Decomposing a connected graph into paths.

Importance: High ✭✭✭
Author(s): Gallai, Tibor
Keywords:
Recomm. for undergrads: no
Posted by: fhavet
on: March 4th, 2013
Conjecture   Every simple connected graph on $ n $ vertices can be decomposed into at most $ \frac{1}{2}(n+1) $ paths.

This conjecture is tight because a complete graph on $ n $ vertices cannot be covered by less than $ (n+1)/2 $ cycles.

There is a similar conjecture about decomposition of an eulerian graph into cycles.

Bibliography

* [L] L. Lovász, On covering of graphs. In Theory of Graphs (Proc. Colloq., Tihany, 1966), 231--236. Academic Press, New York, 1968.


* indicates original appearance(s) of problem.