On the path-avoidance vertex-coloring game

For any graph $F$ and any integer $r\geq 2$, the \emph{online vertex-Ramsey density of $F$ and $r$}, denoted $m^*(F,r)$, is a parameter defined via a deterministic two-player Ramsey-type game (Painter vs.\ Builder). This parameter was introduced in a recent paper \cite{mrs11}, where it was shown that the online vertex-Ramsey density determines the threshold of a similar probabilistic one-player game (Painter vs.\ the binomial random graph $G_{n,p}$). For a large class of graphs $F$, including cliques, cycles, complete bipartite graphs, hypercubes, wheels, and stars of arbitrary size, a simple greedy strategy is optimal for Painter and closed formulas for $m^*(F,r)$ are known. In this work we show that for the case where $F=P_\ell$ is a (long) path, the picture is very different. It is not hard to see that $m^*(P_\ell,r)= 1-1/k^*(P_\ell,r)$ for an appropriately defined integer $k^*(P_\ell,r)$, and that the greedy strategy gives a lower bound of $k^*(P_\ell,r)\geq \ell^r$. We construct and analyze Painter strategies that improve on this greedy lower bound by a factor polynomial in $\ell$, and we show that no superpolynomial improvement is possible

A constant-time algorithm for middle levels Gray codes

For any integer $n\geq 1$ a middle levels Gray code is a cyclic listing of all $n$-element and $(n+1)$-element subsets of $\{1,2,\ldots,2n+1\}$ such that any two consecutive subsets differ in adding or removing a single element. The question whether such a Gray code exists for any $n\geq 1$ has been the subject of intensive research during the last 30 years, and has been answered affirmatively only recently [T. M\"utze. Proof of the middle levels conjecture. Proc. London Math. Soc., 112(4):677--713, 2016]. In a follow-up paper [T. M\"utze and J. Nummenpalo. An efficient algorithm for computing a middle levels Gray code. To appear in ACM Transactions on Algorithms, 2018] this existence proof was turned into an algorithm that computes each new set in the Gray code in time $\mathcal{O}(n)$ on average. In this work we present an algorithm for computing a middle levels Gray code in optimal time and space: each new set is generated in time $\mathcal{O}(1)$ on average, and the required space is $\mathcal{O}(n)$

Efficient computation of middle levels Gray codes

For any integer $n\geq 1$ a middle levels Gray code is a cyclic listing of all bitstrings of length $2n+1$ that have either $n$ or $n+1$ entries equal to 1 such that any two consecutive bitstrings in the list differ in exactly one bit. The question whether such a Gray code exists for every $n\geq 1$ has been the subject of intensive research during the last 30 years, and has been answered affirmatively only recently [T. M\"utze. Proof of the middle levels conjecture. Proc. London Math. Soc., 112(4):677--713, 2016]. In this work we provide the first efficient algorithm to compute a middle levels Gray code. For a given bitstring, our algorithm computes the next $\ell$ bitstrings in the Gray code in time $\mathcal{O}(n\ell(1+\frac{n}{\ell}))$, which is $\mathcal{O}(n)$ on average per bitstring provided that $\ell=\Omega(n)$

On Hamilton cycles in graphs defined by intersecting set systems

In 1970 Lov\'asz conjectured that every connected vertex-transitive graph admits a Hamilton cycle, apart from five exceptional graphs. This conjecture has recently been settled for graphs defined by intersecting set systems, which feature prominently throughout combinatorics. In this expository article, we retrace these developments and give an overview of the many different ingredients in the proofs

A book proof of the middle levels theorem

We give a short constructive proof for the existence of a Hamilton cycle in the subgraph of the $(2n+1)$-dimensional hypercube induced by all vertices with exactly $n$ or $n+1$ many 1s

A short proof of the middle levels theorem

Consider the graph that has as vertices all bitstrings of length $2n+1$ with exactly $n$ or $n+1$ entries equal to 1, and an edge between any two bitstrings that differ in exactly one bit. The well-known middle levels conjecture asserts that this graph has a Hamilton cycle for any $n\geq 1$. In this paper we present a new proof of this conjecture, which is much shorter and more accessible than the original proof

Sparse Kneser graphs are Hamiltonian

For integers $k\geq 1$ and $n\geq 2k+1$, the Kneser graph $K(n,k)$ is the graph whose vertices are the $k$-element subsets of $\{1,\ldots,n\}$ and whose edges connect pairs of subsets that are disjoint. The Kneser graphs of the form $K(2k+1,k)$ are also known as the odd graphs. We settle an old problem due to Meredith, Lloyd, and Biggs from the 1970s, proving that for every $k\geq 3$, the odd graph $K(2k+1,k)$ has a Hamilton cycle. This and a known conditional result due to Johnson imply that all Kneser graphs of the form $K(2k+2^a,k)$ with $k\geq 3$ and $a\geq 0$ have a Hamilton cycle. We also prove that $K(2k+1,k)$ has at least $2^{2^{k-6}}$ distinct Hamilton cycles for $k\geq 6$. Our proofs are based on a reduction of the Hamiltonicity problem in the odd graph to the problem of finding a spanning tree in a suitably defined hypergraph on Dyck words