Tournaments, 4-uniform hypergraphs, and an exact extremal result

We consider $4$-uniform hypergraphs with the maximum number of hyperedges subject to the condition that every set of $5$ vertices spans either $0$ or exactly $2$ hyperedges and give a construction, using quadratic residues, for an infinite family of such hypergraphs with the maximum number of hyperedges. Baber has previously given an asymptotically best-possible result using random tournaments. We give a connection between Baber's result and our construction via Paley tournaments and investigate a `switching' operation on tournaments that preserves hypergraphs arising from this construction.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figure

Ramsey-nice families of graphs

For a finite family $\mathcal{F}$ of fixed graphs let $R_k(\mathcal{F})$ be the smallest integer $n$ for which every $k$-coloring of the edges of the complete graph $K_n$ yields a monochromatic copy of some $F\in\mathcal{F}$. We say that $\mathcal{F}$ is $k$-nice if for every graph $G$ with $\chi(G)=R_k(\mathcal{F})$ and for every $k$-coloring of $E(G)$ there exists a monochromatic copy of some $F\in\mathcal{F}$. It is easy to see that if $\mathcal{F}$ contains no forest, then it is not $k$-nice for any $k$. It seems plausible to conjecture that a (weak) converse holds, namely, for any finite family of graphs $\mathcal{F}$ that contains at least one forest, and for all $k\geq k_0(\mathcal{F})$ (or at least for infinitely many values of $k$), $\mathcal{F}$ is $k$-nice. We prove several (modest) results in support of this conjecture, showing, in particular, that it holds for each of the three families consisting of two connected graphs with 3 edges each and observing that it holds for any family $\mathcal{F}$ containing a forest with at most 2 edges. We also study some related problems and disprove a conjecture by Aharoni, Charbit and Howard regarding the size of matchings in regular 3-partite 3-uniform hypergraphs.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figure

Spectral Properties of Oriented Hypergraphs

An oriented hypergraph is a hypergraph where each vertex-edge incidence is given a label of $+1$ or $-1$. The adjacency and Laplacian eigenvalues of an oriented hypergraph are studied. Eigenvalue bounds for both the adjacency and Laplacian matrices of an oriented hypergraph which depend on structural parameters of the oriented hypergraph are found. An oriented hypergraph and its incidence dual are shown to have the same nonzero Laplacian eigenvalues. A family of oriented hypergraphs with uniformally labeled incidences is also studied. This family provides a hypergraphic generalization of the signless Laplacian of a graph and also suggests a natural way to define the adjacency and Laplacian matrices of a hypergraph. Some results presented generalize both graph and signed graph results to a hypergraphic setting.Comment: For the published version of the article see http://repository.uwyo.edu/ela/vol27/iss1/24

Degrees in oriented hypergraphs and sparse Ramsey theory

Let $G$ be an $r$-uniform hypergraph. When is it possible to orient the edges of $G$ in such a way that every $p$-set of vertices has some $p$-degree equal to $0$? (The $p$-degrees generalise for sets of vertices what in-degree and out-degree are for single vertices in directed graphs.) Caro and Hansberg asked if the obvious Hall-type necessary condition is also sufficient. Our main aim is to show that this is true for $r$ large (for given $p$), but false in general. Our counterexample is based on a new technique in sparse Ramsey theory that may be of independent interest.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figure

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