*-connected (respectively, 2^*-connected) if and only if it is hamiltonian connected (respectively, hamiltonian). In this paper, a classical theorem of Ore, providing sufficient conditional for a graph to be hamiltonian (respectively, hamiltonian connected), is generalized to k^*-connected graphs.     

Hamiltonicity of 3-Arc Graphs

An arc of a graph is an oriented edge and a 3-arc is a 4-tuple (v, u, x, y) of vertices such that both (v, u, x) and (u, x, y) are paths of length two. The 3-arc graph of a graph G is defined to have vertices the arcs of G such that two arcs uv, xy are adjacent if and only if (v, u, x, y) is a 3-arc of G. We prove that any connected 3-arc graph is hamiltonian, and all iterative 3-arc graphs of any connected graph of minimum degree at least three are hamiltonian. As a corollary we obtain that any vertex-transitive graph which is isomorphic to the 3-arc graph of a connected arc-transitive graph of degree at least three must be hamiltonian. This confirms the conjecture, for this family of vertex-transitive graphs, that all vertex-transitive graphs with finitely many exceptions are hamiltonian. We also prove that if a graph with at least four vertices is Hamilton-connected, then so are its iterative 3-arc graphs.     

A degree condition for a graph to have [a,b]-factors

Let G be a graph of order n, and let a and b be integers such that 1 ≤ a < b. We show that G has an [a, b]-factor if δ(G) ≥ a, n ≥ 2a + b + and max {d_G(u), d_G(v) ≥ for any two nonadjacent vertices u and v in G. This result is best possible, and it is an extension of T. Iida and T. Nishimura's results (T. Iida and T. Nishimura, An Ore-type condition for the existence of k-factors in graphs, Graphs and Combinat. 7 (1991), 353–361; T. Nishimura, A degree condition for the existence of k-factors, J. Graph Theory 16 (1992), 141–151). about the existence of a k-factor. As an immediate consequence, it shows that a conjecture of M. Kano (M. Kano, Some current results and problems on factors of graphs, Proc. 3rd China–USA International Conference on Graph Theory and Its Application, Beijing (1993). about connected [a, b]-factors is incorrect. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 27: 1–6, 1998     

Heavy cycles passing through some specified vertices in weighted graphs

A weighted graph is one in which every edge e is assigned a nonnegative number, called the weight of e. The sum of the weights of the edges incident with a vertex υ is called the weighted degree of υ. The weight of a cycle is defined as the sum of the weights of its edges. In this paper, we prove that: (1) if G is a 2‐connected weighted graph such that the minimum weighted degree of G is at least d, then for every given vertices x and y, either G contains a cycle of weight at least 2d passing through both of x and y or every heaviest cycle in G is a hamiltonian cycle, and (2) if G is a 2‐connected weighted graph such that the weighted degree sum of every pair of nonadjacent vertices is at least s, then for every vertex y, G contains either a cycle of weight at least s passing through y or a hamiltonian cycle. AMS classification: 05C45 05C38 05C35. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory     

Degree conditions on claws and modified claws for hamiltonicity of graphs

Ore presented a degree condition involving every pair of nonadjacent vertices for a graph to be hamiltonian. Fan [New sufficient conditions for cycles in graphs, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B 37 (1984) 221-227] showed that not all the pairs of nonadjacent vertices are required, but only the pairs of vertices at the distance two suffice. Bedrossian et al. [A generalization of Fan's condition for hamiltonicity, pancyclicity, and hamiltonian connectedness, Discrete Math. 115 (1993) 39-50] improved Fan's result involving the pairs of vertices contained in an induced claw or an induced modified claw. On the other hand, Matthews and Sumner [Longest paths and cycles in K_1,3-free graphs, J. Graph Theory 9 (1985) 269-277] gave a minimum degree condition for a claw-free graph to be hamiltonian. In this paper, we give a new degree condition in an induced claw or an induced modified claw ensuring the hamiltonicity of graphs which extends both results of Bederossian et al. and Matthews and Sumner.     

Two edge-disjoint hamiltonian cycles in graphs

E. Schmeichel and D. Hayes showed that ifG is a 2-connected graph withd(u) +d(v)≥n ?1 for every pair of nonadjacent vertices andv, then G has a Hamiltonian cycle unlessG is the graph of Fig. 2 (b). In this paper, it is proved that, under almost the same conditions as Schmeichel and Hayes’s Theorem, namely,G is a 2-connected graph of ordern (n ≥ 40) with δ(G) ≥ 7 for every pair of nonadjacent vertices andv, G has two edge-disjoint Hamiltonian cycles unlessG is one of the graphs in Fig. 1 or Fig. 2, and this conclusion is best possible.     

k-ordered Hamiltonian graphs

A hamiltonian graph G of order n is k-ordered, 2 ≤ k ≤ n, if for every sequence v₁, v₂, …, v_k of k distinct vertices of G, there exists a hamiltonian cycle that encounters v₁, v₂, …, v_k in this order. Theorems by Dirac and Ore, presenting sufficient conditions for a graph to be hamiltonian, are generalized to k-ordered hamiltonian graphs. The existence of k-ordered graphs with small maximum degree is investigated; in particular, a family of 4-regular 4-ordered graphs is described. A graph G of order n ≥ 3 is k-hamiltonian-connected, 2 ≤ k ≤ n, if for every sequence v₁, v₂, …, v_k of k distinct vertices, G contains a v₁-v_k hamiltonian path that encounters v₁, v₂,…, v_k in this order. It is shown that for k ≥ 3, every (k + 1)-hamiltonian-connected graph is k-ordered and a result of Ore on hamiltonian-connected graphs is generalized to k-hamiltonian-connected graphs. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

On the Wiener Index of Graphs

The Wiener index of a graph G is defined as W(G)=∑ _u,v d _G (u,v), where d _G (u,v) is the distance between u and v in G and the sum goes over all the pairs of vertices. In this paper, we first present the 6 graphs with the first to the sixth smallest Wiener index among all graphs with n vertices and k cut edges and containing a complete subgraph of order n−k; and then we construct a graph with its Wiener index no less than some integer among all graphs with n vertices and k cut edges.     

On circuits and pancyclic line graphs

Clark proved that L(G) is hamiltonian if G is a connected graph of order n ≥ 6 such that deg u + deg v ≥ n – 1 – p(n) for every edge uv of G, where p(n) = 0 if n is even and p(n) = 1 if n is odd. Here it is shown that the bound n – 1 – p(n) can be decreased to (2n + 1)/3 if every bridge of G is incident with a vertex of degree 1, which is a necessary condition for hamiltonicity of L(G). Moreover, the conclusion that L(G) is hamiltonian can be strengthened to the conclusion that L(G) is pancyclic. Lesniak-Foster and Williamson proved that G contains a spanning closed trail if |V(G)| = n ≥ 6, δ(G) ≥ 2 and deg u + deg v ≥ n – 1 for every pair of nonadjacent vertices u and v. The bound n – 1 can be decreased to (2n + 3)/3 if G is connected and bridgeless, which is necessary for G to have a spanning closed trail.     

A new sufficient condition for Hamiltonian graphs

The study of Hamiltonian graphs began with Dirac’s classic result in 1952. This was followed by that of Ore in 1960. In 1984 Fan generalized both these results with the following result: If G is a 2-connected graph of order n and max{d(u),d(v)}≥n/2 for each pair of vertices u and v with distance d(u,v)=2, then G is Hamiltonian. In 1991 Faudree–Gould–Jacobson–Lesnick proved that if G is a 2-connected graph and |N(u)∪N(v)|+δ(G)≥n for each pair of nonadjacent vertices u,v∈V(G), then G is Hamiltonian. This paper generalizes the above results when G is 3-connected. We show that if G is a 3-connected graph of order n and max{|N(x)∪N(y)|+d(u),|N(w)∪N(z)|+d(v)}≥n for every choice of vertices x,y,u,w,z,v such that d(x,y)=d(y,u)=d(w,z)=d(z,v)=d(u,v)=2 and where x,y and u are three distinct vertices and w,z and v are also three distinct vertices (and possibly |{x,y}∩{w,z}| is 1 or 2), then G is Hamiltonian.     

Even graphs

A nontrivial connected graph G is called even if for each vertex v of G there is a unique vertex v such that d(v, v ) = diam G. Special classes of even graphs are defined and compared to each other. In particular, an even graph G is called symmetric if d(u, v) + d(u, v ) = diam G for all u, v ∈ V(G). Several properties of even and symmetric even graphs are stated. For an even graph of order n and diameter d other than an even cycle it is shown that n ≥ 3d – 1 and conjectured that n ≥ 4d – 4. This conjecture is proved for symmetric even graphs and it is shown that for each pair of integers n, d with n even, d ≥ 2 and n ≥ 4d – 4 there exists an even graph of order n and diameter d. Several ways of constructing new even graphs from known ones are presented.     

New Ore��s Type Results on Hamiltonicity and Existence of Paths of Given Length in Graphs

The well-known Ore??s theorem (see Ore in Am Math Mon 65:55, 1960), states that a graph G of order n such that d(x)?+?d(y)??? n for every pair {x, y} of non-adjacent vertices of G is Hamiltonian. In this paper, we considerably improve this theorem by proving that in a graph G of order n and of minimum degree ????? 2, if there exist at least n ? ?? vertices x of G so that the number of the vertices y of G non-adjacent to x and satisfying d(x)?+?d(y)??? n ? 1 is at most ?? ? 1, then G is Hamiltonian. We will see that there are graphs which violate the condition of the so called ??Extended Ore??s theorem?? (see Faudree et?al. in Discrete Math 307:873?C877, 2007) as well as the condition of Chvatál??s theorem (see Chvátal in J Combin Theory Ser B 12:163?C168, 1972) and the condition of the so called ??Extended Fan?? theorem?? (see Faudree et?al. in Discrete Math 307:873?C877, 2007), but satisfy the condition of our result, which then, only allows to conclude that such graphs are Hamiltonian. This will show the pertinence of our result. We give also a new result of the same type, ensuring the existence of a path of given length.     

A characterization of panconnected graphs satisfying a local ore-type condition

It is well known that a graph G of order p ≥ 3 is Hamilton-connected if d(u) + d(v) ≥ p + 1 for each pair of nonadjacent vertices u and v. In this paper we consider connected graphs G of order at least 3 for which d(u) + d(v) ≥ |N(u) ∪ N(v) ∪ N(w)| + 1 for any path uwv with uv ∉ E(G), where N(x) denote the neighborhood of a vertex x. We prove that a graph G satisfying this condition has the following properties: (a) For each pair of nonadjacent vertices x, y of G and for each integer k, d(x, y) ≤ k ≤ |V(G)| − 1, there is an x − y path of length k. (b) For each edge xy of G and for each integer k (excepting maybe one k η {3,4}) there is a cycle of length k containing xy. Consequently G is panconnected (and also edge pancyclic) if and only if each edge of G belongs to a triangle and a quadrangle. Our results imply some results of Williamson, Faudree, and Schelp. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Sufficient conditions for λ′‐optimality in graphs with girth g

For a connected graph the restricted edge‐connectivity λ′(G) is defined as the minimum cardinality of an edge‐cut over all edge‐cuts S such that there are no isolated vertices in G–S. A graph G is said to be λ′‐optimal if λ′(G) = ξ(G), where ξ(G) is the minimum edge‐degree in G defined as ξ(G) = min{d(u) + d(v) ? 2:uv ∈ E(G)}, d(u) denoting the degree of a vertex u. A. Hellwig and L. Volkmann [Sufficient conditions for λ′‐optimality in graphs of diameter 2, Discrete Math 283 (2004), 113–120] gave a sufficient condition for λ′‐optimality in graphs of diameter 2. In this paper, we generalize this condition in graphs of diameter g ? 1, g being the girth of the graph, and show that a graph G with diameter at most g ? 2 is λ′‐optimal. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 52: 73–86, 2006     

Hamiltonian cycles in n‐extendable graphs

A graph G of order at least 2n+2 is said to be n‐extendable if G has a perfect matching and every set of n independent edges extends to a perfect matching in G. We prove that every pair of nonadjacent vertices x and y in a connected n‐extendable graph of order p satisfy deg_G x+deg_G y ≥ p ? n ? 1, then either G is hamiltonian or G is isomorphic to one of two exceptional graphs. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 40: 75–82, 2002     

Disjoint hamiltonian cycles in bipartite graphs

Let G=(X,Y) be a bipartite graph and define . Moon and Moser [J. Moon, L. Moser, On Hamiltonian bipartite graphs, Israel J. Math. 1 (1963) 163-165. MR 28 # 4540] showed that if G is a bipartite graph on 2n vertices such that , then G is hamiltonian, sharpening a classical result of Ore [O. Ore, A note on Hamilton circuits, Amer. Math. Monthly 67 (1960) 55] for bipartite graphs. Here we prove that if G is a bipartite graph on 2n vertices such that , then G contains k edge-disjoint hamiltonian cycles. This extends the result of Moon and Moser and a result of R. Faudree et al. [R. Faudree, C. Rousseau, R. Schelp, Edge-disjoint Hamiltonian cycles, Graph Theory Appl. Algorithms Comput. Sci. (1984) 231-249].