Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2024/ii/paper-1/17i/a/solution

Let
be a longest path. Every neighbour of either endpoint lies on . Among the possible cuts between consecutive vertices, mark a cut when is an edge and also mark it when is an edge. There are at least
marks, so some cut receives both marks. The path edges together with and form a cycle through all vertices of .
The degree assumption makes connected: two components would each contain at least vertices. If , connectedness gives an edge from a vertex outside the cycle to a vertex on it; breaking the cycle there produces a path with vertices, contrary to maximality. Hence , so is Hamiltonian. This proves the Dirac theorem in this case.

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