Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /20 of 28

Combinatorics Difficulty 8.5 Shortlist Prove it China

Let G=G(V;E)G = G(V; E) be a simple graph with vertex set VV and edge set EE, and assume that V=n|V| = n. A map f:VZf: V \rightarrow \mathbb{Z} is said to be good if ff satisfies:
(1)vVf(v)=E; (1) \quad \sum_{v \in V} f(v) = |E|;
(2) If one colors arbitrarily some vertices into red, there exists a red vertex vv, such that f(v)f(v) is not greater than the number of vertices adjacent to vv that are not colored into red.

Let m(G)m(G) be the number of good maps ff. Show that if each vertex of VV is adjacent to at least one other vertex, then nm(G)n!n \le m(G) \le n!.

Solution

Given an ordering τ=(v1,v2,...,vn)\tau = (v_1, v_2, ..., v_n) on the vertices in VV, we associate a map fτ:VZf_\tau: V \to \mathbb{Z} as follows: fτ(v)f_\tau(v) is equal to the number of vertices in VV that are ordered preceding vv. We claim that fτf_\tau is good.

Each edge is counted exactly once in vVfτ(v)\sum_{v \in V} f_\tau(v), for an edge eEe \in E with vertices u,vVu, v \in V such that uu is ordered before vv in τ\tau; then ee is counted once in fτ(v)f_\tau(v). Thus,
vVfτ(v)=E. \sum_{v \in V} f_{\tau}(v) = |E|.
For any nonempty subset AVA \subseteq V of all red vertices, choose vAv \in A with the most preceding orderings in τ\tau. Then by definition, fτ(v)f_\tau(v) is not greater than the number of vertices adjacent to vv that are not colored into red. We have verified that fτf_\tau is good.

Conversely, given any good map f:VZf: V \to \mathbb{Z}, we claim that f=fτf = f_\tau for some ordering τ\tau of VV.

First, let the red vertex set A=VA = V. By the condition (2) in the problem, there exists vAv \in A such that f(v)0f(v) \le 0, and denote one of such vertices by v1v_1. Assuming that we have already chosen v1,...,vkv_1, ..., v_k from VV, if k<nk < n, set the red vertex set A=V{v1,...,vk}A = V - \{v_1, ..., v_k\}. By the condition (2) in the problem, there exists vAv \in A such that f(v)f(v) is less than or equal to the number of vertices in {v1,...,vk}\{v_1, ..., v_k\} that are adjacent to vv. Denote one of such vertices by vk+1v_{k+1}. Continuing in this way, we order the vertices by τ=(v1,v2,...,vn)\tau = (v_1, v_2, ..., v_n). By the construction we have f(v)fr(v)f(v) \le f_r(v) for any vVv \in V. By the condition (1) in the problem, we have
E=vVf(v)vVfr(v)=E, |E| = \sum_{v \in V} f(v) \le \sum_{v \in V} f_r(v) = |E|,
and therefore f(v)=fr(v)f(v) = f_r(v) for any vVv \in V.

We have shown that for any ordering τ\tau, frf_r is good, and any good map ff is frf_r for some τ\tau. Since the number of orderings on VV is n!n!, we see that m(G)n!m(G) \le n! (note that two distinct orderings may result in the same map).

Next, we prove that nm(G)n \le m(G). Assume at the moment that GG is connected. Pick arbitrarily v1Vv_1 \in V. By the connectivity, we may choose v2V{v1}v_2 \in V - \{v_1\} such that v2v_2 is adjacent to v1v_1, and again we may choose v3V{v1,v2}v_3 \in V - \{v_1, v_2\} such that v3v_3 is adjacent to at least one of v1,v2v_1, v_2. Continuing in this way, we get an ordering τ=(v1,v2,...,vn)\tau = (v_1, v_2, ..., v_n) such that vkv_k is adjacent to at least one of the vertices preceding it under ordering τ\tau, for any 2kn2 \le k \le n. Thus, fr(v1)=0f_r(v_1) = 0 and fr(vk)>0f_r(v_k) > 0 for 2kn2 \le k \le n. Since v1v_1 may be arbitrary, we have at least nn good maps.

In general, if GG is a union of its connected components G1,...,GkG_1, ..., G_k, since each vertex is adjacent to at least another vertex, each component has at least two vertices, denote by n1,...,nk2n_1, ..., n_k \ge 2 the number of vertices of these components. For each GiG_i, we have at least nin_i good maps on its vertices, i=1,...,ki = 1, ..., k. It is easy to see that patching good maps on GiG_i's together results in a good map on GG, and thus
m(G)n1n2nkn1+n2++nk=n. m(G) \ge n_1 n_2 \cdots n_k \ge n_1 + n_2 + \cdots + n_k = n.
We conclude that nm(G)n!n \le m(G) \le n!.

Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.

Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.