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  1. Home > Articles & Issues >
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Conference paper

The equivariant topology of stable Kneser graphs

Carsten Schultz (1)
(1) Institut für Mathematik
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January 31, 2017
Published on
December 31, 2010
Last modified on
March 31, 2025
Volume
DMTCS Proceedings vol. AO, 23rd International Conference on Formal Power Series and Algebraic Combinatorics (FPSAC 2011)
Proceedings
DOI
10.46298/dmtcs.2960
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The equivariant topology of stable Kneser graphs

Carsten Schultz (1)
(1) Institut für Mathematik
Abstract
English
Schrijver introduced the stable Kneser graph $SG_{n,k}, n \geq 1, k \geq 0$. This graph is a vertex critical graph with chromatic number $k+2$, its vertices are certain subsets of a set of cardinality $m=2n+k$. Björner and de Longueville have shown that its box complex is homotopy equivalent to a sphere, $\mathrm{Hom}(K_2,SG_{n,k}) \simeq \mathbb{S}^k$. The dihedral group $D_{2m}$ acts canonically on $SG_{n,k}$. We study the $D_{2m}$ action on $\mathrm{Hom}(K_2,SG_{n,k})$ and define a corresponding orthogonal action on $\mathbb{R}^{k+1} \supset \mathbb{S}^k$. We establish a close equivariant relationship between the graphs $SG_{n,k}$ and Borsuk graphs of the $k$-sphere and use this together with calculations in the $\mathbb{Z}_2$-cohomology ring of $D_{2m}$ to tell which stable Kneser graphs are test graphs in the sense of Babson and Kozlov. The graphs $SG_{2s,4}$ are test graphs, i.e. for every graph $H$ and $r \geq 0$ such that $\mathrm{Hom}(SG_{2s,4},H)$ is $(r-1)$-connected, the chromatic number $\chi (H)$ is at least $r+6$. On the other hand, if $k \notin \{0,1,2,4,8\}$ and $n \geq N(k)$ then $SG_{n,k}$ is not a homotopy test graph, i.e. there are a graph $G$ and an $r \geq 1$ such that $\mathrm{Hom}(SG_{n,k}, G)$ is $(r-1)$-connected and $\chi (G) < r+k+2$. The latter result also depends on a new necessary criterion for being a test graph, which involves the automorphism group of the graph.
French
Schrijver a défini le graphe de Kneser stable $SG_{n,k}$, avec $n \geq 1$ et $k \geq 0$. Le graphe $SG_{n,k}$ est un graphe critique (par rapport aux sommets) de nombre chromatique $k+2$, dont les sommets correspondent à certains sous-ensembles d'un ensemble de cardinalité $m=2n+k$. Björner et de Longueville ont démontré que son complexe de boîtes et la sphère sont homotopiquement équivalents, c'est-à-dire $\mathrm{Hom}(K_2,SG_{n,k}) \simeq \mathbb{S}^k$. Le groupe diédral $D_{2m}$ agit sur $SG_{n,k}$ canoniquement. Nous étudions l'action de $D_{2m}$ sur $\mathrm{Hom}(K_2,SG_{n,k})$ et nous définissons une action orthogonale correspondante sur $\mathbb{R}^{k+1} \supset \mathbb{S}^k$. Par ailleurs, nous fournissons une relation équivariante étroite entre les graphes $SG_{n,k}$ et les graphes de Borsuk de la sphère de dimension $k$. Utilisant cette relation et certains calculs dans l'anneau de cohomologie de $D_{2m}$ sur $\mathbb{Z}_2$, nous décrivons quels graphes de Kneser stables sont des graphes de tests selon la notion de Babson et Kozlov. Les graphes $SG_{2s,4}$ sont des graphes de tests, c'est-à-dire que pour tout $H$ et $r \geq 0$ tels que $\mathrm{Hom}(SG_{2s,4},H)$ est $(r-1)$-connexe, le nombre chromatique $\chi (H)$ est au moins $r+6$. D'autre part, si $k \notin \{0,1,2,4,8\}$ et $n \geq N(k)$, alors $SG_{n,k}$ n'est pas un graphe de tests d'homologie: il existe un graphe $G$ et un entier $r \geq 1$ tels que $\mathrm{Hom}(SG_{n,k}, G)$ est $(r-1)$-connexe et $\chi (G) < r+k+2$. Ce dernier résultat dépend d'un nouveau critère nécessaire pour être un graphe de tests, qui implique le groupe d'automorphismes du graphe.
Keywords
  • [MATH.MATH-CO]Mathematics [math]/Combinatorics [math.CO]
  • [INFO.INFO-DM]Computer Science [cs]/Discrete Mathematics [cs.DM]
  • stable Kneser graph
  • Hom complex
  • graph homomorphism
  • test graph
  • alternating oriented matroid
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