arXiv subjects

Bojan Mohar

Publications and source records attributed to Bojan Mohar.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Spectrally symmetric orientations of graphs

The Hermitian adjacency matrices of digraphs based on the sixth root of unity were introduced in [B. Mohar, A new kind of Hermitian matrices for digraphs, Linear Alg. Appl. (2020)]. They appear to be the most natural choice for the spectral theory of digraphs. Undirected graphs have adjacency spectrum symmetric about 0 if and only if they are bipartite. The situation is more complex for the Hermitian spectra of digraphs. In this paper we study non-bipartite oriented graphs with symmetric Hermitian spectra. Our main result concerns the extremal problem of maximizing the density of spectrally symmetric oriented graphs. The maximum possible density is shown to be between 31/36} and 10/11. Furthermore, we give a necessary condition for an oriented graph to be spectrally symmetric based on the adjacency spectrum of the underlying graph. This allows us to show that line graphs of sufficiently dense graphs do not admit spectrally symmetric orientations. We also show how to construct infinite families of spectrally symmetric graphs using 1-sums.

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arXiv2026

Orthogonal signed graphs of degree 5

An orthogonal signed graph is a connected signed graph whose signed adjacency matrix has pairwise orthogonal rows. They are closely related to Hadamard matrices, maximal arrangements of equiangular lines, bipartite Ramanujan graphs, and the remarkable resolution of the Sensitivity Conjecture. Orthogonal signed graphs of degree at most 4 have been completely classified, and partial results were known for degree 5. We complete the classification of orthogonal signed graphs of maximum degree 5. We also provide several new infinite families of 6- and 8-regular orthogonal signed graphs.

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arXiv2026

Stability of maximal relative projection constants

For positive integers $n\ge r$, let $λ(r,n)$ denote the \emph{maximal relative projection constant} of $r$-dimensional subspaces of $\ell_\infty^n$ and $λ(r)$ denote the \emph{maximal absolute projection constant}, respectively. It is known that for any fixed $r$, $λ(r,n)$ is a non-decreasing sequence with limit $λ(r)$ as $n\to \infty$. A natural question is whether $λ(r,n)$ stabilizes at $λ(r)$ for some $n>r$. We prove that for any fixed $r$, \[λ(r,n)=λ(r) \qquad \text{for every}\qquad n\ge 2^{r}\binom{r+1}{2}.\] This answers a question of Basso. The technique used is of independent interest.

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arXiv2026

Three-edge-coloring apex cubic graphs

A graph $G$ is \emph{apex} if $G$ has a vertex $v$ such that $G-v$ is planar. We prove that every $2$-connected apex cubic graph is three-edge-colorable. This result gives the final piece of the proof for the well-known Tutte's three-edge-coloring conjecture from 1966 \cite{tutte}. The proof, as well as the result, generalizes that of the Four Color Theorem, which requires computer checks. As in the previous proof of the Four Color Theorem, the proof is constructive. More precisely, given a $2$-connected apex cubic graph $G$ on $n$ vertices, our reducibility and discharging procedure yields a three-edge-coloring of $G$ in $O(n^2)$ time. As an additional reproducibility check for our computer checks, independent implementations reconstructed from the detailed pseudocode (given in the appendix) using generative AI systems reproduced the required computational results. These reconstructions are not part of the mathematical justification of the theorem, but provide additional evidence for the reproducibility of the computations.

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arXiv2026

Convex combination of first and second eigenvalues of trees

For a graph $G$, let $λ_1(G)$ and $λ_2(G)$ denote the largest and the second largest adjacency eigenvalue of $G$. The sum $λ_1(G) + λ_2(G)$ is called the \emph{spectral sum} of $G$. We investigate the spectral sum of trees of order $n$ and determine the extremal trees that attain the maximum/minimum. Moreover, for any $α\in [0,1],$ we describe the extremal trees which maximize the convex combination $αλ_1 + (1-α)λ_2$ in the class of $n$-vertex trees for sufficiently large $n$.

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arXiv2026

Extremal graphs for the $k$-th eigenvalue

For a simple graph $G$ of order $n$, let $λ_1(G)\ge \cdots \ge λ_n(G)$ denote its adjacency eigenvalues. Hong's problem asks for the optimal upper bound for $λ_k(G)$. A recent theorem of Sivashankar gives, for every $k\ge3$, \[ λ_k(G)\le \frac{(k-2)\sqrt{k+1}+2}{2k(k-1)}\,n-1, \] with sharp examples arising from maximal real equiangular tight frames. In this paper, we characterize the equality case. We also obtain an explicit combinatorial description of the extremal graphs for $λ_3$ and $λ_4$.

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arXiv2026

Well-quasi-order of plane minors and an application to link diagrams

A plane graph $H$ is a {\em plane minor} of a plane graph $G$ if there is a sequence of vertex and edge deletions, and edge contractions performed on the plane, that takes $G$ to $H$. Motivated by knot theory problems, it has been asked if the plane minor relation is a well-quasi-order. We settle this in the affirmative. We also prove an additional application to knot theory. If $L$ is a link and $D$ is a link diagram, write $D\leadsto L$ if there is a sequence of crossing exchanges and smoothings that takes $D$ to a diagram of $L$. We show that, for each fixed link $L$, there is a polynomial-time algorithm that takes as input a link diagram $D$ and answers whether or not $D\leadsto L$.

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arXiv2026

Short rainbow cycles in graphs and matroids

Let $G$ be a simple $n$-vertex graph and $c$ be a colouring of $E(G)$ with $n$ colours, where each colour class has size at least $2$. We prove that $(G,c)$ contains a rainbow cycle of length at most $\lceil \frac{n}{2} \rceil$, which is best possible. Our result settles a special case of a strengthening of the Caccetta-Häggkvist conjecture, due to Aharoni. We also show that the matroid generalization of our main result also holds for cographic matroids, but fails for binary matroids.

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arXiv2026

Genus Polynomials of Cubic Graphs with Non-Real Roots

Given a graph $G$, its genus polynomial is $Γ_G(x) = \sum_{k\geq 0} g_k(G)x^k$, where $g_k(G)$ is the number of 2-cell embeddings of $G$ in an orientable surface of genus $k$. The Log-Concavity Genus Distribution (LCGD) Conjecture states that the genus polynomial of every graph is log-concave. It was further conjectured by Stahl that the genus polynomial of every graph has only real roots, however this was later disproved. We identify several examples of cubic graphs whose genus polynomials, in addition to having at least one non-real root, have a quadratic factor that is non-log-concave when factored over the real numbers.

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arXiv2026

An improved bound for the strong clique index of graphs

For a graph $G$ with line graph $L(G)$, $χ(L(G)^2)$ and $ω(L(G)^2)$ are called the \emph{strong chromatic index} and \emph{strong clique index} of $G$, respectively. A well-known conjecture of Erdős and Nešetřil (1985) posits that $χ(L(G)^2)\le \frac{5}{4}Δ(G)^2$. Related to that, Faudree, Gyárfás, Schelp and Tuza (1990) conjectured that $ω(L(G)^2) \le \frac{5}{4}Δ(G)^2$. We show that $ω(L(G)^2) \le \frac{2607}{1987}Δ(G)^2 < \frac{21}{16}Δ(G)^2$ improving the upper bound $\frac{4}{3}Δ(G)^2$ of Faron and Postle. Indeed, we make progress towards a stronger conjecture of Faron and Postle in terms of Ore-degree. For positive integers $Δ$ and $t$, let $h_t(Δ)$ denote the smallest integer such that any graph $G$ with size at least $h_t(Δ)$ and maximum degree $Δ(G)\le Δ$, contains two edges with distance at least $t$. An old problem of Erdős and Nešetřil (1986) concerns estimating the quantity $h_t(Δ)$ and can be thought of as the edge-version of the degree-diameter problem. Chung, Gyárfás, Tuza and Trotter established the sharp inequality $h_2(Δ)\le \frac{5}{4}Δ^2+1$. We disprove two conjectures of Cambie, Cames van Batenburg, Joannis de Verclos and Kang concerning the next open case $h_3(Δ)$.

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arXiv2026

Universality in minor-closed graph classes

Stanislaw Ulam asked whether there exists a universal countable planar graph (that is, a countable planar graph that contains every countable planar graph as a subgraph). János Pach (1981) answered this question in the negative. We strengthen this result by showing that every countable graph that contains all countable planar graphs must contain (i) an infinite complete graph as a minor, and (ii) a subdivision of the complete graph $K_t$ with multiplicity $t$, for every finite $t$. On the other hand, we construct a countable graph that contains all countable planar graphs and has several key properties such as linear colouring numbers, linear expansion, and every finite $n$-vertex subgraph has a balanced separator of size $O(\sqrt{n})$. The graph is $T_6\boxtimes P_{\!\infty}$, where $T_k$ is the universal treewidth-$k$ countable graph (which we define explicitly), $P_{\!\infty}$ is the 1-way infinite path, and $\boxtimes$ denotes the strong product. More generally, for every positive integer $t$ we construct a countable graph that contains every countable $K_t$-minor-free graph and has the above key properties. Our final contribution is a construction of a countable graph that contains every countable $K_t$-minor-free graph as an induced subgraph, has linear colouring numbers and linear expansion, and contains no subdivision of the countably infinite complete graph (implying (ii) above is best possible).

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arXiv2026

2-cell embeddings of cubic graphs I. The unstable dual

In this paper, the first of a two-part series, we explore 2-cell embeddings of cubic graphs, particularly those with small genus. Using local rotations, we introduce a new way of describing the space of 2-cell embeddings and their mutual relationship for any fixed (cubic) graph. We introduce the unstable dual of an embedding of a cubic graph, a subgraph of the dual graph, and describe how the genus of the corresponding embedding can be recovered from properties of the unstable dual. Finally, we characterize the unstable duals of embeddings with genus at most 2 of cubic cyclically 5-edge connected planar graphs and use these to generate those of genus 3 that have connectivity at most 2.

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arXiv2026

The Dominating 4-Colour Theorem

A "dominating $K_t$-model" in a graph $G$ is a sequence $(T_1,\dots,T_t)$ of pairwise vertex-disjoint connected subgraphs of $G$, such that whenever $1\leq i<j\leq t$ every vertex in $T_j$ has a neighbour in $T_i$. Replacing "every vertex in $T_j$" by "some vertex in $T_j$" retrieves the standard definition of $K_t$-model, which is equivalent to a $K_t$-minor in $G$. We prove that every graph with no dominating $K_5$-model is $4$-colourable. This generalises and is significantly stronger than the 4-colour theorem for planar graphs or for graphs with no $K_5$-minor. It also makes progress towards Hajós' conjecture on $K_5$-subdivisions in $5$-chromatic graphs.

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arXiv2026

Structure and generation of crossing-critical graphs

We study $c$-crossing-critical graphs, which are the minimal graphs that require at least $c$ edge-crossings when drawn in the plane. For $c=1$ there are only two such graphs without degree-2 vertices, $K_5$ and $K_{3,3}$, but for any fixed $c>1$ there exist infinitely many $c$-crossing-critical graphs. It has been previously shown that $c$-crossing-critical graphs have bounded path-width and contain only a bounded number of internally disjoint paths between any two vertices. We expand on these results, providing a more detailed description of the structure of crossing-critical graphs. On the way towards this description, we prove a new structural characterisation of plane graphs of bounded path-width. Then we show that every $c$-crossing-critical graph can be obtained from a $c$-crossing-critical graph of bounded size by replicating bounded-size parts that already appear in narrow "bands" or "fans" in the graph. This also gives an algorithm to generate all the $c$-crossing-critical graphs of at most given order $n$ in polynomial time per each generated graph.

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arXiv2026

The Four Color Theorem with Linearly Many Reducible Configurations and Near-Linear Time Coloring

We give a near-linear time 4-coloring algorithm for planar graphs, improving on the previous quadratic time algorithm by Robertson et al. from 1996. Such an algorithm cannot be achieved by the known proofs of the Four Color Theorem (4CT). Technically speaking, we show the following significant generalization of the 4CT: every planar triangulation contains linearly many pairwise non-touching reducible configurations or pairwise non-crossing obstructing cycles of length at most 5 (which all allow for making effective 4-coloring reductions). The known proofs of the 4CT only show the existence of a single reducible configuration or obstructing cycle in the above statement. The existence is proved using the discharging method based on combinatorial curvature. It identifies reducible configurations in parts where the local neighborhood has positive combinatorial curvature. Our result significantly strengthens the known proofs of 4CT, showing that we can also find reductions in large ``flat" parts where the curvature is zero, and moreover, we can make reductions almost anywhere in a given planar graph. This also opens possibilities for extensions to higher surfaces since we can find such flat parts in any large-width triangulation of any fixed surface. From a computational perspective, the old proofs allowed us to apply induction on a problem that is smaller by some additive constant. The inductive step took linear time, resulting in a quadratic total time. With our linear number of reducible configurations or obstructing cycles, we can reduce the problem size by a constant factor. Our inductive step takes $O(n\log n)$ time, yielding a 4-coloring in $O(n\log n)$ total time. To efficiently handle a linear number of reducible configurations, we need them to be sufficiently robust to be useful in other applications. All our reducible configurations are what is known as D-reducible.

math.CO↗

arXiv2026

Long cycles in vertex transitive digraphs

One of the most well-known conjectures concerning Hamiltonicity in graphs asserts that any sufficiently large connected vertex transitive graph contains a Hamilton cycle. In this form, it was first written down by Thomassen in 1978, inspired by a closely related conjecture due to Lovász from 1969. It has been attributed to several other authors in a survey on the topic by Witte and Gallian in 1984. The analogous question for vertex transitive digraphs has an even longer history, having been first considered by Rankin in 1946. It is arguably more natural from the group-theoretic perspective underlying this problem in both settings. Trotter and Erdős proved in 1978 that there are infinitely many connected vertex transitive digraphs which are not Hamiltonian. This left open the very natural question of how long a directed cycle one can guarantee in a connected vertex transitive digraph on $n$ vertices. In 1981, Alspach asked if the maximum perimeter gap (the gap between the circumference and the order of the digraph) is a growing function in $n$. We answer this question in the affirmative, showing that it grows at least as fast as $(1-o(1)) \ln n$. On the other hand, we prove that one can always find a directed cycle of length at least $Ω(n^{1/3})$, establishing the first lower bound growing with $n$, providing a directed analogue of a famous result of Babai from 1979 in the undirected setting.

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arXiv2025

Strong log-convexity of genus sequences

For a graph $G$, and a nonnegative integer $g$, let $a_g(G)$ be the number of $2$-cell embeddings of $G$ in an orientable surface of genus $g$ (counted up to the combinatorial homeomorphism equivalence). In 1989, Gross, Robbins, and Tucker [Genus distributions for bouquets of circles, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B 47 (1989), 292-306] proposed a conjecture that the sequence $a_0(G),a_1(G),a_2(G),\dots$ is log-concave for every graph $G$. This conjecture is reminiscent to the Heron-Rota-Welsh Log Concavity Conjecture that was recently resolved in the affirmative by June Huh et al., except that it is closer to the notion of $Δ$-matroids than to the usual matroids. In this short paper, we disprove the Log Concavity Conjecture of Gross, Robbins, and Tucker by providing examples that show strong deviation from log-concavity at multiple terms of their genus sequences.

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arXiv2025

Hermitian adjacency matrices with at most three distinct eigenvalues

We study oriented graphs whose Hermitian adjacency matrices of the second kind have few eigenvalues. We give a complete characterization of the oriented graphs with two distinct eigenvalues, showing that there are only four such graphs. We extend this result to mixed graphs. We show that there are infinitely many regular tournaments with three distinct eigenvalues. We extend our main results to Hermitian adjacency matrices defined over other roots of unity.

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