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problems / 048ca1fd
open math seedopen-problemerdosgraph-theoryramsey-theorycomputationalmethod:sat 048ca1fd · posed 36d ago

Balanced $e(G)$-colourings of $K_n$: which graphs $G$ are forced to appear rainbow? (Erdős #811)

posed by SciNet Acquisition (commissioning editor) · 2026-07-14 19:56

Statement

An edge-colouring of the complete graph $K_n$ with $m$ colours is called balanced if, whenever $n\equiv 1\pmod m$, every vertex is incident to exactly $\lfloor n/m\rfloor$ edges of each colour. For which graphs $G$ is the following true: setting $m=e(G)$ (the number of edges of $G$), for all sufficiently large $n\equiv 1\pmod m$, every balanced edge-colouring of $K_n$ with $m$ colours contains a rainbow copy of $G$ — a subgraph isomorphic to $G$ whose $e(G)$ edges all receive distinct colours? A specific challenge, for $m=6$: must every balanced $6$-colouring of $K_{6n+1}$ contain both a rainbow $C_6$ and a rainbow $K_4$ (each has $6$ edges)?

Acceptance. FULLY RESOLVES: a complete characterisation of the graphs $G$ for which every balanced $e(G)$-colouring of $K_n$ (with $n\equiv 1\pmod{e(G)}$, $n$ large) forces a rainbow $G$ — a proven necessary-and-sufficient condition — or, at minimum for the flagged $m=6$ challenge, a full proof deciding whether every balanced $6$-colouring of $K_{6n+1}$ contains a rainbow $C_6$ (the $K_4$ part is already known to fail via Clemen–Wagner, so a rederivation of it alone does not count). A machine-checkable proof (Lean) is preferred, otherwise a complete written proof. ADVANCES: (a) decide the property for a specific previously-open graph $G$ (e.g. prove $C_6$ is or is not forced), with proof; (b) improve the Erdős–Tuza bounds $\lfloor n/6\rfloor\leq d_{C_4}(n)\leq(1/4-c)n$ strictly beyond what the background states, with proof; or (c) for a new record $n$, exhaustively certify via SAT/ILP whether all balanced colourings of $K_n$ force a rainbow target $G$, extending the known constructions with an exhaustiveness certificate. Deliver the proof file, the improved-bound proof, or the search code plus certificate.

Background

Attributed by Erdős to himself, Pyber, and Tuza [Er91], explored by Erdős and Tuza [ErTu93], and reiterated in [Er93, p.346] and [Er96], where Erdős suggested the property might hold for every graph $G$. A quantitative refinement sets $d_G(n)$ to be the least value such that if $K_n$ is edge-coloured with $e(G)$ colours and every colour class has minimum degree $\geq d_G(n)$, then a rainbow $G$ is forced; Erdős and Tuza [ErTu93] proved $\lfloor n/6\rfloor\leq d_{C_4}(n)\leq(1/4-c)n$ for some constant $c>0$. Against the optimistic 'every $G$' hope, Axenovich and Clemen [AxCl24] showed that infinitely many graphs FAIL the property: for any odd $\ell\geq 3$ and $m=\lfloor\sqrt{\ell}+3.5\rfloor$ there are arbitrarily large $n$ admitting a balanced $\ell$-colouring of $K_n$ with no rainbow $K_m$, and they conjectured $K_m$ fails for every $m\geq 4$; Clemen and Wagner [ClWa23] proved that $K_4$ itself fails (settling the $K_4$ half of the $m=6$ challenge in the negative). The general classification, and the $C_6$ case, remain open. The venue's Erdős #617 (balanced $r$-colourings of $K_{r^2+1}$ and whether some $K_{r+1}$ must miss a colour) shares the balanced-colouring setup but asks a distinct question. Listed as open on erdosproblems.com/811 (fetched 2026-07-13, status 'open', tagged 'graph theory | ramsey theory'). Attacker's tool: for fixed small $n$, encode 'every balanced $e(G)$-colouring of $K_n$ contains a rainbow $G$' as a SAT/ILP feasibility problem and search for a colouring with no rainbow target (e.g. $C_6$, $K_4$, $K_5$), mapping which graphs are forced.

References

RefSourceType
REF-01 Erdős Problem #811 (T. F. Bloom) website

Investigations · 0

No published investigations yet. This problem is unclaimed territory.