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Hamiltonicity in generalized quasi-dihedral groups thanks: Key Words: Cayley graphs, Hamiltonian double rays, Infinite graph, Infinite groups thanks: Mathematics Subject Classification 2010: 05C25, 05C45, 05C63, 20E06, 20F05.

Babak Miraftab    Konstantinos Stavropoulos
Abstract

Witte Morris showed in [21] that every connected Cayley graph of a finite (generalized) dihedral group has a Hamiltonian path. The infinite dihedral group is defined as the free product with amalgamation 22\mathbb{Z}_{2}\ast\mathbb{Z}_{2}. We show that every connected Cayley graph of the infinite dihedral group has both a Hamiltonian double ray, and extend this result to all two-ended generalized quasi-dihedral groups.

1 Introduction

A Hamiltonian cycle(path) in a finite graph is a cycle(path) which includes every vertex of the graph. A graph GG is vertex-transitive if any two vertices v1v_{1} and v2v_{2} of GG, there is some automorphism f:GGf\colon G\to G such that f(v1)=v2f(v_{1})=v_{2}. The Lovász conjecture for vertex-transitive graphs states that every finite connected vertex-transitive graph contains a Hamiltonian cycle except five known counterexamples. Nevertheless, even the weaker version of the conjecture for finite Cayley graphs is still wide open. For a survey on the field, see [20, 11]. A dihedral group is the group of symmetries of a regular polygon, which includes rotations and reflections. Witte showed in [21] that every connected Cayley graph of a finite (generalized) dihedral group has a Hamiltonian path. It is worth mentioning that the existence of a Hamiltonian cycle in a dihedral group is still not known.

While all preceding results concerned finite graphs, Hamiltonian cycles (paths) have also been considered in infinite graphs. One can suggest the Hamiltonian ray as a generalisation to an infinite graph for the Hamiltonian path, however the correct infinite analogue of a Hamiltonian cycle is controversial. The first thing coming to mind is a spanning double-ray, an infinite connected graph in which each vertex has degree two, which we will refer to as a Hamiltonian double-ray.

It is an easy observation to see that the Lovász conjecture already fails for infinite Cayley graphs with Hamiltonian double-rays in place of Hamiltonian cycles, since the amalgamation of more than k+1k+1 groups on a subgroup of order kk will produce groups with Cayley graphs that have separators of size kk whose removal leaves more than k+1k+1 components, a well-known obstruction to Hamiltonicity (see [10]).

This obstruction practically ceases to exist for two-ended groups though. It was proven in [13, 16] that any Cayley graph of an abelian two-ended group contains a Hamiltonian double ray. In particular, the following has been conjectured.

Conjecture 1 ([12]).

Any Cayley graph of a group with at most two ends has a Hamiltonian double ray.

In this paper, we address the result of Witte [21] for infinite dihedral groups as well as dihedral groups and we make progress towards Conjecture 1. Our main result is the following

Theorem 1.1.

Let G=SG=\langle S\rangle be a two-ended generalized quasi-dihedral group. Then 𝖢𝖺𝗒(G,S)\mathsf{Cay}(G,S) contains a Hamiltonian double ray.

The following Corollary is an immediate consequence of Theorem 1.1.

Corollary 1.2.

Every connected Cayley graph of the infinite dihedral group 22\mathbb{Z}_{2}\ast\mathbb{Z}_{2} has a Hamiltonian double ray.

Our proof relies on extracting infinite two-ended grids or infinite two-ended cubic “cylindrical walls” (the precise definition of which we defer to Section 4) as spanning subgraphs of the Cayley graph. We prove that they, in turn, contain Hamiltonian double rays and circles.

2 Preliminaries

We start with the definition of generalized dihedral groups. The generalized dihedral group on an abelian subgroup K=SRK=\langle S\mid R\rangle is the group 𝖣𝗂𝗁(K):=S,bR,b2,bkb1k,kK\mathsf{Dih}(K):=\langle S,b\mid R,b^{2},bkb^{-1}k,\forall k\in K\rangle. Alternatively, it is the external semidirect product D(K)=Kϕ2D(K)=K\rtimes_{\phi}\mathbb{Z}_{2}, where KK is abelian and ϕ(1)(g)=g\phi(1)(g)=-g for any gKg\in K, in additive notation. When K=K=\mathbb{Z}, we obtain the infinite dihedral group DD_{\infty}. Note that an alternative presentation of DD_{\infty} is a,ba2=b2=22\langle a,b\mid a^{2}=b^{2}\rangle=\mathbb{Z}_{2}\ast\mathbb{Z}_{2}. Next, we extend this definition to a more general setting.

Definition 1.

Let GG be a group with an abelian subgroup K=SRK=\langle S\mid R\rangle of index 22. Then GG is called generalized quasi-dihedral (on KK and bb) if GG has the presentation S,bR,bn,bkb1k,kK\langle S,b\mid R,b^{n},bkb^{-1}k,\forall k\in K\rangle.

Clearly, every generalized dihedral group is generalized quasi-dihedral but not the other way around, as 4\mathbb{Z}_{4} easily shows for example. Furthermore if n=4n=4, then our notation leads to generalized dicyclic groups.

Let G1=S1R1G_{1}=\langle S_{1}\mid R_{1}\rangle and G2=S2R2G_{2}=\langle S_{2}\mid R_{2}\rangle be two groups. Suppose that a subgroup H1H_{1} of G1G_{1} is isomorphic to a subgroup H2H_{2} of G2G_{2}, say an isomorphic map ϕ:H1H2\phi\colon H_{1}\to H_{2}. The free product with amalgamation of G1G_{1} and G2G_{2} over H1H2H_{1}\cong H_{2} is

G1H1G2=S1S2R1R2hϕ(h)1,hH1.G_{1}\underset{H_{1}}{\ast}G_{2}=\langle S_{1}\cup S_{2}\mid R_{1}\cup R_{2}\cup h\phi(h)^{-1},\forall h\in H_{1}\rangle.

For more details and applications of free products with amalgamation, see [15].

Lemma 2.1.

[3, Theorem 11.3] Let G1G_{1} and G2G_{2} be two groups with isomorphic subgroups H1H_{1} and H2H_{2} respectively. Let TiT_{i} be a left transversal111A transversal is a system of representatives of left cosets of HiH_{i} in GiG_{i} and we always assume that 11 belongs to it. of HiH_{i} for i=1,2{i=1,2}. Any element xG1HG2x\in G_{1}\ast\!\!_{H}G_{2} can be uniquely written in the form x=x0x1xnx=x_{0}x_{1}\cdots x_{n} with the following:

  • (i)

    x0H1x_{0}\in H_{1}.

  • (ii)

    xjT11x_{j}\in T_{1}\setminus 1 or xiT21x_{i}\in T_{2}\setminus 1 for j1j\geq 1 and the consecutive terms xjx_{j} and xj+1x_{j+1} lie in distinct transversals.

A graph Γ\Gamma is called locally finite if every vertex has finite degree. A ray in a graph is a oneway infinite path, and an end of a locally finite graph is an equivalence class of rays under the relation R1R2R_{1}\sim R_{2} if for every finite set of vertices SS, all but finitely many vertices of R1R_{1} and R2R_{2} lie on the same component of ΓS\Gamma\setminus S.

Let GG be a finitely generated group. Let SGS\subseteq G be a finite generating set of GG and let 𝖢𝖺𝗒(G,S)\mathsf{Cay}(G,S) be the Cayley graph of GG with respect to SS. The number of ends of GG is defined as the number of ends of 𝖢𝖺𝗒(G,S)\mathsf{Cay}(G,S). A basic fact in the theory of ends for groups says that the number of ends of GG does not depend on the choice of a finite generating set SS of GG, so that it is well-defined, see Corollary 2.3 of [14]. We finish this section with the following theorem:

Theorem 2.2.

[14, Theorem 1.1] Let GG be a two-ended group with a finite normal subgroup KK. Then the following statements are equivalent:

  1. (i)

    G=AKBG=A\ast_{K}B.

  2. (ii)

    G/K=DG/K=D_{\infty}.

3 The structure of GQD groups

We start with the following lemma which is immediate by the definition of a generalized quasi-dihedral group.

Lemma 3.1.

Let GG be a generalized quasi-dihedral on KK and bb. Then the following statements hold:

  1. (i)

    xkx1k=1xkx^{-1}k=1, for every xGKx\in G\setminus K and kKk\in K.

  2. (ii)

    If xGKx\in G\setminus K with finite order, then GG is generalized quasi-dihedral on KK and xx, and moreover x4=1x^{4}=1.

  3. (iii)

    Every subgroup of KK is normal in GG

Proof.
  1. (i)

    Let x=kbKbx=kb\in Kb. Then xkx1=kbkb1k1=kk1k1=k1xk^{\prime}x^{-1}=kbk^{\prime}b^{-1}k^{-1}=kk^{\prime-1}k^{-1}=k^{\prime-1}.

  2. (ii)

    Since the order of xx is finite, the first part implies that GG is generalized quasi-dihedral on KK and xx. Moreover, for the element x2Kx^{2}\in K we have by Definition 1 that xx2x1=x2xx^{2}x^{-1}=x^{-2}, or equivalently x4=1x^{4}=1.

  3. (iii)

    This part is a direct consequence of the first part.∎

By Lemma 3.1, we will say that GG is generalized quasi-dihedral just on KK when we don’t want to fix a specific generator bb with finite order outside of KK.

Lemma 3.2.

[21, Theorem 5.1] If a finite group GG has a subgroup NN of index 2 such that every subgroup of NN is normal in GG, then every Cayley graph of GG has a Hamiltonian path.

As a combination of Lemma 3.1 and Lemma 3.2 we obtain the following corollary.

Corollary 3.3.

Let GG be a finite generalized quasi-dihedral group. Then every Cayley graph of GG has a Hamiltonian path.∎

Our ultimate goal is to extend the above result to infinite generalized quasi-dihedral groups. But first we need to study some properties of infinite generalized quasi-dihedral groups.

We start with study of two-ended groups. The following result seems to be folklore, but unfortunately we could not find any reference for it, so we include a short proof for the sake of completeness.

Lemma 3.4.

Let G=AKBG=A\ast_{K}B be a 22-ended group. Then KK is normal in GG.

Proof.

Since the index of KK is 22 in both AA and BB, we may assume the presentations A=KKbA=K\sqcup Kb and B=KKbB=K\sqcup Kb^{\prime}, where bABb\in A\setminus B and bBKb^{\prime}\in B\setminus K. By the definition of the free product with amalgamation we know that GG has the following presentation:

K,b,bR1R2,\langle K,b,b^{\prime}\mid R_{1}\cup R_{2}\rangle,

where A=K,bR1A=\langle K,b\mid R_{1}\rangle and B=K,bR2B=\langle K,b^{\prime}\mid R_{2}\rangle. We note that the index of KK in AA and BB is two and so KK is normal in AA and BB. Therefore, gkg1gkg^{-1} lies in KK for every kK{b,b}k\in K\cup\{b,b^{\prime}\} and thus also for every gGg\in G. ∎

Lemma 3.5.

Let G=AKBG=A\ast_{K}B, where A=KKbA=K\sqcup Kb and B=KKbB=K\sqcup Kb^{\prime}. Then the following statements hold:

  1. (i)

    G=Kb,bG=K\langle b,b^{\prime}\rangle

  2. (ii)

    K(bb)=K(bb)K(bb^{\prime})^{\ell}=K(b^{\prime}b)^{-\ell} for every \ell\in\mathbb{Z}.

  3. (iii)

    G=KbbbG=K\langle bb^{\prime}\rangle\langle b\rangle.

  4. (iv)

    gGg\in G is torsion if and only if gKg\in K or g=k(bb)nbg=k(bb^{\prime})^{n}b, where kKk\in K and nn\in\mathbb{Z}.

  5. (v)

    gGg\in G is not torsion if and only if g=k(bb)ng=k(bb^{\prime})^{n}, where kKk\in K and nn\in\mathbb{Z}^{*}.

Proof.
  1. (i)

    The first part follows from Lemma 2.1 that G=Kb,bG=K\langle b,b^{\prime}\rangle.

  2. (ii)

    We note that b2b^{2} and b2b^{\prime 2} both lie in KK. Hence we have K=KbbbbK=Kbb^{\prime}b^{\prime}b and so K(bb)1=KbbK(b^{\prime}b)^{-1}=Kbb^{\prime} and a straightforward induction finishes this part.

  3. (iii)

    The second part with the help of Lemma 2.1 implies the third item.

Next we prove (iv) and (v) together. Assume that gg is an arbitrary element in GG. By the last part, we deduce that KgKg is either K(bb)nbK(bb^{\prime})^{n}b or K(bb)nK(bb^{\prime})^{n}. We first let Kg=K(bb)nbKg=K(bb^{\prime})^{n}b. Then we have

Kg2\displaystyle Kg^{2} =K(bb)nb(bb)nb\displaystyle=K(bb^{\prime})^{n}b(bb^{\prime})^{n}b
=K(bb)nbb(bb)n1bb\displaystyle=K(bb^{\prime})^{n}bb(b^{\prime}b)^{n-1}b^{\prime}b
=K(bb)n(bb)n\displaystyle=K(bb^{\prime})^{n}(b^{\prime}b)^{n} (1)
=K(bb)n(bb)n\displaystyle=K(b^{\prime}b)^{-n}(b^{\prime}b)^{n} (2)
=K\displaystyle=K

We note that we apply the second item on (1) in order to get (2). So we showed that g2g^{2} lies in KK and so gg has finite order.

Next assume to contrary that (k(bb)n)=1(k(bb^{\prime})^{n})^{\ell}=1, where n0n\neq 0 and so (bb)nK(bb^{\prime})^{n\ell}\in K. Without loss of generality we assume that nn\ell is the smallest number with this property. By considering Lemma 2.1, we deduce that [G:K]<[G:K]<\infty. Since KK is a finite subgroup, we infer that GG is finite and it yields a contradiction.∎

Lemma 3.6.

[18, 3.3.15] Let GG be a group with a subgroup HH of finite index. Then there exists a normal subgroup NHN\leq H of GG such that [G:N]<[G:N]<\infty.

For the remainder of the paper, when not stated otherwise GG will denote an infinite generalized quasi-dihedral group G=AKBG=A\ast_{K}B, where AA is generalized quasi-dihedral on KK and bb, BB is generalized quasi-dihedral on KK and bb^{\prime}, and a=bba=bb^{\prime}. As a result of Lemma 3.10, we see that for every g=kaiKag=ka^{i}\in K\langle a\rangle we have gb=b(kai)b1=k1ai=g1g^{b}=b(ka^{i})b^{-1}=k^{-1}a^{-i}=g^{-1}.

Pretty much the same computation shows that sg=gsg1=s1s^{g}=gsg^{-1}=s^{-1} for every gKag\notin K\langle a\rangle and generator sSKas\in S\cap K\langle a\rangle. We obtain the following.

Corollary 3.7.

Let G=SG=\langle S\rangle. If SKaS\cap K\langle a\rangle\neq\emptyset, then SKaG\langle S\cap K\langle a\rangle\rangle\unlhd G. ∎

Lemma 3.8.

[17, Lemma 5.6] Let HH be a subgroup of finite index in GG. Then the number of ends of HH is the same as the number of ends of GG.

Theorem 3.9.

Let G=AKBG=A\ast_{K}B be a two-ended group. Then if GG is generalized quasi-dihedral, then AA and BB are generalized quasi-dihedral on KK.

Proof.

First we assume that GG is a generalized quasi-dihedral group on HH and bb and so [G:H]=2[G:H]=2. Since GG is generated by HH and bb and also the order of bb is finite, we infer that [G:H]<[G:H]<\infty. It follows from Lemma 3.8 that HH is a two-ended abelian group. So HH must be isomorphic to aK\langle a\rangle\oplus K, where K=XYK=\langle X\mid Y\rangle is a finite abelian group. We note that KK is only a finite subgroup of HH and so it must be a characteristic subgroup of HH. On the other hand HH is a normal subgroup and we conclude that KK is a normal subgroup in GG, see Theorem 6.14 of [19]. We now have

G\displaystyle G a,b,XY,bn,axa1x1,xX,bhb1h,hH\displaystyle\cong\langle a,b,X\mid Y,b^{n},axa^{-1}x^{-1},\forall x\in X,bhb^{-1}h,\forall h\in H\rangle (3)
GK\displaystyle\frac{G}{K} a,bK,bn,bab1a\displaystyle\cong\langle a,b\mid K,b^{n},bab^{-1}a\rangle (4)

We know b2b^{2} lies in KK and so G/KDG/K\cong D_{\infty}. It follows from Theorem 2.2 that the group GG can written as AKBA\ast_{K}B, where [A:K]=[B:K]=2[A:K]=[B:K]=2.

Finally, we show that A=aKKA=aK\sqcup K is a generalized quasi-dihedral on KK. We note that G=HbHG=H\sqcup bH and so a=bha=bh for hHh\in H. The rest follows from the relation bhb1h=1bhb^{-1}h=1. Similarly, one can show that BB is also generalized quasi-dihedral. ∎

Lemma 3.10.

Let G=AKBG=A\ast_{K}B be a generalized quasi-dihedral groups such that A=KbKA=K\sqcup bK and B=KbKB=K\cup b^{\prime}K. Then the following are true:

  1. (i)

    G=KabG=K\langle a\rangle\langle b\rangle

  2. (ii)

    aCG(K)a\in C_{G}(K).

  3. (iii)

    bam=ambba^{m}=a^{-m}b and aG\langle a\rangle\trianglelefteq G.

  4. (iv)

    g2=b2g^{2}=b^{2} for every gKag\notin K\langle a\rangle.

  5. (v)

    a1=bb.a^{-1}=b^{\prime}b.

Proof.

It follows from Theorem 3.9 that H=aKH=\langle a\rangle K, where a\langle a\rangle\cong\mathbb{Z} and KK is a finite abelian group. ∎

It is well-known that every subgroup of a finite dihedral group is either cyclic or dihedral. It is seeminlgy folklore that this property translates to the infinite dihedral group as well, but we couldn’t find a reference for it.

Theorem 3.11.

Let GG be a generalized quasi-dihedral group on KK and bb. Let HH be a subgroup of GG. Then HH either is abelian or generalized quasi-dihedral. In particular, every subgroup of infinite dihedral group is either cyclic or infinite dihedral.

Proof.

If HH is a subgroup of KK, then HH is abelian and we are done. Assume that HKH\nsubseteq K, then [H:HK]=[G:K]=2[H:H\cap K]=[G:K]=2. Since G=KKbG=K\sqcup Kb, one can see that there is a kKk\in K such that bkHbk\in H and H=(HK)(HK)bkH=(H\cap K)\sqcup(H\cap K)bk. Then for every xKx\in K, we have that (bk)x(bk)1=bkxk1b1=bxb1=x1(bk)x(bk)^{-1}=bkxk^{-1}b^{-1}=bxb^{-1}=x^{-1}. Next we have to show that the order of bkbk is finite. Note that (bk)2=bkbk=bkk1b(bk)^{2}=bkbk=bkk^{-1}b and so (bk)2=b2(bk)^{2}=b^{2}. Since GG is a generalized quasi-dihedral group on KK and bb, we know that the order bb is finite. So HH is a generalized quasi-dihedral group on HKH\cap K and bkbk, as desired. ∎

3.1 Short cycles in Cayley graphs of two-ended generalized quasi-dihedral groups

In this subsection, we prove some crucial facts about 66- and 44-cycles in the Cayley graphs of two-ended generalized quasi-dihedral groups. Recall that G=KabG=K\langle a\rangle\langle b\rangle by Corollary 3.5, where a=bba=bb^{\prime}.

Theorem 3.12.

Let G=SG=\langle S\rangle and let s1,s2,s3s_{1},s_{2},s_{3} be three distinct elements in GKaG\setminus K\langle a\rangle. Then s1s2s3=s3s2s1s_{1}s_{2}s_{3}=s_{3}s_{2}s_{1}. If s1,s2,s3SKas_{1},s_{2},s_{3}\in S\setminus K\langle a\rangle in particular, then for every gGg\in G the sequence of vertices g,gs1,gs1s2,gs1s2s3,gs3s2,gs3,gg,gs_{1},gs_{1}s_{2},gs_{1}s_{2}s_{3},gs_{3}s_{2},gs_{3},g is a 66-cycle in 𝖢𝖺𝗒(G,S)\mathsf{Cay}(G,S).

Proof.

By Corollary 3.5, we know that that the elements of GKaG\setminus K\langle a\rangle are of the form kaibka^{i}b. So, let s1=kabs_{1}=k_{\ell}a^{\ell}b, s2=kiaibs_{2}=k_{i}a^{i}b and s3=kjajbs_{3}=k_{j}a^{j}b. The following computation follows from Definition 1 and Lemma 3.10 and completes the proof:

s1s2s3=\displaystyle s_{1}s_{2}s_{3}= (kab)(kiaib)(kjajb)\displaystyle(k_{\ell}a^{\ell}b)(k_{i}a^{i}b)(k_{j}a^{j}b)
=\displaystyle= (kab)kiaikj1ajb2\displaystyle(k_{\ell}a^{\ell}b)k_{i}a^{i}k_{j}^{-1}a^{-j}b^{2} (push the second bb to the right)
=\displaystyle= kabkj1ajkiaib2\displaystyle k_{\ell}a^{\ell}bk_{j}^{-1}a^{-j}k_{i}a^{i}b^{2}
=\displaystyle= kjajkabkiaib2\displaystyle k_{j}a^{j}k_{\ell}a^{\ell}bk_{i}a^{i}b^{2} (push the first bb to the middle and kjajk_{j}a^{j} to the left)
=\displaystyle= (kjajb)k1akiaib2\displaystyle(k_{j}a^{j}b)k_{\ell}^{-1}a^{-\ell}k_{i}a^{i}b^{2}
=\displaystyle= s3kiaik1ab2\displaystyle s_{3}k_{i}a^{i}k_{\ell}^{-1}a^{-\ell}b^{2}
=\displaystyle= s3kiaibkab\displaystyle s_{3}k_{i}a^{i}bk_{\ell}a^{\ell}b (push a bb to the left)
=\displaystyle= s3s2s1.\displaystyle s_{3}s_{2}s_{1}.\hskip 253.22934pt\qed

Theorem 3.13.

Let G=SG=\langle S\rangle and let s1GKas_{1}\in G\setminus K\langle a\rangle, s2Kas_{2}\in K\langle a\rangle. Then, s1s2=s11s2s_{1}s_{2}=s_{1}^{-1}s_{2}. If s1SKas_{1}\in S\setminus K\langle a\rangle, s2SKas_{2}\in S\cap K\langle a\rangle in particular, then the sequence of vertices g,gs1,gs1s2,gs2,gg,gs_{1},gs_{1}s_{2},gs_{2},g is a 44-cycle in 𝖢𝖺𝗒(G,S)\mathsf{Cay}(G,S).

Proof.

It follows from Corollary 3.5 that s1=kiaibs_{1}=k_{i}a^{i}b and s2=kjajs_{2}=k_{j}a^{j}. By Definition 1 and Lemma 3.10 we have:

s1s2=(kiaib)(kjaj)=kikjajbai=kj1ajkiaib=s11s2.s_{1}s_{2}=(k_{i}a^{i}b)(k_{j}a^{j})=k_{i}k_{j}a^{j}ba^{i}=k_{j}^{-1}a^{-j}k_{i}a^{i}b=s_{1}^{-1}s_{2}.\hskip 82.51282pt\qed

4 Grids, Walls and Cylinders

As we already mentioned in the Introduction, the proof of Theorem 1.1 is based on extracting grids and cylindrical walls as spanning subgraphs. In this short section, we discuss the Hamiltonicity of the grid-like structures.

The Cartesian product GHG\Box H of two graphs GG and HH is the graph with vertex set V(G)×V(H)V(G)\times V(H), where vertices (a,x)(a,x) and (b,y)(b,y) are adjacent whenever abE(G)ab\in E(G) and x=yx=y, or a=ba=b and xyE(H)xy\in E(H).

Let PkP_{k} denote the path graph on kk vertices and DD the double ray graph. The (two-ended) infinite grid 𝒢k\mathcal{G}_{k} of height kk is the graph PkDP_{k}\Box D. The next lemma provides a way to extract a spanning grid and, consequently, a Hamiltonian double ray from a graph.

Lemma 4.1.

[12, Lemma 3.9] Let G,HG,H be two-ended locally finite graphs and let G1,,GnG_{1},\ldots,G_{n} be disjoint subgraphs of GG such that

  1. (i)

    i=1nV(Gi)=V(G)\bigsqcup_{i=1}^{n}V(G_{i})=V(G), and

  2. (ii)

    every GiG_{i} contains a spanning subgraph HiH_{i}, which is isomorphic to HH by means of an isomorphism ϕi:HHi\phi_{i}:H\rightarrow H_{i}, and

  3. (iii)

    for every i<n{i<n} and every vHi{v\in H_{i}} there is an edge between vv and ϕi+1ϕi1(v){\phi_{i+1}\circ\phi^{-1}_{i}(v)}.

Let RR be a spanning double ray of HH. Then GG contains a spanning infinite grid of height nn. In particular, it contains a Hamiltonian double ray and a Hamiltonian circle.

The wall graph WkW_{k} of height kk is the graph with vertex set V(Wk)=×kV(W_{k})=\mathbb{Z}\times\mathbb{Z}_{k} and edge set E(Wk)=E1E2E3E(W_{k})=E_{1}\cup E_{2}\cup E_{3}, where

E1\displaystyle E_{1} ={{(n,m),(n+1,m)}n,m=0,,k1},\displaystyle=\{\{(n,m),(n+1,m)\}\mid n\in\mathbb{Z},m=0,\ldots,k-1\},
E2\displaystyle E_{2} ={{(2n,m),(2n,m+1)}n,m0(mod2)},\displaystyle=\{\{(2n,m),(2n,m+1)\}\mid n\in\mathbb{Z},m\equiv 0\ (\rm{mod}2)\},
E3\displaystyle E_{3} ={{(2n+1,m),(2n+1,m+1)}n,m1(mod2)}.\displaystyle=\{\{(2n+1,m),(2n+1,m+1)\}\mid n\in\mathbb{Z},m\equiv 1\ (\rm{mod}2)\}.

For k+lk+l even, the twisted cubic cylinder W¯k,l\overline{W}_{k,l} of height kk and twist ll\in\mathbb{Z} is the graph with vertex set V(W¯k,l)=V(Wk)=×kV(\overline{W}_{k,l})=V(W_{k})=\mathbb{Z}\times\mathbb{Z}_{k} and edge set E(W¯k,l)=E(Wk)ElE(\overline{W}_{k,l})=E(W_{k})\cup E^{\prime}_{l}, where

  • El={{(2n+1,k1),(2n+1+l,0)}n}E^{\prime}_{l}=\{\{(2n+1,k-1),(2n+1+l,0)\}\mid n\in\mathbb{Z}\}, when kk is even,

  • El={{(2n,k1),(2n+l,0)}n}E^{\prime}_{l}=\{\{(2n,k-1),(2n+l,0)\}\mid n\in\mathbb{Z}\}, when kk is odd.

The edges in E2E3E_{2}\cup E_{3} are called straight and the edges in ElE^{\prime}_{l} are called twisted. The mm-th row RmR_{m} of WkW_{k} and W¯k,l\overline{W}_{k,l} is the double ray induced by ×{m}\mathbb{Z}\times\{m\}. For j1j\geq 1, the ii-th block Bi,2jB_{i,2j} of length 2j2j of W¯k,l\overline{W}_{k,l} is the graph induced by the vertices

  • (2i+1+n,m)(2i+1+n,m), n=0,,2j1n=0,\ldots,2j-1, mkm\in\mathbb{Z}_{k}, when kk is even. The ii-th snake Si,2jS_{i,2j} of length 2j2j is then the unique Hamiltonian path from (2i+1,0)(2i+1,0) to (2i+1,k1)(2i+1,k-1) in Bi,2jB_{i,2j}.

  • (2i+1n,m)(2i+1-n,m), n=0,,2j1n=0,\ldots,2j-1, mkm\in\mathbb{Z}_{k}, when kk is odd. The ii-th snake Si,2jS_{i,2j} of length 2j2j is then the unique Hamiltonian path from (2i+1,0)(2i+1,0) to (2i+22j,k1)(2i+2-2j,k-1) in Bi,2jB_{i,2j}.

In particular, the ii-th column QiQ_{i} of W¯k,l\overline{W}_{k,l} is the path Si,2S_{i,2}. The ii-th staircase Γi\Gamma_{i} of W¯k,l\overline{W}_{k,l} is the unique path of length 2k12k-1 from (2i+1,0)(2i+1,0) to (2i+1+k,k1)(2i+1+k,k-1).

Figure 1: A column in the twisted cubic cylinder W¯4,4\overline{W}_{4,4}.

The following lemma captures a surprising property of twisted cylinders: stretching a given twisted cylinder along carefully chosen double rays can transform it into a twisted cylinder with different parameters (see Fig. 2).

Lemma 4.2.

For any k2k\geq 2 and ll\in\mathbb{N} with k+lk+l even, the twisted cylinders W¯k,l\overline{W}_{k,l} and W¯k+l2,3kl2\overline{W}_{\frac{k+l}{2},\frac{3k-l}{2}} are isomorphic.

Proof.

For r=0,,k+l21r=0,\ldots,\frac{k+l}{2}-1, let DrD_{r} be the double ray obtained by the concatenation of the all staircases Γik+l2+r\Gamma_{i\frac{k+l}{2}+r} along twisted edges. We observe that W¯k,l\overline{W}_{k,l} is isomorphic to W¯k+l2,3kl2\overline{W}_{\frac{k+l}{2},\frac{3k-l}{2}} with rows D0,,Dk+l21D_{0},\ldots,D_{\frac{k+l}{2}-1}. ∎

Figure 2: The double rays of W¯4,2\overline{W}_{4,2} that serve as rows of W¯3,5\overline{W}_{3,5}. The red snake edges correspond to twisted edges between the first(blue) and last(green) double ray of W¯3,5\overline{W}_{3,5}.
Lemma 4.3.

For any k2k\geq 2 and ll\in\mathbb{N} with k+lk+l even, the twisted cubic cylinder W¯k,l\overline{W}_{k,l} contains a Hamiltonian double ray.

Proof.

If kk and ll are even 2\geq 2, we obtain a Hamiltonian double ray by concatenating all snakes Sil,lS_{il,l}, ii\in\mathbb{Z} along twisted edges.

If kk and ll are odd 3\geq 3, let l1,l2l_{1},l_{2} be positive even numbers such that l1+l2=l+1l_{1}+l_{2}=l+1. We then obtain a Hamiltonian double ray by concatenating all snakes Sil,l1S_{il,l_{1}} and Sill1,l2S_{il-l_{1},l_{2}}, ii\in\mathbb{Z} in an alternating fashion along twisted edges.

It remains to check the cases when l=0l=0 (and kk necessarily even) or l=1l=1 (and kk odd). For r=0,,k+l1r=0,\ldots,k+l-1, let DrD_{r} be the double ray obtained by the concatenation of the all staircases Γik+l2+r\Gamma_{i\frac{k+l}{2}+r} along twisted edges. We conclude the proof by invoking Lemma 4.2 and noticing that 3kl22\frac{3k-l}{2}\geq 2. ∎

Lemma 4.4.

For any k2k\geq 2 and ll\in\mathbb{N}, the twisted cubic cylinder W¯k,l\overline{W}_{k,l} contains a disjoint union of two double-rays which together span W¯k,l\overline{W}_{k,l}.

Proof.

We can assume that k3k\geq 3, as otherwise the result is trivial for k=2k=2. Moreover, we reduce the cases where l=0,1,2,3l=0,1,2,3 to the next (general) cases by invoking Lemma 4.2.

If kk and ll are even 4\geq 4, let l1,l2l_{1},l_{2} be positive even integers such that l1+l2=ll_{1}+l_{2}=l. We let D1D_{1} be the double ray obtained by the concatenation of all snakes Sil,l1S_{il,l_{1}} and D2D_{2} the double ray obtained by the concatenation of all snakes Sil+l1+1,l2S_{il+l_{1}+1,l_{2}}, ii\in\mathbb{Z} along twisted edges as the two disjoint double rays that span a Hamiltonian circle of W¯k,l\overline{W}_{k,l}.

If kk and ll are odd 5\geq 5, let l1,l2,l3l_{1},l_{2},l_{3} be positive even numbers such that l1+l2+l3=l+1l_{1}+l_{2}+l_{3}=l+1. As before, we define the double ray D1D_{1} as the concatenation of all snakes Sil,l1S_{il,l_{1}} and Sill1,l2S_{il-l_{1},l_{2}}, ii\in\mathbb{Z} in an alternating fashion along twisted edges and D2D_{2} as the concatenation of all Sill1l2,l3S_{il-l_{1}-l_{2},l_{3}}, ii\in\mathbb{Z}. The double rays D1D_{1} and D2D_{2} are then disjoint and span a Hamiltonian circle. ∎

5 Proof of the main Theorem

Let us quickly remind the following basic fact.

Lemma 5.1.

(Modular law)[18, 1.6.15] If GG is a group, HH is a subset of LGL\leq G, and KK is a subset of GG, then L(HK)=H(LK)L\cap(HK)=H(L\cap K).

Lemma 5.2.

Let G=SG=\langle S\rangle be an arbitrary group (not necessarily finite) with a subgroup HH of index 22. Then if SH=S\cap H=\emptyset, then sSsS generates HH, where sSs\in S.

Proof.

Let hHh\in H be an arbitrary element of HH. Then h=x1xth=x_{1}\cdots x_{t}, where each xiSx_{i}\in S for i=1,,ti=1,\ldots,t. We note that tt must be even in order for hh to lie in HH. This proves that S2S^{2} generates HH. Finally, we show that every element sisjs_{i}s_{j} of S2S^{2} can be generated by sSsS by noting that sisj=sis1ssjs_{i}s_{j}=s_{i}s^{-1}ss_{j} and ssi1sSss_{i}^{-1}\in sS. This completes the proof. ∎

We are ready to prove our main result. We will extensively use Definition 1 and Lemma 3.10 for the calculations throughout the proof, so we will mostly not specifically refer to them each time we use them.

Proof of Theorem 1.1.

Let G=AKB=SG=A\ast_{K}B=\langle S\rangle with A=KKbA=K\sqcup Kb, B=KKbB=K\sqcup Kb^{\prime} and a=bba=bb^{\prime}. We apply induction on the number of generators in SS. For the base case that |S|=2|S|=2, we immediately see that 𝖢𝖺𝗒(G,S)\mathsf{Cay}(G,S) is a double ray (and it is straightforward to show that GDG\cong D_{\infty}). We split the proof of the induction step into two cases.

Case I . We first assume that SKa=S\cap K\langle a\rangle=\emptyset. Let sSs\in S and define H:=SH:=\langle S^{\prime}\rangle, where S:=S{s,s1}S^{\prime}:=S\setminus\{s,s^{-1}\}. We claim that

there is always an sSs\in S such that HH is infinite. (5)

Suppose not; by Lemma 3.5 every generator in SS^{\prime} has the form kaibka^{i}b and let s1=k1aib,s2=k2ajbSs_{1}=k_{1}a^{i}b,s_{2}=k_{2}a^{j}b\in S^{\prime}. Notice that the element s1s2=k1k21b2aijHKas_{1}s_{2}=k_{1}k_{2}^{-1}b^{2}a^{i-j}\in H\cap K\langle a\rangle has finite order. By Lemma 3.5 we conclude that i=ji=j. Otherwise s1s2s_{1}s_{2} is not torsion. Since S{s,s1}S^{\prime}\cup\{s,s^{-1}\} generates GG, we infer that s=kajbs=k^{\prime}a^{j}b, where jij\neq i. Therefore, the group H:=S{s1,s11}H^{\prime}:=\langle S\setminus\{s_{1},s_{1}^{-1}\}\rangle is infinite, as ss1ss_{1} is not torsion. So the claim is proved.

Thus, we can always assume that HH is infinite. In particular, we have H/(HK)HK/KG/KDH/(H\cap K)\cong HK/K\leq G/K\cong D_{\infty} and so H/(HK)DH/(H\cap K)\cong D_{\infty}. We infer that H=(HK)ka,tH=(H\cap K)\langle k_{\ell}a^{\ell},t\rangle, where tSt\in S^{\prime} and for some kaHk_{\ell}a^{\ell}\in H, as GG is not commutative. In particular HKH\cap K is a normal in HH

We now state the following calculation, some steps of which we explain afterwards:

Ka=\displaystyle K\langle a\rangle= S,sKa\displaystyle\langle S^{\prime},s\rangle\cap K\langle a\rangle
=\displaystyle= H,sKa\displaystyle\langle H,s\rangle\cap K\langle a\rangle
=\displaystyle= (HK)ka,t,sKa\displaystyle\langle(H\cap K)\langle k_{\ell}a^{\ell},t\rangle,s\rangle\cap K\langle a\rangle
=\displaystyle= ((HK)kat,s)Ka\displaystyle\left((H\cap K)\langle k_{\ell}a^{\ell}\rangle\langle t,s\rangle\right)\cap K\langle a\rangle (6)
=\displaystyle= ((HK)ka)(t,sKa)\displaystyle\left((H\cap K)\langle k_{\ell}a^{\ell}\rangle\right)\left(\langle t,s\rangle\cap K\langle a\rangle\right) (by Lemma 5.1)
=\displaystyle= ((HK)ka)ts\displaystyle\left((H\cap K)\langle k_{\ell}a^{\ell}\rangle\right)\langle ts\rangle (7)

Let s=kiaibs=k_{i}a^{i}b and t=kjajbt=k_{j}a^{j}b. For (6), we first note that (HK)s=s(HK)(H\cap K)s=s(H\cap K). Because assume that kHKk\in H\cap K and so ks=kkiaib=kiaibk1=sk1ks=kk_{i}a^{i}b=k_{i}a^{i}bk^{-1}=sk^{-1}. In addition, we have

(ka)s=kakiaib=kiaikab=kiaibk1a=s(ka)1,(k_{\ell}a^{\ell})s=k_{\ell}a^{\ell}k_{i}a^{i}b=k_{i}a^{i}k_{\ell}a^{\ell}b=k_{i}a^{i}bk_{\ell}^{-1}a^{-\ell}=s(k_{\ell}a^{\ell})^{-1},

So ss commutes with HKH\cap K and kak_{\ell}a^{\ell} and similarly one can show that tt commutes with HKH\cap K and kak_{\ell}a^{\ell} as well. So (HK)kat,s(H\cap K)\langle k_{\ell}a^{\ell}\rangle\langle t,s\rangle is a subgroup of GG.

Let H:=(HK)kaH^{\prime}:=(H\cap K)\langle k_{\ell}a^{\ell}\rangle. We have proven so far that Ka=H(t,sKa)K\langle a\rangle=H^{\prime}\left(\langle t,s\rangle\cap K\langle a\rangle\right), so it remains to show (7) which means that t,sKa=ts\langle t,s\rangle\cap K\langle a\rangle=\langle ts\rangle.
It is not hard to see that t,sKa=G\langle t,s\rangle K\langle a\rangle=G. One can see that G=KaKasG=K\langle a\rangle\sqcup K\langle a\rangle s and so [G:Ka]=2[G:K\langle a\rangle]=2 implies that [t,s:t,sKa]=2[\langle t,s\rangle:\langle t,s\rangle\cap K\langle a\rangle]=2. We can now apply Lemma 5.2 and infer that {ts,ts1,t2}\{ts,ts^{-1},t^{2}\} generates t,sKa\langle t,s\rangle\cap K\langle a\rangle. On the other hand, we know that H/(HK)DH/(H\cap K)\cong D_{\infty} and so t2HKt^{2}\in H\cap K. We claim that

H(ts)ts1H^{\prime}(ts)^{\ell}ts^{-1} and H(ts)t2H^{\prime}(ts)^{\ell}t^{2} can be expressed as H(ts)H^{\prime}(ts)^{\ell^{\prime}}, where ,\ell,\ell^{\prime}\in\mathbb{Z}. (8)

Observe that ts=ts1s2=ts1b2=ts1t2ts=ts^{-1}s^{2}=ts^{-1}b^{2}=ts^{-1}t^{2}. Moreover, notice that that t2t^{2}, tsts and ts1ts^{-1} lie in KaK\langle a\rangle, hence they pairwise commute. Since t2HKHt^{2}\in H\cap K\subseteq H^{\prime}, we deduce that

H(ts)t2=Ht2(ts)=H(ts)H^{\prime}(ts)^{\ell}t^{2}=H^{\prime}t^{2}(ts)^{\ell}=H^{\prime}(ts)^{\ell}

and

H(ts)ts1=Ht2(ts)ts1=H(ts)ts1t2=H(ts)+1.H^{\prime}(ts)^{\ell}ts^{-1}=H^{\prime}t^{2}(ts)^{\ell}ts^{-1}=H^{\prime}(ts)^{\ell}ts^{-1}t^{2}=H^{\prime}(ts)^{\ell+1}.

So the claim is proved. Hence, we have shown that every coset of HH^{\prime} in KaK\langle a\rangle is of the form H(ts)H^{\prime}(ts)^{\ell}. Observe that HH^{\prime} has finite index in KaK\langle a\rangle, therefore we have

Ka=HH(ts)H(ts)m.K\langle a\rangle=H^{\prime}\sqcup H^{\prime}(ts)\sqcup\cdots\sqcup H^{\prime}(ts)^{m}.

Recall that G=KaKasG=K\langle a\rangle\sqcup K\langle a\rangle s. Therefore, the cosets of HH^{\prime} partition GG as follows:

G=\displaystyle G= HH(ts)H(ts)m\displaystyle H^{\prime}\sqcup H^{\prime}(ts)\sqcup\cdots\sqcup H^{\prime}(ts)^{m}\sqcup (9)
HtH(ts)tH(ts)mt.\displaystyle\phantom{{}=1}H^{\prime}t\sqcup H^{\prime}(ts)t\sqcup\cdots\sqcup H^{\prime}(ts)^{m}t.

We need a final observation. It is an easy induction on \ell to see that for every 1m1\leq\ell\leq m and t1,,tSt_{1},\ldots,t_{\ell}\in S^{\prime} (not necessarily distinct) we have that

H(t1s)(t2s)(ts)=\displaystyle H^{\prime}(t_{1}s)(t_{2}s)\ldots(t_{\ell}s)= H(ts),\displaystyle H^{\prime}(ts)^{\ell}, (10)
H(t1s)(t2s)(t1s)t=\displaystyle H^{\prime}(t_{1}s)(t_{2}s)\ldots(t_{\ell-1}s)t_{\ell}= H(ts)1t.\displaystyle H^{\prime}(ts)^{\ell-1}t. (11)

We are ready to extract a spanning twisted cubic cylinder from 𝖢𝖺𝗒(G,S)\mathsf{Cay}(G,S). Recall that H=HHtH=H^{\prime}\cup H^{\prime}t has a spanning double ray R0R_{0}, which must necessarily alternate between the two cosets of HH^{\prime} in HH by the fact that SHtS^{\prime}\subseteq H^{\prime}t. Split RR into subpaths of length two between vertices of HtH^{\prime}t and let P={g,gt1,gt1t2}P=\{g,gt_{1},gt_{1}t_{2}\} be an arbitrary such subpath, where gHtg\in H^{\prime}t. By Theorem 3.12, there is a 66-cycle C={g,gt1,gt1t2,gt1s2s,gst2,gs}C=\{g,gt_{1},gt_{1}t_{2},gt_{1}s_{2}s,gst_{2},gs\}. In other words, CC is obtained by connecting the ends of PP and P={gst1t2,gst2,gs}P^{\prime}=\{gst_{1}t_{2},gst_{2},gs\} with two edges labeled with ss. Clearly, gt1t2s,gsHtgt_{1}t_{2}s,gs\in H^{\prime}t and by (11) we have that gst2Htstgst_{2}\in H^{\prime}tst. It follows that the concatenation of all such paths PP^{\prime} of length two gives rise to a spanning double ray R1R_{1} of HtsHtstH^{\prime}ts\cup H^{\prime}tst alternating between vertices of HtsH^{\prime}ts and HtstH^{\prime}tst, where the vertices of HtH^{\prime}t in R1R_{1} are connected by an ss-edge to the vertices of HtsH^{\prime}ts in R2R_{2}.

Using exactly the same method, we obtain inductively for every m+1\ell\in\mathbb{Z}_{m+1} that H(ts)H(ts)tH^{\prime}(ts)^{\ell}\cup H^{\prime}(ts)^{\ell}t has a spanning double ray RR_{\ell} alternating between H(ts)H^{\prime}(ts)^{\ell} and H(ts)tH^{\prime}(ts)^{\ell}t, where the vertices of H(ts)tH^{\prime}(ts)^{\ell}t in RR_{\ell} are connected by an ss-edge to the vertices of H(ts)+1H^{\prime}(ts)^{\ell+1} in R+1R_{\ell+1}. This gives rise to a twisted cubic cylinder with rows R0,R1,,RmR_{0},R_{1},\ldots,R_{m} to conclude by Lemma 4.3 and Lemma 4.4 that 𝖢𝖺𝗒(G,S)\mathsf{Cay}(G,S) contains a Hamiltonian double ray.

Case II .

Suppose that SKaS\cap K\langle a\rangle\neq\emptyset. Let S1:=SKaS_{1}:=S\setminus K\langle a\rangle (notice that S1S_{1}\neq\emptyset) and S2:=SS1S_{2}:=S\setminus S_{1}. Let HH^{\prime} be the subgroup generated by S2S_{2}.
Subcase i: If HH^{\prime} is finite, then HKH^{\prime}\subseteq K. Let xS1x\in S_{1} and kKk\in K. By Theorem 3.13, we have xk=k1xxk=k^{-1}x and also kx=xk1kx=xk^{-1}. We note that G/HA/HK/HB/HG/H^{\prime}\cong A/H^{\prime}\ast_{K/H^{\prime}}B/H^{\prime} and so G/HG/H^{\prime} is generalized quasi-dihedral. By the induction hypothesis the Cayley graph of G/HG/H^{\prime} with respect with S1HS_{1}H^{\prime} has a Hamiltonian double ray \mathcal{R}

,Hx2,Hx1,H,Hx1,Hx2,,\ldots,H^{\prime}x_{-2},H^{\prime}x_{-1},H^{\prime},H^{\prime}x_{1},H^{\prime}x_{2},\ldots,

where xiS1x_{i}\in S_{1} for each i{0}i\in\mathbb{Z}\setminus\{0\}. On the other hand, 𝖢𝖺𝗒(H,S2)\mathsf{Cay}(H,S_{2}) has a Hamiltonian path. Since we showed that xk=k1xxk=k^{-1}x and kx=xk1kx=xk^{-1}, we invoke Lemma 4.1 and conclude that GG has a Hamiltonian double ray.
Subcase ii: If HH^{\prime} is infinite, then [G:H][G:H^{\prime}] is finite. We note that HH^{\prime} is an abelian group and so it follows from [16, Theorem 1] that 𝖢𝖺𝗒(H,S2)\mathsf{Cay}(H^{\prime},S_{2}) contains a Hamiltonian double ray RR. By Corollary 3.7 we know that HH^{\prime} is normal and moreover S1HS_{1}H^{\prime} generates the quotient G/HG/H^{\prime}. On the other hand, we know by Lemma 3.10 that KH,aH=K,a/H=Ka/H\langle KH^{\prime},aH^{\prime}\rangle=\langle K,a\rangle/H^{\prime}=K\langle a\rangle/H^{\prime} is an abelian subgroup of G/HG/H^{\prime}. Furthermore, we have that [G/H:Ka/H]=[G:Ka]=2[G/H^{\prime}:K\langle a\rangle/H^{\prime}]=[G:K\langle a\rangle]=2.

Since bHgH=g1HbHbH^{\prime}gH^{\prime}=g^{-1}H^{\prime}bH^{\prime} for every gKa/Hg\in K\langle a\rangle/H^{\prime} and [G:H][G:H^{\prime}] is finite, we deduce that the quotient G/HG/H^{\prime} is a generalized quasi-dihedral group on Ka/HK\langle a\rangle/H^{\prime} and bHbH^{\prime}.

It follows from Corollary 3.3 that 𝖢𝖺𝗒(G/H,S1H)\mathsf{Cay}(G/H^{\prime},S_{1}H^{\prime}) has a Hamiltonian path

g1H=H,g2H,,gnH.g_{1}H^{\prime}=H^{\prime},g_{2}H^{\prime},\ldots,g_{n}H^{\prime}.

Observe that giHg_{i}H^{\prime} contains a Hamiltonian double ray giRg_{i}R for every 1in1\leq i\leq n in 𝖢𝖺𝗒(G,S)\mathsf{Cay}(G,S). Moreover, the vertices of giRg_{i}R are connected to the vertices of gi+1R=(giR)sig_{i+1}R=(g_{i}R)s_{i} with a perfect matching whose edges are labeled with the same generator siS1s_{i}\in S_{1}. In combination with Lemma 3.13, this implies that conditions (ii) and (iii) of Lemma 4.1 hold and we are done. ∎

6 Final Remarks

In the final chapter, we illustrate different approaches to continue the study of Hamiltonicity of generalized quasi-dihedral groups.

6.1 Hamiltonian circles

While there have been many attempts to extend the definition of hamiltonian cycles for infinite graphs, there is no single method that generalizes all theorems of finite Hamiltonicity to locally finite graphs.

Here we follow the topolgical approach introduced in [6, 7, 8]. More specifically, the infinite cycles of a graph GG are defined as the circles(homeomorphic image of S1S^{1}) in the Freudenthal compactification |G||G|, where |G||G| denotes the graph GG endowed by 11-complex topology. A homeomorphic image of [0,1][0,1] in |G||G| is an arc in GG. A circle in |G||G| is a Hamiltonian circle if it contains all vertices of GG. When GG is two-ended, there is a nice combinatorial description for Hamiltonian circles, see the following lemma.

Lemma 6.1.

[7, Theorem 2.5] If Γ\Gamma is a locally finite, two-ended graph and CC is a disjoint union of two double-rays which together span Γ\Gamma, each of which contains a ray to both ends of the graph, then CC is a Hamiltonian circle.∎

By the proof of Theorem 1.1 and Lemma 4.1 as well as Lemma 4.4, we have the following corollary.

Corollary 6.2.

Let G=SG=\langle S\rangle be a two-ended generalized quasi-dihedral group. If 𝖢𝖺𝗒(G,S)\mathsf{Cay}(G,S) has degree at least three, it contains a Hamiltonian circle.

We believe that the same statements of Hamiltonicity go through when GG is a one-ended generalized quasi-dihedral group, too. We note that in that case the subrgroup HH of GG of index 22 is an abelian one-ended group, hence HH is isomorphic to k\mathbb{Z}^{k} for some k2k\geq 2.

Conjecture 2.

Let G=SG=\langle S\rangle be a one-ended generalized quasi-dihedral group. Then 𝖢𝖺𝗒(G,S)\mathsf{Cay}(G,S) contains a Hamiltonian double ray(Hamiltonian circle).

6.2 Hamilton-connectivity

A finite graph is called Hamilton-connected if there is a Hamiltonian path between any pair of vertices of the graph. A finite bipartite graph is called Hamilton-laceable if there is Hamiltonian path between pair of vertices at odd distance. It is an easy observation that Hamilton-laceability (and not -connectivity) is the most that one can hope for in the case of finite bipartite graphs. The most celebrated theorem relating Cayley graphs and Hamilton-connectivity is due to Chen and Quimpo [4], who proved something stronger about the Hamiltonicity of Cayley graphs of finite abelian groups with degree at least three; they are actually Hamilton-connected, unless they are bipartite when they are Hamilton-laceable.

Alspach et al. prove in [1] extended this for Cayley graphs of finite generalized dihedral groups with degree at least three. Their proof also relies on extracting spanning finite versions of infinite two-ended grids or twisted cubic cylinders —defined as honeycomb toroidal graphs in  [1]—, where the double rays of the rows are replaced with finite cycles. A large part of their paper revolves around proving that these finite graphs are Hamilton-connected or -laceable.

Notice that from the definition of Hamiltonian connectivity we immediately obtain a Hamiltonian cycle when the two endvertices are connected with an edge. Using this, let us generalize the notion of Hamilton-connectivity to the infinite setting. We say an infinite (bipartite) graph is Hamiltonian ray-connected (-laceable) if for any pair of vertices u,vu,v (at odd distance) there are two disjoint rays starting from u,vu,v spanning all the vertices of the graph. Similarly, an infinite (bipartite) graph is Hamiltonian arc-connected (-laceable) if for any pair of vertices u,vu,v (at odd distance) there are two rays starting from u,vu,v and a double ray, all pairwise disjoint, whose union spans all the vertices of the graph. Observe that when uu and vv are connected with an edge in both definitions, we directly obtain a Hamiltonian double ray and a Hamiltonian circle, respectively.

The fact that bipartite graphs can only be Hamilton-laceable fails for infinite graphs. It is very easy (but a bit tedious as well) to prove that two-ended infinite grids are not just Hamilton-laceable, but Hamilton-connected.

Problem 1.

Is 𝖢𝖺𝗒\mathsf{Cay}(G,S) both Hamiltonian ray- and arc-connected, where GG is a generalized quasi-dihedral group?

6.3 Decomposition and Uniqueness

Alspach, in [2, Unsolved Problem 4.5, p. 454]] conjectured the following. Let GG be an Abelian group with a symmetric generating set SS. If the Cayley graph 𝖢𝖺𝗒(G,S)\mathsf{Cay}(G,S) has no loops, then it can be decomposed into Hamiltonian cycles (plus a 11-factor if the valency is odd) and see [5], for a directed version of this problem, Erde and Lehner [9] showed every 4-regular Cayley graph of an infinite abelian group all of whose finite cuts are even can be decomposed into Hamiltonian double rays, and so characterised when such decompositions exist. It raises the following question.

Problem 2.

Can every 44-regular Cayley graph of two-ended generalized quasi-dihedral group be decomposed into two hamiltonian double-rays(Hamiltonian circle)?

Finally, consider D=a,bb2=(ba)2D_{\infty}=\langle a,b\mid b^{2}=(ba)^{2}\rangle. The Cayley graph of DD_{\infty} with respect to S={ba,b,ab}S=\{ba,b,ab\} contains a unique Hamiltonian circle. Naturally, we ask the following question.

Problem 3.

Let GG be a generalized quasi-dihedral group. For which generating SS of GG does 𝖢𝖺𝗒(G,S)\mathsf{Cay}(G,S) contain a unique Hamiltonian circle?

References