Embedding large subgraphs into dense graphs

What conditions ensure that a graph G contains some given spanning subgraph H? The most famous examples of results of this kind are probably Dirac's theorem on Hamilton cycles and Tutte's theorem on perfect matchings. Perfect matchings are generalized by perfect F-packings, where instead of covering all the vertices of G by disjoint edges, we want to cover G by disjoint copies of a (small) graph F. It is unlikely that there is a characterization of all graphs G which contain a perfect F-packing, so as in the case of Dirac's theorem it makes sense to study conditions on the minimum degree of G which guarantee a perfect F-packing. The Regularity lemma of Szemeredi and the Blow-up lemma of Komlos, Sarkozy and Szemeredi have proved to be powerful tools in attacking such problems and quite recently, several long-standing problems and conjectures in the area have been solved using these. In this survey, we give an outline of recent progress (with our main emphasis on F-packings, Hamiltonicity problems and tree embeddings) and describe some of the methods involved

On small Mixed Pattern Ramsey numbers

We call the minimum order of any complete graph so that for any coloring of the edges by $k$ colors it is impossible to avoid a monochromatic or rainbow triangle, a Mixed Ramsey number. For any graph $H$ with edges colored from the above set of $k$ colors, if we consider the condition of excluding $H$ in the above definition, we produce a \emph{Mixed Pattern Ramsey number}, denoted $M_k(H)$. We determine this function in terms of $k$ for all colored $4$-cycles and all colored $4$-cliques. We also find bounds for $M_k(H)$ when $H$ is a monochromatic odd cycles, or a star for sufficiently large $k$. We state several open questions.Comment: 16 page

Cycles are strongly Ramsey-unsaturated

We call a graph H Ramsey-unsaturated if there is an edge in the complement of H such that the Ramsey number r(H) of H does not change upon adding it to H. This notion was introduced by Balister, Lehel and Schelp who also proved that cycles (except for $C_4$) are Ramsey-unsaturated, and conjectured that, moreover, one may add any chord without changing the Ramsey number of the cycle $C_n$, unless n is even and adding the chord creates an odd cycle. We prove this conjecture for large cycles by showing a stronger statement: If a graph H is obtained by adding a linear number of chords to a cycle $C_n$, then $r(H)=r(C_n)$, as long as the maximum degree of H is bounded, H is either bipartite (for even n) or almost bipartite (for odd n), and n is large. This motivates us to call cycles strongly Ramsey-unsaturated. Our proof uses the regularity method

On path-quasar Ramsey numbers

Let $G_1$ and $G_2$ be two given graphs. The Ramsey number $R(G_1,G_2)$ is the least integer $r$ such that for every graph $G$ on $r$ vertices, either $G$ contains a $G_1$ or $\overline{G}$ contains a $G_2$. Parsons gave a recursive formula to determine the values of $R(P_n,K_{1,m})$, where $P_n$ is a path on $n$ vertices and $K_{1,m}$ is a star on $m+1$ vertices. In this note, we first give an explicit formula for the path-star Ramsey numbers. Secondly, we study the Ramsey numbers $R(P_n,K_1\vee F_m)$, where $F_m$ is a linear forest on $m$ vertices. We determine the exact values of $R(P_n,K_1\vee F_m)$ for the cases $m\leq n$ and $m\geq 2n$, and for the case that $F_m$ has no odd component. Moreover, we give a lower bound and an upper bound for the case $n+1\leq m\leq 2n-1$ and $F_m$ has at least one odd component.Comment: 7 page