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Graph theory: minors vs topological minors

By Daniel Rodriguez
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This is related to a previous question, Robertson-Seymour fails for topological minor ordering? (I.e., subgraphs and subdivision), but is much simpler.

What is a simple example of two graphs $G$ and $H$ such that $G$ is a minor of $H$ but not a topological minor? This would help me understand the difference between the two concepts.

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1 Answer

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Consider the standard cube $Q^3$ on $8$ vertices as $H$. Choose as $G$ the wheel $W^4$ on $5$ vertices. See also the following picture:

enter image description here.

Then, $G$ is a minor of $H$ but not a topological minor.

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