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Proof of Kőnig's theorem 📂Graph Theory

Proof of Kőnig's theorem

Theorem 1

Let GG be a locally finite connected graph. Then, for every vV(G)v \in V(G), there exists a one-way infinite path with vv as its starting point.

Proof

Since GG is a connected graph, for all zV(G)z \in V(G) other than vv, there are infinitely many paths from vv to zz. And since GG is locally finite, among these infinitely many paths, infinitely many must start with the same edge, let’s call this edge vv1vv_{1}. Similarly, a new edge, v1v2v_{1}v_{2}, can be chosen. This way, the following one-way infinite path is obtained. vv1v2 v \to v_{1} \to v_{2} \to \cdots


  1. Wilson. (1970). Introduction to Graph Theory: p78. ↩︎