Disjoint Paths in Graphs III, Characterization

Abstract.

Let G be a graph, $ \{a, b, c\}\subseteq V(G) $, and $ \{a', b', c'\}\subseteq V(G) $ such that $ \{a, b, c\}\neq \{a', b', c'\} $. We say that $ (G, \{a, c\}, \{a', c'\}, (b, b')) $ is an obstruction if, for any three vertex disjoint paths from {a, b, c} to {a', b', c'} in G, one path is from b to b'. In this paper we characterize obstructions. As a consequence, we show that no obstruction can be 8-connected, unless b = b' or {a, c} = {a', c'}.