Related papers: Forbidden minors: Finding the finite few

We introduce a notion of bipartite minors and prove a bipartite analog of Wagner's theorem: a bipartite graph is planar if and only if it does not contain $K_{3,3}$ as a bipartite minor. Similarly, we provide a forbidden minor…

We study the quantum query complexity of minor-closed graph properties, which include such problems as determining whether an $n$-vertex graph is planar, is a forest, or does not contain a path of a given length. We show that most…

Let ${\rm ex \,} {\mathcal B}$ be a minor-closed class of graphs with a set ${\mathcal B}$ of minimal excluded minors. We study (a) the asymptotic number of graphs without $k+1$ disjoint minors in ${\mathcal B}$ and (b) the properties of a…

The paper is partially withdrawn: in its current form, Lemma 2.3 is false, so that our proof of Theorem A and Proposition B has an important gap. We were unable to fix it yet. Any help is most welcome. We prove that the restriction of…

Minimal separators in graphs are an important concept in algorithmic graph theory. In particular, many problems that are NP-hard for general graphs are known to become polynomial-time solvable for classes of graphs with a polynomially…

Robertson and Seymour proved that the relation of graph immersion is well-quasi-ordered for finite graphs. Their proof uses the results of graph minors theory. Surprisingly, there is a very short proof of the corresponding rough structure…

In the course of proving the strong perfect graph theorem, Chudnovsky, Robertson, Seymour, and Thomas showed that every perfect graph either belongs to one of five basic classes or admits one of several decompositions. Four of the basic…

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…

Hadwiger's conjecture from 1943 states that for every integer $t\ge1$, every graph either can be $t$-colored or has a subgraph that can be contracted to the complete graph on $t+1$ vertices. As pointed out by Paul Seymour in his recent…

Let $G$ be an undirected, bounded degree graph with $n$ vertices. Fix a finite graph $H$, and suppose one must remove $\varepsilon n$ edges from $G$ to make it $H$-minor free (for some small constant $\varepsilon > 0$). We give an…

Chirality is one of the important assymmetrical property in wide area of natural science, which has been studied to predict molecular behavior. One of good methods to analyze molecules with complex structures is representing them as graphs…

Robertson and Seymour proved that for every finite tree $H$, there exists $k$ such that every finite graph $G$ with no $H$ minor has path-width at most $k$; and conversely, for every integer $k$, there is a finite tree $H$ such that every…

A graph is an apex graph if it contains a vertex whose deletion leaves a planar graph. The family of apex graphs is minor-closed and so it is characterized by a finite list of minor-minimal non-members. The long-standing problem of…

A complete structural characterization of graphs with no $K_{3,4}$ minor is obtained, and the following consequences are established. Every $4$-connected non-planar graph with at least seven vertices and minimum degree at least five…

In 1930, Kuratowski showed that $K_{3,3}$ and $K_5$ are the only two minor-minimal non-planar graphs. Robertson and Seymour extended finiteness of the set of forbidden minors for any surface. \v{S}ir\'{a}\v{n} and Kochol showed that there…

Robertson and Seymour proved that the family of all graphs containing a fixed graph $H$ as a minor has the Erd\H{o}s-P\'osa property if and only if $H$ is planar. We show that this is no longer true for the edge version of the…

One of the key results in Robertson and Seymour's seminal work on graph minors is the Grid-Minor Theorem (also called the Excluded Grid Theorem). The theorem states that for every grid $H$, every graph whose treewidth is large enough…

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 graph $U$ is universal for a graph class $\mathcal{C}\ni U$, if every $G\in \mathcal{C}$ is a minor of $U$. We prove the existence or absence of universal graphs in several natural graph classes, including graphs component-wise embeddable…

Let $P$ be a graph with a vertex $v$ such that $P\backslash v$ is a forest, and let $Q$ be an outerplanar graph. We prove that there exists a number $p=p(P,Q)$ such that every 2-connected graph of path-width at least $p$ has a minor…