English

The realization graph of every degree sequence has a Hamilton path

Combinatorics 2026-07-20 v1

Abstract

Given a degree sequence dd, the realization graph GF(d)\mathcal{G_F}(d) is the graph whose vertices are all labeled realizations of dd, where two realizations are adjacent if they differ by a single 22-switch. We prove that GF(d)\mathcal{G_F}(d) admits a Hamilton path for every degree sequence dd. The problem was initiated by Arikati and Peled (1999), who showed that GF(d)\mathcal{G_F}(d) contains a Hamilton cycle whenever dd has majorization gap of 1. Later, Barrus (2016) and independently M\"utze (2023) asked whether a Hamilton path or cycle exists in GF(d)\mathcal{G_F}(d) for every degree sequence dd. As a consequence, we obtain that the interchange graph of (0,1)(0,1)-matrices with prescribed row and column sums has a Hamilton path, thereby answering a question of Brualdi (1980).

Cite

@article{arxiv.2607.18146,
  title  = {The realization graph of every degree sequence has a Hamilton path},
  author = {Petr Hladík and Jiří Fink},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.18146},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

14 pages, 7 figures