Essential independent sets and long cycles

An independent set S of a graph G is said to be essential if S has a pair of vertices that are distance two apart in G. For SV(G) with S≠, let Δ(S)=max{d_G(x)|xS}. We prove the following theorem. Let k2 and let G be a k-connected graph. Suppose that Δ(S)d for every essential independent set S of order k. Then G has a cycle of length at least min{|G|,2d}. This generalizes a result of Fan.     

Toughness and the existence of fractional k-factors of graphs

The toughness of a graph G, t(G), is defined as t(G)=min{|S|/ω(G-S)|S⊆V(G),ω(G-S)>1} where ω(G-S) denotes the number of components of G-S or t(G)=+∞ if G is a complete graph. Much work has been contributed to the relations between toughness and the existence of factors of a graph. In this paper, we consider the relationship between the toughness and the existence of fractional k-factors. It is proved that a graph G has a fractional 1-factor if t(G)?1 and has a fractional k-factor if t(G)?k-1/k where k?2. Furthermore, we show that both results are best possible in some sense.     

Structures and Chromaticity of Extremal 3-Colourable Sparse Graphs

 Assume that G is a 3-colourable connected graph with e(G) = 2v(G) −k, where k≥ 4. It has been shown that s ₃(G) ≥ 2 ^{k −3}, where s _r (G) = P(G,r)/r! for any positive integer r and P(G, λ) is the chromatic polynomial of G. In this paper, we prove that if G is 2-connected and s ₃(G) < 2 ^{k −2}, then G contains at most v(G) −k triangles; and the upper bound is attained only if G is a graph obtained by replacing each edge in the k-cycle C _k by a 2-tree. By using this result, we settle the problem of determining if W(n, s) is χ-unique, where W(n, s) is the graph obtained from the wheel W _n by deleting all but s consecutive spokes. Received: January 29, 1999 Final version received: April 8, 2000     

The Convexity Number of a Graph

 For two vertices u and v of a connected graph G, the set I[u,v] consists of all those vertices lying on a u−v shortest path in G, while for a set S of vertices of G, the set I[S] is the union of all sets I[u,v] for u,v∈S. A set S is convex if I[S]=S. The convexity number con(G) of G is the maximum cardinality of a proper convex set of G. The clique number ω(G) is the maximum cardinality of a clique in G. If G is a connected graph of order n that is not complete, then n≥3 and 2≤ω(G)≤con(G)≤n−1. It is shown that for every triple l,k,n of integers with n≥3 and 2≤l≤k≤n−1, there exists a noncomplete connected graph G of order n with ω(G)=l and con(G)=k. Other results on convex numbers are also presented. Received: August 19, 1998 Final version received: May 17, 2000     

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.     

High Connectivity Keeping Sets In <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-Connected Graphs

It is proved that for every positive integer k, every n-connected graph G of sufficiently large order contains a set W of k vertices such that G—W is (n-2)-connected. It is shown that this does not remain true if we add the condition that G(W) is connected.     

A Note on Graph Pebbling

 We say that a graph G is Class 0 if its pebbling number is exactly equal to its number of vertices. For a positive integer d, let k(d) denote the least positive integer so that every graph G with diameter at most d and connectivity at least k(d) is Class 0. The existence of the function k was conjectured by Clarke, Hochberg and Hurlbert, who showed that if the function k exists, then it must satisfy k(d)=Ω(2 ^d /d). In this note, we show that k exists and satisfies k(d)=O(2 ^2d ). We also apply this result to improve the upper bound on the random graph threshold of the Class 0 property. Received: April 19, 1999 Final version received: February 15, 2000     

Acyclic chromatic indices of planar graphs with large girth

An acyclic edge coloring of a graph G is a proper edge coloring such that no bichromatic cycles are produced. The acyclic chromatic index a^′(G) of G is the smallest k such that G has an acyclic edge coloring using k colors.In this paper, we prove that every planar graph G with girth g(G) and maximum degree Δ has a^′(G)=Δ if there exists a pair (k,m)∈{(3,11),(4,8),(5,7),(8,6)} such that G satisfies Δ≥k and g(G)≥m.     

On Ramsey Numbers for Trees Versus Wheels of Five or Six Vertices

 For given two graphs G dan H, the Ramsey number R(G,H) is the smallest positive integer n such that every graph F of order n must contain G or the complement of F must contain H. In [12], the Ramsey numbers for the combination between a star S _n and a wheel W _m for m=4,5 were shown, namely, R(S _n ,W ₄)=2n−1 for odd n and n≥3, otherwise R(S _n ,W ₄)=2n+1, and R(S _n ,W ₅)=3n−2 for n≥3. In this paper, we shall study the Ramsey number R(G,W _m ) for G any tree T _n . We show that if T _n is not a star then the Ramsey number R(T _n ,W ₄)=2n−1 for n≥4 and R(T _n ,W ₅)=3n−2 for n≥3. We also list some open problems. Received: October, 2001 Final version received: July 11, 2002 RID="*" ID="*" This work was supported by the QUE Project, Department of Mathematics ITB Indonesia Acknowledgments. We would like to thank the referees for several helpful comments.     

Whiskers and sequentially Cohen-Macaulay graphs

We investigate how to modify a simple graph G combinatorially to obtain a sequentially Cohen-Macaulay graph. We focus on adding configurations of whiskers to G, where to add a whisker one adds a new vertex and an edge connecting this vertex to an existing vertex of G. We give various sufficient conditions and necessary conditions on a subset S of the vertices of G so that the graph G∪W(S), obtained from G by adding a whisker to each vertex in S, is a sequentially Cohen-Macaulay graph. For instance, we show that if S is a vertex cover of G, then G∪W(S) is a sequentially Cohen-Macaulay graph. On the other hand, we show that if G?S is not sequentially Cohen-Macaulay, then G∪W(S) is not a sequentially Cohen-Macaulay graph. Our work is inspired by and generalizes a result of Villarreal on the use of whiskers to get Cohen-Macaulay graphs.     

On the nullity and the matching number of unicyclic graphs

Let G be a graph with n vertices and ν(G) be the matching number of G. Let η(G) denote the nullity of G (the multiplicity of the eigenvalue zero of G). It is well known that if G is a tree, then η(G)=n-2ν(G). Tan and Liu [X. Tan, B. Liu, On the nullity of unicyclic graphs, Linear Alg. Appl. 408 (2005) 212-220] proved that the nullity set of all unicyclic graphs with n vertices is {0,1,…,n-4} and characterized the unicyclic graphs with η(G)=n-4. In this paper, we characterize the unicyclic graphs with η(G)=n-5, and we prove that if G is a unicyclic graph, then η(G) equals , or n-2ν(G)+2. We also give a characterization of these three types of graphs. Furthermore, we determine the unicyclic graphs G with η(G)=0, which answers affirmatively an open problem by Tan and Liu.     

Some results on R 2-edge-connectivity of even regular graphs

Let G be a connected k(≥3)-regular graph with girth g. A set S of the edges in G is called an Rredge-cut if G-S is disconnected and comains neither an isolated vertex nor a one-degree vertex. The R2-edge-connectivity of G, denoted by λ^n(G), is the minimum cardinality over all R2-edge-cuts, which is an important measure for fault-tolerance of computer interconnection networks. In this paper, λ^n(G)=g(2k-2) for any 2k-regular connected graph G (≠K5) that is either edge-transitive or vertex-transitive and g≥5 is given.     

Closed Separator Sets

A smallest separator in a finite, simple, undirected graph G is a set S ⊆ V (G) such that G–S is disconnected and |S|=κ(G), where κ(G) denotes the connectivity of G. A set S of smallest separators in G is defined to be closed if for every pair S,T ∈ S, every component C of G–S, and every component S of G–T intersecting C either X(C,D) := (V (C) ∩ T) ∪ (T ∩ S) ∪ (S ∩ V (D)) is in S or |X(C,D)| > κ(G). This leads, canonically, to a closure system on the (closed) set of all smallest separators of G. A graph H with is defined to be S-augmenting if no member of S is a smallest separator in G ∪ H:=(V (G) ∪ V (H), E(G) ∪ E(H)). It is proved that if S is closed then every minimally S-augmenting graph is a forest, which generalizes a result of Jordán. Several applications are included, among them a generalization of a Theorem of Mader on disjoint fragments in critically k-connected graphs, a Theorem of Su on highly critically k-connected graphs, and an affirmative answer to a conjecture of Su on disjoint fragments in contraction critically k-connected graphs of maximal minimum degree.     

Cochromatic Number and the Genus of a Graph

The cochromatic number of a graph G, denoted by z(G), is the minimum number of subsets into which the vertex set of G can be partitioned so that each sbuset induces an empty or a complete subgraph of G. In this paper we introduce the problem of determining for a surface S, z(S), which is the maximum cochromatic number among all graphs G that embed in S. Some general bounds are obtained; for example, it is shown that if S is orientable of genus at least one, or if S is nonorientable of genus at least four, then z(S) is nonorientable of genus at least four, then z(S)≤χ(S). Here χ(S) denotes the chromatic number S. Exact results are obtained for the sphere, the Klein bottle, and for S. It is conjectured that z(S) is equal to the maximum n for which the graph G_n = K₁ ∪ K₂ ∪ … ∪ K_n embeds in S.     

Packing in regular graphs

A set S of vertices in a graph G is a packing if the vertices in S are pairwise at distance at least 3 apart in G. The packing number of G, denoted by ρ(G), is the maximum cardinality of a packing in G. Favaron [Discrete Math. 158 (1996), 287–293] showed that if G is a connected cubic graph of order n different from the Petersen graph, then ρ(G) ≥ n/8. In this paper, we generalize Favaron’s result. We show that for k ≥ 3, if G is a connected k-regular graph of order n that is not a diameter-2 Moore graph, then ρ(G) ≥ n/(k² ? 1).     

List multicoloring problems involving the k‐fold Hall numbers

We show that the four‐cycle has a k‐fold list coloring if the lists of colors available at the vertices satisfy the necessary Hall's condition, and if each list has length at least ?5k/3?; furthermore, the same is not true with shorter list lengths. In terms of h^(k)(G), the k ‐fold Hall number of a graph G, this result is stated as h^(k)(C₄)=2k??k/3?. For longer cycles it is known that h^(k)(C_n)=2k, for n odd, and 2k??k/(n?1)?≤h^(k)(C_n)≤2k, for n even. Here we show the lower bound for n even, and conjecture that this is the right value (just as for C₄). We prove that if G is the diamond (a four‐cycle with a diagonal), then h^(k)(G)=2k. Combining these results with those published earlier we obtain a characterization of graphs G with h^(k)(G)=k. As a tool in the proofs we obtain and apply an elementary generalization of the classical Hall–Rado–Halmos–Vaughan theorem on pairwise disjoint subset representatives with prescribed cardinalities. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 65: 16–34, 2010.     

A note on the bichromatic numbers of graphs

For a pair of integers k, l≥0, a graph G is (k, l)‐colorable if its vertices can be partitioned into at most k independent sets and at most l cliques. The bichromatic number χ^b(G) of G is the least integer r such that for all k, l with k+l=r, G is (k, l)‐colorable. The concept of bichromatic numbers simultaneously generalizes the chromatic number χ(G) and the clique covering number θ(G), and is important in studying the speed of hereditary properties and edit distances of graphs. It is easy to see that for every graph G the bichromatic number χ^b(G) is bounded above by χ(G)+θ(G)?1. In this article, we characterize all graphs G for which the upper bound is attained, i.e., χ^b(G)=χ(G)+θ(G)?1. It turns out that all these graphs are cographs and in fact they are the critical graphs with respect to the (k, l)‐colorability of cographs. More specifically, we show that a cograph H is not (k, l)‐colorable if and only if H contains an induced subgraph G with χ(G)=k+1, θ(G)=l+1 and χ^b(G)=k+l+1. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 65: 263–269, 2010     

On the chromaticity of complete multipartite graphs with certain edges added

Let P(G,λ) be the chromatic polynomial of a graph G. A graph G is chromatically unique if for any graph H, P(H,λ)=P(G,λ) implies H is isomorphic to G. For integers k≥0, t≥2, denote by K((t−1)×p,p+k) the complete t-partite graph that has t−1 partite sets of size p and one partite set of size p+k. Let K(s,t,p,k) be the set of graphs obtained from K((t−1)×p,p+k) by adding a set S of s edges to the partite set of size p+k such that 〈S〉 is bipartite. If s=1, denote the only graph in K(s,t,p,k) by K⁺((t−1)×p,p+k). In this paper, we shall prove that for k=0,1 and p+k≥s+2, each graph G∈K(s,t,p,k) is chromatically unique if and only if 〈S〉 is a chromatically unique graph that has no cut-vertex. As a direct consequence, the graph K⁺((t−1)×p,p+k) is chromatically unique for k=0,1 and p+k≥3.     

The k-Restricted Edge Connectivity of Balanced Bipartite Graphs

For a connected graph G = (V, E), an edge set S ì E{S\subset E} is called a k-restricted edge cut if G − S is disconnected and every component of G − S contains at least k vertices. The k-restricted edge connectivity of G, denoted by λ _k (G), is defined as the cardinality of a minimum k-restricted edge cut. For two disjoint vertex sets U₁,U₂ ì V(G){U_1,U_2\subset V(G)}, denote the set of edges of G with one end in U ₁ and the other in U ₂ by [U ₁, U ₂]. Define x_k(G)=min{|[U,V(G)\ U]|: U{\xi_k(G)=\min\{|[U,V(G){\setminus} U]|: U} is a vertex subset of order k of G and the subgraph induced by U is connected}. A graph G is said to be λ _k -optimal if λ _k (G) = ξ _k (G). A graph is said to be super-λ _k if every minimum k-restricted edge cut is a set of edges incident to a certain connected subgraph of order k. In this paper, we present some degree-sum conditions for balanced bipartite graphs to be λ _k -optimal or super-λ _k . Moreover, we demonstrate that our results are best possible.     

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.