Directed Graph Ramsey Numbers
It is also possible to define Ramsey numbers for directed graphs. (These were introduced by P. Erdős & L. Moser.) Let R(n) be the smallest number Q such that any complete graph with singly directed arcs (also called a "tournament") and with ≥ Q nodes contains an acyclic (also called "transitive") n-node subtournament.
This is the directed-graph analogue of what (above) has been called R(n,n;2), the smallest number Z such that any 2-colouring of the edges of a complete undirected graph with ≥ Z nodes, contains a monochromatic complete graph on n nodes. (The directed analogue of the two possible arc colours is the two directions of the arcs, the analogue of "monochromatic" is "all arc-arrows point the same way," i.e. "acyclic.")
Indeed many find the directed graph problem to actually be more elegant than the unidirected one. We have R(0)=0, R(1)=1, R(2)=2, R(3)=4, R(4)=8, R(5)=14, R(6)=28, 32≤R(7)≤55, and R(8) is again a problem you do not want powerful aliens to pose.
Read more about this topic: Ramsey's Theorem
Famous quotes containing the words directed, graph and/or numbers:
“Views of women, on one side, as inwardly directed toward home and family and notions of men, on the other, as outwardly striving toward fame and fortune have resounded throughout literature and in the texts of history, biology, and psychology until they seem uncontestable. Such dichotomous views defy the complexities of individuals and stifle the potential for people to reveal different dimensions of themselves in various settings.”
—Sara Lawrence Lightfoot (20th century)
“In this Journal, my pen is a delicate needle point, tracing out a graph of temperament so as to show its daily fluctuations: grave and gay, up and down, lamentation and revelry, self-love and self-disgust. You get here all my thoughts and opinions, always irresponsible and often contradictory or mutually exclusive, all my moods and vapours, all the varying reactions to environment of this jelly which is I.”
—W.N.P. Barbellion (18891919)
“Publishers are notoriously slothful about numbers, unless theyre attached to dollar signsunlike journalists, quarterbacks, and felony criminal defendents who tend to be keenly aware of numbers at all times.”
—Hunter S. Thompson (b. 1939)