Intersecting families with large shadow degree

TL;DR

This paper provides a simplified proof for the maximum size of intersecting uniform families with large shadow degree, improving bounds for certain parameters.

Contribution

It offers a shorter proof of a known result on intersecting families with large shadow degree, reducing the bound on the size of the underlying set.

Findings

Shorter proof of the maximum size result

Improved bounds for the size of the set n

Applicable for r between 4 and k

Abstract

A $k$-uniform family $\mathcal{F}$ is called intersecting if $F\cap F'\neq \emptyset$ for all $F,F'\in \mathcal{F}$. The shadow family $\partial \mathcal{F}$ is the family of $(k-1)$-element sets that are contained in some members of $\mathcal{F}$. The shadow degree (or minimum positive co-degree) of $\mathcal{F}$ is defined as the maximum integer $r$ such that every $E\in \partial \mathcal{F}$ is contained in at least $r$ members of $\mathcal{F}$. In 2021, Balogh, Lemons and Palmer determined the maximum size of an intersecting $k$-uniform family with shadow degree at least $r$ for $n\geq n_0(k,r)$, where $n_0(k,r)$ is doubly exponential in $k$ for $4\leq r\leq k$. In the present paper, we present a short proof of this result for $n\geq 2(r+1)^rk \frac{\binom{2k-1}{k}}{\binom{2r-1}{r}}$ and $4\leq r\leq k$.