Semidefinite Programming and Ramsey Numbers

We use the theory of flag algebras to find new upper bounds for several small graph and hypergraph Ramsey numbers. In particular, we prove the exact values R(K−, K−, K−) = 28, R(K8, C5) = 29, R(K9, C6) = 41, R(Q3, Q3) = 13, R(K3,5, K1,6) = 17, R(C3, C5, C5) = 17, and R(K−, K−; 3) = 12, and in addition improve many additional upper bounds

Inverse Tur\'an numbers

For given graphs $G$ and $F$, the Tur\'an number $ex(G,F)$ is defined to be the maximum number of edges in an $F$-free subgraph of $G$. Foucaud, Krivelevich and Perarnau and later independently Briggs and Cox introduced a dual version of this problem wherein for a given number $k$, one maximizes the number of edges in a host graph $G$ for which $ex(G,H) < k$. Addressing a problem of Briggs and Cox, we determine the asymptotic value of the inverse Tur\'an number of the paths of length $4$ and $5$ and provide an improved lower bound for all paths of even length. Moreover, we obtain bounds on the inverse Tur\'an number of even cycles giving improved bounds on the leading coefficient in the case of $C_4$. Finally, we give multiple conjectures concerning the asymptotic value of the inverse Tur\'an number of $C_4$ and $P_{\ell}$, suggesting that in the latter problem the asymptotic behavior depends heavily on the parity of $\ell$.Comment: updated to include the suggestions of reviewer

Combinatorial theorems relative to a random set

We describe recent advances in the study of random analogues of combinatorial theorems.Comment: 26 pages. Submitted to Proceedings of the ICM 201

Defensive alliances in graphs: a survey

A set $S$ of vertices of a graph $G$ is a defensive $k$-alliance in $G$ if every vertex of $S$ has at least $k$ more neighbors inside of $S$ than outside. This is primarily an expository article surveying the principal known results on defensive alliances in graph. Its seven sections are: Introduction, Computational complexity and realizability, Defensive $k$-alliance number, Boundary defensive $k$-alliances, Defensive alliances in Cartesian product graphs, Partitioning a graph into defensive $k$-alliances, and Defensive $k$-alliance free sets.Comment: 25 page

Ramsey properties of randomly perturbed graphs: cliques and cycles

Given graphs $H_1,H_2$, a graph $G$ is $(H_1,H_2)$-Ramsey if for every colouring of the edges of $G$ with red and blue, there is a red copy of $H_1$ or a blue copy of $H_2$. In this paper we investigate Ramsey questions in the setting of randomly perturbed graphs: this is a random graph model introduced by Bohman, Frieze and Martin in which one starts with a dense graph and then adds a given number of random edges to it. The study of Ramsey properties of randomly perturbed graphs was initiated by Krivelevich, Sudakov and Tetali in 2006; they determined how many random edges must be added to a dense graph to ensure the resulting graph is with high probability $(K_3,K_t)$-Ramsey (for $t\ge 3$). They also raised the question of generalising this result to pairs of graphs other than $(K_3,K_t)$. We make significant progress on this question, giving a precise solution in the case when $H_1=K_s$ and $H_2=K_t$ where $s,t \ge 5$. Although we again show that one requires polynomially fewer edges than in the purely random graph, our result shows that the problem in this case is quite different to the $(K_3,K_t)$-Ramsey question. Moreover, we give bounds for the corresponding $(K_4,K_t)$-Ramsey question; together with a construction of Powierski this resolves the $(K_4,K_4)$-Ramsey problem. We also give a precise solution to the analogous question in the case when both $H_1=C_s$ and $H_2=C_t$ are cycles. Additionally we consider the corresponding multicolour problem. Our final result gives another generalisation of the Krivelevich, Sudakov and Tetali result. Specifically, we determine how many random edges must be added to a dense graph to ensure the resulting graph is with high probability $(C_s,K_t)$-Ramsey (for odd $s\ge 5$ and $t\ge 4$).Comment: 24 pages + 12-page appendix; v2: cited independent work of Emil Powierski, stated results for cliques in graphs of low positive density separately (Theorem 1.6) for clarity; v3: author accepted manuscript, to appear in CP

Local Hadwiger's Conjecture

We propose local versions of Hadwiger's Conjecture, where only balls of radius $\Omega(\log v(G))$ around each vertex are required to be $K_{t}$-minor-free. We ask: if a graph is locally-$K_{t}$-minor-free, is it $t$-colourable? We show that the answer is yes when $t \leq 5$, even in the stronger setting of list-colouring, and we complement this result with a $O(\log v(G))$-round distributed colouring algorithm in the LOCAL model. Further, we show that for large enough values of $t$, we can list-colour locally-$K_{t}$-minor-free graphs with $13 \cdot \max\left\{h(t),\left\lceil \frac{31}{2}(t-1) \right\rceil \right\}$ colours, where $h(t)$ is any value such that all $K_{t}$-minor-free graphs are $h(t)$-list-colourable. We again complement this with a $O(\log v(G))$-round distributed algorithm.Comment: 24 pages; some minor typos have been fixe