A new model of random graphs – random intersection graphs – is introduced. In this model, vertices are assigned random subsets of a given set. Two vertices are adjacent provided their assigned sets intersect. We explore the evolution of random intersection graphs by studying thresholds for the appearance and disappearance of small induced subgraphs. An application to gate matrix circuit design is presented.

We present a general algebraic technique and discuss some of its numerous applications in combinatorial number theory, in graph theory and in combinatorics. These applications include results in additive number theory and in the study of graph colouring problems. Many of these are known results, to which we present unified proofs, and some results are new.

In this note, I will present some new problems, and also some old ones which, in my opinion, have been undeservedly forgotten or neglected.

We define uniformly spread sets as point sets in d-dimensional Euclidean space that are wobbling equivalent to the standard lattice ℤd. A linear image ϕ(ℤd) of ℤd is shown to be uniformly spread if and only if det(ϕ) = 1. Explicit geometrical and number-theoretical constructions are given. In 2-dimensional Euclidean space we obtain bounds for the wobbling distance for rotations, shearings and stretchings that are close to optimal. Our methods also allow us to analyse the discrepancy of certain billiards. Finally, we take a look at paradoxical situations and exhibit recursive point sets that are wobbling equivalent, but not recursively so.

1. Noga Alon

Paul Erdős [2] conjectured in 1979 that, if in a graph on n vertices any set of [lfloor]√n[rfloor] vertices contains at least one edge, then there is a set of [lfloor]√n[rfloor] vertices that contains Ω(√n log n) edges. As observed by Erdős, this result, if true, is tight. During the workshop, and after discussions with various participants including Cameron, Erdős, Gunderson and Krivelevich, we found a proof of this conjecture, combining some probabilistic arguments with the main result of [1] (see also [3]). Hopefully this will appear in a forthcoming paper, where we also plan to include a simple proof of an extension of the main result of [1].

We define a polynomial W on graphs with colours on the edges, by generalizing the spanning tree expansion of the Tutte polynomial as far as possible: we give necessary and sufficient conditions on the edge weights for this expansion not to depend on the order used. We give a contraction-deletion formula for W analogous to that for the Tutte polynomial, and show that any coloured graph invariant satisfying such a formula can be obtained from W. In particular, we show that generalizations of the Tutte polynomial obtained from its rank generating function formulation, or from a random cluster model, can be obtained from W. Finally, we find the most general conditions under which W gives rise to a link invariant, and give as examples the one-variable Jones polynomial, and an invariant taking values in ℤ/22ℤ.

This paper begins with the observation that half of all graphs containing no induced path of length 3 are disconnected. We generalize this in several directions. First, we give necessary and sufficient conditions (in terms of generating functions) for the probability of connectedness in a suitable class of graphs to tend to a limit strictly between zero and one. Next we give a general framework in which this and related questions can be posed, involving operations on classes of finite structures. Finally, we discuss briefly an algebra associated with such a class of structures, and give a conjecture about its structure.

Extremal graph theory has a great number of conjectures concerning the embedding of large sparse graphs into dense graphs. Szemerédi's Regularity Lemma is a valuable tool in finding embeddings of small graphs. The Blow-up Lemma, proved recently by Komlós, Sárközy and Szemerédi, can be applied to obtain approximate versions of many of the embedding conjectures. In this paper we review recent developments in the area.

Our main topic is the number of subsets of [1, n] which are maximal with respect to some condition such as being sum-free, having no number dividing another, etc. We also investigate some related questions.

We consider three aspects of homomorphisms of graphs and hypergraphs which are related to the structure of colour classes: (1) density, (2) the fractal property and (3) the generation of colour classes. In particular, we prove a density theorem for hypergraphs and show that, for connected oriented graphs, all jumps are balanced (and give an example to show that connectivity is needed here). We also show that a Hajós-type theorem holds for any colour class of undirected graphs, thus providing further evidence of the well-known ‘non-effective’ character of Hajós' theorem.

We prove a Futorny-like theorem which describes the support of an irreducible weight module over the Witt–Kaplansky algebra of rank(2, 2).

Let TBin(N, n, q) be the game on the complete graph KN in which two players, the Breaker and the Maker, alternately claim one and q edges, respectively. The Maker's aim is to build a binary tree on n<N vertices in n−1 turns while the Breaker tries to prevent him from doing so. It is shown that, for every constant ε>0, there exists n0 such that, for every n[ges ]n0, the Breaker has a winning strategy in TBin(N, n, q) if q>(1+ε)N/logn, while, for q<(1−ε)N/logn, the game TBin(N, n, q) can be won by the Maker provided that n=o(N).

In 1918 Pólya and Vinogradov established the estimate for Dirichlet character sums that currently carries their names. It was forty years until Burgess gave an improvement of their bound [1], and it is forty years since that improvement.

The question as to which “natural” sequences contain infinitely many primes is of considerable fascination to the number-theorist. One such “natura” sequence is [nc[ where [·] denotes integer part. Piatetski-Shapiro [10] showed that there are infinitely many primes in this sequence for 1 < c < 12/11, obtaining the expected asymptotic formula for the number of such primes. The exponent 12/11 has been increased gradually by a number of authors to the present record 45/38 held by Kumchev [9]. It is expected that there are infinitely many primes of the form [nc[ for all cεε[1, ∞)/ℤ. Deshouillers [3] showed that this is almost always true, in the sense of Lebesgue measure on [1, ∞). Balog [2] improved and generalized this result to show that, for almost all c > 1,

where

We study dual isoperimetric deficits of star bodies. We introduce the dual Steiner ball of a star body, and use it to establish an inequality for the Lp distance, p = 2 and p = ∞, between the radial functions of two convex bodies. By applying this inequality, we find dual Bonnesen-type inequalities for convex bodies. Finally, we use a general form of Grüss's inequality to derive dual Favard-type inequalities for star and convex bodies. The results contribute to the dual Brunn–Minkowski theory initiated by E. Lutwak, and continue the attempt to understand the relation between this and the classical Brunn–Minkowski theory.