The quantum Ramsey numbers $QR(2,k)$

Abstract

Operator systems of matrices can be viewed as quantum analogues of finite graphs. This analogy suggests many natural combinatorial questions in linear algebra. We determine the quantum Ramsey numbers $QR(2,k)$ and the lower quantum Tur\'an numbers $T^\downarrow(n, m)$ with $m \geq n/4$. In particular, we conclude that $QR(2,2) = 4$ and confirm Weaver's conjecture that $T^\downarrow(4, 1) = 4$. We also obtain a new result for the existence of anticliques in quantum graphs of low dimension.