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Problem #555: Let $R(G;k)$ denote the minimal $m$ such that if the edges...

Let $R(G;k)$ denote the minimal $m$ such that if the edges of $K_m$ are $k$-coloured then there is a monochromatic copy of $G$. Determine the value...

Problem Statement

Let $R(G;k)$ denote the minimal $m$ such that if the edges of $K_m$ are $k$-coloured then there is a monochromatic copy of $G$. Determine the value of\[R(C_{2n};k).\]
Categories: Graph Theory Ramsey Theory

Progress

A problem of Erdős and Graham. Erdős [Er81c] gives the bounds\[k^{1+\frac{1}{2n}}\ll R(C_{2n};k)\ll k^{1+\frac{1}{n-1}}.\]Chung and Graham [ChGr75] showed that\[R(C_4;k)>k^2-k+1\]when $k-1$ is a prime power and\[R(C_4;k)\leq k^2+k+1\]for all $k$.

This problem is #24 in Ramsey Theory in the graphs problem collection.

Source: erdosproblems.com/555 | Last verified: January 15, 2026

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