Star Versus Two Stripes Ramsey Numbers and a Conjecture of Schelp

Abstract

R. H. Schelp conjectured that if G is a graph with |V(G)| = R(Pn, Pn) such that δ(G) > $$\frac{3|V(G)|}{ 4}$, then in every 2-colouring of the edges of G there is a monochromatic Pn. In other words, the Ramsey number of a path does not change if the graph to be coloured is not complete but has large minimum degree.Here we prove Ramsey-type results that imply the conjecture in a weakened form, first replacing the path by a matching, showing that the star-matching–matching Ramsey number satisfying R(Sn, nK2, nK2) = 3n − 1. This extends R(nK2, nK2) = 3n − 1, an old result of Cockayne and Lorimer. Then we extend this further from matchings to connected matchings, and outline how this implies Schelp's conjecture in an asymptotic sense through a standard application of the Regularity Lemma.It is sad that we are unable to hear Dick Schelp's reaction to our work generated by his conjecture.