Every graph with no \mathcal{K}_8^{-4} minor is 7-colorable

arXiv2208.07338MaRDI QIDQ6407915FDOQ6407915

Authors: Michael Lafferty, Z. X. Song 

Publication date: 15 August 2022

Abstract: Hadwiger's Conjecture from 1943 states that every graph with no $K_t$ minor is $(t-1)$-colorable; it remains wide open for all $tge7$. For positive integers $t$ and $s$, let $mathcal{K}_t^{-s}$ denote the family of graphs obtained from the complete graph $K_t$ by removing $s$ edges. We say that a graph $G$ has no $mathcal{K}_t^{-s}$ minor if it has no $H$ minor for every $Hinmathcal{K}_t^{-s}$. Jakobsen in 1971 proved that every graph with no $mathcal{K}_7^{-2}$ minor is $6$-colorable. In this paper we consider the next step and prove that every graph with no $mathcal{K}_8^{-4}$ minor is $7$-colorable. Our result implies that $H$-Hadwiger's Conjecture, suggested by Paul Seymour in 2017, is true for every graph $H$ on eight vertices such that the complement of $H$ has maximum degree at least four, a perfect matching, a triangle and a cycle of length four. Our proof utilizes an extremal function for $mathcal{K}_8^{-4}$ minors obtained in this paper, generalized Kempe chains of contraction-critical graphs by Rolek and the second author, and the method for finding $K_7$ minors from three different $K_5$ subgraphs by Kawarabayashi and Toft; this method was first developed by Robertson, Seymour and Thomas in 1993 to prove Hadwiger's Conjecture for $t=6$.

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Coloring of graphs and hypergraphs (05C15) Graph minors (05C83)

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