Pure pairs. V: Excluding some long subdivision (Q6081383)

Two disjoint sets \(A\) and \(B\) of vertices of a graph \(G\) form a pure pair in \(G\) if the possible edges between \(A\) and \(B\) are either all present in \(G\) or all absent. Which graphs have large pure pairs? \textit{J. Fox} [Order 23, No. 2--3, 197--209 (2006; Zbl 1108.06002)] proved that for every sufficiently large positive integer \(n\) and every \(n\)-vertex comparability graph \(G\) there is a pure pair \(A\), \(B\) in \(G\) with \(\vert A\vert ,\vert B\vert \ge n^{1-o(1)}\), and conjectured a similar bound for all perfect graphs. Part V of a series of at least 10 papers on pure pairs proves this conjecture, and strengthenings thereof. Let the branch-length of a forbidden induced subgraph \(H\) be the minimum of the length of a shortest cycle in \(H\) and the shortest distance between vertices of degree \(>2\) in \(H\). Let \(c>0\) be such that \(1/c\) is integral, and let \(H_1\) and \(H_2\) be graphs of branch-length \(>4/c+5\). There is an \(\varepsilon>0\) such that every \(H_1\)-free and \(\bar{H}_2\)-free graph on \(n>1\) vertices has a pure pair \(A\), \(B\) with \(\vert A\vert \ge \varepsilon n\) and \(\vert B\vert \ge \varepsilon n^{1-c}\). The connection to the Erdős-Hajnal conjecture is explained in part II by \textit{M. Chudnovsky} et al. [Combinatorica 41, No. 3, 379--405 (2021; Zbl 1488.05427)].