English

EPPA numbers of graphs

Combinatorics 2025-10-01 v3 Discrete Mathematics

Abstract

If GG is a graph, AA and BB its induced subgraphs, and f ⁣:ABf\colon A\to B an isomorphism, we say that ff is a \emph{partial automorphism} of GG. In 1992, Hrushovski proved that graphs have the \emph{extension property for partial automorphisms} (\emph{EPPA}, also called the \emph{Hrushovski property}), that is, for every finite graph GG there is a finite graph HH, an \emph{EPPA-witness} for GG, such that GG is an induced subgraph of HH and every partial automorphism of GG extends to an automorphism of HH. The EPPA number of a graph GG, denoted by eppa(G)\mathop{\mathrm{eppa}}\nolimits(G), is the smallest number of vertices of an EPPA-witness for GG, and we put eppa(n)=max{eppa(G):G=n}\mathop{\mathrm{eppa}}\nolimits(n) = \max\{\mathop{\mathrm{eppa}}\nolimits(G) : \lvert G\rvert = n\}. In this note we review the state of the area, prove several lower bounds (in particular, we show that eppa(n)2nn\mathop{\mathrm{eppa}}\nolimits(n)\geq \frac{2^n}{\sqrt{n}}, thereby identifying the correct base of the exponential) and pose many open questions. We also briefly discuss EPPA numbers of hypergraphs, directed graphs, and KkK_k-free graphs.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2311.07995,
  title  = {EPPA numbers of graphs},
  author = {David Bradley-Williams and Peter J. Cameron and Jan Hubička and Matěj Konečný},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2311.07995},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

Minor revision

R2 v1 2026-06-28T13:20:30.091Z