A hierarchy of randomness for graphs

AbstractIn this paper we formulate four families of problems with which we aim at distinguishing different levels of randomness.The first one is completely non-random, being the ordinary Ramsey–Turán problem and in the subsequent three problems we formulate some randomized variations of it. As we will show, these four levels form a hierarchy. In a continuation of this paper we shall prove some further theorems and discuss some further, related problems

On the Ramsey-Tur\'an density of triangles

One of the oldest results in modern graph theory, due to Mantel, asserts that every triangle-free graphs on $n$ vertices has at most $\lfloor n^2/4\rfloor$ edges. About half a century later Andr\'asfai studied dense triangle-free graphs and proved that the largest triangle-free graphs on $n$ vertices without independent sets of size $\alpha n$, where $2/5\le \alpha < 1/2$, are blow-ups of the pentagon. More than 50 further years have elapsed since Andr\'asfai's work. In this article we make the next step towards understanding the structure of dense triangle-free graphs without large independent sets. Notably, we determine the maximum size of triangle-free graphs~$G$ on $n$ vertices with $\alpha (G)\ge 3n/8$ and state a conjecture on the structure of the densest triangle-free graphs $G$ with $\alpha(G) > n/3$. We remark that the case $\alpha(G) \le n/3$ behaves differently, but due to the work of Brandt this situation is fairly well understood.Comment: Revised according to referee report

The Chromatic Structure of Dense Graphs

This thesis focusses on extremal graph theory, the study of how local constraints on a graph affect its macroscopic structure. We primarily consider the chromatic structure: whether a graph has or is close to having some (low) chromatic number. Chapter 2 is the slight exception. We consider an induced version of the classical Turán problem. Introduced by Loh, Tait, Timmons, and Zhou, the induced Turán number ex(n, {H, F-ind}) is the greatest number of edges in an n-vertex graph with no copy of H and no induced copy of F. We asymptotically determine ex(n, {H, F-ind}) for H not bipartite and F neither an independent set nor a complete bipartite graph. We also improve the upper bound for ex(n, {H, K_{2, t}-ind}) as well as the lower bound for the clique number of graphs that have some fixed edge density and no induced K_{2, t}. The next three chapters form the heart of the thesis. Chapters 3 and 4 consider the Erdős-Simonovits question for locally r-colourable graphs: what are the structure and chromatic number of graphs with large minimum degree and where every neighbourhood is r-colourable? Chapter 3 deals with the locally bipartite case and Chapter 4 with the general case. While the subject of Chapters 3 and 4 is a natural local to global colouring question, it is also essential for determining the minimum degree stability of H-free graphs, the focus of Chapter 5. Given a graph H of chromatic number r + 1, this asks for the minimum degree that guarantees that an H-free graph is close to r-partite. This is analogous to the classical edge stability of Erdős and Simonovits. We also consider the question for the family of graphs to which H is not homomorphic, showing that it has the same answer. Chapter 6 considers sparse analogues of the results of Chapters 3 to 5 obtaining the thresholds at which the sparse problem degenerates away from the dense one. Finally, Chapter 7 considers a chromatic Ramsey problem first posed by Erdős: what is the greatest chromatic number of a triangle-free graph on $n$ vertices or with m edges? We improve the best known bounds and obtain tight (up to a constant factor) bounds for the list chromatic number, answering a question of Cames van Batenburg, de Joannis de Verclos, Kang, and Pirot

A collection of open problems in celebration of Imre Leader's 60th birthday

One of the great pleasures of working with Imre Leader is to experience his infectious delight on encountering a compelling combinatorial problem. This collection of open problems in combinatorics has been put together by a subset of his former PhD students and students-of-students for the occasion of his 60th birthday. All of the contributors have been influenced (directly or indirectly) by Imre: his personality, enthusiasm and his approach to mathematics. The problems included cover many of the areas of combinatorial mathematics that Imre is most associated with: including extremal problems on graphs, set systems and permutations, and Ramsey theory. This is a personal selection of problems which we find intriguing and deserving of being better known. It is not intended to be systematic, or to consist of the most significant or difficult questions in any area. Rather, our main aim is to celebrate Imre and his mathematics and to hope that these problems will make him smile. We also hope this collection will be a useful resource for researchers in combinatorics and will stimulate some enjoyable collaborations and beautiful mathematics