MathDB
diameter (graph) <= 3 or diameter (complementary graph) <= 2

Source: Frank Harary, Robert W. Robinson; used in the 4th QEDMO

March 6, 2007
combinatorics proposedcombinatorics

Problem Statement

Any two islands of the Chaos Archipelago are connected by a bridge - a red bridge or a blue bridge. Show that at least one of the following two assertions holds: A1\mathcal{A}_{1}: For any two islands aa and bb, we can reach bb from aa through at most 33 red bridges (and no blue bridges). A2\mathcal{A}_{2}: For any two islands aa and bb, we can reach bb from aa through at most 22 blue bridges (and no red bridges). Alternative formulation: Let GG be a graph. Prove that the diameter of GG is 3\leq 3 or the diameter of the complement of GG is 2\leq 2. Note. This problem is the main Theorem in Frank Harary, Robert W. Robinson, The Diameter of a Graph and its Complement, The American Mathematical Monthly, Vol. 92, No. 3. (Mar., 1985), pp. 211-212. darij