Sparse graphs without long induced paths

Abstract: Graphs of bounded degeneracy are known to contain induced paths of order $\Omega(\log \log n)$ when they contain a path of order $n$, as proved by Ne\v{s}et\v{r}il and Ossona de Mendez (2012). In 2016 Esperet, Lemoine, and Maffray conjectured that this bound could be improved to $\Omega((\log n)^c)$ for some constant $c>0$ depending on the degeneracy. We disprove this conjecture by constructing, for arbitrarily large values of $n$, a graph that is 2-degenerate, has a path of order $n$, and where all induced paths have order $O((\log \log n)^2)$. We also show that the graphs we construct have linearly bounded coloring numbers.