Building Large k-Cores from Sparse Graphs

A popular model to measure network stability is the k-core, that is the maximal induced subgraph in which every vertex has degree at least k. For example, k-cores are commonly used to model the unraveling phenomena in social networks. In this model, users having less than k connections within the network leave it, so the remaining users form exactly the k-core. In this paper we study the question of whether it is possible to make the network more robust by spending only a limited amount of resources on new connections. A mathematical model for the k-core construction problem is the following Edge k-Core optimization problem. We are given a graph G and integers k, b and p. The task is to ensure that the k-core of G has at least p vertices by adding at most b edges. The previous studies on Edge k-Core demonstrate that the problem is computationally challenging. In particular, it is NP-hard when k = 3, W[1]-hard when parameterized by k+b+p (Chitnis and Talmon, 2018), and APX-hard (Zhou et al, 2019). Nevertheless, we show that there are efficient algorithms with provable guarantee when the k-core has to be constructed from a sparse graph with some additional structural properties. Our results are - When the input graph is a forest, Edge k-Core is solvable in polynomial time; - Edge k-Core is fixed-parameter tractable (FPT) when parameterized by the minimum size of a vertex cover in the input graph. On the other hand, with such parameterization, the problem does not admit a polynomial kernel subject to a widely-believed assumption from complexity theory; - Edge k-Core is FPT parameterized by the treewidth of the graph plus k. This improves upon a result of Chitnis and Talmon by not requiring b to be small. Each of our algorithms is built upon a new graph-theoretical result interesting in its own

Topics in Graph Theory: Extremal Intersecting Systems, Perfect Graphs, and Bireflexive Graphs

In this thesis we investigate three different aspects of graph theory. Firstly, we consider interesecting systems of independent sets in graphs, and the extension of the classical theorem of Erdos, Ko and Rado to graphs. Our main results are a proof of an Erdos-Ko-Rado type theorem for a class of trees, and a class of trees which form counterexamples to a conjecture of Hurlberg and Kamat, in such a way that extends the previous counterexamples given by Baber. Secondly, we investigate perfect graphs - specifically, edge modification aspects of perfect graphs and their subclasses. We give some alternative characterisations of perfect graphs in terms of edge modification, as well as considering the possible connection of the critically perfect graphs - previously studied by Wagler - to the Strong Perfect Graph Theorem. We prove that the situation where critically perfect graphs arise has no analogue in seven different subclasses of perfect graphs (e.g. chordal, comparability graphs), and consider the connectivity of a bipartite reconfiguration-type graph associated to each of these subclasses. Thirdly, we consider a graph theoretic structure called a bireflexive graph where every vertex is both adjacent and nonadjacent to itself, and use this to characterise modular decompositions as the surjective homomorphisms of these structures. We examine some analogues of some graph theoretic notions and define a “dual” version of the reconstruction conjecture

Extremal graph colouring and tiling problems

In this thesis, we study a variety of different extremal graph colouring and tiling problems in finite and infinite graphs. Confirming a conjecture of Gyárfás, we show that for all k, r ∈ N there is a constant C > 0 such that the vertices of every r-edge-coloured complete k-uniform hypergraph can be partitioned into a collection of at most C monochromatic tight cycles. We shall say that the family of tight cycles has finite r-colour tiling number. We further prove that, for all natural numbers k, p and r, the family of p-th powers of k-uniform tight cycles has finite r-colour tiling number. The case where k = 2 settles a problem of Elekes, Soukup, Soukup and Szentmiklóssy. We then show that for all natural numbers ∆, r, every family F = {F1, F2, . . .} of graphs with v (Fn) = n and ∆(Fn) ≤ ∆ for every n ∈ N has finite r-colour tiling number. This makes progress on a conjecture of Grinshpun and Sárközy. We study Ramsey problems for infinite graphs and prove that in every 2-edge- colouring of KN, the countably infinite complete graph, there exists a monochromatic infinite path P such that V (P) has upper density at least (12 + √8)/17 ≈ 0.87226 and further show that this is best possible. This settles a problem of Erdős and Galvin. We study similar problems for many other graphs including trees and graphs of bounded degree or degeneracy and prove analogues of many results concerning graphs with linear Ramsey number in finite Ramsey theory. We also study a different sort of tiling problem which combines classical problems from extremal and probabilistic graph theory, the Corrádi–Hajnal theorem and (a special case of) the Johansson–Kahn–Vu theorem. We prove that there is some constant C > 0 such that the following is true for every n ∈ 3N and every p ≥ Cn−2/3 (log n)1/3. If G is a graph on n vertices with minimum degree at least 2n/3, then Gp (the random subgraph of G obtained by keeping every edge independently with probability p) contains a triangle tiling with high probability

Extremal Graph Theory: Basic Results

Η παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία έχει σκοπό να παρουσιάσει μία σφαιρική εικόνα της θεωρίας των ακραίων γραφημάτων, διερευνώντας κοινές τεχνικές και τον τρόπο που εφαρμόζονται σε κάποια από τα πιο διάσημα αποτελέσματα του τομέα. Το πρώτο κεφάλαιο είναι μία εισαγωγή στο θέμα και κάποιοι προαπαιτούμενοι ορισμοί και αποτελέσματα. Το δεύτερο κεφάλαιο αφορά υποδομές πυκνών γραφημάτων και εστιάζει σε σημαντικά αποτελέσματα όπως είναι το θεώρημα του Turán, το λήμμα κανονικότητας του Szemerédi και το θεώρημα των Erdős-Stone-Simonovits. Το τρίτο κεφάλαιο αφορά υποδομές αραιών γραφημάτων και ερευνά συνθήκες που εξαναγκάζουν ένα γράφημα που περιέχει ένα δοθέν έλασσον ή τοπολογικό έλασσον. Το τέταρτο και τελευταίο κεφάλαιο είναι μία εισαγωγή στην θεωρία ακραίων r-ομοιόμορφων υπεργραφημάτων και περιέχει αποτελέσματα που αφορούν συνθήκες οι οποίες τα εξαναγκάζουν να περιέχουν πλήρη r-γραφήματα και Χαμιλτονιανούς κύκλους.In this thesis, we take a general overview of extremal graph theory, investigating common techniques and how they apply to some of the more celebrated results in the field. The first chapter is an introduction to the subject and some preliminary definitions and results. The second chapter concerns substructures in dense graphs and focuses on important results such as Turán’s theorem, Szemerédi’s regularity lemma and the Erdős-Stone-Simonovits theorem. The third chapter concerns substructures in sparse graphs and investigates conditions which force a graph to contain a certain minor or topological minor. The fourth and final chapter is an introduction to the extremal theory of r-uniform hypergraphs and consists of a presentation of results concerning the conditions which force them to contain a complete r-graph and a Hamiltonian cycle

Applications of Centrality Measures and Extremal Combinatorics

Centrality measures assign numbers or rankings to network nodes that reflect their importance. There are many types of centrality measures, each suitable for different types of networks and applications. In Chapter 2, we consider a model of astronaut health during a space mission. Katz centrality is commonly used to measure the influence of nodes in social and biological networks. We motivate its use in this application to estimate the expected quality time lost due to the progression of medical conditions. In Chapter 3, we find dominating sets in satellite networks. To do this, we use the Shapley value, a centrality measure that originates in game theory and is computed based only on local network information. We demonstrate that the Shapley value is an effective and time-efficient tool for finding small dominating sets in various random graph families and a set of real-world networks. In Chapter 4, we introduce a novel algorithm for categorizing which nodes are nearest the boundary, called boundary nodes, in a network that uses Chvátal’s definition of a line in a graph. We test this algorithm on random geometric graphs and compare its effectiveness to other known methods for boundary node detection. In Chapter 5, for certain sets S and equations eq, we look for the smallest number of colors rb(S, eq) such that for every surjective rb(S, eq)-coloring of S, there exists a solution to eq where every element of the solution set is assigned a distinct color. We show that rb([n], x_1 + x_2 = x_3) = ⌊log_2(m) + 2⌋ and rb([m] × [n], x_1 + x_2 = x_3) = m + n + 1 for m, n \u3e 1. In Chapter 6, a graph G is H-semi-saturated if adding an edge e to G that is not currently in G causes H to appear as a subgraph in G that contains e. We say that G is H-saturated if G does not contain H as a subgraph before adding e. The smallest number of edges in an H-semi-saturated (H-saturated) graph is called the semi-saturation number of H (saturation number of H). We show that the saturation and semi-saturation numbers differ by at least 1 for a disjoint union of paths called a linear forest. Additionally, we find graph families for which the saturation number is monotonic with respect to the subgraph relation

LIPIcs, Volume 261, ICALP 2023, Complete Volume

LIPIcs, Volume 261, ICALP 2023, Complete Volum