The Oberwolfach problem, posed by Ringel in 1967, asks for a decomposition of $K_{2n+1}$ into edge-disjoint copies of a given $2$-factor. We show that this can be achieved for all large $n$. We actually prove a significantly more general result, which allows for decompositions into more general types of factors. In particular, this also resolves the Hamilton-Waterloo problem for large $n$.
The Directed Oberwolfach Problem can be considered as the directed version of the well-known Oberwolfach Problem, first mentioned by Ringel at a conference in Oberwolfach, Germany in 1967. In this paper, we describe some new partial results on the Directed Oberwolfach Problem with variable cycle lengths. In particular, we show that the complete symmetric digraph $K_n^{*}$ admits a $( \vec{C}_2, ..., \vec{C}_2, \vec{C}_3) $-factorization for all $ n\equiv 1, 3,$ or $ 7\pmod{8}$. We also show that $K_n^{*}$ admits a $(\vec{C}_2, \vec{C}_{n-2})$-factorization for any integer $n \geq 5$.
We prove that any quasirandom dense large graph in which all degrees are equal and even can be decomposed into any given collection of two-factors (2-regular spanning subgraphs). A special case of this result gives a new solution to the Oberwolfach problem.
Various results on factorisations of complete graphs into circulant graphs and on 2-factorisations of these circulant graphs are proved. As a consequence, a number of new results on the Oberwolfach Problem are obtained. For example, a complete solution to the Oberwolfach Problem is given for every 2-regular graph of order 2p where p = 5 (mod 8) is prime.
Let $F$ be a $2$-regular graph of order $v$. The Oberwolfach problem, $OP(F)$, asks for a $2$-factorization of the complete graph on $v$ vertices in which each $2$-factor is isomorphic to $F$. In this paper, we give a complete solution to the Oberwolfach problem over infinite complete graphs, proving the existence of solutions that are regular under the action of a given involution free group $G$. We will also consider the same problem in the more general contest of graphs $F$ that are spanning subgraphs of an infinite complete graph $\mathbb{K}$ and we provide a solution when $F$ is locally f…
We show that the complete symmetric digraph $K_{2m}^\ast$ admits a resolvable decomposition into directed cycles of length $m$ for all odd $m$, $5 \le m \le 49$. Consequently, $K_{n}^\ast$ admits a resolvable decomposition into directed cycles of length $m$ for all $n \equiv 0 \pmod{2m}$ and odd $m$, $5 \le m \le 49$.
The Oberwolfach Problem $OP(F)$ -- posed by Gerhard Ringel in 1967 -- is a paradigmatic Combinatorial Design problem asking whether the complete graph $K_v$ decomposes into edge-disjoint copies of a $2$-regular graph $F$ of order $v$. In this paper, we provide all the necessary equipment to generate solutions to $OP(F)$ for relatively small orders by using the so-called difference methods. From the theoretical standpoint, we present new insights on the combinatorial structures involved in the solution of the problem. Computationally, we provide a full recipe whose base ingredients are advanced…
We examine the necessary and sufficient conditions for a complete symmetric equipartite digraph $K_{n[m]}^\ast$ with $n$ parts of size $m$ to admit a resolvable decomposition into directed cycles of length $t$. We show that the obvious necessary conditions are sufficient for $m,n,t \ge 2$ in each of the following four cases: (i) $m(n-1)$ is even; (ii) $\gcd(m,n) \not\in \{1,3\}$; (iii) $\gcd(m,n)=1$ and $4|n$ or $6|n$; and (iv) $\gcd(m,n)=3$, and if $n=6$, then $p|m$ for a prime $p \le 37$.
The concept of a $1$-rotational factorization of a complete graph under a finite group $G$ was studied in detail by Buratti and Rinaldi. They found that if $G$ admits a $1$-rotational $2$-factorization, then the involutions of $G$ are pairwise conjugate. We extend their result by showing that if a finite group $G$ admits a $1$-rotational $k=2^nm$-factorization where $n\geq 1$, and $m$ is odd, then $G$ has at most $m(2^n-1)$ conjugacy classes containing involutions. Also, we show that if $G$ has exactly $m(2^n-1)$ conjugacy classes containing involutions, then the product of a central involutio…
The generalization of the Oberwolfach Problem, proposed by J. Liu in 2000, asks for a uniform $2$-factorization of the complete multipartite graph $K_{m\times n}$. Here we focus our attention on $2$-factorizations regular under the cyclic group $Z_{mn}$, whose $2$-factors are disjoint union of cycles all of even length $\ell$. In particular, we present a complete solution for the extremal cases $\ell=4$ and $\ell=mn$.
We develop a new method for constructing approximate decompositions of dense graphs into sparse graphs and apply it to longstanding decomposition problems. For instance, our results imply the following. Let $G$ be a quasi-random $n$-vertex graph and suppose $H_1,\dots,H_s$ are bounded degree $n$-vertex graphs with $\sum_{i=1}^{s} e(H_i) \leq (1-o(1)) e(G)$. Then $H_1,\dots,H_s$ can be packed edge-disjointly into $G$. The case when $G$ is the complete graph $K_n$ implies an approximate version of the tree packing conjecture of Gyárfás and Lehel for bounded degree trees, and of the Oberwolfach p…
This paper completes the project started in [10]; to solve the edge-isoperimetric problem on the (generalized and extended) Sierpinski graph, S(n,m). We prove that initial segments of lexicographic order are solutions of the EIP for all n,m.
Fix $d \ge 3$. We show the existence of a constant $c>0$ such that any graph of diameter at most $d$ has average distance at most $d-c \frac{d^{3/2}}{\sqrt n}$, where $n$ is the number of vertices. Moreover, we exhibit graphs certifying sharpness of this bound up to the choice of $c$. This constitutes an asymptotic solution to a longstanding open problem of Plesník. Furthermore we solve the problem exactly for digraphs if the order is large compared with the diameter.