Related papers: $\ell^2$-homology and planar graphs
It is proven that a connected graph is planar if and only if all its cocycles with at least four edges are "grounded" in the graph. The notion of grounding of this planarity criterion, which is purely combinatorial, stems from the intuitive…
A well known theorem of Kuratowski in 1932 states that a graph is planar if, and only if, it does not contain a subdivision of $K_5$ or $K_{3,3}$. Wagner proved in 1937 that if a graph other than $K_5$ does not contain any subdivision of…
The Kuratowski-Wagner Theorem asserts that a graph is planar if and only if it does not have either $K_{3,3}$ or $K_5$ as a minor. Using this Wagner obtained a precise description of all graphs with no $K_{3,3}$ minor and all graphs with no…
A graph is $k$-planar if it can be drawn in the plane such that no edge is crossed more than $k$ times. While for $k=1$, optimal $1$-planar graphs, i.e., those with $n$ vertices and exactly $4n-8$ edges, have been completely characterized,…
A partially embedded graph (or PEG) is a triple (G,H,\H), where G is a graph, H is a subgraph of G, and \H is a planar embedding of H. We say that a PEG (G,H,\H) is planar if the graph G has a planar embedding that extends the embedding \H.…
We describe the structure of 2-connected non-planar toroidal graphs with no K_{3,3}-subdivisions, using an appropriate substitution of planar networks into the edges of certain graphs called toroidal cores. The structural result is based on…
In 1962, Erd\H{o}s proved that if a graph $G$ with $n$ vertices satisfies $$ e(G)>\max\left\{\binom{n-k}{2}+k^2,\binom{\lceil(n+1)/2\rceil}{2}+\left\lfloor \frac{n-1}{2}\right\rfloor^2\right\}, $$ where the minimum degree $\delta(G)\geq k$…
We consider the class F of 2-connected non-planar K_{3,3}-subdivision-free graphs that are embeddable in the projective plane. We show that these graphs admit a unique decomposition as a graph K_5 (the core) where the edges are replaced by…
Kuratowski's theorem says that the minimal (under subgraph containment) graphs that are not planar are the subdivisions of $K_5$ and of $K_{3,3}$. Here we study the minimal (under subdigraph containment) strongly-connected digraphs that are…
Given a finite group $G$, the generating graph $\Gamma(G)$ of $G$ has as vertices the non-identity elements of $G$ and two vertices are adjacent if and only if they are distinct and generate $G$ as group elements. Let $G$ be a 2-generated…
The Kuratowski graphs $K_{3,3}$ and $K_5$ characterize planarity. Counting distinct 2-cell embeddings of these two graphs on orientable surfaces was previously done by using Burnside's Lemma and their automorphism groups, without actually…
A graph $G$ is a non-separating planar graph if there is a drawing $D$ of $G$ on the plane such that (1) no two edges cross each other in $D$ and (2) for any cycle $C$ in $D$, any two vertices not in $C$ are on the same side of $C$ in $D$.…
We provide a short proof that a 5-connected nonplanar apex graph contains a subdivided $K_{_5}$ or a $K^-_{_4}$ (= $K_{_4}$ with a single edge removed) as a subgraph. Together with a recent result of Ma and Yu that {\sl every nonplanar…
The Kelmans-Seymour conjecture states that the 5-connected nonplanar graphs contain a subdivided $K_{_5}$. Certain questions of Mader propose a "plan" towards a possible resolution of this conjecture. One part of this plan is to show that a…
A topological graph is \emph{$k$-quasi-planar} if it does not contain $k$ pairwise crossing edges. A topological graph is \emph{simple} if every pair of its edges intersect at most once (either at a vertex or at their intersection). In…
The line graph $\Gamma$ of a multi-graph $\Delta$ is the graph whose vertices are the edges of $\Delta$, where two such edges are adjacent if and only if they meet in a single vertex of $\Delta$. We provide several characterizations of such…
Given a Coxeter system (W,S), there is an associated CW-complex, Sigma, on which W acts properly and cocompactly. We prove that when the nerve L of (W,S) is a flag triangulation of the 3-sphere, then the reduced $\ell^2$-homology of Sigma…
Given a finite group $G$, denote by $\Gamma(G)$ the simple undirected graph whose vertices are the distinct sizes of noncentral conjugacy classes of $G$, and set two vertices of $\Gamma(G)$ to be adjacent if and only if they are not coprime…
We introduce a new cohomology theory for planar trivalent graphs with perfect matchings. The graded Euler characteristic of the cohomology is a one variable polynomial called the 2-factor polynomial that, if nonzero when evaluated at one,…
Chv\'{a}tal conjectured in 1973 the existence of some constant $t$ such that all $t$-tough graphs with at least three vertices are hamiltonian. While the conjecture has been proven for some special classes of graphs, it remains open in…