Complete and almost complete minors in double-critical 8-chromatic graphs.
Complete minors, independent sets, and chordal graphs
The Hadwiger number h(G) of a graph G is the maximum size of a complete minor of G. Hadwiger's Conjecture states that h(G) ≥ χ(G). Since χ(G) α(G) ≥ |V(G)|, Hadwiger's Conjecture implies that α(G) h(G) ≥ |V(G)|. We show that (2α(G) - ⌈log_{τ}(τα(G)/2)⌉) h(G) ≥ |V(G)| where τ ≍ 6.83. For graphs with α(G) ≥ 14, this improves on a recent result of Kawarabayashi and Song who showed (2α(G) - 2) h(G) ≥ |V(G) | when α(G) ≥ 3.
Cubic graphs without a Petersen minor have nowhere-zero 5-flow.