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We study a generalisation of Vizing's theorem, where the goal is to simultaneously colour the edges of graphs $G_1,\dots,G_k$ with few colours. We obtain asymptotically optimal bounds for the required number of colours in terms of the maximum degree $\Delta$, for small values of $k$ and for an infinite sequence of values of $k$. This asymptotically settles a conjecture of Cabello for $k=2$. Moreover, we show that $\sqrt k \Delta + o(\Delta)$ colours always suffice, which tends to the optimal value as $k$ grows. We also show that $\ell \Delta + o(\Delta)$ colours are enough when every edge appears in at most $\ell$ of the graphs, which asymptotically confirms a conjecture of Cambie. Finally, our results extend to the list setting. We also find a close connection to a conjecture of F\"uredi, Kahn, and Seymour from the 1990s and an old problem about fractional matchings., Comment: 14 pages

In his study of graph codes, Alon introduced the concept of the odd-Ramsey number of a family of graphs $\mathcal{H}$ in $K_n$, defined as the minimum number of colours needed to colour the edges of $K_n$ so that every copy of a graph $H\in \mathcal{H}$ intersects some colour class in an odd number of edges. In this paper, we focus on complete bipartite graphs. First, we completely resolve the problem when $\mathcal{H}$ is the family of all spanning complete bipartite graphs on $n$ vertices. We then focus on its subfamilies, that is, $\{K_{t,n-t}\colon t\in T\}$ for a fixed set of integers $T\subseteq [\lfloor n/2 \rfloor]$. We prove that the odd-Ramsey problem is equivalent to determining the maximum dimension of a linear binary code avoiding codewords of given weights, and leverage known results from coding theory to deduce asymptotically tight bounds in our setting. We conclude with bounds for the odd-Ramsey numbers of fixed (that is, non-spanning) complete bipartite subgraphs., Comment: 15 pages

For a given graph $G=(V,E)$, we define its \emph{$n$th subdivision} as the graph obtained from $G$ by replacing every edge by a path of length $n$. We also define the \emph{$m$th power} of $G$ as the graph on vertex set $V$ where we connect every pair of vertices at distance at most $m$ in $G$. In this paper, we study the chromatic number of powers of subdivisions of graphs and resolve the case $m=n$ asymptotically. In particular, our result confirms a conjecture of Mozafari-Nia and Iradmusa in the case $m=n=3$ in a strong sense., Comment: 10 pages

Given a pair of $k$-uniform hypergraphs $(G,H)$, the Ramsey number of $(G,H)$, denoted by $R(G,H)$, is the smallest integer $n$ such that in every red/blue-colouring of the edges of $K_n^{(k)}$ there exists a red copy of $G$ or a blue copy of $H$. Burr showed that, for any pair of graphs $(G,H)$, where $G$ is large and connected, $R(G,H) \geq (v(G)-1)(\chi(H)-1)+\sigma(H)$, where $\sigma(H)$ stands for the minimum size of a colour class over all proper $\chi(H)$-colourings of $H$. We say that $G$ is $H$-good if $R(G,H)$ is equal to the general lower bound. Burr showed that, for any graph~$H$, every sufficiently long path is $H$-good. Our goal is to explore the notion of Ramsey goodness in the setting of $k$-uniform hypergraphs. We demonstrate that, in stark contrast to the graph case, $k$-uniform $\ell$-paths are not $H$-good for a large class of $k$-graphs. On the other hand, we prove that long loose paths are always at least asymptotically $H$-good for every $H$ and derive lower and upper bounds that are best possible in a certain sense. In the 3-uniform setting, we complement our negative result with a positive one, in which we determine the Ramsey number asymptotically for pairs containing a long tight path and a 3-graph $H$ when $H$ belongs to a certain family of hypergraphs. This extends a result of Balogh, Clemen, Skokan, and Wagner for the Fano plane asymptotically to a much larger family of 3-graphs., Comment: minor revision, to appear in Eur J Comb

Given a finite grid in $\mathbb{R}^2$, how many lines are needed to cover all but one point at least $k$ times? Problems of this nature have been studied for decades, with a general lower bound having been established by Ball and Serra. We solve this problem for various types of grids, in particular showing the tightness of the Ball--Serra bound when one side is much larger than the other. In other cases, we prove new lower bounds that improve upon Ball--Serra and provide an asymptotic answer for almost all grids. For the standard grid $\{0,\ldots,n-1\} \times \{0,\ldots,n-1\}$, we prove nontrivial upper and lower bounds on the number of lines needed. To prove our results, we combine linear programming duality with some combinatorial arguments., Comment: 17 pages

A graph $G$ is $q$-Ramsey for a $q$-tuple of graphs $(H_1,\ldots,H_q)$ if for every $q$-coloring of the edges of $G$ there exists a monochromatic copy of $H_i$ in color $i$ for some $i\in[q]$. Over the last few decades, researchers have investigated a number of questions related to this notion, aiming to understand the properties of graphs that are $q$-Ramsey for a fixed tuple. Among the tools developed while studying questions of this type are gadget graphs, called signal senders and determiners, which have proven invaluable for building Ramsey graphs with certain properties. However, until now these gadgets have been shown to exist and used mainly in the two-color setting or in the symmetric multicolor setting, and our knowledge about their existence for multicolor asymmetric tuples is extremely limited. In this paper, we construct such gadgets for any tuple of cliques. We then use these gadgets to generalize three classical theorems in this area to the asymmetric multicolor setting., Comment: v3: including referee comments. Accepted to JCTB

A graph $F$ is Ramsey for a pair of graphs $(G,H)$ if any red/blue-coloring of the edges of $F$ yields a copy of $G$ with all edges colored red or a copy of $H$ with all edges colored blue. Two pairs of graphs are called Ramsey equivalent if they have the same collection of Ramsey graphs. The symmetric setting, that is, the case $G=H$, received considerable attention. This led to the open question whether there are connected graphs $G$ and $G'$ such that $(G,G)$ and $(G',G')$ are Ramsey equivalent. We make progress on the asymmetric version of this question and identify several non-trivial families of Ramsey equivalent pairs of connected graphs. Certain pairs of stars provide a first, albeit trivial, example of Ramsey equivalent pairs of connected graphs. Our first result characterizes all Ramsey equivalent pairs of stars. The rest of the paper focuses on pairs of the form $(T,K_t)$, where $T$ is a tree and $K_t$ is a complete graph. We show that, if $T$ belongs to a certain family of trees, including all non-trivial stars, then $(T,K_t)$ is Ramsey equivalent to a family of pairs of the form $(T,H)$, where $H$ is obtained from $K_t$ by attaching disjoint smaller cliques to some of its vertices. In addition, we establish that for $(T,H)$ to be Ramsey equivalent to $(T,K_t)$, $H$ must have roughly this form. On the other hand, we prove that for many other trees $T$, including all odd-diameter trees, $(T,K_t)$ is not equivalent to any such pair, not even to the pair $(T, K_t\cdot K_2)$, where $K_t\cdot K_2$ is a complete graph $K_t$ with a single edge attached., Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures

We study edge-labelings of the complete bidirected graph $\overset{\tiny\leftrightarrow}{K}_n$ with functions from the set $[d] = \{1, \dots, d\}$ to itself. We call a cycle in $\overset{\tiny\leftrightarrow}{K}_n$ a fixed-point cycle if composing the labels of its edges results in a map that has a fixed point, and we say that a labeling is fixed-point-free if no fixed-point cycle exists. For a given $d$, we ask for the largest value of $n$, denoted $R_f(d)$, for which there exists a fixed-point-free labeling of $\overset{\tiny\leftrightarrow}{K}_n$. Determining $R_f(d)$ for all $d >0$ is a natural Ramsey-type question, generalizing some well-studied zero-sum problems in extremal combinatorics. The problem was recently introduced by Chaudhury, Garg, Mehlhorn, Mehta, and Misra, who proved that $d \leq R_f(d) \leq d^4+d$ and showed that the problem has close connections to EFX allocations, a central problem of fair allocation in social choice theory. In this paper we show the improved bound $R_f(d) \leq d^{2 + o(1)}$, yielding an efficient ${{(1-\varepsilon)}}$-EFX allocation with $n$ agents and $O(n^{0.67})$ unallocated goods for any constant $\varepsilon \in (0,1/2]$; this improves the bound of $O(n^{0.8})$ of Chaudhury, Garg, Mehlhorn, Mehta, and Misra. Additionally, we prove the stronger upper bound $2d-2$, in the case where all edge-labels are permulations. A very special case of this problem, that of finding zero-sum cycles in digraphs whose edges are labeled with elements of $\mathbb{Z}_d$, was recently considered by Alon and Krivelevich and by M\'{e}sz\'{a}ros and Steiner. Our result improves the bounds obtained by these authors and extends them to labelings from an arbitrary (not necessarily commutative) group, while also simplifying the proof.

A graph $G$ is $q$-Ramsey for another graph $H$ if in any $q$-edge-colouring of $G$ there is a monochromatic copy of $H$, and the classic Ramsey problem asks for the minimum number of vertices in such a graph. This was broadened in the seminal work of Burr, Erd\H{o}s, and Lov\'asz to the investigation of other extremal parameters of Ramsey graphs, including the minimum degree. It is not hard to see that if $G$ is minimally $q$-Ramsey for $H$ we must have $\delta(G) \ge q(\delta(H) - 1) + 1$, and we say that a graph $H$ is $q$-Ramsey simple if this bound can be attained. Grinshpun showed that this is typical of rather sparse graphs, proving that the random graph $G(n,p)$ is almost surely $2$-Ramsey simple when $\frac{\log n}{n} \ll p \ll n^{-2/3}$. In this paper, we explore this question further, asking for which pairs $p = p(n)$ and $q = q(n,p)$ we can expect $G(n,p)$ to be $q$-Ramsey simple. We resolve the problem for a wide range of values of $p$ and $q$; in particular, we uncover some interesting behaviour when $n^{-2/3} \ll p \ll n^{-1/2}$., Comment: 29 pages, 2 figures

A graph $G$ is said to be $q$-Ramsey for a $q$-tuple of graphs $(H_1,\ldots,H_q)$, denoted by $G\to_q(H_1,\ldots,H_q)$, if every $q$-edge-coloring of $G$ contains a monochromatic copy of $H_i$ in color $i,$ for some $i\in[q]$. Let $s_q(H_1,\ldots,H_q)$ denote the smallest minimum degree of $G$ over all graphs $G$ that are minimal $q$-Ramsey for $(H_1,\ldots,H_q)$ (with respect to subgraph inclusion). The study of this parameter was initiated in 1976 by Burr, Erd\H{o}s and Lov\'asz, who determined its value precisely for a pair of cliques. Over the past two decades the parameter $s_q$ has been studied by several groups of authors, the main focus being on the symmetric case, where $H_i\cong H$ for all $i\in [q]$. The asymmetric case, in contrast, has received much less attention. In this paper, we make progress in this direction, studying asymmetric tuples consisting of cliques, cycles and trees. We determine $s_2(H_1,H_2)$ when $(H_1,H_2)$ is a pair of one clique and one tree, a pair of one clique and one cycle, and when it is a pair of two different cycles. We also generalize our results to multiple colors and obtain bounds on $s_q(C_\ell,\ldots,C_\ell,K_t,\ldots,K_t)$ in terms of the size of the cliques $t$, the number of cycles, and the number of cliques. Our bounds are tight up to logarithmic factors when two of the three parameters are fixed.

We study the problem of determining the minimum number $f(n,k,d)$ of affine subspaces of codimension $d$ that are required to cover all points of $\mathbb{F}_2^n\setminus \{\vec{0}\}$ at least $k$ times while covering the origin at most $k-1$ times. The case $k=1$ is a classic result of Jamison, which was independently obtained by Brouwer and Schrijver for $d = 1$. The value of $f(n,1,1)$ also follows from a well-known theorem of Alon and F\"uredi about coverings of finite grids in affine spaces over arbitrary fields. Here we determine the value of this function exactly in various ranges of the parameters. In particular, we prove that for $k \ge 2^{n-d-1}$ we have $f(n,k,d)=2^d k - \left \lfloor \frac{k}{2^{n-d}} \right \rfloor$, while for $n > 2^{2^d k-k-d+1}$ we have $f(n,k,d)= n + 2^dk-d-2$, and also study the transition between these two ranges. While previous work in this direction has primarily employed the polynomial method, we prove our results through more direct combinatorial and probabilistic arguments, and also exploit a connection to coding theory., Comment: 15 pages

Given any graph $H$, a graph $G$ is said to be $q$-Ramsey for $H$ if every coloring of the edges of $G$ with $q$ colors yields a monochromatic subgraph isomorphic to $H$. Further, such a graph $G$ is said to be minimal $q$-Ramsey for $H$ if additionally no proper subgraph $G'$ of $G$ is $q$-Ramsey for $H$. In 1976, Burr, Erd\H{o}s, and Lov\'asz initiated the study of the parameter $s_q(H)$, defined as the smallest minimum degree among all minimal $q$-Ramsey graphs for $H$. In this paper, we consider the problem of determining how many vertices of degree $s_q(H)$ a minimal $q$-Ramsey graph for $H$ can contain. Specifically, we seek to identify graphs for which a minimal $q$-Ramsey graph can contain arbitrarily many such vertices. We call a graph satisfying this property $s_q$-abundant. Among other results, we prove that every cycle is $s_q$-abundant for any integer $q\geq 2$. We also discuss the cases when $H$ is a clique or a clique with a pendant edge, extending previous results of Burr et al. and Fox et al. To prove our results and construct suitable minimal Ramsey graphs, we develop certain new gadget graphs, called pattern gadgets, which generalize and extend earlier constructions that have proven useful in the study of minimal Ramsey graphs. These new gadgets might be of independent interest.

Two $n \times n$ Latin squares $L_1, L_2$ are said to be orthogonal if, for every ordered pair $(x,y)$ of symbols, there are coordinates $(i,j)$ such that $L_1(i,j) = x$ and $L_2(i,j) = y$. A $k$-MOLS is a sequence of $k$ pairwise-orthogonal Latin squares, and the existence and enumeration of these objects has attracted a great deal of attention. Recent work of Keevash and Luria provides, for all fixed $k$, log-asymptotically tight bounds on the number of $k$-MOLS. To study the situation when $k$ grows with $n$, we bound the number of ways a $k$-MOLS can be extended to a $(k+1)$-MOLS. These bounds are again tight for constant $k$, and allow us to deduce upper bounds on the total number of $k$-MOLS for all $k$. These bounds are close to tight even for $k$ linear in $n$, and readily generalize to the broader class of gerechte designs, which include Sudoku squares., Comment: 18 pages

A poset $P= (X, \prec)$ has an interval representation if each $x \in X$ can be assigned a real interval $I_x$ so that $x \prec y$ in $P$ if and only if $I_x$ lies completely to the left of $I_y$. Such orders are called \emph{interval orders}. Fishburn proved that for any positive integer $k$, an interval order has a representation in which all interval lengths are between $1$ and $k$ if and only if the order does not contain $\mathbf{(k+2)+1}$ as an induced poset. In this paper, we give a simple proof of this result using a digraph model., Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure

A poset $P = (X,\prec)$ has an interval representation if each $x \in X$ can be assigned a real interval $I_x$ so that $x \prec y$ in $P$ if and only if $I_x$ lies completely to the left of $I_y$. Such orders are called \emph{interval orders}. In this paper we give a surprisingly simple forbidden poset characterization of those posets that have an interval representation in which each interval length is either 0 or 1. In addition, for posets $(X,\prec)$ with a weight of 1 or 2 assigned to each point, we characterize those that have an interval representation in which for each $x \in X$ the length of the interval assigned to $x$ equals the weight assigned to $x$. For both these problems we can determine in polynomial time whether the desired interval representation is possible and in the affirmative case, produce such a representation., Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures