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Recently, it became apparent that a large number of the most interesting structures and phenomena of the world can be described by networks. To develop a mathematical theory of very large networks is an important challenge. This book describes one recent approach to this theory, the limit theory of graphs, which has emerged over the last decade. The theory has rich connections with other approaches to the study of large networks, such as ``property testing'' in computer science and regularity partition in graph theory. It has several applications in extremal graph theory, including the exact formulations and partial answers to very general questions, such as which problems in extremal graph ...
This volume collects together research and survey papers written by invited speakers of the conference celebrating the 70th birthday of László Lovász. The topics covered include classical subjects such as extremal graph theory, coding theory, design theory, applications of linear algebra and combinatorial optimization, as well as recent trends such as extensions of graph limits, online or statistical versions of classical combinatorial problems, and new methods of derandomization. László Lovász is one of the pioneers in the interplay between discrete and continuous mathematics, and is a master at establishing unexpected connections, “building bridges” between seemingly distant fields. His invariably elegant and powerful ideas have produced new subfields in many areas, and his outstanding scientific work has defined and shaped many research directions in the last 50 years. The 14 contributions presented in this volume, all of which are connected to László Lovász's areas of research, offer an excellent overview of the state of the art of combinatorics and related topics and will be of interest to experienced specialists as well as young researchers.
Graphs are usually represented as geometric objects drawn in the plane, consisting of nodes and curves connecting them. The main message of this book is that such a representation is not merely a way to visualize the graph, but an important mathematical tool. It is obvious that this geometry is crucial in engineering, for example, if you want to understand rigidity of frameworks and mobility of mechanisms. But even if there is no geometry directly connected to the graph-theoretic problem, a well-chosen geometric embedding has mathematical meaning and applications in proofs and algorithms. This book surveys a number of such connections between graph theory and geometry: among others, rubber b...
Aimed at undergraduate mathematics and computer science students, this book is an excellent introduction to a lot of problems of discrete mathematics. It discusses a number of selected results and methods, mostly from areas of combinatorics and graph theory, and it uses proofs and problem solving to help students understand the solutions to problems. Numerous examples, figures, and exercises are spread throughout the book.
The main purpose of this book is to provide help in learning existing techniques in combinatorics. The most effective way of learning such techniques is to solve exercises and problems. This book presents all the material in the form of problems and series of problems (apart from some general comments at the beginning of each chapter). In the second part, a hint is given for each exercise, which contains the main idea necessary for the solution, but allows the reader to practice theechniques by completing the proof. In the third part, a full solution is provided for each problem. This book will be useful to those students who intend to start research in graph theory, combinatorics or their applications, and for those researchers who feel that combinatorial techniques mightelp them with their work in other branches of mathematics, computer science, management science, electrical engineering and so on. For background, only the elements of linear algebra, group theory, probability and calculus are needed.
This book surveys matching theory, with an emphasis on connections with other areas of mathematics and on the role matching theory has played, and continues to play, in the development of some of these areas. Besides basic results on the existence of matchings and on the matching structure of graphs, the impact of matching theory is discussed by providing crucial special cases and nontrivial examples on matroid theory, algorithms, and polyhedral combinatorics. The new Appendix outlines how the theory and applications of matching theory have continued to develop since the book was first published in 1986, by launching (among other things) the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method.
Historically, there is a close connection between geometry and optImization. This is illustrated by methods like the gradient method and the simplex method, which are associated with clear geometric pictures. In combinatorial optimization, however, many of the strongest and most frequently used algorithms are based on the discrete structure of the problems: the greedy algorithm, shortest path and alternating path methods, branch-and-bound, etc. In the last several years geometric methods, in particular polyhedral combinatorics, have played a more and more profound role in combinatorial optimization as well. Our book discusses two recent geometric algorithms that have turned out to have parti...
Paul Erdös was one of the most influential mathematicians of the twentieth century, whose work in number theory, combinatorics, set theory, analysis, and other branches of mathematics has determined the development of large areas of these fields. In 1999, a conference was organized to survey his work, his contributions to mathematics, and the far-reaching impact of his work on many branches of mathematics. On the 100th anniversary of his birth, this volume undertakes the almost impossible task to describe the ways in which problems raised by him and topics initiated by him (indeed, whole branches of mathematics) continue to flourish. Written by outstanding researchers in these areas, these papers include extensive surveys of classical results as well as of new developments.
With the advent of computers, algorithmic principles play an ever increasing role in mathematics. Algorithms have to exploit the structure of the underlying mathematical object, and properties exploited by algorithms are often closely tied to classical structural analysis in mathematics. This connection between algorithms and structure is in particular apparent in discrete mathematics, where proofs are often constructive, and can be turned into algorithms more directly. The principle of greediness plays a fundamental role both in the design of continuous algorithms (where it is called the steepest descent or gradient method) and of discrete algorithms. The discrete structure most closely rel...
Discrete mathematics and theoretical computer science are closely linked research areas with strong impacts on applications and various other scientific disciplines. Both fields deeply cross fertilize each other. One of the persons who particularly contributed to building bridges between these and many other areas is László Lovász, a scholar whose outstanding scientific work has defined and shaped many research directions in the last 40 years. A number of friends and colleagues, all top authorities in their fields of expertise and all invited plenary speakers at one of two conferences in August 2008 in Hungary, both celebrating Lovász’s 60th birthday, have contributed their latest research papers to this volume. This collection of articles offers an excellent view on the state of combinatorics and related topics and will be of interest for experienced specialists as well as young researchers.