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Counting paths in digraphs

Journal Article · · European Journal of Combinatorics
OSTI ID:971587

Say a digraph is k-free if it has no directed cycles of length at most k, for k {element_of} Z{sup +}. Thomasse conjectured that the number of induced 3-vertex directed paths in a simple 2-free digraph on n vertices is at most (n-1)n(n+1)/15. We present an unpublished result of Bondy proving there are at most 2n{sup 3}/25 such paths, and prove that for the class of circular interval digraphs, an upper bound of n{sup 3}/16 holds. We also study the problem of bounding the number of (non-induced) 4-vertex paths in 3-free digraphs. We show an upper bound of 4n{sup 4}/75 using Bondy's result for Thomasse's conjecture.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Sponsoring Organization:
ORNL work for others
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
971587
Journal Information:
European Journal of Combinatorics, Journal Name: European Journal of Combinatorics Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 31
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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