Luke Postle

A central open question in extremal design theory is Nash-Williams' Conjecture from 1970 that every $K_3$-divisible graph on $n$ vertices (for $n$ large enough) with minimum degree at least $3n/4$ has a $K_3$-decomposition. A folklore…

We study $k$-star decompositions, that is, partitions of the edge set into disjoint stars with $k$ edges, in the uniformly random $d$-regular graph model $\mathcal{G}_{n,d}$. Using the small subgraph conditioning method, we prove an…

In 2014, Keevash proved the existence of $(n,q,r)$-Steiner systems (equivalently $K_q^r$-decompositions of $K_n^r$) for all large enough $n$ satisfying the necessary divisibility conditions. In 2021, Glock, K\"uhn, and Osthus proposed a…

We discuss the recently developed method of refined absorption and how it is used to provide a new proof of the Existence Conjecture for combinatorial designs. This method can also be applied to resolve open problems in extremal and…

In 2014, Keevash famously proved the existence of $(n,q,r)$-Steiner systems as part of settling the Existence Conjecture of Combinatorial Designs (dating from the mid-1800s). In 2020, Glock, K\"uhn, and Osthus conjectured a minimum degree…

A triangle in a hypergraph $\mathcal{H}$ is a set of three distinct edges $e, f, g\in\mathcal{H}$ and three distinct vertices $u, v, w\in V(\mathcal{H})$ such that $\{u, v\}\subseteq e$, $\{v, w\}\subseteq f$, $\{w, u\}\subseteq g$ and…

In 1847, Kirkman proved that there exists a Steiner triple system on $n$ vertices (equivalently a triangle decomposition of the edges of $K_n$) whenever $n$ satisfies the necessary divisibility conditions (namely $n\equiv 1,3 \mod 6$). In…

We codify a short self-contained proof of the existence of $K_q^r$-absorbers implicit in Keevash's original proof of the Existence Conjecture. Combining this with the work of the first and third authors in yields a proof of the Existence…

We prove that up to two exceptions, every connected subcubic triangle-free graph has fractional chromatic number at most 11/4. This is tight unless further exceptional graphs are excluded, and improves the known bound on the fractional…

In 1973, Erd\H{o}s conjectured the existence of high girth $(n,3,2)$-Steiner systems. Recently, Glock, K\"{u}hn, Lo, and Osthus and independently Bohman and Warnke proved the approximate version of Erd\H{o}s' conjecture. Just this year,…

A (vertex) colouring of graph is \emph{acyclic} if it contains no bicoloured cycle. In 1979, Borodin proved that planar graphs are acyclically 5-colourable. In 2010, Kawarabayashi and Mohar proved that locally planar graphs are acyclically…

A $(p,q)$-coloring of a graph $G$ is an edge-coloring of $G$ such that every $p$-clique receives at least $q$ colors. In 1975, Erd\H{o}s and Shelah introduced the generalized Ramsey number $f(n,p,q)$ which is the minimum number of colors…

We prove that if $G$ is a graph and $f(v) \leq 1/(d(v) + 1/2)$ for each $v\in V(G)$, then either $G$ has an independent set of size at least $\sum_{v\in V(G)}f(v)$ or $G$ contains a clique $K$ such that $\sum_{v\in K}f(v) > 1$. This result…

In a fractional coloring, vertices of a graph are assigned measurable subsets of the real line and adjacent vertices receive disjoint subsets; the fractional chromatic number of a graph is at most $k$ if it has a fractional coloring in…

In 1943, Hadwiger conjectured that every graph with no $K_t$ minor is $(t-1)$-colorable for every $t\ge 1$. In the 1980s, Kostochka and Thomason independently proved that every graph with no $K_t$ minor has average degree $O(t\sqrt{\log…

We prove that if $p \geq n^{-(q-6)/2}$, then asymptotically almost surely the binomial random $q$-uniform hypergraph $G^{(q)}(n,p)$ contains an $(n,q,2)$-Steiner system, provided $n$ satisfies the necessary divisibility conditions.

We prove that if $p\ge n^{-\frac{1}{3}+\beta}$ for some $\beta > 0$, then asymptotically almost surely the binomial random graph $G(n,p)$ has a $K_3$-packing containing all but at most $n + O(1)$ edges. Similarly, we prove that if $d \ge…

We prove the High Girth Existence Conjecture - the common generalization of the Existence Conjecture for Combinatorial Designs originating from the 1800s and Erd\H{o}s' Conjecture from 1973 on the Existence of High Girth Steiner Triple…

The study of combinatorial designs has a rich history spanning nearly two centuries. In a recent breakthrough, the notorious Existence Conjecture for Combinatorial Designs dating back to the 1800s was proved in full by Keevash via the…

The famous List Colouring Conjecture from the 1970s states that for every graph $G$ the chromatic index of $G$ is equal to its list chromatic index. In 1996 in a seminal paper, Kahn proved that the List Colouring Conjecture holds…