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Main Authors: Chen, Rong, Liao, Enzi
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.01685
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author Chen, Rong
Liao, Enzi
author_facet Chen, Rong
Liao, Enzi
contents Fix $k \in \mathbb{N}$ and let $G$ be a connected graph with treewidth at most $k$. We say that $xy \notin E(G)$ is a {\em $k$-ghost-edge} of $G$ if for every tree decomposition $(T, \cB)$ of $G$ with width at most $k$, both $x$ and $y$ are contained in a bag of $(T, \cB)$. Moreover, if $G$ does not contain any $k$-ghost-edges, then $G$ is {\em $k$-ghost-free}. Hickingbotham proposed a conjecture that every connected $k$-ghost-free graph $G$ has a tree decomposition $(T, \cB)$ with width at most $k$ such that $T$ is a subgraph of $G$. In this paper, we prove that Hickingbotham's conjecture is false for all $k\geq3$.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_01685
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle On tree decompositions whose trees are subgraphs
Chen, Rong
Liao, Enzi
Combinatorics
Fix $k \in \mathbb{N}$ and let $G$ be a connected graph with treewidth at most $k$. We say that $xy \notin E(G)$ is a {\em $k$-ghost-edge} of $G$ if for every tree decomposition $(T, \cB)$ of $G$ with width at most $k$, both $x$ and $y$ are contained in a bag of $(T, \cB)$. Moreover, if $G$ does not contain any $k$-ghost-edges, then $G$ is {\em $k$-ghost-free}. Hickingbotham proposed a conjecture that every connected $k$-ghost-free graph $G$ has a tree decomposition $(T, \cB)$ with width at most $k$ such that $T$ is a subgraph of $G$. In this paper, we prove that Hickingbotham's conjecture is false for all $k\geq3$.
title On tree decompositions whose trees are subgraphs
topic Combinatorics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.01685