An edge-weighted graph $G$, possibly with loops, is said to be antiferromagnetic if it has nonnegative weights and at most one positive eigenvalue, counting multiplicities. The number of graph homomorphisms from a graph $H$ to an antiferromagnetic graph $G$ generalises various important parameters in graph theory, including the number of independent sets and proper vertex colourings. We obtain a number of new homomorphism inequalities for antiferromagnetic target graphs $G$. In particular, we prove that, for any antiferromagnetic $G$, $|\mathrm{Hom}(K_d, G)|^{1/d} ≤ |\mathrm{Hom}(K_{d,d} \setminus M, G)|^{1/(2d)}$ holds, where $K_{d,d} \setminus M$ denotes the complete bipartite graph $K_{d,d}$ minus a perfect matching $M$. This confirms a conjecture of Sah, Sawhney, Stoner and Zhao for complete graphs $K_d$. Our method uses the emerging theory of Lorentzian polynomials due to Brändén and Huh, which may be of independent interest. Joint work with Jaeseong Oh and Jaehyeon Seo.

For a positive real number $p$, the $p$-norm $\|G\|_p$ of a graph $G$ is the sum of the $p$-th powers of all vertex degrees. We study the maximum $p$-norm $\mathrm{ex}_{p}(n,F)$ of $F$-free graphs on $n$ vertices, focusing on the case where $F$ is a bipartite graph. It is natural to conjecture that for every bipartite graph $F$, there exists a threshold $p_F$ such that for $p< p_{F}$, the order of $\mathrm{ex}_{p}(n,F)$ is governed by pseudorandom constructions, while for $p > p_{F}$, it is governed by star-like constructions. We determine the exact value of $p_{F}$, under a mild assumption on the growth rate of $\mathrm{ex}(n,F)$. Our results extend to $r$-uniform hypergraphs as well. We also prove a general upper bound that is tight up to a $\log n$ factor for $\mathrm{ex}_{p}(n,F)$ when $p = p_{F}$. We conjecture that this $\log n$ factor is unnecessary and prove this conjecture for several classes of well-studied bipartite graphs, including one-side degree-bounded graphs and families of short even cycles. This is a joint work with Xizhi Liu, Jie Ma and Oleg Pikhurko.

An $r$-graph is an $r$-regular graph in which every odd set of vertices is connected to its complement by at least $r$ edges. A central question regarding $r$-graphs is determining the maximum number of pairwise disjoint perfect matchings they can contain. This talk explores how edge connectivity influences this parameter. For ${0 \leq \lambda \leq r}$, let $m(\lambda,r)$ denote the maximum number $s$ such that every $\lambda$-edge-connected $r$-graph contains $s$ pairwise disjoint perfect matchings. The values of $m(\lambda,r)$ are known only in limited cases; for example, $m(3,3)=m(4,r)=1$, and $m(r,r) \leq r-2$ for all $r \not = 5$, with $m(r,r) \leq r-3$ when $r$ is a multiple of $4$. In this talk, we present new upper bounds for $m(\lambda,r)$ and examine connections between $m(5,5)$ and several well-known conjectures for cubic graphs. This is joint work with Davide Mattiolo, Eckhard Steffen, and Isaak H. Wolf.

In 2005, Bollobás, Janson and Riordan introduced and extensively studied a general model of inhomogeneous random graphs parametrised by graphons. In particular, they studied the emergence of a giant component in these inhomogeneous random graphs by relating them to a broad collection of inhomogeneous Galton-Watson branching processes. Fractional isomorphism of finite graphs is an important and well-studied concept at the intersection of graph theory and combinatorial optimisation. It has many different characterizations that involve a range of very different and seemingly unrelated properties of graphs. Recently, Grebík and Rocha developed a theory of fractional isomorphism for graphons. In our work, we characterise inhomogeneous random graphs that yield the same inhomogeneous Galton-Watson branching process (and hence have a similar component structure). This is joint work with Jan Hladký and Anna Margarethe Limbach.

Ehrhart theory is the study of lattice polytopes, specifically aimed at understanding how many lattice points are inside dilates of a given lattice polytope, and the study has a wide range of connections ranging from coloring graphs to mirror symmetry and representation theory. Recently, we introduced new algebraic tools to understand this theory, and resolve some classical conjectures. I will explain the combinatorial underpinnings behind two of the key techniques: Parseval identities for semigroup algebras, and the character algebra of a semigroup.

We will give an overview of the recent attempts of building a structure theory for graphs centered around First-Order transductions: a notion of containment inspired by finite model theory. Particularly, we will speak about the notions of monadic dependence and monadic stability, their combinatorial characterizations, and the developments on the algorithmic front.