Pub Date : 2025-12-15DOI: 10.1016/j.jctb.2025.12.003
Kristóf Bérczi , Márton Borbényi , László Lovász , László Márton Tóth
A recent line of research has concentrated on exploring the links between analytic and combinatorial theories of submodularity, uncovering several key connections between them. In this context, Lovász initiated the study of matroids from an analytic point of view and introduced the cycle matroid of a graphing [23]. Motivated by the limit theory of graphs, the authors introduced a form of right-convergence, called quotient-convergence, for a sequence of submodular setfunctions, leading to a notion of convergence for matroids through their rank functions [5].
In this paper, we study the connection between local-global convergence of graphs and quotient-convergence of their cycle matroids. We characterize the exposed points of associated convex sets, forming an analytic counterpart of matroid independence- and base-polytopes. Finally, we consider dual planar graphings and show that the cycle matroid of one is the cocycle matroid of its dual if and only if the underlying graphings are hyperfinite.
{"title":"Cycle matroids of graphings: From convergence to duality","authors":"Kristóf Bérczi , Márton Borbényi , László Lovász , László Márton Tóth","doi":"10.1016/j.jctb.2025.12.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jctb.2025.12.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A recent line of research has concentrated on exploring the links between analytic and combinatorial theories of submodularity, uncovering several key connections between them. In this context, Lovász initiated the study of matroids from an analytic point of view and introduced the cycle matroid of a graphing <span><span>[23]</span></span>. Motivated by the limit theory of graphs, the authors introduced a form of right-convergence, called quotient-convergence, for a sequence of submodular setfunctions, leading to a notion of convergence for matroids through their rank functions <span><span>[5]</span></span>.</div><div>In this paper, we study the connection between local-global convergence of graphs and quotient-convergence of their cycle matroids. We characterize the exposed points of associated convex sets, forming an analytic counterpart of matroid independence- and base-polytopes. Finally, we consider dual planar graphings and show that the cycle matroid of one is the cocycle matroid of its dual if and only if the underlying graphings are hyperfinite.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54865,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Combinatorial Theory Series B","volume":"178 ","pages":"Pages 118-144"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145760380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-10DOI: 10.1016/j.jctb.2025.12.001
Pavel Pudlák , Vojtěch Rödl
For , let denote the smallest N such that every coloring of k-element subsets by two colors yields an m-element set M with relative discrepancy δ, which means that one color class has at least elements. The number may be viewed as an extension of the usual k-hypergraph Ramsey number because . Our main result is the following theorem. For some constants, and, and for all,, In particular, for , we get a tower of height and relative discrepancy polynomial in k.
{"title":"Colorings of k-sets with low discrepancy on small sets","authors":"Pavel Pudlák , Vojtěch Rödl","doi":"10.1016/j.jctb.2025.12.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jctb.2025.12.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>For <span><math><mn>0</mn><mo><</mo><mi>δ</mi><mo>≤</mo><mn>1</mn></math></span>, let <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>R</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub><mo>(</mo><mi>m</mi><mo>;</mo><mi>δ</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> denote the smallest <em>N</em> such that every coloring of <em>k</em>-element subsets by two colors yields an <em>m</em>-element set <em>M</em> with relative discrepancy <em>δ</em>, which means that one color class has at least <span><math><mo>(</mo><mfrac><mrow><mn>1</mn><mo>+</mo><mi>δ</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></mfrac><mo>)</mo><mrow><mo>(</mo><mtable><mtr><mtd><mi>m</mi></mtd></mtr><mtr><mtd><mi>k</mi></mtd></mtr></mtable><mo>)</mo></mrow></math></span> elements. The number <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>R</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub><mo>(</mo><mi>m</mi><mo>;</mo><mi>δ</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> may be viewed as an extension of the usual <em>k</em>-hypergraph Ramsey number because <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>R</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub><mo>(</mo><mi>m</mi><mo>)</mo><mo>=</mo><msub><mrow><mi>R</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub><mo>(</mo><mi>m</mi><mo>,</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>)</mo></math></span>. Our main result is the following theorem. <em>For some constants</em> <span><math><mi>c</mi><mo>,</mo><msub><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow></msub></math></span><em>, and</em> <span><math><mi>ε</mi><mo>></mo><mn>0</mn></math></span><em>, and for all</em> <span><math><mi>k</mi><mo>≥</mo><msub><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow></msub></math></span><em>,</em> <span><math><mi>c</mi><mi>log</mi><mo></mo><mi>k</mi><mo>≤</mo><mi>n</mi><mo>≤</mo><mi>k</mi><mo>/</mo><mn>11</mn></math></span><em>,</em><span><span><span><math><msub><mrow><mi>R</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub><mo>(</mo><mi>k</mi><mo>+</mo><mi>n</mi><mo>;</mo><msup><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mi>ε</mi><mi>n</mi></mrow></msup><mo>)</mo><mo>≥</mo><msub><mrow><mi>tw</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>⌊</mo><mi>k</mi><mo>/</mo><mi>n</mi><mo>⌋</mo></mrow></msub><mo>(</mo><mn>2</mn><mo>)</mo><mo>.</mo></math></span></span></span> In particular, for <span><math><mi>n</mi><mo>=</mo><mo>⌈</mo><mi>c</mi><mi>log</mi><mo></mo><mi>k</mi><mo>⌉</mo></math></span>, we get a tower of height <span><math><mi>δ</mi><mi>k</mi><mo>/</mo><mi>log</mi><mo></mo><mi>k</mi></math></span> and relative discrepancy polynomial in <em>k</em>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54865,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Combinatorial Theory Series B","volume":"178 ","pages":"Pages 79-103"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145731498","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-10DOI: 10.1016/j.jctb.2025.12.002
Kaizhe Chen , Shiping Liu
In this paper, we derive new sharp diameter bounds for distance regular graphs, which better answer a problem raised by Neumaier and Penjić in many cases. Our proof is built upon a relation between the diameter and long-scale Ollivier Ricci curvature of a graph, which can be considered as an improvement of the discrete Bonnet-Myers theorem. Our method further leads to significant improvements of existing diameter bounds for amply regular graphs and -graphs.
{"title":"Diameter bounds for distance-regular graphs via long-scale Ollivier Ricci curvature","authors":"Kaizhe Chen , Shiping Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.jctb.2025.12.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jctb.2025.12.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this paper, we derive new sharp diameter bounds for distance regular graphs, which better answer a problem raised by Neumaier and Penjić in many cases. Our proof is built upon a relation between the diameter and long-scale Ollivier Ricci curvature of a graph, which can be considered as an improvement of the discrete Bonnet-Myers theorem. Our method further leads to significant improvements of existing diameter bounds for amply regular graphs and <span><math><mo>(</mo><mi>s</mi><mo>,</mo><mi>c</mi><mo>,</mo><mi>a</mi><mo>,</mo><mi>k</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span>-graphs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54865,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Combinatorial Theory Series B","volume":"178 ","pages":"Pages 104-117"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145732369","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
We prove that for any two positive integers and , if G is a graph, are vertex-subsets of G, and G is edge-minimal with respect to the condition that for there are disjoint paths of G between and , then G contains at most vertices of degree at least three. This bound is optimal up to a constant factor, as a -grid G shows.
The degree-3 treewidth sparsifier theorem, proved by Chekuri and Chuzhoy (2015), states that for any graph G of treewidth at least k, there is a subcubic subgraph of G that has treewidth and contains vertices of degree three. Our result, together with their proof techniques, reduces the bound in this theorem to , solving their conjecture.
{"title":"On the size of two minimal linkages","authors":"Koyo Hayashi , Ken-ichi Kawarabayashi , Daiki Kobayashi","doi":"10.1016/j.jctb.2025.11.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jctb.2025.11.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We prove that for any two positive integers <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>1</mn></mrow></msub></math></span> and <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msub></math></span>, if <em>G</em> is a graph, <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>1</mn></mrow></msub><mo>,</mo><msub><mrow><mi>T</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>1</mn></mrow></msub><mo>,</mo><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msub><mo>,</mo><msub><mrow><mi>T</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msub></math></span> are vertex-subsets of <em>G</em>, and <em>G</em> is edge-minimal with respect to the condition that for <span><math><mi>i</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>,</mo><mn>2</mn></math></span> there are <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> disjoint paths of <em>G</em> between <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> and <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>T</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow></msub></math></span>, then <em>G</em> contains at most <span><math><mn>12</mn><msub><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>1</mn></mrow></msub><msub><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msub></math></span> vertices of degree at least three. This bound is optimal up to a constant factor, as a <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>1</mn></mrow></msub><mo>×</mo><msub><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msub></math></span>-grid <em>G</em> shows.</div><div>The degree-3 treewidth sparsifier theorem, proved by Chekuri and Chuzhoy (2015), states that for any graph <em>G</em> of treewidth at least <em>k</em>, there is a subcubic subgraph of <em>G</em> that has treewidth <span><math><mi>Ω</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>k</mi><mo>/</mo><mi>poly</mi><mspace></mspace><mi>log</mi><mo></mo><mi>k</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> and contains <span><math><mi>O</mi><mo>(</mo><msup><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>4</mn></mrow></msup><mo>)</mo></math></span> vertices of degree three. Our result, together with their proof techniques, reduces the bound <span><math><mi>O</mi><mo>(</mo><msup><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>4</mn></mrow></msup><mo>)</mo></math></span> in this theorem to <span><math><mi>O</mi><mo>(</mo><msup><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup><mo>)</mo></math></span>, solving their conjecture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54865,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Combinatorial Theory Series B","volume":"178 ","pages":"Pages 67-78"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145705132","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-05DOI: 10.1016/j.jctb.2025.11.010
Édouard Bonnet , O-joung Kwon , David R. Wood
In a reduction sequence of a graph, vertices are successively identified until the graph has one vertex. At each step, when identifying u and v, each edge incident to exactly one of u and v is coloured red. Bonnet, Kim, Thomassé and Watrigant (2022) [19] defined the twin-width of a graph G to be the minimum integer k such that there is a reduction sequence of G in which every red graph has maximum degree at most k. For any graph parameter f, we define the reduced f of a graph G to be the minimum integer k such that there is a reduction sequence of G in which every red graph has f at most k. Our focus is on graph classes with bounded reduced bandwidth, which implies and is stronger than bounded twin-width (reduced maximum degree). We show that every proper minor-closed class has bounded reduced bandwidth, which is qualitatively stronger than an analogous result of Bonnet et al. for bounded twin-width. In many instances, we also make quantitative improvements. For example, all previous upper bounds on the twin-width of planar graphs were at least 21000. We show that planar graphs have reduced bandwidth at most 466 and twin-width at most 583. Our bounds for graphs of Euler genus γ are . Lastly, we show that fixed powers of graphs in a proper minor-closed class have bounded reduced bandwidth (irrespective of the degree of the vertices). In particular, we show that map graphs of Euler genus γ have reduced bandwidth . Lastly, we separate twin-width and reduced bandwidth by showing that any infinite class of expanders excluding a fixed complete bipartite subgraph has unbounded reduced bandwidth, while there are bounded-degree expanders with twin-width at most 6.
{"title":"Reduced bandwidth: A qualitative strengthening of twin-width in minor-closed classes (and beyond)","authors":"Édouard Bonnet , O-joung Kwon , David R. Wood","doi":"10.1016/j.jctb.2025.11.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jctb.2025.11.010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In a <em>reduction sequence</em> of a graph, vertices are successively identified until the graph has one vertex. At each step, when identifying <em>u</em> and <em>v</em>, each edge incident to exactly one of <em>u</em> and <em>v</em> is coloured red. Bonnet, Kim, Thomassé and Watrigant (2022) <span><span>[19]</span></span> defined the <em>twin-width</em> of a graph <em>G</em> to be the minimum integer <em>k</em> such that there is a reduction sequence of <em>G</em> in which every red graph has maximum degree at most <em>k</em>. For any graph parameter <em>f</em>, we define the <em>reduced f</em> of a graph <em>G</em> to be the minimum integer <em>k</em> such that there is a reduction sequence of <em>G</em> in which every red graph has <em>f</em> at most <em>k</em>. Our focus is on graph classes with bounded reduced bandwidth, which implies and is stronger than bounded twin-width (reduced maximum degree). We show that every proper minor-closed class has bounded reduced bandwidth, which is qualitatively stronger than an analogous result of Bonnet et al. for bounded twin-width. In many instances, we also make quantitative improvements. For example, all previous upper bounds on the twin-width of planar graphs were at least 2<sup>1000</sup>. We show that planar graphs have reduced bandwidth at most 466 and twin-width at most 583. Our bounds for graphs of Euler genus <em>γ</em> are <span><math><mi>O</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>γ</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span>. Lastly, we show that fixed powers of graphs in a proper minor-closed class have bounded reduced bandwidth (irrespective of the degree of the vertices). In particular, we show that map graphs of Euler genus <em>γ</em> have reduced bandwidth <span><math><mi>O</mi><mo>(</mo><msup><mrow><mi>γ</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>4</mn></mrow></msup><mo>)</mo></math></span>. Lastly, we separate twin-width and reduced bandwidth by showing that any infinite class of expanders excluding a fixed complete bipartite subgraph has unbounded reduced bandwidth, while there are bounded-degree expanders with twin-width at most 6.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54865,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Combinatorial Theory Series B","volume":"178 ","pages":"Pages 27-66"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145685989","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
<div><div>We say that a subset <span><math><mi>M</mi></math></span> of <span><math><msup><mrow><mi>R</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msup></math></span> is <em>exponentially Ramsey</em> if there exists <span><math><mi>ε</mi><mo>></mo><mn>0</mn></math></span> and <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow></msub></math></span> such that <span><math><mi>χ</mi><mo>(</mo><msup><mrow><mi>R</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msup><mo>,</mo><mi>M</mi><mo>)</mo><mo>≥</mo><msup><mrow><mo>(</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>+</mo><mi>ε</mi><mo>)</mo></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msup></math></span> for any <span><math><mi>n</mi><mo>></mo><msub><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow></msub></math></span>, where <span><math><mi>χ</mi><mo>(</mo><msup><mrow><mi>R</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msup><mo>,</mo><mi>M</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> stands for the minimum number of colors in a coloring of <span><math><msup><mrow><mi>R</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msup></math></span> such that no copy of <span><math><mi>M</mi></math></span> is monochromatic. One important result in Euclidean Ramsey theory is due to Frankl and Rödl, and states the following (under some mild extra conditions): if both <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>N</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>1</mn></mrow></msub></math></span> and <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>N</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msub></math></span> are exponentially Ramsey then so is their Cartesian product. Applied several times to simple two-point sets <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>N</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow></msub></math></span>, this result implies that any subset <span><math><mi>M</mi></math></span> of a ‘hyperrectangle’ <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>N</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>1</mn></mrow></msub><mo>×</mo><mo>⋯</mo><mo>×</mo><msub><mrow><mi>N</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> is exponentially Ramsey.</div><div>However, generally, such ‘embeddings’ of <span><math><mi>M</mi></math></span> result in very inefficient bounds on the aforementioned <em>ε</em>. In this paper, we present another way of combining exponentially Ramsey sets, which gives much better estimates in some important cases. In particular, we show that the chromatic number of <span><math><msup><mrow><mi>R</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msup></math></span> with a forbidden equilateral triangle satisfies <span><math><mi>χ</mi><mo>(</mo><msup><mrow><mi>R</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msup><mo>,</mo><mo>△</mo><mo>)</mo><mo>≥</mo><msup><mrow><mo>(</mo><mn>1.0742</mn><mo>.</mo><mo>.</mo><mo>.</mo><mo>+</mo><mi>o</mi><mo>(</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>)</mo><mo>)</mo></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msup></math></span>, greatly improving upon the previous constant 1.0144. We also obtain similar strong results for regular simplices of larger dimensions, as well as for related geometric Ramsey-type questions in Manhattan norm.</div><div>We then show that the same technique implies several interesting corollaries in other combi
{"title":"Cutting corners","authors":"Andrey Kupavskii , Arsenii Sagdeev , Dmitrii Zakharov","doi":"10.1016/j.jctb.2025.11.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jctb.2025.11.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We say that a subset <span><math><mi>M</mi></math></span> of <span><math><msup><mrow><mi>R</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msup></math></span> is <em>exponentially Ramsey</em> if there exists <span><math><mi>ε</mi><mo>></mo><mn>0</mn></math></span> and <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow></msub></math></span> such that <span><math><mi>χ</mi><mo>(</mo><msup><mrow><mi>R</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msup><mo>,</mo><mi>M</mi><mo>)</mo><mo>≥</mo><msup><mrow><mo>(</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>+</mo><mi>ε</mi><mo>)</mo></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msup></math></span> for any <span><math><mi>n</mi><mo>></mo><msub><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow></msub></math></span>, where <span><math><mi>χ</mi><mo>(</mo><msup><mrow><mi>R</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msup><mo>,</mo><mi>M</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> stands for the minimum number of colors in a coloring of <span><math><msup><mrow><mi>R</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msup></math></span> such that no copy of <span><math><mi>M</mi></math></span> is monochromatic. One important result in Euclidean Ramsey theory is due to Frankl and Rödl, and states the following (under some mild extra conditions): if both <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>N</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>1</mn></mrow></msub></math></span> and <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>N</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msub></math></span> are exponentially Ramsey then so is their Cartesian product. Applied several times to simple two-point sets <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>N</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow></msub></math></span>, this result implies that any subset <span><math><mi>M</mi></math></span> of a ‘hyperrectangle’ <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>N</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>1</mn></mrow></msub><mo>×</mo><mo>⋯</mo><mo>×</mo><msub><mrow><mi>N</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> is exponentially Ramsey.</div><div>However, generally, such ‘embeddings’ of <span><math><mi>M</mi></math></span> result in very inefficient bounds on the aforementioned <em>ε</em>. In this paper, we present another way of combining exponentially Ramsey sets, which gives much better estimates in some important cases. In particular, we show that the chromatic number of <span><math><msup><mrow><mi>R</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msup></math></span> with a forbidden equilateral triangle satisfies <span><math><mi>χ</mi><mo>(</mo><msup><mrow><mi>R</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msup><mo>,</mo><mo>△</mo><mo>)</mo><mo>≥</mo><msup><mrow><mo>(</mo><mn>1.0742</mn><mo>.</mo><mo>.</mo><mo>.</mo><mo>+</mo><mi>o</mi><mo>(</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>)</mo><mo>)</mo></mrow><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow></msup></math></span>, greatly improving upon the previous constant 1.0144. We also obtain similar strong results for regular simplices of larger dimensions, as well as for related geometric Ramsey-type questions in Manhattan norm.</div><div>We then show that the same technique implies several interesting corollaries in other combi","PeriodicalId":54865,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Combinatorial Theory Series B","volume":"177 ","pages":"Pages 273-292"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145690151","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-04DOI: 10.1016/j.jctb.2025.11.009
Łukasz Bożyk , Oscar Defrain , Karolina Okrasa , Michał Pilipczuk
The t-onion star is the digraph obtained from a star with 2t leaves by replacing every edge by a triple of arcs, where in t triples we orient two arcs away from the center, and in the remaining t triples we orient two arcs towards the center. Note that the t-onion star contains, as an immersion, every digraph on t vertices where each vertex has outdegree at most 2 and indegree at most 1, or vice versa.
We investigate the structure in digraphs that exclude a fixed onion star as an immersion. The main discovery is that in such digraphs, for some duality statements true in the undirected setting we can prove their directed analogues. More specifically, we show the next two statements.
•
There is a function satisfying the following: If a digraph D contains a set X of vertices such that for any there are arc-disjoint paths from x to y, then D contains the t-onion star as an immersion.
•
There is a function satisfying the following: If x and y is a pair of vertices in a digraph D such that there are at least arc-disjoint paths from x to y and there are at least arc-disjoint paths from y to x, then either D contains the t-onion star as an immersion, or there is a family of 2k pairwise arc-disjoint paths with k paths from x to y and k paths from y to x.
{"title":"On digraphs without onion star immersions","authors":"Łukasz Bożyk , Oscar Defrain , Karolina Okrasa , Michał Pilipczuk","doi":"10.1016/j.jctb.2025.11.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jctb.2025.11.009","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The <em>t-onion star</em> is the digraph obtained from a star with 2<em>t</em> leaves by replacing every edge by a triple of arcs, where in <em>t</em> triples we orient two arcs away from the center, and in the remaining <em>t</em> triples we orient two arcs towards the center. Note that the <em>t</em>-onion star contains, as an immersion, every digraph on <em>t</em> vertices where each vertex has outdegree at most 2 and indegree at most 1, or vice versa.</div><div>We investigate the structure in digraphs that exclude a fixed onion star as an immersion. The main discovery is that in such digraphs, for some duality statements true in the undirected setting we can prove their directed analogues. More specifically, we show the next two statements.<ul><li><span>•</span><span><div>There is a function <span><math><mi>f</mi><mo>:</mo><mi>N</mi><mo>→</mo><mi>N</mi></math></span> satisfying the following: If a digraph <em>D</em> contains a set <em>X</em> of <span><math><mn>2</mn><mi>t</mi><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn></math></span> vertices such that for any <span><math><mi>x</mi><mo>,</mo><mi>y</mi><mo>∈</mo><mi>X</mi></math></span> there are <span><math><mi>f</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>t</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> arc-disjoint paths from <em>x</em> to <em>y</em>, then <em>D</em> contains the <em>t</em>-onion star as an immersion.</div></span></li><li><span>•</span><span><div>There is a function <span><math><mi>g</mi><mo>:</mo><mi>N</mi><mo>×</mo><mi>N</mi><mo>→</mo><mi>N</mi></math></span> satisfying the following: If <em>x</em> and <em>y</em> is a pair of vertices in a digraph <em>D</em> such that there are at least <span><math><mi>g</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>t</mi><mo>,</mo><mi>k</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> arc-disjoint paths from <em>x</em> to <em>y</em> and there are at least <span><math><mi>g</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>t</mi><mo>,</mo><mi>k</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> arc-disjoint paths from <em>y</em> to <em>x</em>, then either <em>D</em> contains the <em>t</em>-onion star as an immersion, or there is a family of 2<em>k</em> pairwise arc-disjoint paths with <em>k</em> paths from <em>x</em> to <em>y</em> and <em>k</em> paths from <em>y</em> to <em>x</em>.</div></span></li></ul></div></div>","PeriodicalId":54865,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Combinatorial Theory Series B","volume":"177 ","pages":"Pages 257-272"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145689360","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-04DOI: 10.1016/j.jctb.2025.11.006
Raphael Yuster
<div><div>For graphs <em>F</em> and <em>H</em>, let <span><math><mi>i</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>F</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> denote the inducibility of <em>F</em> and let <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>H</mi></mrow></msub><mo>(</mo><mi>F</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> denote the inducibility of <em>F</em> over <em>H</em>-free graphs. We prove that for almost all graphs <em>F</em> on a given number of vertices, <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></msub><mo>(</mo><mi>F</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> attains infinitely many values as <em>k</em> varies. For complete partite graphs <em>F</em> (and, more generally, for symmetrizable families of graphs <em>F</em>), we prove that <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>H</mi></mrow></msub><mo>(</mo><mi>F</mi><mo>)</mo><mo>=</mo><msub><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></msub><mo>(</mo><mi>F</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> where <span><math><mi>k</mi><mo>=</mo><mi>χ</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>H</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span>, and is attained by a complete <em>ℓ</em>-partite graphon <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>W</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>F</mi><mo>,</mo><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></math></span>, where <span><math><mi>ℓ</mi><mo><</mo><mi>k</mi></math></span>.</div><div>We determine the part sizes of <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>W</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>F</mi><mo>,</mo><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> for all <em>k</em>, whence determine <span><math><mi>i</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>F</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span>, whenever <em>F</em> is the Turán graph on <em>s</em> vertices and <em>r</em> parts, for all <span><math><mi>s</mi><mo>≤</mo><mn>3</mn><mi>r</mi><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn></math></span>, which was recently proved by Liu, Mubayi, and Reiher for <span><math><mi>s</mi><mo>=</mo><mi>r</mi><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn></math></span>. As a corollary, this determines the inducibility of all Turán graphs on at most 14 vertices. Furthermore, since inducibility is invariant under complement, this determines the inducibility of all matchings and, more generally, all graphs with maximum degree 1, of any size. Similarly, this determines the inducibility of all triangle factors, of any size.</div><div>For complete partite graphs <em>F</em> with at most one singleton part, we prove that <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></msub><mo>(</mo><mi>F</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> only attains finitely many values as <em>k</em> varies; in particular, there exists <span><math><mi>t</mi><mo>=</mo><mi>t</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>F</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> such that <span><math><mi>i</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>F</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> is attained by some complete <em>t</em>-partite graphon. This is best possible as it was shown by Liu, Pikhurko, Sharifzadeh, and Staden that this is not necessarily true if there are two singleton parts.</div>
{"title":"Inducibility in H-free graphs and inducibility of Turán graphs","authors":"Raphael Yuster","doi":"10.1016/j.jctb.2025.11.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jctb.2025.11.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>For graphs <em>F</em> and <em>H</em>, let <span><math><mi>i</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>F</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> denote the inducibility of <em>F</em> and let <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>H</mi></mrow></msub><mo>(</mo><mi>F</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> denote the inducibility of <em>F</em> over <em>H</em>-free graphs. We prove that for almost all graphs <em>F</em> on a given number of vertices, <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></msub><mo>(</mo><mi>F</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> attains infinitely many values as <em>k</em> varies. For complete partite graphs <em>F</em> (and, more generally, for symmetrizable families of graphs <em>F</em>), we prove that <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>H</mi></mrow></msub><mo>(</mo><mi>F</mi><mo>)</mo><mo>=</mo><msub><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></msub><mo>(</mo><mi>F</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> where <span><math><mi>k</mi><mo>=</mo><mi>χ</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>H</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span>, and is attained by a complete <em>ℓ</em>-partite graphon <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>W</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>F</mi><mo>,</mo><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></math></span>, where <span><math><mi>ℓ</mi><mo><</mo><mi>k</mi></math></span>.</div><div>We determine the part sizes of <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>W</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>F</mi><mo>,</mo><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> for all <em>k</em>, whence determine <span><math><mi>i</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>F</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span>, whenever <em>F</em> is the Turán graph on <em>s</em> vertices and <em>r</em> parts, for all <span><math><mi>s</mi><mo>≤</mo><mn>3</mn><mi>r</mi><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn></math></span>, which was recently proved by Liu, Mubayi, and Reiher for <span><math><mi>s</mi><mo>=</mo><mi>r</mi><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn></math></span>. As a corollary, this determines the inducibility of all Turán graphs on at most 14 vertices. Furthermore, since inducibility is invariant under complement, this determines the inducibility of all matchings and, more generally, all graphs with maximum degree 1, of any size. Similarly, this determines the inducibility of all triangle factors, of any size.</div><div>For complete partite graphs <em>F</em> with at most one singleton part, we prove that <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></msub><mo>(</mo><mi>F</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> only attains finitely many values as <em>k</em> varies; in particular, there exists <span><math><mi>t</mi><mo>=</mo><mi>t</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>F</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> such that <span><math><mi>i</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>F</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> is attained by some complete <em>t</em>-partite graphon. This is best possible as it was shown by Liu, Pikhurko, Sharifzadeh, and Staden that this is not necessarily true if there are two singleton parts.</div>","PeriodicalId":54865,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Combinatorial Theory Series B","volume":"178 ","pages":"Pages 1-26"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145665695","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-28DOI: 10.1016/j.jctb.2025.11.005
Daniel Gonçalves
In his PhD Thesis E.R. Scheinerman conjectured that planar graphs are intersection graphs of line segments in the plane. This conjecture was proved with two different approaches by J. Chalopin and the author, and by the author, L. Isenmann, and C. Pennarun. In the case of 3-colorable planar graphs E.R. Scheinerman conjectured that it is possible to restrict the set of slopes used by the segments to only 3 slopes. Here we prove this conjecture by using an approach introduced by S. Felsner to deal with contact representations of planar graphs with homothetic triangles.
{"title":"3-colorable planar graphs have an intersection segment representation using 3 slopes","authors":"Daniel Gonçalves","doi":"10.1016/j.jctb.2025.11.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jctb.2025.11.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In his PhD Thesis E.R. Scheinerman conjectured that planar graphs are intersection graphs of line segments in the plane. This conjecture was proved with two different approaches by J. Chalopin and the author, and by the author, L. Isenmann, and C. Pennarun. In the case of 3-colorable planar graphs E.R. Scheinerman conjectured that it is possible to restrict the set of slopes used by the segments to only 3 slopes. Here we prove this conjecture by using an approach introduced by S. Felsner to deal with contact representations of planar graphs with homothetic triangles.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54865,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Combinatorial Theory Series B","volume":"177 ","pages":"Pages 234-256"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145611785","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-24DOI: 10.1016/j.jctb.2025.11.004
Andrey Kupavskii
The covering number of a family is the size of the smallest set that intersects all sets from the family. In 1978 Frankl determined for the largest intersecting family of k-element subsets of with covering number 3. In this paper, we essentially settle this problem, showing that the same family is extremal for any and .
{"title":"Intersecting families with covering number 3","authors":"Andrey Kupavskii","doi":"10.1016/j.jctb.2025.11.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jctb.2025.11.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The covering number of a family is the size of the smallest set that intersects all sets from the family. In 1978 Frankl determined for <span><math><mi>n</mi><mo>≥</mo><msub><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow></msub><mo>(</mo><mi>k</mi><mo>)</mo></math></span> the largest intersecting family of <em>k</em>-element subsets of <span><math><mo>[</mo><mi>n</mi><mo>]</mo></math></span> with covering number 3. In this paper, we essentially settle this problem, showing that the same family is extremal for any <span><math><mi>k</mi><mo>≥</mo><mn>100</mn></math></span> and <span><math><mi>n</mi><mo>></mo><mn>2</mn><mi>k</mi></math></span>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54865,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Combinatorial Theory Series B","volume":"177 ","pages":"Pages 216-233"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145583813","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}