The directed Oberwolfach problem with variable cycle lengths: a recursive construction (Q6978952)

The authors consider a digraph variation of the well-known Oberwolfach problem proposed by Ringel. The complete symmetric digraph \(K^{\ast}_n\) is the digraph obtained from a set of \(n\) vertices by adding, for every pair of vertices, edges in both directions. A decomposition of a digraph \(G\) into copies of a digraph \(F\) is an edge-disjoint collection of copies of \(F\) in \(G\) which use every edge of \(G\). The directed Oberwolfach problem aims to decompose \(K^{\ast}_n\) into copies of \(F\), where \(F\) is a vertex-disjoint union of directed cycles of lengths \(m_1, \dots, m_k\), such that \(m_1+\dots +m_k=n\). In such a case, the authors say that \(\operatorname{OP}^{\ast}(m_1, \dots, m_k)\) has a solution.\N\NThe authors make progress in the problem by showing that, in some situations, solutions of the problem for smaller instances can be combined to create solutions for larger instances. For instance, their Theorem 1.5. shows that if \(m_1, \dots, m_k\) are even positive integers such that \(m_1+\dots +m_\ell = m_{\ell+1}+\dots +m_k\), then the existence of a solution for \(\operatorname{OP}^{\ast}(m_1, \dots, m_\ell)\) and a solution for \(\operatorname{OP}^{\ast}(m_{\ell+1}, \dots, m_k)\) implies the existence of a solution for \(\operatorname{OP}^{\ast}(m_1, \dots, m_k)\). The authors then proceed to show other results in a similar vein, also allowing in some situations where \(m_i\) can take odd values. The proofs are fully constructive and use known results together with algebraic techniques.