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Abhishek Methuku

Publications and source records attributed to Abhishek Methuku.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
arXiv2018

On the Rainbow Turán number of paths

Let $F$ be a fixed graph. The rainbow Turán number of $F$ is defined as the maximum number of edges in a graph on $n$ vertices that has a proper edge-coloring with no rainbow copy of $F$ (where a rainbow copy of $F$ means a copy of $F$ all of whose edges have different colours). The systematic study of such problems was initiated by Keevash, Mubayi, Sudakov and Verstraëte. In this paper, we show that the rainbow Turán number of a path with $k+1$ edges is less than $\left(\frac{9k}{7}+2\right) n$, improving an earlier estimate of Johnston, Palmer and Sarkar.

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arXiv2018

On the number of containments in $P$-free families

A subfamily $\{F_1,F_2,\dots,F_{|P|}\}\subseteq \mathcal F$ is a copy of the poset $P$ if there exists a bijection $i:P\rightarrow \{F_1,F_2,\dots,F_{|P|}\}$ such that $p\le_P q$ implies $i(p)\subseteq i(q)$. A family $\mathcal F$ is $P$-free, if it does not contain a copy of $P$. In this paper we establish basic results on the maximum possible number of $k$-chains in a $P$-free family $\mathcal F\subseteq 2^{[n]}$. We prove that if the height of $P$, $h(P) > k$, then this number is of the order $Θ(\prod_{i=1}^{k+1}\binom{l_{i-1}}{l_i})$, where $l_0=n$ and $l_1\ge l_2\ge \dots \ge l_{k+1}$ are such that $n-l_1,l_1-l_2,\dots, l_k-l_{k+1},l_{k+1}$ differ by at most one. On the other hand if $h(P)\le k$, then we show that this number is of smaller order of magnitude. Let $\vee_r$ denote the poset on $r+1$ elements $a, b_1, b_2, \ldots, b_r$, where $a < b_i$ for all $1 \le i \le r$ and let $\wedge_r$ denote its dual. For any values of $k$ and $l$, we construct a $\{\wedge_k,\vee_l\}$-free family and we conjecture that it contains asymptotically the maximum number of pairs in containment. We prove that this conjecture holds under the additional assumption that a chain of length 4 is forbidden. Moreover, we prove the conjecture for some small values of $k$ and $l$. We also derive the asymptotics of the maximum number of copies of certain tree posets $T$ of height 2 in $\{\wedge_k,\vee_l\}$-free families $\mathcal F \subseteq 2^{[n]}$.

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arXiv2018

Uniformity thresholds for the asymptotic size of extremal Berge-$F$-free hypergraphs

Let $F = (U,E)$ be a graph and $\mathcal{H} = (V,\mathcal{E})$ be a hypergraph. We say that $\mathcal{H}$ contains a Berge-$F$ if there exist injections $ψ:U\to V$ and $φ:E\to \mathcal{E}$ such that for every $e=\{u,v\}\in E$, $\{ψ(u),ψ(v)\}\subsetφ(e)$. Let $ex_r(n,F)$ denote the maximum number of hyperedges in an $r$-uniform hypergraph on $n$ vertices which does not contain a Berge-$F$. For small enough $r$ and non-bipartite $F$, $ex_r(n,F)=Ω(n^2)$; we show that for sufficiently large $r$, $ex_r(n,F)=o(n^2)$. Let $thres(F) = \min\{r_0 :ex_r(n,F) = o(n^2) \text{ for all } r \ge r_0 \}$. We show lower and upper bounds for $thres(F)$, the uniformity threshold of $F$. In particular, we obtain that $thres(\triangle) = 5$, improving a result of Győri. We also study the analogous problem for linear hypergraphs. Let $ex^L_r(n,F)$ denote the maximum number of hyperedges in an $r$-uniform linear hypergraph on $n$ vertices which does not contain a Berge-$F$, and let the linear unformity threshold $thres^L(F) = \min\{r_0 :ex^L_r(n,F) = o(n^2) \text{ for all } r \ge r_0 \}$. We show that $thres^L(F)$ is equal to the chromatic number of $F$.

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arXiv2017

A simple discharging method for forbidden subposet problems

The poset $Y_{k+1, 2}$ consists of $k+2$ distinct elements $x_1$, $x_2$, \dots, $x_{k}$, $y_1$,$y_2$, such that $x_1 \le x_2 \le \dots \le x_{k} \le y_1$,~$y_2$. The poset $Y'_{k+1, 2}$ is the dual of $Y_{k+1, 2}$ Let $\rm{La}^{\sharp}(n,\{Y_{k+1, 2}, Y'_{k+1, 2}\})$ be the size of the largest family $\mathcal{F} \subset 2^{[n]}$ that contains neither $Y_{k+1,2}$ nor $Y'_{k+1,2}$ as an induced subposet. Methuku and Tompkins proved that $\rm{La}^{\sharp}(n, \{Y_{3,2}, Y'_{3,2}\}) = Σ(n,2)$ for $n \ge 3$ and they conjectured the generalization that if $k \ge 2$ is an integer and $n \ge k+1$, then $\rm{La}^{\sharp}(n, \{Y_{k+1,2}, Y'_{k+1,2}\}) = Σ(n,k)$. In this paper, we introduce a simple discharging approach and prove this conjecture.

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arXiv2017

An upper bound on the size of diamond-free families of sets

Let $La(n,P)$ be the maximum size of a family of subsets of $[n]=\{1,2,...,n\}$ not containing $P$ as a (weak) subposet. The diamond poset, denoted $B_{2}$, is defined on four elements $x,y,z,w$ with the relations $x<y,z$ and $y,z<w$. $La(n,P)$ has been studied for many posets; one of the major open problems is determining $La(n,B_{2})$. Studying the average number of sets from a family of subsets of $[n]$ on a maximal chain in the Boolean lattice $2^{[n]}$ has been a fruitful method. We use a partitioning of the maximal chains and introduce an induction method to show that $La(n,B_{2})\leq(2.20711+o(1))\binom{n}{\left\lfloor \frac{n}{2}\right\rfloor }$, improving on the earlier bound of $(2.25+o(1))\binom{n}{\left\lfloor \frac{n}{2}\right\rfloor }$ by Kramer, Martin and Young.

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arXiv2017

An Erdős-Gallai type theorem for uniform hypergraphs

A well-known theorem of Erdős and Gallai asserts that a graph with no path of length $k$ contains at most $\frac{1}{2}(k-1)n$ edges. Recently Győri, Katona and Lemons gave an extension of this result to hypergraphs by determining the maximum number of hyperedges in an $r$-uniform hypergraph containing no Berge path of length $k$ for all values of $r$ and $k$ except for $k=r+1$. We settle the remaining case by proving that an $r$-uniform hypergraph with more than $n$ hyperedges must contain a Berge path of length $r+1$.

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arXiv2017

Intersecting $P$-free families

We study the problem of determining the size of the largest intersecting $P$-free family for a given partially ordered set (poset) $P$. In particular, we find the exact size of the largest intersecting $B$-free family where $B$ is the butterfly poset and classify the cases of equality. The proof uses a new generalization of the partition method of Griggs, Li and Lu. We also prove generalizations of two well-known inequalities of Bollobás and Greene, Katona and Kleitman in this case. Furthermore, we obtain a general bound on the size of the largest intersecting $P$-free family, which is sharp for an infinite class of posets originally considered by Burcsi and Nagy, when $n$ is odd. Finally, we give a new proof of the bound on the maximum size of an intersecting $k$-Sperner family and determine the cases of equality.

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arXiv2017

Forbidding rank-preserving copies of a poset

The maximum size, $La(n,P)$, of a family of subsets of $[n]=\{1,2,...,n\}$ without containing a copy of $P$ as a subposet, has been intensively studied. Let $P$ be a graded poset. We say that a family $\mathcal{F}$ of subsets of $[n]=\{1,2,...,n\}$ contains a \emph{rank-preserving} copy of $P$ if it contains a copy of $P$ such that elements of $P$ having the same rank are mapped to sets of same size in $\mathcal{F}$. The largest size of a family of subsets of $[n]=\{1,2,...,n\}$ without containing a rank-preserving copy of $P$ as a subposet is denoted by $La_{rp}(n,P)$. Clearly, $La(n,P) \le La_{rp}(n,P)$ holds. In this paper we prove asymptotically optimal upper bounds on $La_{rp}(n,P)$ for tree posets of height $2$ and monotone tree posets of height $3$, strengthening a result of Bukh in these cases. We also obtain the exact value of $La_{rp}(n,\{Y_{h,s},Y_{h,s}'\})$ and $La(n,\{Y_{h,s},Y_{h,s}'\})$, where $Y_{h,s}$ denotes the poset on $h+s$ elements $x_1,\dots,x_h,y_1,\dots,y_s$ with $x_1<\dots<x_h<y_1,\dots,y_s$ and $Y'_{h,s}$ denotes the dual poset of $Y_{h,s}$.

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arXiv2017

On the maximum size of connected hypergraphs without a path of given length

In this note we asymptotically determine the maximum number of hyperedges possible in an $r$-uniform, connected $n$-vertex hypergraph without a Berge path of length $k$, as $n$ and $k$ tend to infinity. We show that, unlike in the graph case, the multiplicative constant is smaller with the assumption of connectivity.

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arXiv2017

Saturation of Berge Hypergraphs

Given a graph $F$, a hypergraph is a Berge-$F$ if it can be obtained by expanding each edge in $F$ to a hyperedge containing it. A hypergraph $H$ is Berge-$F$-saturated if $H$ does not contain a subgraph that is a Berge-$F$, but for any edge $e\in E(\overline{H})$, $H+e$ does. The $k$-uniform saturation number of Berge-$F$ is the minimum number of edges in a $k$-uniform Berge-$F$-saturated hypergraph on $n$ vertices. For $k=2$ this definition coincides with the classical definition of saturation for graphs. In this paper we study the saturation numbers for Berge triangles, paths, cycles, stars and matchings in $k$-uniform hypergraphs.

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arXiv2017

An improvement on the maximum number of $k$-Dominating Independent Sets

Erdős and Moser raised the question of determining the maximum number of maximal cliques or equivalently, the maximum number of maximal independent sets in a graph on $n$ vertices. Since then there has been a lot of research along these lines. A $k$-dominating independent set is an independent set $D$ such that every vertex not contained in $D$ has at least $k$ neighbours in $D$. Let $mi_k(n)$ denote the maximum number of $k$-dominating independent sets in a graph on $n$ vertices, and let $ζ_k:=\lim_{n \rightarrow \infty} \sqrt[n]{mi_k(n)}$. Nagy initiated the study of $mi_k(n)$. In this article we disprove a conjecture of Nagy and prove that for any even $k$ we have $$1.489 \approx \sqrt[9]{36} \le ζ^k_k.$$ We also prove that for any $k \ge 3$ we have $$ζ_k^{k} \le 2.053^{\frac{1}{1.053+1/k}}< 1.98,$$ improving the upper bound of Nagy.

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arXiv2017

$3$-uniform hypergraphs and linear cycles

Gyárfás, Győri and Simonovits proved that if a $3$-uniform hypergraph with $n$ vertices has no linear cycles, then its independence number $α\ge \frac{2n} {5}$. The hypergraph consisting of vertex disjoint copies of a complete hypergraph $K_5^3$ on five vertices, shows that equality can hold. They asked whether this bound can be improved if we exclude $K_5^3$ as a subhypergraph and whether such a hypergraph is $2$-colorable. In this paper we answer these questions affirmatively. Namely, we prove that if a $3$-uniform linear-cycle-free hypergraph doesn't contain $K_5^3$ as a subhypergraph, then it is $2$-colorable. This result clearly implies that its independence number $α\ge \lceil \frac{n}{2} \rceil$. We show that this bound is sharp. Gyárfás, Győri and Simonovits also proved that a linear-cycle-free $3$-uniform hypergraph contains a vertex of strong degree at most 2. In this context, we show that a linear-cycle-free $3$-uniform hypergraph has a vertex of degree at most $n-2$ when $n \ge 10$.

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arXiv2017

On subgraphs of $C_{2k}$-free graphs and a problem of Kühn and Osthus

Let $c$ denote the largest constant such that every $C_{6}$-free graph $G$ contains a bipartite and $C_4$-free subgraph having $c$ fraction of edges of $G$. Győri et al. showed that $\frac{3}{8} \le c \le \frac{2}{5}$. We prove that $c=\frac{3}{8}$. More generally, we show that for any $\varepsilon>0$, and any integer $k \ge 2$, there is a $C_{2k}$-free graph $G_1$ which does not contain a bipartite subgraph of girth greater than $2k$ with more than $\left(1-\frac{1}{2^{2k-2}}\right)\frac{2}{2k-1}(1+\varepsilon)$ fraction of the edges of $G_1$. There also exists a $C_{2k}$-free graph $G_2$ which does not contain a bipartite and $C_4$-free subgraph with more than $\left(1-\frac{1}{2^{k-1}}\right)\frac{1}{k-1}(1+\varepsilon)$ fraction of the edges of $G_2$. One of our proofs uses the following statement, which we prove using probabilistic ideas, generalizing a theorem of Erdős: For any $\varepsilon>0$, and any integers $a$, $b$, $k \ge 2$, there exists an $a$-uniform hypergraph $H$ of girth greater than $k$ which does not contain any $b$-colorable subhypergraph with more than $\left(1-\frac{1}{b^{a-1}}\right)\left(1+\varepsilon\right)$ fraction of the hyperedges of $H$. We also prove further generalizations of this theorem. In addition, we give a new and very short proof of a result of Kühn and Osthus, which states that every bipartite $C_{2k}$-free graph $G$ contains a $C_{4}$-free subgraph with at least $1/(k-1)$ fraction of the edges of $G$. We also answer a question of Kühn and Osthus about $C_{2k}$-free graphs obtained by pasting together $C_{2l}$'s (with $k>l\ge3$).

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arXiv2017

Turán number of an induced complete bipartite graph plus an odd cycle

Let $k \ge 2$ be an integer. We show that if $s = 2$ and $t \ge 2$, or $s = t = 3$, then the maximum possible number of edges in a $C_{2k+1}$-free graph containing no induced copy of $K_{s,t}$ is asymptotically equal to $(t - s + 1)^{1/s}\left(\frac{n}{2}\right)^{2-1/s}$ except when $k = s = t = 2$. This strengthens a result of Allen, Keevash, Sudakov and Verstraëte and answers a question of Loh, Tait and Timmons.

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arXiv2016

On the Linear Cycle Cover Conjecture of Gyárfás and Sárközy

A linear cycle in a hypergraph $H$ is a cyclic sequence of hyperedges such that two consecutive hyperedges intersect in exactly one element and two nonconsecutive hyperedges are disjoint and $α(H)$ denotes the size of a largest independent set of $H$. In this note, we show that the vertex set of every $3$-uniform hypergraph $H$ can be covered by at most $α(H)$ pairwise edge-disjoint linear cycles (where we accept a vertex and a hyperedge as a linear cycle), proving a weaker version of a conjecture of Gyárfás and Sárközy.

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arXiv2016

An improvement of the general bound on the largest family of subsets avoiding a subposet

Let $La(n,P)$ be the maximum size of a family of subsets of $[n]= \{1,2, ..., n \}$ not containing $P$ as a (weak) subposet, and let $h(P)$ be the length of a longest chain in $P$. The best known upper bound for $La(n,P)$ in terms of $|P|$ and $h(P)$ is due to Chen and Li, who showed that $La(n,P) \le \frac{1}{m+1} \left(|P| + \frac{1}{2}(m^2 +3m-2)(h(P)-1) -1 \right) {\binom {n} {\lfloor n/2 \rfloor}}$ for any fixed $m \ge 1$. In this paper we show that $La(n,P) \le \frac{1}{2^{k-1}} (|P| + (3k-5)2^{k-2}(h(P)-1) - 1 ) {n \choose {\lfloor n/2\rfloor} }$ for any fixed $k \ge 2$, improving the best known upper bound. By choosing $k$ appropriately, we obtain that $La(n,P) = O\left( h(P) \log_2\left(\frac{|P|}{h(P)}+2\right) \right) {n \choose \lfloor n/2 \rfloor }$ as a corollary, which we show is best possible for general $P$. We also give a different proof of this corollary by using bounds for generalized diamonds. We also show that the Lubell function of a family of subsets of $[n]$ not containing $P$ as an induced subposet is $O(n^c)$ for every $c>\frac{1}{2}$.

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arXiv2015

De Bruijn-Erdős type theorems for graphs and posets

A classical theorem of De Bruijn and Erdős asserts that any noncollinear set of n points in the plane determines at least n distinct lines. We prove that an analogue of this theorem holds for graphs. Restricting our attention to comparability graphs, we obtain a version of the De Bruijn-Erdős theorem for partially ordered sets (posets). Moreover, in this case, we have an improved bound on the number of lines depending on the height of the poset. The extremal configurations are also determined.

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