English

Ramsey-finiteness for graph pairs: A complete solution to the Burr-Erd\H{o}s-Faudree-Schelp conjectures

Combinatorics 2026-05-06 v2

Abstract

For finite graphs GG and HH, let \RR(G,H)\RR(G,H) denote the isomorphism classes of Ramsey-minimal graphs for (G,H)(G,H). We prove two 1981 conjectures of Burr, Erd\H{o}s, Faudree, Rousseau, and Schelp: Ramsey-finiteness is preserved by adjoining disjoint matchings, and (G,H)(G,H) is Ramsey-infinite unless both graphs are odd stars or one graph has a K2K_2 component. We also replace Burr's stronger 1979 survey characterization by the correct necessary-and-sufficient form: apart from the matching case and the odd-star-with-matchings case, the only additional finite pairs are Faudree's star-forest family.

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Cite

@article{arxiv.2604.17356,
  title  = {Ramsey-finiteness for graph pairs: A complete solution to the Burr-Erd\H{o}s-Faudree-Schelp conjectures},
  author = {Yaping Mao},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.17356},
  year   = {2026}
}

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11 pages