Long cycles in Hamiltonian graphs

Abstract

We prove that if an $n$-vertex graph with minimum degree at least $3$ contains a Hamiltonian cycle, then it contains another cycle of length $n-o(n)$; this implies, in particular, that a well-known conjecture of Sheehan from 1975 holds asymptotically. Our methods, which combine constructive, poset-based techniques and non-constructive, parity-based arguments, may be of independent interest.

15 pages, submitted, some typos fixed