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We prove that every connected $P_5$-free graph has cop number at most two, solving a conjecture of Sivaraman. In order to do so, we first prove that every connected $P_5$-free graph $G$ with independence number at least three contains a…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2025-10-29 Maria Chudnovsky , Sergey Norin , Paul Seymour , Jérémie Turcotte

We consider a surrounding variant of cops and robbers on graphs of bounded genus. We obtain bounds on the number of cops required to surround a robber on planar graphs, toroidal graphs, and outerplanar graphs. We also obtain improved bounds…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2019-11-05 Peter Bradshaw , Seyyed Aliasghar Hosseini

The game of cops and robber is a two-player turn-based game played on a graph where the cops try to capture the robber. The cop number of a graph $G$, denoted by $c(G)$ is the minimum number of cops required to capture the robber. For a…

Discrete Mathematics · Computer Science 2025-05-22 Arnab Char , Paras Vinubhai Maniya , Dinabandhu Pradhan

We consider the cop-throttling number of a graph $G$ for the game of Cops and Robbers, which is defined to be the minimum of $(k + \text{capt}_k(G))$, where $k$ is the number of cops and $\text{capt}_k(G)$ is the minimum number of rounds…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2018-02-27 Jane Breen , Boris Brimkov , Joshua Carlson , Leslie Hogben , K. E. Perry , Carolyn Reinhart

We prove that any graph excluding $K_r$ as a minor has can be partitioned into clusters of diameter at most $\Delta$ while removing at most $O(r/\Delta)$ fraction of the edges. This improves over the results of Fakcharoenphol and Talwar,…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2021-01-12 Ittai Abraham , Cyril Gavoille , Anupam Gupta , Ofer Neiman , Kunal Talwar

We introduce a new variant of the game of Cops and Robbers played on graphs, where the robber is invisible unless outside the neighbor set of a cop. The hyperopic cop number is the corresponding analogue of the cop number, and we…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2017-10-30 A. Bonato , N. E. Clarke , D. Cox , S. Finbow , F. Mc Inerney , M. E. Messinger

The game of \emph{Cops and Robber} is usually played on a graph, where a group of cops attempt to catch a robber moving along the edges of the graph. The \emph{cop number} of a graph is the minimum number of cops required to win the game.…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2024-04-29 Joshua Erde , Mihyun Kang , Florian Lehner , Bojan Mohar , Dominik Schmid

The Cops and Robber game is played on undirected finite graphs. A number of cops and one robber are positioned on vertices and take turns in sliding along edges. The cops win if they can catch the robber. The minimum number of cops needed…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2013-12-30 Nancy E. Clarke , Samuel Fiorini , Gwenaël Joret , Dirk Oliver Theis

We prove that the cop number of a $2K_2$-free graph is at most $2$ if it has diameter $3$ or does not have an induced cycle of length $k$, where $k \ \in \{3,4,5\}$. We conjecture that the cop number of every $2K_2$-free graph is at most…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2019-03-28 Vaidy Sivaraman , Stephen Testa

A \emph{periodic graph} ${\cal G}=(G_0, G_1, G_2, \dots)$ with period $p$ is an infinite periodic sequence of graphs $G_i = G_{i + p} = (V,E_i)$, where $i \geq 0$. The graph $G=(V,\cup_i E_i)$ is called the footprint of ${\cal G}$.…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2024-10-30 Jean-Lou De Carufel , Paola Flocchini , Nicola Santoro , Frédéric Simard

Strengthening Hadwiger's conjecture, Gerards and Seymour conjectured in 1995 that every graph with no odd $K_t$-minor is properly $(t-1)$-colorable, this is known as the Odd Hadwiger's conjecture. We prove a relaxation of the above…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2022-03-08 Raphael Steiner

In the game of Cops and Robbers, a team of cops attempts to capture a robber on a graph $G$. All players occupy vertices of $G$. The game operates in rounds; in each round the cops move to neighboring vertices, after which the robber does…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2018-06-20 William B. Kinnersley

Cops and robbers is a turn-based pursuit game played on a graph $G$. One robber is pursued by a set of cops. In each round, these agents move between vertices along the edges of the graph. The cop number $c(G)$ denotes the minimum number of…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2011-09-09 Andrew Beveridge , Andrzej Dudek , Alan Frieze , Tobias Müller

The crossing number of a graph is the minimum number of crossings in a drawing of the graph in the plane. Our main result is that every graph $G$ that does not contain a fixed graph as a minor has crossing number $O(\Delta n)$, where $G$…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2018-08-01 Vida Dujmović , Ken-ichi Kawarabayashi , Bojan Mohar , David R. Wood

Motivated by Hadwiger's conjecture and related problems for list-coloring, we study graphs $H$ for which every graph with minimum degree at least $|V(H)|-1$ contains $H$ as a minor. We prove that a large class of apex-outerplanar graphs…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2024-03-19 Chun-Hung Liu , Youngho Yoo

A graph $A$ is "apex" if $A-z$ is planar for some vertex $z\in V(A)$. Eppstein [Algorithmica, 2000] showed that for a minor-closed class $\mathcal{G}$, the graphs in $\mathcal{G}$ with bounded radius have bounded treewidth if and only if…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2025-03-07 Kevin Hendrey , David R. Wood

Motivated by Hadwiger's conjecture, Seymour asked which graphs $H$ have the property that every non-null graph $G$ with no $H$ minor has a vertex of degree at most $|V(H)|-2$. We show that for every monotone graph family $\mathcal{F}$ with…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2025-10-29 Sergey Norin , Jérémie Turcotte

A $k$-ordering of a graph $G$ assigns distinct order-labels from the set $\{1,\ldots,|G|\}$ to $k$ vertices in $G$. Given a $k$-ordering $H$, the ordered Ramsey number $R_<(H)$ is the minimum $n$ such that every edge-2-coloring of the…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2017-02-08 Kevin Chang

The game of Cops and Robbers on graphs is a well-studied pursuit--evasion model whose central parameter, the cop number, captures the minimum number of pursuers required to guarantee capture of an adversary on a given graph. While the cop…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2025-10-09 Nicholas Crawford , Vesna Iršič Chenoweth

A hole in a graph is an induced cycle of length at least 4. We give a simple winning strategy for t-3 cops to capture a robber in the game of cops and robbers played in a graph that does not contain a hole of length at least t. This…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2020-01-03 Vaidy Sivaraman