Cubic Moore graphs of diameter k on 3.2k−2 vertices do not exist for k > 2. This paper exhibits the first known case of nonexistence for generalized cubic Moore graphs when the number of vertices is just less than the critical number for a Moore graph: the generalized Moore graph on 44 vertices does not exist.

This paper inverstigates the automorphism groups of Cayley graphs of metracyclic p-gorups. A characterization is given of the automorphism groups of Cayley grahs of a metacyclic p-group for odd prime p. In particular, a complete determiniation of the automophism group of a connected Cayley graph with valency less than 2p of a nonabelian metacyclic p-group is obtained as a consequence. In subsequent work, the result of this paper has been applied to solve several problems in graph theory.

It is well-known that if G is a multigraph (that is, a graph with multiple edges), the maximum number of pairwise disjoint edges in G is ν(G) and its maximum degree is D(G), then |E(G)| ≤ ν [3D/2’. We extend this theorem for r-graphs (that is, families of r-element sets) and for r-multihypergraphs (that is, r-graphs with repeated edges). Several problems remain open.

Finite graphs of valency 4 and girth 4 admitting ½-transitive group actions, that is, vertex- and edge- but not arc-transitive group actions, are investigated. A graph is said to be ½-transitive if its automorphism group acts ½-transitively. There is a natural orientation of the edge set of a ½-transitive graph induced and preserved by its automorphism group. It is proved that in a finite ½-transitive graph of valency 4 and girth 4 the set of 4-cycles decomposes the edge set in such a way that either every 4-cycle is alternating or every 4-cycle is directed relative to this orientation. In the latter case vertex stabilizers are isomorphic to Z2.

Let the word “graph” be used in the sense of a countable, connected, simple graph with at least one vertex. We write Qn and Ocn for the graphs associated with the n-cube Qn and the n-octahedron Ocn respectively. In a previous paper (Dekker, 1981) we generalized Qn and Qn to a graph QN and a cube QN, for any nonzero recursive equivalence type N. In the present paper we do the same for Ocn and Ocn. We also examine the nature of the duality between QN and OcN, in case N is an infinite isol. There are c RETs, c denoting the cardinality of the continuum.

We address the problem of describing all graphs Γ such that Aut Γ is a symmetric group, subject to certain restrictions on the sizes of the orbits of Aut Γ on vertices. As a corollary of our general results, we obtain a classification of all graphs Γ on v vertices with Aut Γ ≅ Sn, where ν < min{5n, ½n(n – 1)}.

We define and investigate the notion of a decomposable hypergraph, showing that such a hypergraph always is conformal, that is, can be viewed as the class of maximal cliques of a graph. We further show that the clique hypergraph of a graph is decomposable if and only if the graph is triangulated and characterise such graphs in terms of a combinatorial identity.

In this paper we obtain asymptotics for the number of rooted 3-connected maps on an arbitrary surface and use them to prove that almost all rooted 3-connected maps on any fixed surface have large edge-width and large face-width. It then follows from the result of Roberston and Vitray [10] that almost all rooted 3-connected maps on any fixed surface are minimum genus embeddings and their underlying graphs are uniquely embeddable on the surface.

We establish a characterization of certain trees of polygons similar to that of n-gon-trees given by Chao and Li.

This paper classifies all finite connected 4- and 5-arc-transitive cubic graphs that contain circuits of length less than or equal to 11, or of length 13, and some of those graphs with circuits of length 12.

A complementary decomposition of λKn into a graph G is an edge-disjoint decomposition of λKn into copies of G such that if each copy H of G is replaced by its complement in V(H) then the result is an edge-disjoint decomposition of λKn into copies of GC it is a self- complementary decomposition if G = Gc. The spectrum for the last self-complementary graph on at most 7 vertices is found.

A near 1-factor of a graph of order 2n ≧ 4 is a subgraph isomorphic to (n − 2) K2 ∪ P3 ∪ K1. Wallis determined, for each r ≥ 3, the order of a smallest r-regular graph of even order without a 1-factor; while for each r ≧ 3, Chartrand, Goldsmith and Schuster determined the order of a smallest r-regular, (r − 2)-edge-connected graph of even order without a 1-factor. These results are extended to graphs without near 1-factors. It is known that every connected, cubic graph with less than six bridges has a near 1-factor. The order of a smallest connected, cubic graph with exactly six bridges and no near 1-factor is determined.

In this paper we give an analytic solution for graphs with n nodes and E = cn log n edges for which the probability of obtaining a given graph G is µn (G) = exp (- β ∑i=1 nd i 2), where d i is the degree of node i. We describe how this model appears in the context of load balancing in communication networks, namely peer-to-peer overlays. We then analyse the degree distribution of such graphs and show that the degrees are concentrated around their mean value. Finally, we derive asymptotic results for the number of edges crossing a graph cut and use these results (i) to compute the graph expansion and conductance, and (ii) to analyse the graph resilience to random failures.

Let 𝒫 be a Poisson process of intensity 1 in a square S n of area n. For a fixed integer k, join every point of 𝒫 to its k nearest neighbours, creating an undirected random geometric graph G n,k . We prove that there exists a critical constant c crit such that, for c < c crit, G n,⌊c log n⌋ is disconnected with probability tending to 1 as n → ∞ and, for c > c crit, G n,⌊c log n⌋ is connected with probability tending to 1 as n → ∞. This answers a question posed in Balister et al. (2005).

Let Γ be a finite connected undirected vertex transitive locally primitive graph of prime-power order. It is shown that either Γ is a normal Cayley graph of a 2-group, or Γ is a normal cover of a complete graph, a complete bipartite graph, or Σ×l, where Σ=Kpm with p prime or Σ is the Schläfli graph (of order 27). In particular, either Γ is a Cayley graph, or Γ is a normal cover of a complete bipartite graph.

Small-world graphs are examples of random graphs which mimic empirically observed features of social networks. We propose an intrinsic definition of small-world graphs, based on a probabilistic formulation of scaling properties of the graph, which does not rely on any particular construction. Our definition is shown to encompass existing models of small-world graphs, proposed by Watts (1999) and studied by Barbour and Reinert (2001), which are based on random perturbations of a regular lattice. We also propose alternative constructions of small-world graphs which are not based on lattices and study their scaling properties.

An S3-involution graph for a group G is a graph with vertex set a union of conjugacy classes of involutions of G such that two involutions are adjacent if they generate an S3-subgroup in a particular set of conjugacy classes. We investigate such graphs in general and also for the case where G=PSL(2,q).

We exhibit an interesting Cayley graph X of the elementary abelian group Z26 with the property that Aut(X) contains two regular subgroups, exactly one of which is normal. This demonstrates the existence of two subsets of Z26 that yield isomorphic Cayley graphs, even though the two subsets are not equivalent under the automorphism group of Z26.

The core of a graph Γ is the smallest graph Δ that is homomorphically equivalent to Γ (that is, there exist homomorphisms in both directions). The core of Γ is unique up to isomorphism and is an induced subgraph of Γ. We give a construction in some sense dual to the core. The hull of a graph Γ is a graph containing Γ as a spanning subgraph, admitting all the endomorphisms of Γ, and having as core a complete graph of the same order as the core of Γ. This construction is related to the notion of a synchronizing permutation group, which arises in semigroup theory; we provide some more insight by characterizing these permutation groups in terms of graphs. It is known that the core of a vertex-transitive graph is vertex-transitive. In some cases we can make stronger statements: for example, if Γ is a non-edge-transitive graph, we show that either the core of Γ is complete, or Γ is its own core. Rank-three graphs are non-edge-transitive. We examine some families of these to decide which of the two alternatives for the core actually holds. We will see that this question is very difficult, being equivalent in some cases to unsolved questions in finite geometry (for example, about spreads, ovoids and partitions into ovoids in polar spaces).

In this note we first prove that, for a positive integer n>1 with n≠p or p2 where p is a prime, there exists a transitive group of degree n without regular subgroups. Then we look at 2-closed transitive groups without regular subgroups, and pose two questions and a problem for further study.