On the Crossing Number of the Cartesian Product of a Sunlet Graph and a Star Graph

The exact crossing number is only known for a small number of families of graphs. Many of the families for which crossing numbers have been determined correspond to cartesian products of two graphs. Here, the cartesian product of the Sunlet graph, denoted $\mathcal{S}_n$, and the Star graph, denoted $K_{1,m}$, is considered for the first time. It is proved that the crossing number of $\mathcal{S}_n \Box K_{1,2}$ is $n$, and the crossing number of $\mathcal{S}_n \Box K_{1,3}$ is $3n$. An upper bound for the crossing number of $\mathcal{S}_n \Box K_{1,m}$ is also given

An ILP-based Proof System for the Crossing Number Problem

Formally, approaches based on mathematical programming are able to find provably optimal solutions. However, the demands on a verifiable formal proof are typically much higher than the guarantees we can sensibly attribute to implementations of mathematical programs. We consider this in the context of the crossing number problem, one of the most prominent problems in topological graph theory. The problem asks for the minimum number of edge crossings in any drawing of a given graph. Graph-theoretic proofs for this problem are known to be notoriously hard to obtain. At the same time, proofs even for very specific graphs are often of interest in crossing number research, as they can, e.g., form the basis for inductive proofs. We propose a system to automatically generate a formal proof based on an ILP computation. Such a proof is (relatively) easily verifiable, and does not require the understanding of any complex ILP codes. As such, we hope our proof system may serve as a showcase for the necessary steps and central design goals of how to establish formal proof systems based on mathematical programming formulations

Convex drawings of the complete graph: topology meets geometry

In this work, we introduce and develop a theory of convex drawings of the complete graph $K_n$ in the sphere. A drawing $D$ of $K_n$ is convex if, for every 3-cycle $T$ of $K_n$, there is a closed disc $\Delta_T$ bounded by $D[T]$ such that, for any two vertices $u,v$ with $D[u]$ and $D[v]$ both in $\Delta_T$, the entire edge $D[uv]$ is also contained in $\Delta_T$. As one application of this perspective, we consider drawings containing a non-convex $K_5$ that has restrictions on its extensions to drawings of $K_7$. For each such drawing, we use convexity to produce a new drawing with fewer crossings. This is the first example of local considerations providing sufficient conditions for suboptimality. In particular, we do not compare the number of crossings {with the number of crossings in} any known drawings. This result sheds light on Aichholzer's computer proof (personal communication) showing that, for $n\le 12$, every optimal drawing of $K_n$ is convex. Convex drawings are characterized by excluding two of the five drawings of $K_5$. Two refinements of convex drawings are h-convex and f-convex drawings. The latter have been shown by Aichholzer et al (Deciding monotonicity of good drawings of the complete graph, Proc.~XVI Spanish Meeting on Computational Geometry (EGC 2015), 2015) and, independently, the authors of the current article (Levi's Lemma, pseudolinear drawings of $K_n$, and empty triangles, \rbr{J. Graph Theory DOI: 10.1002/jgt.22167)}, to be equivalent to pseudolinear drawings. Also, h-convex drawings are equivalent to pseudospherical drawings as demonstrated recently by Arroyo et al (Extending drawings of complete graphs into arrangements of pseudocircles, submitted)

On Geometric Drawings of Graphs

This thesis is about geometric drawings of graphs and their topological generalizations. First, we study pseudolinear drawings of graphs in the plane. A pseudolinear drawing is one in which every edge can be extended into an infinite simple arc in the plane, homeomorphic to $\mathbb{R}$, and such that every two extending arcs cross exactly once. This is a natural generalization of the well-studied class of rectilinear drawings, where edges are straight-line segments. Although, the problem of deciding whether a drawing is homeomorphic to a rectilinear drawing is NP-hard, in this work we characterize the minimal forbidden subdrawings for pseudolinear drawings and we also provide a polynomial-time algorithm for recognizing this family of drawings. Second, we consider the problem of transforming a topological drawing into a similar rectilinear drawing preserving the set of crossing pairs of edges. We show that, under some circumstances, pseudolinearity is a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of such transformation. For this, we prove a generalization of Tutte's Spring Theorem for drawings with crossings placed in a particular way. Lastly, we study drawings of $K_n$ in the sphere whose edges can be extended to an arrangement of pseudocircles. An arrangement of pseudocircles is a set of simple closed curves in the sphere such that every two intersect at most twice. We show that (i) there is drawing of $K_{10}$ that cannot be extended into an arrangement of pseudocircles; and (ii) there is a drawing of $K_9$ that can be extended to an arrangement of pseudocircles, but no extension satisfies that every two pseudocircles intersects exactly twice. We also introduce the notion pseudospherical drawings of $K_n$, a generalization of spherical drawings in which each edge is a minor arc of a great circle. We show that these drawings are characterized by a simple local property. We also show that every pseudospherical drawing has an extension into an arrangement of pseudocircles where the ``at most twice'' condition is replaced by ``exactly twice''