Vertices that never form singleton Delta-sets in finite linear Jaco graphs

From papers

Let Jn(x)J_n(x) be a finite linear Jaco graph and let XX be its Δ\Delta-set. Non-singleton-Delta-vertex conjecture. The vertex subscripts ii for which viv_i does not yield a singleton Δ\Delta-set XX in any finite linear Jaco graph are given by sequence A003622, the Wythoff compound sequence AA, with the stated formula

i=i(1+5)241,i=2,3,4,.i=\left\lfloor\frac{i(1+\sqrt{5})^2}{4}\right\rfloor-1,\qquad i=2,3,4,\dots.

Equivalently, excluding the first term, sequence A003622 is pp-graphical for the parameter identifying the vertex subscript ii when {vi}\{v_i\} is not a Δ\Delta-set, over F={G:G=Jn(x), n=1,2,3,}\mathcal{F}=\{G:G=J_n(x),\ n=1,2,3,\dots\}. The claim is motivated by the listed exceptional subscripts; its status is unresolved in the supplied source.

Progress summary

Open

A July 2025 paper records the proposed list but supplies no proof or counterexample, so the conjecture remains open.

The conjecture asserts that the vertex subscripts which never produce a singleton Δ\Delta-set in any finite linear Jaco graph Jn(x)J_n(x) are the terms of A003622, the Wythoff compound sequence, via the stated floor formula. A July 2025 preprint labels this Conjecture 2.6 and leaves its proof or disproof for future work.

July 2025 conjecture record

The preprint reports the observed exceptional subscripts, including 4,6,9,12,14,17,194,6,9,12,14,17,19, but presents an experimental study rather than a proof. No retrieved source gives a counterexample, verification, referee report, withdrawal, or subsequent claimed solution.

Current status (as of August 2026): The A003622 characterization remains an unresolved conjecture; no proof or counterexample is publicly recorded in the supplied sources.

Sources
Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Johan Kok, “Integer sequences with conjectured relation with certain graph parameters of the family of linear Jaco graphs”, arXiv:2507.16500 (2025).

Solutions 1

Proof

Put φ=(1+5)/2\varphi=(1+\sqrt5)/2 and

bi=i+1φ.b_i=\left\lfloor\frac{i+1}{\varphi}\right\rfloor.

The known indegree formula for the Jaco graph gives the exact finite-graph degree

degJn(vi)=min{i,nbi}.\deg_{J_n}(v_i)=\min\{i,n-b_i\}.

Write d=Δ(Jn)d=\Delta(J_n) and h=ndh=n-d. Since bib_i is nondecreasing, the complete maximum-degree set is

Xn={vi:id, bih}.X_n=\{v_i:i\ge d,\ b_i\le h\}.

The indices satisfying bi=hb_i=h form the consecutive plateau

hφ,,(h+1)φ1.\left\lfloor h\varphi\right\rfloor,\ldots, \left\lfloor(h+1)\varphi\right\rfloor-1.

Consequently Xn={vd}X_n=\{v_d\} if and only if

d=(h+1)φ1,n=d+h.d=\left\lfloor(h+1)\varphi\right\rfloor-1, \qquad n=d+h.

Thus, apart from the initial singleton {v1}\{v_1\} in J1J_1, the vertex indices that occur as singleton maximum-degree sets are exactly

d=tφ1,t2.d=\left\lfloor t\varphi\right\rfloor-1,\qquad t\ge2.

Beatty's theorem partitions the positive integers into the two disjoint complementary sequences

{tφ:t1}and{tφ2:t1}.\{\lfloor t\varphi\rfloor:t\ge1\} \quad\text{and}\quad \{\lfloor t\varphi^2\rfloor:t\ge1\}.

Therefore the indices i2i\ge2 that never occur as singleton maximum-degree sets are precisely

 i=tφ21,t2. \boxed{\ i=\left\lfloor t\varphi^2\right\rfloor-1,\qquad t\ge2.\ }

This is exactly the conjectured sequence, with its artificial first term removed.

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Shivam Patel ·