Longest cycles in k-connected graphs with given independence number

AbstractThe Chvátal–Erdős Theorem states that every graph whose connectivity is at least its independence number has a spanning cycle. In 1976, Fouquet and Jolivet conjectured an extension: If G is an n-vertex k-connected graph with independence number a, and a⩾k, then G has a cycle with length at least k(n+a−k)a. We prove this conjecture