On some intriguing problems in Hamiltonian graph theory -- A survey

We survey results and open problems in Hamiltonian graph theory centred around three themes: regular graphs, $t$-tough graphs, and claw-free graphs

Dirac's theorem for random regular graphs

We prove a `resilience' version of Dirac's theorem in the setting of random regular graphs. More precisely, we show that, whenever $d$ is sufficiently large compared to $\varepsilon>0$, a.a.s. the following holds: let $G'$ be any subgraph of the random $n$-vertex $d$-regular graph $G_{n,d}$ with minimum degree at least $(1/2+\varepsilon)d$. Then $G'$ is Hamiltonian. This proves a conjecture of Ben-Shimon, Krivelevich and Sudakov. Our result is best possible: firstly, the condition that $d$ is large cannot be omitted, and secondly, the minimum degree bound cannot be improved.Comment: Final accepted version, to appear in Combinatorics, Probability & Computin

Toughness and hamiltonicity in kk-trees

We consider toughness conditions that guarantee the existence of a hamiltonian cycle in $k$-trees, a subclass of the class of chordal graphs. By a result of Chen et al.\ 18-tough chordal graphs are hamiltonian, and by a result of Bauer et al.\ there exist nontraceable chordal graphs with toughness arbitrarily close to $\frac{7}{4}$. It is believed that the best possible value of the toughness guaranteeing hamiltonicity of chordal graphs is less than 18, but the proof of Chen et al.\ indicates that proving a better result could be very complicated. We show that every 1-tough 2-tree on at least three vertices is hamiltonian, a best possible result since 1-toughness is a necessary condition for hamiltonicity. We generalize the result to $k$-trees for $k\ge 2$: Let $G$ be a $k$-tree. If $G$ has toughness at least $\frac{k+1}{3},$ then $G$ is hamiltonian. Moreover, we present infinite classes of nonhamiltonian 1-tough $k$-trees for each $k\ge 3

Hamilton cycles in highly connected and expanding graphs

In this paper we prove a sufficient condition for the existence of a Hamilton cycle, which is applicable to a wide variety of graphs, including relatively sparse graphs. In contrast to previous criteria, ours is based on only two properties: one requiring expansion of ``small'' sets, the other ensuring the existence of an edge between any two disjoint ``large'' sets. We also discuss applications in positional games, random graphs and extremal graph theory.Comment: 19 page

A Survey of Best Monotone Degree Conditions for Graph Properties

We survey sufficient degree conditions, for a variety of graph properties, that are best possible in the same sense that Chvatal's well-known degree condition for hamiltonicity is best possible.Comment: 25 page

The number of Hamiltonian decompositions of regular graphs

A Hamilton cycle in a graph $\Gamma$ is a cycle passing through every vertex of $\Gamma$. A Hamiltonian decomposition of $\Gamma$ is a partition of its edge set into disjoint Hamilton cycles. One of the oldest results in graph theory is Walecki's theorem from the 19th century, showing that a complete graph $K_n$ on an odd number of vertices $n$ has a Hamiltonian decomposition. This result was recently greatly extended by K\"{u}hn and Osthus. They proved that every $r$-regular $n$-vertex graph $\Gamma$ with even degree $r=cn$ for some fixed $c>1/2$ has a Hamiltonian decomposition, provided $n=n(c)$ is sufficiently large. In this paper we address the natural question of estimating $H(\Gamma)$, the number of such decompositions of $\Gamma$. Our main result is that $H(\Gamma)=r^{(1+o(1))nr/2}$. In particular, the number of Hamiltonian decompositions of $K_n$ is $n^{(1-o(1))n^2/2}$

Resilient degree sequences with respect to Hamilton cycles and matchings in random graphs

P\'osa's theorem states that any graph $G$ whose degree sequence $d_1 \le \ldots \le d_n$ satisfies $d_i \ge i+1$ for all $i < n/2$ has a Hamilton cycle. This degree condition is best possible. We show that a similar result holds for suitable subgraphs $G$ of random graphs, i.e. we prove a `resilience version' of P\'osa's theorem: if $pn \ge C \log n$ and the $i$-th vertex degree (ordered increasingly) of $G \subseteq G_{n,p}$ is at least $(i+o(n))p$ for all $i<n/2$, then $G$ has a Hamilton cycle. This is essentially best possible and strengthens a resilience version of Dirac's theorem obtained by Lee and Sudakov. Chv\'atal's theorem generalises P\'osa's theorem and characterises all degree sequences which ensure the existence of a Hamilton cycle. We show that a natural guess for a resilience version of Chv\'atal's theorem fails to be true. We formulate a conjecture which would repair this guess, and show that the corresponding degree conditions ensure the existence of a perfect matching in any subgraph of $G_{n,p}$ which satisfies these conditions. This provides an asymptotic characterisation of all degree sequences which resiliently guarantee the existence of a perfect matching.Comment: To appear in the Electronic Journal of Combinatorics. This version corrects a couple of typo