On stability of the Erd\H{o}s-Rademacher Problem

Abstract

Mantel's theorem states that every $n$-vertex graph with $\lfloor \frac{n^2}{4} \rfloor +t$ edges, where $t>0$, contains a triangle. The problem of determining the minimum number of triangles in such a graph is usually referred to as the Erd\H{o}s-Rademacher problem. Lov\'asz and Simonovits proved that there are at least $t\lfloor n/2 \rfloor$ triangles in each of those graphs. Katona and Xiao considered the same problem under the additional condition that there are no $s-1$ vertices covering all triangles. They settled the case $t=1$ and $s=2$. Solving their conjecture, we determine the minimum number of triangles for every fixed pair of $s$ and $t$, when $n$ is sufficiently large. Additionally, solving another conjecture of Katona and Xiao, we extend the theory for considering cliques instead of triangles.