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Georges-Kelmans Graph


GeorgesGraph

The Georges-Kelmans graph, also called the Georges graph, is the 50-vertex bicubic nonhamiltonian graph illustrated above, with cyclic edge connectivity at least 4. The graph was originally constructed by Kel'mans (1988), though rediscovered independently by Georges (1989) as the smallest member of an infinite family of bicubic nonhamiltonian graphs that are k-connected with k=3. Gropp (1990, 1993) subsequently stated that the two graphs are isomorphic, and Kel'mans (1994) later gave a fuller account of his construction. Grünbaum (2009, p. 317) regarded the identification as unjustified from the published accounts, but the direct reconstruction given below confirms the graph isomorphism. Brinkmann et al. (2022) adopted the combined name Georges-Kelmans graph, credited Kel'mans and Georges with independent discovery, and proved that the graph is the smallest bicubic nonhamiltonian graph that is k-connected with k=3. Bondy and Murty (2008, p. 483) call it the Kelmans-Georges graph.

GeorgesGraphGruenbaum

The construction from two copies of a modification of the 18-vertex member of the Ellingham-Horton graphs is illustrated above (Grünbaum 2006; Grünbaum 2009, pp. 310-311).

The Georges-Kelmans graph has girth 6 and is the Levi graph of the 25_3 Georges configuration, for which Grünbaum (2009, pp. 311-316) gave a geometric realization and Kocay (2010) subsequently gave a geometric realization with exact rational homogeneous coordinates.

The Georges-Kelmans graph has graph crossing number 12.

GeorgesGraphKelmansOperations

Kel'mans's two basic operations are shown above, reproducing his Figures 1 and 2. Given a bicubic graph A and two distinct edges a_1 and a_2, the operation O(A,(a_1,a_2)) replaces each selected graph edge by a three-edge graph path and attaches a pendant edge to each of the two new internal vertices. The result is a graph multipole A^+ with four poles, represented here by vertices of vertex degree 1. The second operation deletes two specified edges x and y from the Petersen graph and replaces them by graph multipoles X^+ and Y^+ with four poles each, attached as shown, to form the bicubic graph P(X^+,Y^+).

Let H be the multigraph on two vertices with three parallel edges a, a_1, and a_2, and let H^+=O(H,(a_1,a_2)), with a designated the middle graph edge. Form M=P(H_x^+,H_y^+) from two copies of H^+ whose middle edges are denoted x and y, and then set M^+=O(M,(x,y)). Finally, form K=P(M_x^+,M_y^+), where M_x^+ and M_y^+ are two copies of M^+. This gives Kel'mans's 50-vertex graph K.

GeorgesGraphKelmansConstruction

The graph K is illustrated above, with the two copies of M^+ shown in blue and green and the six remaining vertices of the Petersen framework shown in orange. Direct computation shows that K is isomorphic to the Georges-Kelmans graph.

GeorgesKelmansGraphBondyMurty

The three panels above redraw Figure 18.12 of Bondy and Murty (2008, p. 483). They present this construction in terms of a Petersen graph and an intermediate 18-vertex bicubic graph B. Their Figure 18.12b shows B in a Petersen-like drawing, while Figure 18.12c redraws the same graph to make the substitution clearer. In the notation above, B=M, and their marked edges e and f are the middle edges x and y of the two copies of H^+. A Hamiltonian cycle in B containing both e and f would reduce to a Hamiltonian cycle in the Petersen graph, which is impossible. The restriction is on using both marked edges, not on the existence of a Hamiltonian cycle in B itself.

The final step substitutes two copies of the redrawn B into the Petersen graph using the two marked edges as attachment sites. Each marked edge is subdivided twice, and the four new vertices are attached to the remaining Petersen framework as in the operation P above. Each copy thus contributes 22 vertices, while the framework contributes six, giving 50 vertices in all.

To see why the resulting graph is a nonhamiltonian graph, suppose it had a Hamiltonian cycle. The Hamiltonian cycle would use either two or four attachment edges at each substituted copy. If it used two, they would have to belong to different marked edges. If it used four, the two paths through the copy would have to pair the attachment vertices on each marked edge separately. Otherwise, restoring the marked edges would produce a Hamiltonian cycle in B through both e and f. The permitted traversals can therefore be replaced by traversals through the two removed Petersen vertices, giving a Hamiltonian cycle in the Petersen graph and hence a contradiction (Bondy and Murty 2008, Exercise 18.2.5).

It is implemented in the Wolfram Language as GraphData["GeorgesGraph"].


See also

Bicubic Graph, Bicubic Nonhamiltonian Graph, Ellingham-Horton Graphs, Georges Configuration, Nonhamiltonian Graph

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References

Bondy, J. A. and Murty, U. S. R. Graph Theory. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag, p. 483, 2008.Brinkmann, G.; Goedgebeur, J.; and McKay, B. D. "The Minimality of the Georges-Kelmans Graph." Math. Comput. 91, 1483-1500, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1090/mcom/3701.Georges, J. P. "Non-Hamiltonian Bicubic Graphs." J. Combin. Th. B 46, 121-124, 1989.Gropp, H. "Configurations and the Tutte Conjecture." Ars Combin. 29A, 171-177, 1990.Gropp, H. "Configurations and Graphs." Disc. Math. 111, 269-276, 1993.Grünbaum, B. "3-Connected Configurations (n_3) with No Hamiltonian Circuit." Bull. Inst. Combin. Appl. 46, 15-26, 2006.Grünbaum, B. Configurations of Points and Lines. Providence, RI: Amer. Math. Soc., pp. 310-317, 2009.House of Graphs. "Georges Graph." https://houseofgraphs.org/graphs/1096.Kel'mans, A. K. "Cubic Bipartite Cyclic 4-Connected Graphs without Hamiltonian Circuits." Uspekhi Mat. Nauk 43, 181-182, 1988. English transl. in Russian Math. Surveys 43, 205-206, 1988. https://doi.org/10.1070/RM1988v043n03ABEH001738.Kelmans, A. K. "Constructions of Cubic Bipartite 3-Connected Graphs without Hamiltonian Cycles." Amer. Math. Soc. Transl. Ser. 2 158, 127-140, 1994. https://doi.org/10.1090/trans2/158/12.Kocay, W. "A Note on the Georges Configuration and a Paper of Grünbaum." Bull. Inst. Combin. Appl. 58, 103-111, 2010.

Referenced on Wolfram|Alpha

Georges-Kelmans Graph

Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W. "Georges-Kelmans Graph." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Georges-KelmansGraph.html

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