Let be the sequence of Fibonacci numbers ; that is, and for all .
Consider a graph with vertices labeled , and two (different) vertices are connected by an edge if and only if or . The above picture is the graph for .
Find the largest such that this graph is planar. If there is no largest , enter .
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The answer is 29.
First, the Fibonacci numbers have the property that F a ∣ F b if and only if a ∣ b . Thus, we can construct a graph with 3 , 4 , 5 , … , N instead of F 3 , F 4 , F 5 , … , F N , apply the same divisibility rule (an edge if a vertex is multiple of the other), and obtain an isomorphic graph.
With this, the following is a planar embedding for N = 2 9 , with labels 3 , 4 , … , N instead of F 3 , F 4 , … , F N :
Now, showing that N ≥ 3 0 is impossible is actually simpler. By Kuratowski's theorem , a graph is not planar if and only if there exists a subgraph of it isomorphic to a subdivision of either K 5 or K 3 , 3 . We claim there exists a subgraph isomorphic to a subdivision of K 3 , 3 . This is best shown by a picture:
Thus no N ≥ 3 0 will make it planar (because it will contain the above subgraph), so the largest N is 2 9 .