Backward Arcs in Hamilton Oriented Cycles and Paths in Directed Graphs with Independence Number Two

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Gerke, S., Guo, Q., Gutin, G., Hao, Y., Veeranonchai, W., Yeo, A.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Gerke, S.
Guo, Q.
Gutin, G.
Hao, Y.
Veeranonchai, W.
Yeo, A.
author_facet Gerke, S.
Guo, Q.
Gutin, G.
Hao, Y.
Veeranonchai, W.
Yeo, A.
contents In a digraph $D=(V,A)$, an oriented path is a sequence $P=x_1x_2\dots x_p$ of distinct vertices such that either $x_ix_{i+1}\in A$ or $x_{i+1}x_{i}\in A$ or both for every $i\in [p-1]$. If $x_ix_{i+1}\in A$ in $P$, then $x_ix_{i+1}$ is a forward arc of $P$; otherwise, $x_{i+1}x_{i}$ is a backward arc. The independence number $α(D)$ is the maximum integer $p$ such that $D$ has a set of $p$ vertices where there is no arc between any pair of vertices. A digraph is $k$-connected if its underlying undirected graph is $k$-connected. Freschi and Lo (JCT-B 2024) proved that every $n$-vertex oriented graph with minimum degree $δ\ge n/2$ has a Hamilton oriented cycle with at most $n-δ$ backward arcs. We prove that every 2-connected digraph $D$ with $α(D)\le 2$ has a Hamilton oriented cycle with at most five backward arcs, and every 1-connected digraph $D$ with $α(D)\le 2$ has a Hamilton oriented path with at most two backward arcs.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_22993
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Backward Arcs in Hamilton Oriented Cycles and Paths in Directed Graphs with Independence Number Two
Gerke, S.
Guo, Q.
Gutin, G.
Hao, Y.
Veeranonchai, W.
Yeo, A.
Combinatorics
Discrete Mathematics
In a digraph $D=(V,A)$, an oriented path is a sequence $P=x_1x_2\dots x_p$ of distinct vertices such that either $x_ix_{i+1}\in A$ or $x_{i+1}x_{i}\in A$ or both for every $i\in [p-1]$. If $x_ix_{i+1}\in A$ in $P$, then $x_ix_{i+1}$ is a forward arc of $P$; otherwise, $x_{i+1}x_{i}$ is a backward arc. The independence number $α(D)$ is the maximum integer $p$ such that $D$ has a set of $p$ vertices where there is no arc between any pair of vertices. A digraph is $k$-connected if its underlying undirected graph is $k$-connected. Freschi and Lo (JCT-B 2024) proved that every $n$-vertex oriented graph with minimum degree $δ\ge n/2$ has a Hamilton oriented cycle with at most $n-δ$ backward arcs. We prove that every 2-connected digraph $D$ with $α(D)\le 2$ has a Hamilton oriented cycle with at most five backward arcs, and every 1-connected digraph $D$ with $α(D)\le 2$ has a Hamilton oriented path with at most two backward arcs.
title Backward Arcs in Hamilton Oriented Cycles and Paths in Directed Graphs with Independence Number Two
topic Combinatorics
Discrete Mathematics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.22993