On d-graceful labelings

In this paper we introduce a generalization of the well known concept of a graceful labeling. Given a graph G with e=dm edges, we call d-graceful labeling of G an injective function from V(G) to the set {0,1,2,..., d(m+1)-1} such that {|f(x)-f(y)| | [x,y]\in E(G)} ={1,2,3,...,d(m+1)-1}-{m+1,2(m+1),...,(d-1)(m+1)}. In the case of d=1 and of d=e we find the classical notion of a graceful labeling and of an odd graceful labeling, respectively. Also, we call d-graceful \alpha-labeling of a bipartite graph G a d-graceful labeling of G with the property that its maximum value on one of the two bipartite sets does not reach its minimum value on the other one. We show that these new concepts allow to obtain certain cyclic graph decompositions. We investigate the existence of d-graceful \alpha-labelings for several classes of bipartite graphs, completely solving the problem for paths and stars and giving partial results about cycles of even length and ladders.Comment: In press on Ars Combi

Ramanujan Coverings of Graphs

Let $G$ be a finite connected graph, and let $\rho$ be the spectral radius of its universal cover. For example, if $G$ is $k$-regular then $\rho=2\sqrt{k-1}$. We show that for every $r$, there is an $r$-covering (a.k.a. an $r$-lift) of $G$ where all the new eigenvalues are bounded from above by $\rho$. It follows that a bipartite Ramanujan graph has a Ramanujan $r$-covering for every $r$. This generalizes the $r=2$ case due to Marcus, Spielman and Srivastava (2013). Every $r$-covering of $G$ corresponds to a labeling of the edges of $G$ by elements of the symmetric group $S_{r}$. We generalize this notion to labeling the edges by elements of various groups and present a broader scenario where Ramanujan coverings are guaranteed to exist. In particular, this shows the existence of richer families of bipartite Ramanujan graphs than was known before. Inspired by Marcus-Spielman-Srivastava, a crucial component of our proof is the existence of interlacing families of polynomials for complex reflection groups. The core argument of this component is taken from a recent paper of them (2015). Another important ingredient of our proof is a new generalization of the matching polynomial of a graph. We define the $r$-th matching polynomial of $G$ to be the average matching polynomial of all $r$-coverings of $G$. We show this polynomial shares many properties with the original matching polynomial. For example, it is real rooted with all its roots inside $\left[-\rho,\rho\right]$.Comment: 38 pages, 4 figures, journal version (minor changes from previous arXiv version). Shortened version appeared in STOC 201

On discrete integrable equations with convex variational principles

We investigate the variational structure of discrete Laplace-type equations that are motivated by discrete integrable quad-equations. In particular, we explain why the reality conditions we consider should be all that are reasonable, and we derive sufficient conditions (that are often necessary) on the labeling of the edges under which the corresponding generalized discrete action functional is convex. Convexity is an essential tool to discuss existence and uniqueness of solutions to Dirichlet boundary value problems. Furthermore, we study which combinatorial data allow convex action functionals of discrete Laplace-type equations that are actually induced by discrete integrable quad-equations, and we present how the equations and functionals corresponding to (Q3) are related to circle patterns.Comment: 39 pages, 8 figures. Revision of the whole manuscript, reorder of sections. Major changes due to additional reality conditions for (Q3) and (Q4): new Section 2.3; Theorem 1 and Sections 3.5, 3.6, 3.7 update