The power of many colours

A classical problem, due to Gerencsér and Gyárfás from 1967, asks how large a monochromatic connected component can we guarantee in any r-edge colouring of $K_n$ ? We consider how big a connected component we can guarantee in any r-edge colouring of $K_n$ if we allow ourselves to use up...

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Main Authors: Noga Alon, Matija Bucić, Micha Christoph, Michael Krivelevich
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2024-01-01
Series:Forum of Mathematics, Sigma
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Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2050509424001208/type/journal_article
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author Noga Alon
Matija Bucić
Micha Christoph
Michael Krivelevich
author_facet Noga Alon
Matija Bucić
Micha Christoph
Michael Krivelevich
author_sort Noga Alon
collection DOAJ
description A classical problem, due to Gerencsér and Gyárfás from 1967, asks how large a monochromatic connected component can we guarantee in any r-edge colouring of $K_n$ ? We consider how big a connected component we can guarantee in any r-edge colouring of $K_n$ if we allow ourselves to use up to s colours. This is actually an instance of a more general question of Bollobás from about 20 years ago which asks for a k-connected subgraph in the same setting. We complete the picture in terms of the approximate behaviour of the answer by determining it up to a logarithmic term, provided n is large enough. We obtain more precise results for certain regimes which solve a problem of Liu, Morris and Prince from 2007, as well as disprove a conjecture they pose in a strong form.
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publishDate 2024-01-01
publisher Cambridge University Press
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series Forum of Mathematics, Sigma
spelling doaj-art-8b8e454ca2d34487a4f1c6bb8d89932c2024-12-10T06:02:35ZengCambridge University PressForum of Mathematics, Sigma2050-50942024-01-011210.1017/fms.2024.120The power of many coloursNoga Alon0Matija Bucić1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1055-3309Micha Christoph2Michael Krivelevich3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2357-4982Department of Mathematics, Princeton University, Princeton, USA; E-mail:School of Mathematics, Institute for Advanced Study and Department of Mathematics, Princeton University, Princeton, USADepartment of Mathematics, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland; E-mail:School of Mathematical Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; E-mail:A classical problem, due to Gerencsér and Gyárfás from 1967, asks how large a monochromatic connected component can we guarantee in any r-edge colouring of $K_n$ ? We consider how big a connected component we can guarantee in any r-edge colouring of $K_n$ if we allow ourselves to use up to s colours. This is actually an instance of a more general question of Bollobás from about 20 years ago which asks for a k-connected subgraph in the same setting. We complete the picture in terms of the approximate behaviour of the answer by determining it up to a logarithmic term, provided n is large enough. We obtain more precise results for certain regimes which solve a problem of Liu, Morris and Prince from 2007, as well as disprove a conjecture they pose in a strong form.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2050509424001208/type/journal_article05C5505C4005D40
spellingShingle Noga Alon
Matija Bucić
Micha Christoph
Michael Krivelevich
The power of many colours
Forum of Mathematics, Sigma
05C55
05C40
05D40
title The power of many colours
title_full The power of many colours
title_fullStr The power of many colours
title_full_unstemmed The power of many colours
title_short The power of many colours
title_sort power of many colours
topic 05C55
05C40
05D40
url https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2050509424001208/type/journal_article
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