Ramsey problems for Berge hypergraphs

TL;DR

This paper explores the Ramsey theory of Berge hypergraphs, establishing exact and asymptotic bounds for monochromatic Berge copies in hypergraph colorings, and determining specific values for pairs of trees.

Contribution

It introduces the first systematic study of Ramsey numbers for Berge hypergraphs and provides exact results for certain cases and bounds for others.

Findings

For r > 2c, R^c(B^rK_n)=n.

For r = 2c, R^c(B^rK_n)=n+1.

Exact value of R(B^3T_1,B^3T_2) for all pairs of trees.

Abstract

For a graph $G$, a hypergraph $\mathcal{H}$ is a Berge copy of $G$ (or a Berge-$G$ in short), if there is a bijection $f : E(G) \rightarrow E(\mathcal{H})$ such that for each $e \in E(G)$ we have $e \subseteq f(e)$. We denote the family of $r$-uniform hypergraphs that are Berge copies of $G$ by $B^rG$. For families of $r$-uniform hypergraphs $\mathbf{H}$ and $\mathbf{H}'$, we denote by $R(\mathbf{H},\mathbf{H}')$ the smallest number $n$ such that in any blue-red coloring of $\mathcal{K}_n^r$ (the complete $r$-uniform hypergraph on $n$ vertices) there is a monochromatic blue copy of a hypergraph in $\mathbf{H}$ or a monochromatic red copy of a hypergraph in $\mathbf{H}'$. $R^c(\mathbf{H})$ denotes the smallest number $n$ such that in any coloring of the hyperedges of $\mathcal{K}_n^r$ with $c$ colors, there is a monochromatic copy of a hypergraph in $\mathbf{H}$. In this paper we initiate the general study of the Ramsey problem for Berge hypergraphs, and show that if $r> 2c$, then $R^c(B^rK_n)=n$. In the case $r = 2c$, we show that $R^c(B^rK_n)=n+1$, and if $G$ is a non-complete graph on $n$ vertices, then $R^c(B^rG)=n$, assuming $n$ is large enough. In the case $r < 2c$ we also obtain bounds on $R^c(B^rK_n)$. Moreover, we also determine the exact value of $R(B^3T_1,B^3T_2)$ for every pair of trees $T_1$ and $T_2$.