Proof of the 1-factorization and Hamilton decomposition conjectures III: approximate decompositions

In a sequence of four papers, we prove the following results (via a unified approach) for all sufficiently large $n$: (i) [1-factorization conjecture] Suppose that $n$ is even and $D\geq 2\lceil n/4\rceil -1$. Then every $D$-regular graph $G$ on $n$ vertices has a decomposition into perfect matchings. Equivalently, $\chi'(G)=D$. (ii) [Hamilton decomposition conjecture] Suppose that $D \ge \lfloor n/2 \rfloor$. Then every $D$-regular graph $G$ on $n$ vertices has a decomposition into Hamilton cycles and at most one perfect matching. (iii) We prove an optimal result on the number of edge-disjoint Hamilton cycles in a graph of given minimum degree. According to Dirac, (i) was first raised in the 1950s. (ii) and (iii) answer questions of Nash-Williams from 1970. The above bounds are best possible. In the current paper, we show the following: suppose that $G$ is close to a complete balanced bipartite graph or to the union of two cliques of equal size. If we are given a suitable set of path systems which cover a set of `exceptional' vertices and edges of $G$, then we can extend these path systems into an approximate decomposition of $G$ into Hamilton cycles (or perfect matchings if appropriate).Comment: We originally split the proof into four papers, of which this was the third paper. We have now combined this series into a single publication [arXiv:1401.4159v2], which will appear in the Memoirs of the AMS. 29 pages, 2 figure

Hamilton cycles in graphs and hypergraphs: an extremal perspective

As one of the most fundamental and well-known NP-complete problems, the Hamilton cycle problem has been the subject of intensive research. Recent developments in the area have highlighted the crucial role played by the notions of expansion and quasi-randomness. These concepts and other recent techniques have led to the solution of several long-standing problems in the area. New aspects have also emerged, such as resilience, robustness and the study of Hamilton cycles in hypergraphs. We survey these developments and highlight open problems, with an emphasis on extremal and probabilistic approaches.Comment: to appear in the Proceedings of the ICM 2014; due to given page limits, this final version is slightly shorter than the previous arxiv versio

Rainbow Hamilton cycles in random regular graphs

A rainbow subgraph of an edge-coloured graph has all edges of distinct colours. A random d-regular graph with d even, and having edges coloured randomly with d/2 of each of n colours, has a rainbow Hamilton cycle with probability tending to 1 as n tends to infinity, provided d is at least 8.Comment: 16 page

Matchings and Hamilton Cycles with Constraints on Sets of Edges

The aim of this paper is to extend and generalise some work of Katona on the existence of perfect matchings or Hamilton cycles in graphs subject to certain constraints. The most general form of these constraints is that we are given a family of sets of edges of our graph and are not allowed to use all the edges of any member of this family. We consider two natural ways of expressing constraints of this kind using graphs and using set systems. For the first version we ask for conditions on regular bipartite graphs $G$ and $H$ for there to exist a perfect matching in $G$, no two edges of which form a $4$-cycle with two edges of $H$. In the second, we ask for conditions under which a Hamilton cycle in the complete graph (or equivalently a cyclic permutation) exists, with the property that it has no collection of intervals of prescribed lengths whose union is an element of a given family of sets. For instance we prove that the smallest family of $4$-sets with the property that every cyclic permutation of an $n$-set contains two adjacent pairs of points has size between $(1/9+o(1))n^2$ and $(1/2-o(1))n^2$. We also give bounds on the general version of this problem and on other natural special cases. We finish by raising numerous open problems and directions for further study.Comment: 21 page

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

Proof of the 1-factorization and Hamilton decomposition conjectures IV: exceptional systems for the two cliques case

In a sequence of four papers, we prove the following results (via a unified approach) for all sufficiently large $n$: (i) [1-factorization conjecture] Suppose that $n$ is even and $D\geq 2\lceil n/4\rceil -1$. Then every $D$-regular graph $G$ on $n$ vertices has a decomposition into perfect matchings. Equivalently, $\chi'(G)=D$. (ii) [Hamilton decomposition conjecture] Suppose that $D \ge \lfloor n/2 \rfloor$. Then every $D$-regular graph $G$ on $n$ vertices has a decomposition into Hamilton cycles and at most one perfect matching. (iii) We prove an optimal result on the number of edge-disjoint Hamilton cycles in a graph of given minimum degree. According to Dirac, (i) was first raised in the 1950s. (ii) and (iii) answer questions of Nash-Williams from 1970. The above bounds are best possible. In the current paper, we prove results on the decomposition of sparse graphs into path systems. These are used in the proof of (i) and (ii) in the case when $G$ is close to the union of two disjoint cliques.Comment: We originally split the proof into four papers, of which this was the fourth paper. We have now combined this series into a single publication [arXiv:1401.4159v2], which will appear in the Memoirs of the AMS. 37 page