- Paper: Conjecture 5.5 restated with the hypothesis that every face
of H has length ≥ 5 (= the cubic plane analogue of "no triangles
or quadrilaterals as faces"). This kills K_4 and the n=8 trivial
counterexamples (girth 3) and the ad-hoc n=40 counterexample
(which has 2 triangles and 4 quadrilaterals). A new remark catalogues
these excluded counterexamples and the smallest cubic plane graphs
satisfying the hypothesis (dodecahedron at |V| = 20).
- search_smaller_counterexample.py: --min-face=N option to filter
cubic planar graphs by minimum face length.
- search_min_face5_counterexample.py: enumerates triangulations T
with min degree ≥ 5 via graphs.triangulations(n, minimum_degree=5),
takes planar dual (= cubic plane with all faces ≥ 5), and runs the
Heawood-constancy check.
- Result: smallest counterexample at triangulation order n_T = 16,
whose dual is a 28-vertex cubic plane graph (graph6
[kG[A?_A?_?_?K?D?@_CO?o?@_??A??@C??O??AG?C????`???a???W???A_???F).
Faces: 12 pentagons + 4 hexagons (a C28 fullerene). Both
K_{red, blue} and K_{red, green} are 12-cycles sharing the
colour-red edge (0, 1) and both have h_φ ≡ -1. 8 of 28 vertices
lie outside V(K_0) ∪ V(K_1).
- verify_28_vertex_counterexample.py: reproduces the counterexample,
verifies all properties, and renders figures/min-face-5-counterexample.png.
Note on the boundary: face-length ≥ 6 is impossible for cubic plane
graphs by Euler (6F = 6(V/2 + 2) > 3V = sum face lengths for V > 4).
So face-length ≥ 5 is the strongest face-length restriction admitting
any cubic plane graphs at all.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 <noreply@anthropic.com>
experiments/search_smaller_counterexample.py enumerates 3-connected
cubic planar graphs via graphs.planar_graphs(n, min_deg=3, min_conn=2)
(filtering to cubic), then for each graph tries every proper
3-edge-colouring (backtracking with symmetry-break on first edge),
computes h_φ via the CW rotation from sage's planar embedding, and
checks whether some pair of intersecting Kempe cycles K_{a,b} and
K_{a,c} are both constant-Heawood.
Results (up to n=10 in initial run):
n= 4: K_4 itself. Coloring (1,2)=red, (3,4)=red, (1,3)=blue,
(2,4)=blue, (1,4)=green, (2,3)=green; sage's CW embedding
gives h_φ ≡ -1 on all 4 vertices. K_{red,blue} = 4-cycle
1-2-4-3 and K_{red,green} = 4-cycle 1-2-3-4 share both red
edges; both constant.
n= 6: no counterexample (only the triangular prism).
n= 8: a 12-edge cubic planar graph (graph6 G}GOW[) on 8 vertices.
Both Kempe cycles are 8-cycles visiting every vertex.
n=10: 8 cubic planar graphs checked, no counterexample.
So K_4 is the smallest counterexample to Conjecture 5.5 as stated,
but both K_4 and the n=8 example are structurally trivial: K_0 and
K_1 jointly cover V(H). The user's 40-vertex counterexample (paper
Figure) is the smallest non-trivial example found so far, with 24
vertices outside V(K_0) ∪ V(K_1).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 <noreply@anthropic.com>
didericis