Complete minors, independent sets, and chordal graphs

The Hadwiger number h(G) of a graph G is the maximum size of a complete minor of G. Hadwiger’s Conjecture states that h(G) ≥ χ(G). Since χ(G)α(G) ≥ |V (G)|, Hadwiger’s Conjecture implies that α(G)h(G) ≥ |V (G)|. We show that (2α(G) − ⌈log τ (τα(G)/2)⌉)h(G) ≥ |V (G)| where τ ≈ 6.83. For graphs with α(G) ≥ 14, this improves on a recent result of Kawarabayashi and Song who showed (2α(G) − 2)h(G) ≥ |V (G)| when α(G) ≥ 3.