English

All Simple Venn Diagrams are Hamiltonian

Combinatorics 2015-04-28 v1

Abstract

An nn-Venn diagram is a certain collection of nn simple closed curves in the plane. They can be regarded as graphs where the points of intersection are vertices and the curve segments between points of intersection are edges. Every nn-Venn diagram has the property that a curve touches any given face at most once between the points of intersection incident to that face. We prove that any connected collection of nn simple closed curves satisfying that property are 4-connected, if n3n \ge 3, so long as the curves intersect transversally and at most two curves intersect at any point. Hence by a theorem of Tutte, such collections, including simple Venn diagrams, are Hamiltonian.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1504.06651,
  title  = {All Simple Venn Diagrams are Hamiltonian},
  author = {Gara Pruesse and Frank Ruskey},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1504.06651},
  year   = {2015}
}