Foundations of Software Science and Computational Structures


Book Description

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Foundations of Software Science and Computation Structures, FOSSACS 2006, held in Vienna, Austria in March 2006 as part of ETAPS. The 28 revised full papers presented together with one invited paper were carefully reviewed and selected from 107 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections.




Combinatorial Nullstellensatz


Book Description

Combinatorial Nullstellensatz is a novel theorem in algebra introduced by Noga Alon to tackle combinatorial problems in diverse areas of mathematics. This book focuses on the applications of this theorem to graph colouring. A key step in the applications of Combinatorial Nullstellensatz is to show that the coefficient of a certain monomial in the expansion of a polynomial is nonzero. The major part of the book concentrates on three methods for calculating the coefficients: Alon-Tarsi orientation: The task is to show that a graph has an orientation with given maximum out-degree and for which the number of even Eulerian sub-digraphs is different from the number of odd Eulerian sub-digraphs. In particular, this method is used to show that a graph whose edge set decomposes into a Hamilton cycle and vertex-disjoint triangles is 3-choosable, and that every planar graph has a matching whose deletion results in a 4-choosable graph. Interpolation formula for the coefficient: This method is in particular used to show that toroidal grids of even order are 3-choosable, r-edge colourable r-regular planar graphs are r-edge choosable, and complete graphs of order p+1, where p is a prime, are p-edge choosable. Coefficients as the permanents of matrices: This method is in particular used in the study of the list version of vertex-edge weighting and to show that every graph is (2,3)-choosable. It is suited as a reference book for a graduate course in mathematics.




The Mathematics of Paul Erdös II


Book Description

In 1992, when Paul Erdos was awarded a Doctor Honoris Causa by Charles University in Prague, a small conference was held, bringing together a distin guished group of researchers with interests spanning a variety of fields related to Erdos' own work. At that gathering, the idea occurred to several of us that it might be quite appropriate at this point in Erdos' career to solicit a col lection of articles illustrating various aspects of Erdos' mathematical life and work. The response to our solicitation was immediate and overwhelming, and these volumes are the result. Regarding the organization, we found it convenient to arrange the papers into six chapters, each mirroring Erdos' holistic approach to mathematics. Our goal was not merely a (random) collection of papers but rather a thor oughly edited volume composed in large part by articles explicitly solicited to illustrate interesting aspects of Erdos and his life and work. Each chap ter includes an introduction which often presents a sample of related Erdos' problems "in his own words". All these (sometimes lengthy) introductions were written jointly by editors. We wish to thank the nearly 70 contributors for their outstanding efforts (and their patience). In particular, we are grateful to Bela Bollobas for his extensive documentation of Paul Erdos' early years and mathematical high points (in the first part of this volume); our other authors are acknowledged in their respective chapters. We also want to thank A. Bondy, G. Hahn, I.







Mathematical Reviews


Book Description







The Julius Petersen Graph Theory Centennial


Book Description

Julius Petersen's paper, Die Theorie der regulären graphs in Acta Mathematica, volume 15 (1891), stands at the beginning of graph theory as we know it today. The Danish group of graph theorists decided in 1985 to mark the 150th birthday of Petersen in 1989, as well as the centennial of his paper. It was felt that the occasion called for a presentation of Petersen's famous paper in its historical context and, in a wider sense, of Petersen's life and work as a whole. However, the readily available information about Julius Petersen amounted to very little (not even a full bibliography existed) and virtually nothing was known about the circumstances that led him to write his famous paper. The study of Petersen's life and work has resulted in several papers, in particular a biography, a bibliography, an annotated edition of the letters surrounding Petersen's paper of 1891, an analysis of Petersen's paper and an annotated edition of parts of Petersen's correspondence with Sylow on Galois theory. The first four of these papers, together with a survey of matching theory, form the first part of this book. In addition to these five special papers, there are papers submitted in the celebration of the Petersen centennial.




Graph Colouring and Applications


Book Description

This volume presents the proceedings of the CRM workshop on graph coloring and applications. The articles span a wide spectrum of topics related to graph coloring, including: list-colorings, total colorings, colorings and embeddings of graphs, chromatic polynomials, characteristic polynomials, chromatic scheduling, and graph coloring problems related to frequency assignment. Outstanding researchers in combinatorial optimization and graph theory contributed their work. A list of open problems is included.




Graphs and Homomorphisms


Book Description

This is a book about graph homomorphisms. Graph theory is now an established discipline but the study of graph homomorphisms has only recently begun to gain wide acceptance and interest. The subject gives a useful perspective in areas such as graph reconstruction, products, fractional and circular colourings, and has applications in complexity theory, artificial intelligence, telecommunication, and, most recently, statistical physics. Based on the authors' lecture notes for graduate courses, this book can be used as a textbook for a second course in graph theory at 4th year or master's level and has been used for courses at Simon Fraser University (Vancouver), Charles University (Prague), ETH (Zurich), and UFRJ (Rio de Janeiro). The exercises vary in difficulty. The first few are usually intended to give the reader an opportunity to practice the concepts introduced in the chapter; the later ones explore related concepts, or even introduce new ones. For the harder exercises hints and references are provided. The authors are well known for their research in this area and the book will be invaluable to graduate students and researchers alike.




Proceedings of the International Congress of Mathematicians


Book Description

Since the first ICM was held in Zürich in 1897, it has become the pinnacle of mathematical gatherings. It aims at giving an overview of the current state of different branches of mathematics and its applications as well as an insight into the treatment of special problems of exceptional importance. The proceedings of the ICMs have provided a rich chronology of mathematical development in all its branches and a unique documentation of contemporary research. They form an indispensable part of every mathematical library. The Proceedings of the International Congress of Mathematicians 1994, held in Zürich from August 3rd to 11th, 1994, are published in two volumes. Volume I contains an account of the organization of the Congress, the list of ordinary members, the reports on the work of the Fields Medalists and the Nevanlinna Prize Winner, the plenary one-hour addresses, and the invited addresses presented at Section Meetings 1 - 6. Volume II contains the invited address for Section Meetings 7 - 19. A complete author index is included in both volumes. '...the content of these impressive two volumes sheds a certain light on the present state of mathematical sciences and anybody doing research in mathematics should look carefully at these Proceedings. For young people beginning research, this is even more important, so these are a must for any serious mathematics library. The graphical presentation is, as always with Birkhäuser, excellent....' (Revue Roumaine de Mathematiques pures et Appliquées)