A product version of the Hilton-Milner Theorem II

Two families $\mathcal{F},\mathcal{G}$ of $k$-subsets of $\{1,2,\ldots,n\}$ are called {\it non-trivial cross-intersecting} if $F\cap G\neq \emptyset$ for all $F\in \mathcal{F}, G\in \mathcal{G}$ and $\cap \{F\colon F\in \mathcal{F}\}=\emptyset=\cap \{G\colon G\in\mathcal{G}\}$. In this note, we establish the product version of the Hilton-Milner Theorem for $k\geq 8$ in the full range. That is, if $\mathcal{F},\mathcal{G}\subset \binom{[n]}{k}$ are non-trivial cross-intersecting, $n\geq 2k+1$ and $k\geq 8$, then \[ |\mathcal{F}||\mathcal{G}|\leq \left(\binom{n-1}{k-1}- \binom{n-k-1}{k-1} +1\right)^2. \]

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Combinatorial Theory Series A
Published
2026-09-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcta.2026.106261
Primary Topic
Limits and Structures in Graph Theory
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

A product version of the Hilton-Milner Theorem II

Jian Wang, Peter Frankl
Journal of Combinatorial Theory Series A
Limits and Structures in Graph Theory
article

A product version of the Hilton-Milner Theorem II

Jian Wang, Peter Frankl
article en

Abstract

Two families $\mathcal{F},\mathcal{G}$ of $k$-subsets of $\{1,2,\ldots,n\}$ are called {\it non-trivial cross-intersecting} if $F\cap G\neq \emptyset$ for all $F\in \mathcal{F}, G\in \mathcal{G}$ and $\cap \{F\colon F\in \mathcal{F}\}=\emptyset=\cap \{G\colon G\in\mathcal{G}\}$. In this note, we establish the product version of the Hilton-Milner Theorem for $k\geq 8$ in the full range. That is, if $\mathcal{F},\mathcal{G}\subset \binom{[n]}{k}$ are non-trivial cross-intersecting, $n\geq 2k+1$ and $k\geq 8$, then \[ |\mathcal{F}||\mathcal{G}|\leq \left(\binom{n-1}{k-1}- \binom{n-k-1}{k-1} +1\right)^2. \]

Journal of Combinatorial Theory Series AVol. 226
National Natural Science Foundation of China, National University's Basic Research Foundation of China
Openalex Percentile: Top 46%
Limits and Structures in Graph Theory
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