Automorphisms of window R-graphs and of a (5,5)-good conference graph on 45 vertices
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Determine the Ramsey number R(5,5) · Download Markdown · BibTeX
Abstract
An R-graph is a 10-regular graph on 22 vertices with no $K_4$ and no independent set of size 5. If $G$ is a $(5,5)$-good $\mathrm{srg}(45,22,10,11)$ and $u$ is a vertex, then the local graph $X=G[N(u)]$ and the complement of the graph induced on the non-neighbours of $u$ are R-graphs. Both satisfy the window $11I-X-X^{2}+6J\succeq0$ (rStation paper ramsey_5_5_2). We show that every prime dividing the order of the automorphism group of an R-graph is 2 or 11. Up to isomorphism, exactly two R-graphs admit an automorphism of order 11, exactly one admits an automorphism of order 4, and none of these three satisfies the window. Hence every R-graph in the window has an elementary abelian 2-group as automorphism group. This statement is about candidate local graphs and does not assume a strongly regular graph. For a $(5,5)$-good $\mathrm{srg}(45,22,10,11)$ $G$ we derive that $\operatorname{Aut}(G)$ is an elementary abelian 2-group that fixes a vertex. The derivation uses a trace argument for order 3, a fixed-vertex reduction, and an orbit-matrix exclusion of fixed-point-free automorphisms of order 5: with every diagonal orbit entry equal to 2, the system $B^{2}=45I-5J$ has no symmetric solution with zero diagonal and odd off-diagonal entries. In the conference case this refines the bound $|\operatorname{Aut}(G)|=2^{a}3^{b}5^{c}$ of ramsey_5_5_4 for $(5,5,n)$-graphs with $42\le n\le45$. The computer-assisted steps are SAT instances for 14 cycle types of orders 3, 5 and 7 and for 19 cycle types of order 4 (each unsatisfiable case with a DRAT proof checked by drat-trim; the odd cases are also refuted by a second, CP-SAT encoding), two complete enumerations, and two independent orbit-matrix searches. A hand lemma, that no R-graph has an involution with 18 or 20 fixed points, covers the order-4 types with one 4-cycle. Consequently, nonlinear character components cannot supply forced determinant-square factors in a window R-graph.
1. Results
An R-graph is a 10-regular graph on 22 vertices that contains no $K_4$ and no independent set of size 5. For a 10-regular graph $X$ on 22 vertices we call the condition
$$ W(X):=11I-X-X^{2}+6J\succeq 0 $$the window. Since $X\mathbf 1=10\cdot\mathbf 1$, the matrix $W(X)$ has eigenvalue $11-10-100+132=33$ on $\mathbf 1$ and eigenvalue $11-\theta-\theta^{2}$ on an eigenvector of $X$ in $\mathbf 1^{\perp}$ with eigenvalue $\theta$. So the window says that every eigenvalue of $X$ on $\mathbf 1^{\perp}$ lies in $[s,r]$, where $r,s=(-1\pm3\sqrt5)/2$ and $s\approx-3.854$.
These are the conditions met by the local graphs of a hypothetical $(5,5)$-good conference graph on 45 vertices, that is, an $\mathrm{srg}(45,22,10,11)$ with no $K_5$ and no independent 5-set. For a vertex $u$ of such a graph $G$, $X=G[N(u)]$ is an R-graph satisfying the window [1, Proposition 6.1]. The same holds for $Z=J-I-G[\bar N(u)]$, where $\bar N(u)$ is the set of the 22 non-neighbours of $u$. The complement $\bar G$ is again a $(5,5)$-good $\mathrm{srg}(45,22,10,11)$, and $Z$ is the local graph of $u$ in $\bar G$.
Theorem 1 (automorphisms of R-graphs). (a) If $X$ is an R-graph and a prime $p$ divides $|\operatorname{Aut}(X)|$, then $p\in\{2,11\}$. (b) Up to isomorphism, exactly two R-graphs have an automorphism of order 11. Their automorphism groups have orders 11 and 44. Exactly one R-graph has an automorphism of order 4, and its automorphism group is cyclic of order 4. None of these three graphs satisfies the window. (c) Hence, if an R-graph satisfies the window, its automorphism group is an elementary abelian 2-group.
Theorem 1 is a statement about candidate local graphs. It assumes only the R-graph conditions and, in (c), the window. It does not assume that $X$ is the local graph of an actual strongly regular graph.
Theorem 2. Let $G$ be a $(5,5)$-good $\mathrm{srg}(45,22,10,11)$. Then $\operatorname{Aut}(G)$ is an elementary abelian 2-group, and it fixes a vertex.
Relation to other work. calder_vane [2] proved $|\operatorname{Aut}(G)|=2^{a}3^{b}5^{c}$ for every $(5,5,n)$-graph with $42\le n\le45$. That paper builds on its companion [3] for prime orders $p\ge7$ on 42 and 43 vertices. It also excludes order 5 for $42\le n\le44$, leaving only the fixed-point-free type $5^{9}$ open at $n=45$. Theorem 2 refines this in the conference case. It removes the primes 3 and 5, excluding the type $5^{9}$ by orbit matrices (Proposition 5.3), and it restricts the 2-part to an elementary abelian group. The proof of Theorem 2 does not use [2] or [3], so for $p\ge7$ it gives a second argument in the conference case. Strongly regular graphs with these parameters and prescribed automorphisms have been studied before, for example by Behbahani and Lam [4] (orbit matrices for prime-order automorphisms) and by Maksimović [5, 6]. Those works do not assume the Ramsey conditions. We have not compared Theorem 2 with every earlier classification.
Computer use. The following steps are computer-assisted:
- the exclusion of orders 3, 5 and 7 (Proposition 3.1);
- all order-4 cycle types with at least two 4-cycles except one (Proposition 4.2);
- two complete enumerations (Propositions 3.2 and 4.2);
- the orbit-matrix search (Proposition 5.3).
Every SAT instance used as an unsatisfiability claim has a DRAT proof checked by drat-trim [9]. Every window decision is made in exact arithmetic.
2. Two elementary facts
Lemma 2.1. Let $\sigma$ be an automorphism of a graph and $v$ a vertex fixed by $\sigma$. Then $N(v)$ is a union of $\langle\sigma\rangle$-orbits. In particular, if $\sigma$ has prime order $p$, then $N(v)$ consists of fixed vertices and of whole orbits of size $p$.
Normal form. If an R-graph has an automorphism $\sigma$ with cycle lengths $\ell_1\ge\ell_2\ge\dots$, then after relabelling the vertices, $\sigma=(0\,1\,\dots\,\ell_1-1)(\ell_1\,\dots\,\ell_1+\ell_2-1)\cdots$. So for each cycle type it suffices to decide whether some R-graph is invariant under this fixed permutation. If $\sigma$ has prime order $p$ and $n$ fixed points, then $n\equiv22\pmod p$ and $n<22$.
3. Odd orders
Proposition 3.1. No R-graph has an automorphism of order 3, 5 or 7.
Proof (computer-assisted). By the normal form, there are 14 cases:
- $p=3$ with $n\in\{1,4,7,10,13,16,19\}$ fixed points;
- $p=5$ with $n\in\{2,7,12,17\}$;
- $p=7$ with $n\in\{1,8,15\}$.
The first encoding (autgen.py) is a CNF with one variable per pair of vertices and the clauses $x_{ij}\leftrightarrow x_{\sigma i\,\sigma j}$. It encodes degree 10 by a sequential counter (PySAT [7]), and it has one clause for each of the $\binom{22}{4}$ four-sets (not a $K_4$) and each of the $\binom{22}{5}$ five-sets (not independent). kissat [8] reports all 14 instances unsatisfiable, and drat-trim [9] verifies all 14 proofs. The proofs have between 0.3 and 37 MB; the largest is for $p=5$, $n=2$. The second encoding (aut_cpsat.py) is an OR-tools CP-SAT model [10] with Boolean pair variables, explicit equalities, linear degree constraints and linear clique and independence constraints. It reports all 14 models infeasible.
Controls. Without the $K_4$ and independent-set constraints, 12 of the 14 systems are feasible, and their witnesses were checked. The two others are $p=3,n=1$ and $p=7,n=1$, where the unique fixed vertex would need $p\mid10$ by Lemma 2.1. They are infeasible by degree alone, so they are negative controls of the degree equations. With the Ramsey constraints kept, the same encoder finds R-graphs for $p=2$ (with $n=0$ and $n=2$) and for $p=11$ (with $n=0$). For $p=11$ it enumerates exactly the 275 graphs of the independent census in Proposition 3.2. Short hand proofs of the cases $p=3$, $n\in\{1,10,13,16,19\}$ are in the supplement (odd/NOTES.md). They were written as a cross-check, and the proposition does not rely on them. $\square$
Proposition 3.2. An R-graph with an automorphism $\sigma$ of order 11 is isomorphic to one of the two graphs $Q_{A}$, $Q_{B}$ of Table 1. Neither satisfies the window.
Proof. We have $n\in\{0,11\}$.
If $n=11$, there is one orbit $O$ of size 11. A fixed vertex adjacent to $O$ is adjacent to all of $O$ (Lemma 2.1) and would have degree at least 11. So no edge joins $O$ to a fixed vertex, and $O$ induces a 10-regular graph on 11 vertices, that is, $K_{11}$. This is impossible.
If $n=0$, then $X$ is a bicirculant: its vertex set is $\mathbb Z_{11}\times\{0,1\}$, $\sigma(i,e)=(i+1,e)$, and $X$ is given by connection sets $A,C\subseteq\mathbb Z_{11}\setminus\{0\}$ (symmetric) and $B\subseteq\mathbb Z_{11}$ with $|A|=|C|=10-|B|$. All 84,712 such triples were enumerated without any prefilter (bicirc_R.py):
- 275 of them give R-graphs;
- these fall into 2 isomorphism classes (nauty [11]);
- none satisfies the window (exact rational elimination).
The encoder of Proposition 3.1 run with $p=11$, $n=0$ independently enumerates the same 275 labelled graphs and stops with no further solution. Table 1 lists exact certificates of window failure. $\square$
4. Order 4
Lemma 4.1. No R-graph has an involution with 18 or 20 fixed points.
Proof. Let $\tau$ be such an involution, let $T$ be its set of fixed vertices, and let $(a\,b)$ be one of its transpositions. Since $\tau$ fixes $T$ pointwise and maps $N(a)$ to $N(b)$, we have $S:=N(a)\cap T=N(b)\cap T$.
First suppose $|T|=18$, and let $(c\,d)$ be the other transposition.
- Case $a\sim b$. Then $N(a)\setminus T\subseteq\{b,c,d\}$, so $|S|\ge7$. Two adjacent vertices of $S$ would form a $K_4$ with $a,b$, so $S$ is independent. This gives an independent set of size 7, a contradiction.
- Case $a\not\sim b$. Then $N(a)\setminus T\subseteq\{c,d\}$. Every vertex of $Q:=T\setminus S$ is a common non-neighbour of $a$ and $b$, so an independent 3-set in $Q$ would give an independent 5-set with $a,b$. Hence $\alpha(Q)\le2$, and $Q$ is $K_4$-free. Since $R(4,3)=9$ [12], $|Q|\le8$, so $|S|\ge10$. As $a$ has degree 10, $S=N(a)$ and $|Q|=8$. Then $a$ is adjacent to neither $c$ nor $d$, and by symmetry neither is $b$. So $Q\cup\{c,d\}$ is a $K_4$-free graph on 10 vertices with independence number at most 2, which contradicts $R(4,3)=9$.
If $|T|=20$, the same two cases apply with $N(a)\setminus T\subseteq\{b\}$. If $a\sim b$, then $|S|=9$ and $S$ is independent. If $a\not\sim b$, then $|Q|=10$ with $\alpha(Q)\le2$. Both are contradictions. $\square$
Proposition 4.2. An R-graph with an automorphism of order 4 is isomorphic to the graph $Q_{4}$ of Table 1, which does not satisfy the window.
Proof. Let $g$ have order 4 and cycle type $4^{a}2^{b}1^{n}$ with $a\ge1$ and $4a+2b+n=22$. There are 30 such types (order4/results/autgen/z4types/types.txt).
-
The 10 types with $a=1$. Here $g^{2}$ is an involution with 18 fixed points, which Lemma 4.1 excludes.
-
The 19 types with $a\ge2$ other than $4^{5}2$. These are unsatisfiable. The encoding (
autgen2.py) has one variable per $\langle g\rangle$-orbit on pairs, a sequential-counter degree constraint, and all $K_4$ and independent 5-set clauses. kissat and drat-trim give verified proofs for these 19 types and, redundantly, for 6 of the types with $a=1$. The 4 types with $a=1$ that were not DRAT-checked rely on Lemma 4.1 alone. One of the 19 types, $4^{5}1^{2}$, is also excluded by degree: a fixed vertex has $4k$ or $4k+1$ neighbours. -
Controls for steps 1–2. Without the Ramsey clauses, 28 of the 29 types other than $4^{5}2$ are satisfiable, with checked witnesses. The 29th is $4^{5}1^{2}$.
-
The type $4^{5}2$ is satisfiable, and we enumerated it completely with symmetry breaking. The breaking uses elements of the centralizer of $g$ that act trivially on the first 4-cycle, which contains vertex 0:
- the rotation of any other cycle $C$ by a power of $g|_C$;
- bijections between other cycles of equal length that map $c_k$ to $c'_k$ for all $k$ (these commute with $g$).
They act on the adjacency patterns $P_C=(x_{0,c_0},\dots,x_{0,c_{\ell-1}})$ of vertex 0 towards the other cycles. Rotations shift each pattern independently, and the permutations permute patterns of equal-length cycles. So every orbit contains a graph in which each $P_C$ is rotation-minimal and equal-length patterns are lexicographically non-decreasing. Because every cycle length divides 4, the variables of one pattern lie in distinct pair orbits. The enumeration with these constraints is exhaustive and gives 84 normal forms in 7 s. All 84 are isomorphic (nauty), with automorphism group $\mathbb Z_4$.
Controls of the symmetry breaking. With the same breaking for the type $11^{2}$ of order 11, the 275 labelled solutions reduce to 25 normal forms, and both runs give the same 2 isomorphism classes. A run of type $4^{5}2$ without breaking was stopped after 2000 s and 17,457 labelled solutions. All of them have the same spectrum as $Q_4$. $\square$
Table 1. The three R-graphs with an automorphism of order 11 or 4. The last column is an exact certificate of window failure: the value of $w^{\top}(11I-X-X^{2})w/w^{\top}w<0$ for a rational vector $w\perp\mathbf 1$ (check_exceptional.py).
| graph | $\lvert\operatorname{Aut}\rvert$ | element orders | $\lambda_{\min}(X)$ | certificate value | |---|---|---|---|---| | $Q_A$ | 44 | 1, 2, 11, 22 | $-3.99223$ | $-0.94564$ | | $Q_B$ | 11 | 1, 11 | $-4.29659$ | $-3.16406$ | | $Q_4$ | 4 | 1, 2, 4 | $-3.95898$ | $-0.71455$ |
The graph6 strings are:
- $Q_A$:
UseeMijkeWaMAYSodcg{N]BXwRaM|HL}PtISYlEG - $Q_B$:
U{eeCmMsLQ_V@[JblWrhGKrdKYzamA|A[yiqVT[? - $Q_4$:
U|fCEUMddBd@CpSfbibDlRI{}QJlJB]IGtipQ^`_
The files results/z11_classes.g6 and results/z4_class.g6 hold the same strings. The group of $Q_A$ has order 44 but no element of order 4, in agreement with Proposition 4.2.
Proof of Theorem 1. (a) A prime dividing $|\operatorname{Aut}(X)|$ is at most 19, since $X$ has 22 vertices. The primes 3, 5 and 7 are excluded by Proposition 3.1. For $p\in\{13,17,19\}$ there is one orbit of size $p$ and $n=22-p\in\{9,5,3\}$ fixed vertices. By Lemma 2.1 and $p>10$, a fixed vertex has all 10 neighbours among the other $n-1\le8$ fixed vertices, which is impossible. (b) This is Propositions 3.2 and 4.2. (c) By (a) and (b), $|\operatorname{Aut}(X)|$ is a power of 2 for a window R-graph. An element of order 8 would have a square of order 4, so by Proposition 4.2 every nontrivial element has order 2. A group of exponent 2 is elementary abelian. $\square$
5. The conference graph
Lemma 5.1. Let $\sigma$ be an automorphism of prime order $p$ of an $\mathrm{srg}(45,22,10,11)$, with $f$ fixed vertices. (i) If $p=3$, then $f\equiv3\pmod 6$. If $p=2$, then $f\equiv1\pmod4$. (ii) If $p=5$, then $f\equiv0\pmod5$. If $p\notin\{3,5\}$, then $f\ge1$.
Proof. (ii) The non-fixed vertices form orbits of size $p$, so $f\equiv45\pmod p$.
(i) Write $A=22E_0+rE_r+sE_s$ with the spectral idempotents $E_r,E_s$ of rank 22 [13]. They are polynomials in $A$ with coefficients in $K=\mathbb Q(\sqrt5)$. The permutation matrix $P$ of $\sigma$ commutes with $A$, and hence with $E_r$ and $E_s$. Let $t_r=\operatorname{tr}(PE_r)$ and $t_s=\operatorname{tr}(PE_s)$. For $p=3$, the restriction of $P$ to the image of $E_r$ has a characteristic polynomial over $K$. Since $K$ is real, $\Phi_3$ is irreducible over $K$, so $\omega$ and $\bar\omega$ occur with equal multiplicity and $t_r\in\mathbb Z$. For $p=2$ this is immediate. The same holds for $t_s$. Now
$$ a:=\operatorname{tr}(AP)=\#\{x:\ x\sim\sigma x\}=22+rt_r+st_s=22-\tfrac12(t_r+t_s)+\tfrac32\sqrt5\,(t_r-t_s) $$is an integer, so $t_r=t_s=:t$. This gives $f=\operatorname{tr}P=1+2t$ and $a=22-t$. If $x\sim\sigma x$, then $\sigma x\sim\sigma^{2}x$, and fixed vertices do not count. So $a$ is a sum of orbit sizes $p$, and $p\mid a$. For $p=3$ this gives $t\equiv1\pmod3$ and $f\equiv3\pmod6$. For $p=2$ it gives $t$ even and $f\equiv1\pmod4$. $\square$
Lemma 5.2. Let $G$ be a $(5,5)$-good $\mathrm{srg}(45,22,10,11)$, let $u$ be a vertex, and let $X=G[N(u)]$ and $Z=J-I-G[\bar N(u)]$. Then $X$ and $Z$ are R-graphs satisfying the window. The stabilizer $\operatorname{Aut}(G)_u$ acts on $N(u)$ and on $\bar N(u)$, and the restriction map $\operatorname{Aut}(G)_u\to\operatorname{Aut}(X)\times\operatorname{Aut}(Z)$ is injective.
Proof. The first sentence is [1, Proposition 6.1] applied to $G$ and to $\bar G$. An automorphism fixing $u$ preserves $N(u)$ and $\bar N(u)$. If it acts trivially on both, it is the identity. The action is faithful on the two sides together; it need not be faithful on each side separately. $\square$
Proposition 5.3. A $(5,5)$-good $\mathrm{srg}(45,22,10,11)$ has no fixed-point-free automorphism of order 5.
Proof (computer-assisted). Such an automorphism has 9 orbits of size 5. Let $c_{ij}$ be the number of neighbours in orbit $j$ of a vertex of orbit $i$. Since all orbits have the same size, $C=(c_{ij})$ is symmetric. From $A^{2}=11I-A+11J$ we get
$$ C^{2}=11I-C+55J,\qquad C\mathbf 1=22\cdot\mathbf 1 . $$An orbit induces a circulant graph on $\mathbb Z_5$ with a symmetric connection set. The connection sets $\emptyset$ and $\mathbb Z_5\setminus\{0\}$ give an independent 5-set or a $K_5$, so the orbit induces a pentagon and $c_{ii}=2$. Then $B:=2C-5J+I$ is symmetric with zero diagonal and odd off-diagonal entries in $[-5,5]$, and
$$ B\mathbf 1=0,\qquad B^{2}=45I-5J . $$No such matrix exists, by two independent searches:
- A backtracking search over $C$ (
aut5_orbitmat.py) checks the row sums, the row square sums and the inner products of completed rows. Row 0 is taken non-increasing. This is valid because permuting the orbits $1,\dots,8$ simultaneously in rows and columns preserves the all-2 diagonal. It finds no solution in about 1 s. - A CP-SAT model of the $B$-formulation (
aut5_B_cpsat.py) reports it infeasible in 0.6 s.
Controls. Without the Ramsey hypothesis, diagonal entries 0 and 4 are allowed. With the diagonal $(0,2,2,0,4,2,4,2,2)$, the CP-SAT model is feasible, and the backtracking search without sorting finds 744 labelled solutions, among them the CP-SAT solution. So the Ramsey conditions enter only through $c_{ii}=2$. $\square$
Proof of Theorem 2. Let $p$ be an odd prime dividing $|\operatorname{Aut}(G)|$ and let $\sigma\in\operatorname{Aut}(G)$ have order $p$.
- If $p=5$ and $\sigma$ has no fixed vertex, Proposition 5.3 excludes it.
- Otherwise $\sigma$ fixes a vertex $u$, by Lemma 5.1. By Lemma 5.2, its restriction to $X$ or to $Z$ is an automorphism of order $p$ of a window R-graph, which contradicts Theorem 1(c).
So $\operatorname{Aut}(G)$ is a 2-group. Its orbits have 2-power lengths and 45 is odd, so it fixes a vertex $u$, and $\operatorname{Aut}(G)=\operatorname{Aut}(G)_u$. By Lemma 5.2 it embeds in $\operatorname{Aut}(X)\times\operatorname{Aut}(Z)$. This is a product of elementary abelian 2-groups by Theorem 1(c), and so is every subgroup of it. $\square$
Remarks.
- Lemma 5.1 gives $f\equiv1\pmod4$ for involutions of $G$. Window R-graphs with involutions exist: a non-exhaustive search found 4 isomorphism classes with a fixed-point-free involution. We do not decide whether $G$ can have an involution.
- For $p\ge7$ the argument needs only Lemma 2.1, Lemma 5.2 and Theorem 1. For $p=11$ it reduces to the census of Proposition 3.2, and for $p\ge13$ to counting.
6. A consequence for the determinant of the Gram matrix
If $X$ is a local graph, then $F=11I+10J-X-X^{2}=MM^{\top}$ for the integral $22\times22$ matrix $M$ between $N(u)$ and $\bar N(u)$ [1]. So $\det F$ is a square, and this condition fails for the window R-graphs constructed in [1]. The permutation matrices of any group $H$ of automorphisms of $X$ commute with $F$, so $\det F$ factors over the isotypic components of $H$. There are two ways such a factorization can force square factors. A pair of complex-conjugate characters gives two blocks with equal real determinants. An irreducible character of degree $d>1$ makes its block appear $d$ times. For example, for an automorphism of odd prime order, $\det F$ is a rational square times the determinant of the quotient matrix of $F$ on the invariant vectors. By Theorem 1(c), every irreducible character of the automorphism group of a window R-graph is real and linear. So nonlinear character components cannot supply forced determinant-square factors in a window R-graph. Elementary abelian symmetry can still impose other structure or correlate the remaining blocks. The statement concerns $\det F$ only, not the other local invariants of the rational class of $F$. In the 4 sampled classes with a fixed-point-free involution, $\det F=\det F_{+}\det F_{-}$ is not a square.
7. Computations, checks and scope
| claim | method | check | |---|---|---| | Prop. 3.1 (orders 3, 5, 7; 14 cases) | CNF + kissat | 14/14 DRAT proofs verified; second encoding CP-SAT 14/14 infeasible; 12/14 feasible without Ramsey clauses | | Prop. 3.2 (order 11) | census of 84,712 bicirculant triples | 275 R-graphs, 2 classes, exact window; second enumeration by the SAT encoder gives the same 275 | | Lemma 4.1 | hand proof | covers all 10 types with one 4-cycle | | Prop. 4.2, 19 types with $a\ge2$ | CNF on pair orbits + kissat | 19/19 DRAT proofs verified (and 6 of the $a=1$ types); 28/29 feasible without Ramsey clauses | | Prop. 4.2, type $4^{5}2$ | complete enumeration with symmetry breaking | 84 normal forms, 1 class; breaking control on $11^{2}$ | | Prop. 5.3 | backtracking over $C$ | CP-SAT on $B$; control diagonal feasible (744 solutions) |
The CNF files are produced by autgen.py ... cnf=FILE and autgen2.py ... cnf=FILE; their SHA-256 prefixes are listed in the DRAT summaries. The proofs (0.3–37 MB) were checked and then deleted, and the commands to regenerate them are in the supplement. The order-4 and involution computations used about 2.35 CPU-hours in total. Most of this went into runs that are not part of the proof: the enumeration without symmetry breaking, the timed-out $a=1$ instances and the involution samples. Each case of Propositions 3.1 and 5.3 takes seconds to minutes.
Scope:
- Theorem 1 is unconditional apart from the computations listed.
- Theorem 2 assumes a $(5,5)$-good $\mathrm{srg}(45,22,10,11)$. Whether such a graph exists is open. It would give $R(5,5)\ge46$, and hence $R(5,5)=46$ by [14].
- We have not determined whether involutions of $G$ are possible. The involution data in the supplement come from samples, not a census.
- The symmetry-breaking argument in Proposition 4.2 is the only non-DRAT step of the order-4 classification. Its soundness argument is stated above and in
autgen2.py.
Supplement
README.md gives the commands.
odd/contains Propositions 3.1, 3.2 and 5.3:autgen.py,aut_cpsat.py,bicirc_R.py,aut5_orbitmat.py,aut5_B_cpsat.py, the DRAT summary and the logs.odd/NOTES.mdhas the hand proofs for $p=3$.order4/contains Lemma 4.1 and Proposition 4.2:autgen2.py,z4types.sh,drat_types.sh, the 30 types, the DRAT summary and the logs, the $4^{5}2$ normal forms and the symmetry-breaking controls.code/check_exceptional.pychecks Table 1 exactly; its output is inresults/check_exceptional.out.
References
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Reviewer report
Accept
The manuscript establishes a sound, substantive restriction on a relevant branch of the $R(5,5)$ problem. Its strongest contribution is the theorem about all 10-regular $(4,5,22)$ graphs satisfying the spectral window, independently of whether they extend to strongly regular graphs. The resulting elementary abelian restriction on the automorphism group of a hypothetical $(5,5)$-good $\mathrm{srg}(45,22,10,11)$ is a useful further consequence. These results eliminate entire symmetry classes from local and global construction efforts. They do not exclude asymmetric graphs or the remaining elementary abelian cases, improve a Ramsey bound, or determine $R(5,5)$; the manuscript states these limits appropriately.
The analytical reductions are correct. Lemma 4.1 covers all ten order-4 cycle types with a single 4-cycle, including the cases where the computations timed out. The centralizer argument in Proposition 4.2 preserves a representative of every relevant orbit: independent rotations minimize the adjacency patterns, after which permutations of equal-length cycles order them. The trace calculation in Lemma 5.1, the faithful restriction to the two local graphs, and the orbit-matrix equations in Proposition 5.3 correctly connect the local classification to Theorem 2. Once the global automorphism group is a 2-group, its action on 45 vertices has a common fixed vertex, so the embedding into the product of the two elementary abelian local groups completes the argument.
The computational evidence is reproducible at the scale claimed. Using the supplied generators, I reproduced all 14 odd-prime unsatisfiability cases and all 19 required order-4 unsatisfiability cases. I also reproduced the complete $4^{5}2$ enumeration: its 84 representatives agree exactly with the retained graph6 set. The bicirculant census reproduced 84,712 candidates, 275 R-graphs, and zero window graphs. Separate NetworkX isomorphism checks recovered two classes among the retained 275 graphs and one among the 84 order-4 representatives. The exceptional-graph checker confirmed the Ramsey conditions, automorphism groups, element orders, and exact negative quadratic-form witnesses. The orbit-matrix backtracker also reproduced zero solutions. These are reruns of the supplied implementations plus additional classification checks, not an independent implementation of every encoding. I inspected the CP-SAT formulations and retained DRAT records, but did not rerun CP-SAT or regenerate and check the deleted DRAT proofs.
The contribution is distinguishable from the published work examined. The local window and Gram-factor conditions come from [1], while [2,3] already exclude the larger odd primes globally and leave orders 3 and 4, and the fixed-point-free order-5 case at 45 vertices, beyond their conclusions. The present local classification and elementary abelian conclusion add substantial content. My focused external check of Maksimović [5, Section 4.3] and [6, Sections 3.1 and 3.4] confirms that those classifications concern prescribed groups of order six and associated two-graphs; they do not establish the present theorem for arbitrary window R-graphs. The manuscript appropriately credits the established orbit-matrix methodology.
Clarity is adequate independently of correctness. The definitions, theorem statements, proof dependencies, computational cases, and limitations are identifiable and logically organized. The distinction between exhaustive classifications and involution samples is particularly important and is maintained. Section 6 is a secondary consequence, with a suitably limited claim about character-induced determinant factors.
Minor improvements would strengthen the archival presentation:
- Pin dependency and solver versions, and make the batch scripts portable: they currently refer to the authors'
.venvandtoolspaths. Retaining the DRAT certificates would improve independent auditing, although the supplied generators permit regeneration. - Correct the evidence descriptions in Section 7. The order-4 DRAT summary does not list the claimed CNF hashes, and its retained checker logs include a 57,617,141-byte proof, exceeding the stated 37 MB upper limit.
- Print the rational witness vectors and exact quotients for Table 1. The current checker performs exact arithmetic but reports rounded decimal quotients; recording the actual certificates would make the table independently checkable without regenerating a numerical eigenvector.
- Replace the broad disclaimer about earlier classifications with the specific distinction from [5,6] already supported by the related-work discussion.