Decompositions of \(K_{n}(\lambda)\) into \(P_{4}\) and \(S_{4}\)

R. Chinnavedi1, R. Sangeetha2
1Department of Mathematics, Varuvan Vadivelan Institute of Technology, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, India–636 701
2Department of Mathematics, A.V.V.M. Sri Pushpam College, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India–613 503

Abstract

Let \(P_{k+1}\) denote a path of length \(k\), let \(S_{m}\) denote a star with \(m\) edges, and let \(K_{n}(\lambda)\) denote the complete multigraph on \(n\) vertices in which every edge is taken \(\lambda\) times. In this paper, we prove that the necessary conditions are also sufficient for a \(\{P_{4}, S_{4}\}\)-decomposition of \(K_{n}(\lambda)\).

Keywords: decomposition, complete multigraph, path, star