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In a directed graph, a vertex $a$ can reach every vertex, and every vertex can reach another vertex $b$. Can we always sort all the edges as $e_1,e_2,\ldots,e_n$ so that every prefix $e_1,e_2,\dots,e_i$ (when viewed as undirected edges) forms a connected subgraph, and similarly for every suffix $e_i,e_{i+1},\dots,e_n$?

I believe this is true if there is a path from $a$ to $b$ that contains all other vertices. Suppose the path is $a\rightarrow v_1\rightarrow\dots\rightarrow v_k\rightarrow b$. We let the edge $a\rightarrow v_1$ come first, then edges that connect $v_2$ to the set $\{a,v_1\}$ (in any order), then edges that connect $v_3$ to the set $\{a,v_1,v_2\}$, and so on. But is the statement true if there is no path from $a$ to $b$ that contains all other vertices?

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  • $\begingroup$ to put it in other way, your question is whether a certain sorting of edges has every sub-sorting as the edge set of a connected subgraph. And your argument shows it to be true for directed hamiltonian graphs $\endgroup$
    – vidyarthi
    Commented Mar 2, 2019 at 10:39
  • $\begingroup$ I think it is also true for eulerian graphs $\endgroup$
    – vidyarthi
    Commented Mar 2, 2019 at 10:42

1 Answer 1

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Add to $G$ a new edge $e=\vec{ba}$, the new graph $G\cup e$ is strongly connected. Start with a directed cycle containing $e$, let it consist of edges $e_1,e_2,e_3,\dots,e_m,e$, where $e_1$ is incident to $a$ and $e_m$ is incident to $b$. Start with a sequence $e_1,e_2,\dots,e_m$. Now I use an ear decomposition of $G$: the edge set $E$ is a disjoint union of $E_1=\{e_1,e_2,\dots,e_m,e\}$, $E_2$, $E_3$, $\dots,E_s$, where each $E_i$, $i=2,3,\dots,s$ is an ear: it is a set of edges of a simple directed path or cycle $v_1 v_2\ldots v_r$ in which all vertices except $v_1$ and $v_r$ are not covered by the set $F_{i-1}:=E_1\cup\ldots\cup E_{i-1}$ (while $v_1$ and $v_r$ are covered by $F_{i-1}$). The existence of an ear decomposition in a connected directed graph which starts from a given cycle is well known and easy to prove. So your conjecture follows by induction from the following

Lemma. Let $H$ be an undirected graph in which the edges are enumerated by $e_1,\ldots,e_t$ so that for all $i=1,2,\ldots,t$ the graphs formed by $e_1,\ldots,e_i$ and $e_i,\ldots,e_t$ are connected. Assume also that there are vertices $a,b\in V(H)$ such that $a\in e_1,b\in e_t$ and all other vertices of $H$ have degree at least 2. Let $v_1\ldots v_r$ be an ear for $H$, that is, a simple path or cycle with $v_1,v_r\in V(H)$ and $v_2,\ldots,v_{r-1}$ being new vertices. Then the graph $H$ plus this ear also has such an enumeration of edges.

Proof. If $\{v_1,v_r\}\cap \{a,b\}\ne \emptyset$, say $v_r=b$, add the edges $v_1v_2,v_2v_3,\dots,v_{r-1}v_r$ after $e_t$. Otherwise $v_1,v_r$ are not lists of $H$ and each of them is covered at least by two edges. Choose the minimal $i$ for which $e_i$ covers either $v_1$ or $v_r$. Without loss of generality $v_1\in e_i$. Then $i<t$ and $v_r$ is covered by $e_{i+1},\dots,e_t$. Insert the edges $v_1v_2,v_2v_3,\dots,v_{r-1}v_r$ between $e_i$ and $e_{i+1}$.

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