Problem Statement
If $G$ is a graph let $h_G(n)$ be defined such that any subgraph of $G$ on $n$ vertices can be made bipartite after deleting at most $h_G(n)$ edges.
What is the behaviour of $h_G(n)$? Is it true that $h_G(n)/n\to \infty$ for every graph $G$ with chromatic number $\aleph_1$?
What is the behaviour of $h_G(n)$? Is it true that $h_G(n)/n\to \infty$ for every graph $G$ with chromatic number $\aleph_1$?
Categories:
Graph Theory Chromatic Number Set Theory
Progress
A problem of Erdős, Hajnal, and Szemerédi [EHS82]. Every $G$ with chromatic number $\aleph_1$ must have $h_G(n)\gg n$ since $G$ must contain, for some $r$, $\aleph_1$ many vertex disjoint odd cycles of length $2r+1$.On the other hand, Erdős, Hajnal, and Szemerédi proved that there is a $G$ with chromatic number $\aleph_1$ such that $h_G(n)\ll n^{3/2}$. In [Er81] Erdős conjectured that this can be improved to $\ll n^{1+\epsilon}$ for every $\epsilon>0$.
See also [74].
Source: erdosproblems.com/111 | Last verified: January 13, 2026