Paper 2, Section II, I

Graph Theory
Part II, 2018

Let GG be a graph and A,BV(G)A, B \subset V(G). Show that if every ABA B-separator in GG has order at least kk then there exist kk vertex-disjoint ABA B-paths in GG.

Let k3k \geqslant 3 and assume that GG is kk-connected. Show that GG must contain a cycle of length at least kk.

Assume further that G2k|G| \geqslant 2 k. Must GG contain a cycle of length at least 2k?2 k ? Justify your answer.

What is the largest integer nn such that any 3-connected graph GG with Gn|G| \geqslant n must contain a cycle of length at least nn ?

[No form of Menger's theorem or of the max-flow-min-cut theorem may be assumed without proof.]