arXiv subjects

Deryk Osthus

Publications and source records attributed to Deryk Osthus.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

Edge-decompositions of graphs with high minimum degree

A fundamental theorem of Wilson states that, for every graph $F$, every sufficiently large $F$-divisible clique has an $F$-decomposition. Here a graph $G$ is $F$-divisible if $e(F)$ divides $e(G)$ and the greatest common divisor of the degrees of $F$ divides the greatest common divisor of the degrees of $G$, and $G$ has an $F$-decomposition if the edges of $G$ can be covered by edge-disjoint copies of $F$. We extend this result to graphs $G$ which are allowed to be far from complete. In particular, together with a result of Dross, our results imply that every sufficiently large $K_3$-divisible graph of minimum degree at least $9n/10+o(n)$ has a $K_3$-decomposition. This significantly improves previous results towards the long-standing conjecture of Nash-Williams that every sufficiently large $K_3$-divisible graph with minimum degree at least $3n/4$ has a $K_3$-decomposition. We also obtain the asymptotically correct minimum degree thresholds of $2n/3 +o(n)$ for the existence of a $C_4$-decomposition, and of $n/2+o(n)$ for the existence of a $C_{2\ell}$-decomposition, where $\ell\ge 3$. Our main contribution is a general `iterative absorption' method which turns an approximate or fractional decomposition into an exact one. In particular, our results imply that in order to prove an asymptotic version of Nash-Williams' conjecture, it suffices to show that every $K_3$-divisible graph with minimum degree at least $3n/4+o(n)$ has an approximate $K_3$-decomposition,

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arXiv2015

Forbidding induced even cycles in a graph: typical structure and counting

We determine, for all $k\geq 6$, the typical structure of graphs that do not contain an induced $2k$-cycle. This verifies a conjecture of Balogh and Butterfield. Surprisingly, the typical structure of such graphs is richer than that encountered in related results. The approach we take also yields an approximate result on the typical structure of graphs without an induced $8$-cycle or without an induced $10$-cycle.

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arXiv2015

Arbitrary Orientations of Hamilton Cycles in Digraphs

Let $n$ be sufficiently large and suppose that $G$ is a digraph on $n$ vertices where every vertex has in- and outdegree at least $n/2$. We show that $G$ contains every orientation of a Hamilton cycle except, possibly, the antidirected one. The antidirected case was settled by DeBiasio and Molla, where the threshold is $n/2+1$. Our result is best possible and improves on an approximate result by Häggkvist and Thomason.

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arXiv2015

A domination algorithm for $\{0,1\}$-instances of the travelling salesman problem

We present an approximation algorithm for $\{0,1\}$-instances of the travelling salesman problem which performs well with respect to combinatorial dominance. More precisely, we give a polynomial-time algorithm which has domination ratio $1-n^{-1/29}$. In other words, given a $\{0,1\}$-edge-weighting of the complete graph $K_n$ on $n$ vertices, our algorithm outputs a Hamilton cycle $H^*$ of $K_n$ with the following property: the proportion of Hamilton cycles of $K_n$ whose weight is smaller than that of $H^*$ is at most $n^{-1/29}$. Our analysis is based on a martingale approach. Previously, the best result in this direction was a polynomial-time algorithm with domination ratio $1/2-o(1)$ for arbitrary edge-weights. We also prove a hardness result showing that, if the Exponential Time Hypothesis holds, there exists a constant $C$ such that $n^{-1/29}$ cannot be replaced by $\exp(-(\log n)^C)$ in the result above.

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arXiv2015

On the random greedy F-free hypergraph process

Let $F$ be a strictly $k$-balanced $k$-uniform hypergraph with $e(F)\geq |F|-k+1$ and maximum co-degree at least two. The random greedy $F$-free process constructs a maximal $F$-free hypergraph as follows. Consider a random ordering of the hyperedges of the complete $k$-uniform hypergraph $K_n^k$ on $n$ vertices. Start with the empty hypergraph on $n$ vertices. Successively consider the hyperedges $e$ of $K_n^k$ in the given ordering, and add $e$ to the existing hypergraph provided that $e$ does not create a copy of $F$. We show that asymptotically almost surely this process terminates at a hypergraph with $\tilde{O}(n^{k-(|F|-k)/(e(F)-1)})$ hyperedges. This is best possible up to logarithmic factors.

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arXiv2015

Bipartitions of highly connected tournaments

We show that if $T$ is a strongly $10^9k^6\log(2k)$-connected tournament, there exists a partition $A, B$ of $V(T)$ such that each of $T[A]$, $T[B]$ and $T[A,B]$ is strongly $k$-connected. This provides tournament analogues of two partition conjectures of Thomassen regarding highly connected graphs.

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arXiv2014

Proof of the 1-factorization and Hamilton decomposition conjectures II: the bipartite case

In a sequence of four papers, we prove the following results (via a unified approach) for all sufficiently large $n$: (i) [1-factorization conjecture] Suppose that $n$ is even and $D \geq 2\lceil n/4\rceil -1$. Then every $D$-regular graph $G$ on $n$ vertices has a decomposition into perfect matchings. Equivalently, $χ'(G)=D$. (ii) [Hamilton decomposition conjecture] Suppose that $D \ge \lfloor n/2 \rfloor $. Then every $D$-regular graph $G$ on $n$ vertices has a decomposition into Hamilton cycles and at most one perfect matching. (iii) [Optimal packings of Hamilton cycles] Suppose that $G$ is a graph on $n$ vertices with minimum degree $δ\ge n/2$. Then $G$ contains at least ${\rm reg}_{\rm even}(n,δ)/2 \ge (n-2)/8$ edge-disjoint Hamilton cycles. Here ${\rm reg}_{\rm even}(n,δ)$ denotes the degree of the largest even-regular spanning subgraph one can guarantee in a graph on $n$ vertices with minimum degree $δ$. According to Dirac, (i) was first raised in the 1950s. (ii) and the special case $δ= \lceil n/2 \rceil$ of (iii) answer questions of Nash-Williams from 1970. All of the above bounds are best possible. In the current paper, we prove the above results for the case when $G$ is close to a complete balanced bipartite graph.

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arXiv2014

Proof of the 1-factorization and Hamilton decomposition conjectures III: approximate decompositions

In a sequence of four papers, we prove the following results (via a unified approach) for all sufficiently large $n$: (i) [1-factorization conjecture] Suppose that $n$ is even and $D\geq 2\lceil n/4\rceil -1$. Then every $D$-regular graph $G$ on $n$ vertices has a decomposition into perfect matchings. Equivalently, $χ'(G)=D$. (ii) [Hamilton decomposition conjecture] Suppose that $D \ge \lfloor n/2 \rfloor $. Then every $D$-regular graph $G$ on $n$ vertices has a decomposition into Hamilton cycles and at most one perfect matching. (iii) We prove an optimal result on the number of edge-disjoint Hamilton cycles in a graph of given minimum degree. According to Dirac, (i) was first raised in the 1950s. (ii) and (iii) answer questions of Nash-Williams from 1970. The above bounds are best possible. In the current paper, we show the following: suppose that $G$ is close to a complete balanced bipartite graph or to the union of two cliques of equal size. If we are given a suitable set of path systems which cover a set of `exceptional' vertices and edges of $G$, then we can extend these path systems into an approximate decomposition of $G$ into Hamilton cycles (or perfect matchings if appropriate).

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arXiv2014

Proof of the 1-factorization and Hamilton decomposition conjectures IV: exceptional systems for the two cliques case

In a sequence of four papers, we prove the following results (via a unified approach) for all sufficiently large $n$: (i) [1-factorization conjecture] Suppose that $n$ is even and $D\geq 2\lceil n/4\rceil -1$. Then every $D$-regular graph $G$ on $n$ vertices has a decomposition into perfect matchings. Equivalently, $χ'(G)=D$. (ii) [Hamilton decomposition conjecture] Suppose that $D \ge \lfloor n/2 \rfloor $. Then every $D$-regular graph $G$ on $n$ vertices has a decomposition into Hamilton cycles and at most one perfect matching. (iii) We prove an optimal result on the number of edge-disjoint Hamilton cycles in a graph of given minimum degree. According to Dirac, (i) was first raised in the 1950s. (ii) and (iii) answer questions of Nash-Williams from 1970. The above bounds are best possible. In the current paper, we prove results on the decomposition of sparse graphs into path systems. These are used in the proof of (i) and (ii) in the case when $G$ is close to the union of two disjoint cliques.

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arXiv2014

Proof of the $1$-factorization and Hamilton Decomposition Conjectures

In this paper we prove the following results (via a unified approach) for all sufficiently large $n$: (i) [$1$-factorization conjecture] Suppose that $n$ is even and $D\geq 2\lceil n/4\rceil -1$. Then every $D$-regular graph $G$ on $n$ vertices has a decomposition into perfect matchings. Equivalently, $χ'(G)=D$. (ii) [Hamilton decomposition conjecture] Suppose that $D \ge \lfloor n/2 \rfloor $. Then every $D$-regular graph $G$ on $n$ vertices has a decomposition into Hamilton cycles and at most one perfect matching. (iii) [Optimal packings of Hamilton cycles] Suppose that $G$ is a graph on $n$ vertices with minimum degree $δ\ge n/2$. Then $G$ contains at least ${\rm reg}_{\rm even}(n,δ)/2 \ge (n-2)/8$ edge-disjoint Hamilton cycles. Here $\text{reg}_{\text{even}}(n,δ)$ denotes the degree of the largest even-regular spanning subgraph one can guarantee in a graph on $n$ vertices with minimum degree $δ$. (i) was first explicitly stated by Chetwynd and Hilton. (ii) and the special case $δ= \lceil n/2 \rceil$ of (iii) answer questions of Nash-Williams from 1970. All of the above bounds are best possible.

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arXiv2014

The robust component structure of dense regular graphs and applications

In this paper, we study the large-scale structure of dense regular graphs. This involves the notion of robust expansion, a recent concept which has already been used successfully to settle several longstanding problems. Roughly speaking, a graph is robustly expanding if it still expands after the deletion of a small fraction of its vertices and edges. Our main result allows us to harness the useful consequences of robust expansion even if the graph itself is not a robust expander. It states that every dense regular graph can be partitioned into `robust components', each of which is a robust expander or a bipartite robust expander. We apply our result to obtain (amongst others) the following. (i) We prove that whenever $\eps >0$, every sufficiently large 3-connected D-regular graph on n vertices with $D \geq (1/4 + \eps)n$ is Hamiltonian. This asymptotically confirms the only remaining case of a conjecture raised independently by Bollobás and Häggkvist in the 1970s. (ii) We prove an asymptotically best possible result on the circumference of dense regular graphs of given connectivity. The 2-connected case of this was conjectured by Bondy and proved by Wei.

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arXiv2014

Hamilton cycles in graphs and hypergraphs: an extremal perspective

As one of the most fundamental and well-known NP-complete problems, the Hamilton cycle problem has been the subject of intensive research. Recent developments in the area have highlighted the crucial role played by the notions of expansion and quasi-randomness. These concepts and other recent techniques have led to the solution of several long-standing problems in the area. New aspects have also emerged, such as resilience, robustness and the study of Hamilton cycles in hypergraphs. We survey these developments and highlight open problems, with an emphasis on extremal and probabilistic approaches.

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arXiv2014

Decompositions of complete uniform hypergraphs into Hamilton Berge cycles

In 1973 Bermond, Germa, Heydemann and Sotteau conjectured that if $n$ divides $\binom{n}{k}$, then the complete $k$-uniform hypergraph on $n$ vertices has a decomposition into Hamilton Berge cycles. Here a Berge cycle consists of an alternating sequence $v_1,e_1,v_2,\dots,v_n,e_n$ of distinct vertices $v_i$ and distinct edges $e_i$ so that each $e_i$ contains $v_i$ and $v_{i+1}$. So the divisibility condition is clearly necessary. In this note, we prove that the conjecture holds whenever $k \ge 4$ and $n \ge 30$. Our argument is based on the Kruskal-Katona theorem. The case when $k=3$ was already solved by Verrall, building on results of Bermond.

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arXiv2013

Fractional and integer matchings in uniform hypergraphs

Our main result improves bounds of Markstrom and Rucinski on the minimum d-degree which forces a perfect matching in a k-uniform hypergraph on n vertices. We also extend bounds of Bollobas, Daykin and Erdos by asymptotically determining the minimum vertex degree which forces a matching of size t < n/2(k-1) in a k-uniform hypergraph on n vertices. Further asymptotically tight results on d-degrees which force large matchings are also obtained. Our approach is to prove fractional versions of the above results and then translate these into integer versions.

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arXiv2013

Hamilton decompositions of regular expanders: applications

In a recent paper, we showed that every sufficiently large regular digraph G on n vertices whose degree is linear in n and which is a robust outexpander has a decomposition into edge-disjoint Hamilton cycles. The main consequence of this theorem is that every regular tournament on n vertices can be decomposed into (n-1)/2 edge-disjoint Hamilton cycles, whenever n is sufficiently large. This verified a conjecture of Kelly from 1968. In this paper, we derive a number of further consequences of our result on robust outexpanders, the main ones are the following: (i) an undirected analogue of our result on robust outexpanders; (ii) best possible bounds on the size of an optimal packing of edge-disjoint Hamilton cycles in a graph of minimum degree d for a large range of values for d. (iii) a similar result for digraphs of given minimum semidegree; (iv) an approximate version of a conjecture of Nash-Williams on Hamilton decompositions of dense regular graphs; (v) the observation that dense quasi-random graphs are robust outexpanders; (vi) a verification of the `very dense' case of a conjecture of Frieze and Krivelevich on packing edge-disjoint Hamilton cycles in random graphs; (vii) a proof of a conjecture of Erdos on the size of an optimal packing of edge-disjoint Hamilton cycles in a random tournament.

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arXiv2013

Approximate Hamilton decompositions of robustly expanding regular digraphs

We show that every sufficiently large r-regular digraph G which has linear degree and is a robust outexpander has an approximate decomposition into edge-disjoint Hamilton cycles, i.e. G contains a set of r-o(r) edge-disjoint Hamilton cycles. Here G is a robust outexpander if for every set S which is not too small and not too large, the `robust' outneighbourhood of S is a little larger than S. This generalises a result of Kühn, Osthus and Treglown on approximate Hamilton decompositions of dense regular oriented graphs. It also generalises a result of Frieze and Krivelevich on approximate Hamilton decompositions of quasirandom (di)graphs. In turn, our result is used as a tool by Kühn and Osthus to prove that any sufficiently large r-regular digraph G which has linear degree and is a robust outexpander even has a Hamilton decomposition.

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arXiv2013

Hamilton l-cycles in uniform hypergraphs

We say that a k-uniform hypergraph C is an l-cycle if there exists a cyclic ordering of the vertices of C such that every edge of C consists of k consecutive vertices and such that every pair of consecutive edges (in the natural ordering of the edges) intersects in precisely l vertices. We prove that if 1 \leq l \leq k-1 and k-l does not divide k then any k-uniform hypergraph on n vertices with minimum degree at least n/((\lceil (k/(k-l)) \rceil)(k-l))+o(n) contains a Hamilton l-cycle. This confirms a conjecture of Hàn and Schacht. Together with results of Rödl, Ruciński and Szemerédi, our result asymptotically determines the minimum degree which forces an l-cycle for any l with 1 \leq l \leq k-1.

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arXiv2013

Optimal covers with Hamilton cycles in random graphs

A packing of a graph G with Hamilton cycles is a set of edge-disjoint Hamilton cycles in G. Such packings have been studied intensively and recent results imply that a largest packing of Hamilton cycles in G_n,p a.a.s. has size \lfloor delta(G_n,p) /2 \rfloor. Glebov, Krivelevich and Szabó recently initiated research on the `dual' problem, where one asks for a set of Hamilton cycles covering all edges of G. Our main result states that for log^{117}n / n < p < 1-n^{-1/8}, a.a.s. the edges of G_n,p can be covered by \lceil Delta(G_n,p)/2 \rceil Hamilton cycles. This is clearly optimal and improves an approximate result of Glebov, Krivelevich and Szabó, which holds for p > n^{-1+\eps}. Our proof is based on a result of Knox, Kühn and Osthus on packing Hamilton cycles in pseudorandom graphs.

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