Improved Lower Bounds for the Orders of Even Girth Cages

The well-known Moore bound $M(k,g)$ serves as a universal lower bound for the order of $k$-regular graphs of girth $g$. The excess $e$ of a $k$-regular graph $G$ of girth $g$ and order $n$ is the difference between its order $n$ and the corresponding Moore bound, $e=n - M(k,g) $. We find infinite families of parameters $(k,g)$, $g$ even, for which we show that the excess of any $k$-regular graph of girth $g$ is larger than $4$. This yields new improved lower bounds on the order of $k$-regular graphs of girth $g$ of smallest possible order; the so-called $(k,g)$-cages. We also show that the excess of the smallest $k$-regular graphs of girth $g$ can be arbitrarily large for a restricted family of $(k,g)$-graphs satisfying a very natural additional structural property.