Even cycle decomposition thresholds for dense multipartite graphs

Abstract

Let $r\geq 2$ be an integer. An $r$-partite graph $Γ$ with vertex partition $V_1,\ldots,V_r$ is $2$-balanced if there exists a positive integer $n$ such that $n\leq |V_i|\leq 2n$ for every $i\in[r]$. For an integer $\ell\geq3$, let $C_\ell$ denote the cycle of length $\ell$, and define $\hatδ(Γ)=\min\{d_Γ(v,V_i)/|V_i|:i\in[r],\ v\in V(Γ)\setminus V_i\}$. Let $\hatδ^r_{C_\ell}$ denote the $C_\ell$-decomposition threshold for $2$-balanced $r$-partite graphs, that is, the least nonnegative real number $δ$ such that, for every $\varepsilon>0$, there exists $n_0$ such that every $C_\ell$-divisible $2$-balanced $r$-partite graph $G$ with $\min_i|V_i|>n_0$ and $\hatδ(G)\geqδ+\varepsilon$ admits a $C_\ell$-decomposition. We prove that $\hatδ^{r}_{C_4}=\frac{2}{3}$ and $\hatδ^{r}_{C_{2k}}=\frac{1}{2}$ for every $r\geq2$ and every $k\geq3$.