The limit in the (k+2,k)(k+2, k)-Problem of Brown, Erd\H{o}s and S\'os exists for all k≥2k\geq 2

Let $f^{(r)}(n;s,k)$ be the maximum number of edges of an $r$-uniform hypergraph on~$n$ vertices not containing a subgraph with $k$~edges and at most $s$~vertices. In 1973, Brown, Erd\H{o}s and S\'os conjectured that the limit $$\lim_{n\to \infty} n^{-2} f^{(3)}(n;k+2,k)$$ exists for all positive integers $k\ge 2$. They proved this for $k=2$. In 2019, Glock proved this for $k=3$ and determined the limit. Quite recently, Glock, Joos, Kim, K\"{u}hn, Lichev and Pikhurko proved this for $k=4$ and determined the limit; we combine their work with a new reduction to fully resolve the conjecture by proving that indeed the limit exists for all positive integers $k\ge 2$.Comment: 10 pages, to appear in Proceedings of the AM

Finding an almost perfect matching in a hypergraph avoiding forbidden submatchings

In 1973, Erd\H{o}s conjectured the existence of high girth $(n,3,2)$-Steiner systems. Recently, Glock, K\"{u}hn, Lo, and Osthus and independently Bohman and Warnke proved the approximate version of Erd\H{o}s' conjecture. Just this year, Kwan, Sah, Sawhney, and Simkin proved Erd\H{o}s' conjecture. As for Steiner systems with more general parameters, Glock, K\"{u}hn, Lo, and Osthus conjectured the existence of high girth $(n,q,r)$-Steiner systems. We prove the approximate version of their conjecture. This result follows from our general main results which concern finding perfect or almost perfect matchings in a hypergraph $G$ avoiding a given set of submatchings (which we view as a hypergraph $H$ where $V(H)=E(G)$). Our first main result is a common generalization of the classical theorems of Pippenger (for finding an almost perfect matching) and Ajtai, Koml\'os, Pintz, Spencer, and Szemer\'edi (for finding an independent set in girth five hypergraphs). More generally, we prove this for coloring and even list coloring, and also generalize this further to when $H$ is a hypergraph with small codegrees (for which high girth designs is a specific instance). Indeed, the coloring version of our result even yields an almost partition of $K_n^r$ into approximate high girth $(n,q,r)$-Steiner systems. Our main results also imply the existence of a perfect matching in a bipartite hypergraph where the parts have slightly unbalanced degrees. This has a number of applications; for example, it proves the existence of $\Delta$ pairwise disjoint list colorings in the setting of Kahn's theorem; it also proves asymptotic versions of various rainbow matching results in the sparse setting (where the number of times a color appears could be much smaller than the number of colors) and even the existence of many pairwise disjoint rainbow matchings in such circumstances.Comment: 52 page

On a Conjecture of Thomassen

In 1989, Thomassen asked whether there is an integer-valued function f(k) such that every f(k)-connected graph admits a spanning, bipartite $k$-connected subgraph. In this paper we take a first, humble approach, showing the conjecture is true up to a log n factor.Comment: 9 page

Intersecting families of discrete structures are typically trivial

The study of intersecting structures is central to extremal combinatorics. A family of permutations $\mathcal{F} \subset S_n$ is \emph{$t$-intersecting} if any two permutations in $\mathcal{F}$ agree on some $t$ indices, and is \emph{trivial} if all permutations in $\mathcal{F}$ agree on the same $t$ indices. A $k$-uniform hypergraph is \emph{$t$-intersecting} if any two of its edges have $t$ vertices in common, and \emph{trivial} if all its edges share the same $t$ vertices. The fundamental problem is to determine how large an intersecting family can be. Ellis, Friedgut and Pilpel proved that for $n$ sufficiently large with respect to $t$, the largest $t$-intersecting families in $S_n$ are the trivial ones. The classic Erd\H{o}s--Ko--Rado theorem shows that the largest $t$-intersecting $k$-uniform hypergraphs are also trivial when $n$ is large. We determine the \emph{typical} structure of $t$-intersecting families, extending these results to show that almost all intersecting families are trivial. We also obtain sparse analogues of these extremal results, showing that they hold in random settings. Our proofs use the Bollob\'as set-pairs inequality to bound the number of maximal intersecting families, which can then be combined with known stability theorems. We also obtain similar results for vector spaces.Comment: 19 pages. Update 1: better citation of the Gauy--H\`an--Oliveira result. Update 2: corrected statement of the unpublished Hamm--Kahn result, and slightly modified notation in Theorem 1.6 Update 3: new title, updated citations, and some minor correction

Almost all 9-regular graphs have a modulo-5 orientation

In 1972 Tutte famously conjectured that every 4-edge-connected graph has a nowhere zero 3-flow; this is known to be equivalent to every 5-regular, 4-edge-connected graph having an edge orientation in which every in-degree is either 1 or 4. Jaeger conjectured a generalization of Tutte's conjecture, namely, that every $4p+1$-regular, $4p$-edge-connected graph has an edge orientation in which every in-degree is either $p$ or $3p+1$. Inspired by the work of Pralat and Wormald investigating $p=1$, for $p=2$ we show this holds asymptotically almost surely for random 9-regular graphs. It follows that the conjecture holds for almost all 9-regular, 8-edge-connected graphs. These results make use of the technical small subgraph conditioning method.Comment: 18 page

Viewing extremal and structural problems through a probabilistic lens

This thesis focuses on using techniques from probability to solve problems from extremal and structural combinatorics. The main problem in Chapter 2 is determining the typical structure of $t$-intersecting families in various settings and enumerating such systems. The analogous sparse random versions of our extremal results are also obtained. The proofs follow the same general framework, in each case using a version of the Bollobás Set-Pairs Inequality to bound the number of maximal intersecting families, which then can be combined with known stability theorems. Following this framework from joint work with Balogh, Das, Liu, and Sharifzadeh, similar results for permutations, uniform hypergraphs, and vector spaces are obtained. In 2006, Barát and Thomassen conjectured that the edges of every planar 4-edge-connected 4-regular graph can be decomposed into disjoint copies of $S_3$, the star with three leaves. Shortly afterward, Lai constructed a counterexample to this conjecture. Following joint work with Postle, in Chapter 3 using the Small Subgraph Conditioning Method of Robinson and Wormald, we find that a random 4-regular graph has an $S_3$-decomposition asymptotically almost surely, provided we have the obvious necessary divisibility conditions. In 1988, Thomassen showed that if $G$ is at least $(2k-1)$-edge-connected then $G$ has a spanning, bipartite $k$-connected subgraph. In 1989, Thomassen asked whether a similar phenomenon holds for vertex-connectivity; more precisely: is there an integer-valued function $f(k)$ such that every $f(k)$-connected graph admits a spanning, bipartite $k$-connected subgraph? In Chapter 4, as in joint work with Ferber, we show that every $10^{10}k^3 \log n$-connected graph admits a spanning, bipartite $k$-connected subgraph

Edge-colouring graphs with local list sizes

The famous List Colouring Conjecture from the 1970s states that for every graph $G$ the chromatic index of $G$ is equal to its list chromatic index. In 1996 in a seminal paper, Kahn proved that the List Colouring Conjecture holds asymptotically. Our main result is a local generalization of Kahn's theorem. More precisely, we show that, for a graph $G$ with sufficiently large maximum degree $\Delta$ and minimum degree $\delta \geq \ln^{25} \Delta$, the following holds: for every assignment of lists of colours to the edges of $G$, such that $|L(e)| \geq (1+o(1)) \cdot \max\left\{\rm{deg}(u),\rm{deg}(v)\right\}$ for each edge $e=uv$, there is an $L$-edge-colouring of $G$. Furthermore, Kahn showed that the List Colouring Conjecture holds asymptotically for linear, $k$-uniform hypergraphs, and recently Molloy generalized Kahn's original result to correspondence colouring as well as its hypergraph generalization. We prove local versions of all of these generalizations by showing a weighted version that simultaneously implies all of our results.Comment: 22 page