The Sigma Chromatic Number of a Graph

For a nontrivial connected graph G, let ${c: V(G)\to {{\mathbb N}}}For a nontrivial connected graph G, let c: V(G)? \mathbb N{c: V(G)\to {{\mathbb N}}} be a vertex coloring of G, where adjacent vertices may be colored the same. For a vertex v of G, let N(v) denote the set of vertices adjacent to v. The color sum σ(v) of v is the sum of the colors of the vertices in N(v). If σ(u) ≠ σ(v) for every two adjacent vertices u and v of G, then c is called a sigma coloring of G. The minimum number of colors required in a sigma coloring of a graph G is called its sigma chromatic number σ(G). The sigma chromatic number of a graph G never exceeds its chromatic number χ(G) and for every pair a, b of positive integers with a ≤ b, there exists a connected graph G with σ(G) = a and χ(G) = b. There is a connected graph G of order n with σ(G) = k for every pair k, n of positive integers with k ≤n if and only if k ≠ n − 1. Several other results concerning sigma chromatic numbers are presented.     

On Light Graphs in 3-Connected Plane Graphs Without Triangular or Quadrangular Faces

 We prove that each 3-connected plane graph G without triangular or quadrangular faces either contains a k-path P _k , a path on k vertices, such that each of its k vertices has degree ≤5/3k in G or does not contain any k-path. We also prove that each 3-connected pentagonal plane graph G which has a k-cycle, a cycle on k vertices, k∈ {5,8,11,14}, contains a k-cycle such that all its vertices have, in G, bounded degrees. Moreover, for all integers k and m, k≥ 3, k∉ {5,8,11,14} and m≥ 3, we present a graph in which every k-cycle contains a vertex of degree at least m. Received: June 29, 1998 Final version received: April 11, 2000     

On Non-Essential Edges in 3-Connected Graphs

 An edge e in a simple 3-connected graph is deletable (simple-contractible) if the deletion G\e (contraction G/e) is both simple and 3-connected. Suppose a, b, and c are three non-negative integers. If there exists a simple 3-connected graph with exactly a edges which are deletable but not simple-contractible, exactly b edges which are simple-contractible but not deletable, and exactly c edges which are both deletable and simple-contractible, then we call the triple (a, b, c) realizable, and such a graph is said to be an (a, b, c)-graph. Tutte's Wheels Theorem says the only (0, 0, 0)-graphs are the wheels. In this paper, we characterize the (a, b, c) realizable triples for which at least one of a + b≤2, c=0, and c≥16 holds. Received: February 12, 1997 Revised: February 13, 1998     

Bounding the Derived Length for a Given Set of Character Degrees

Let G be a finite solvable group with {1, a, b, c, ab, ac} as the character degree set, where a ,b, and c are pairwise coprime integers greater than 1. We show that the derived length of G is at most 4. This verifies that the Taketa inequality, dl(G) ≤ |cd(G)|, is valid for solvable groups with {1, a, b, c, ab, ac} as the character degree set. Also, as a corollary, we conclude that if a, b, c, and d are pairwise coprime integers greater than 1 and G is a solvable group such that cd(G) = {1, a, b, c, d, ac, ad, bc, bd}, then dl(G) ≤ 5. Finally, we construct a family of solvable groups whose derived lengths are 4 and character degree sets are in the form {1, p, b, pb, q ^p , pq ^p }, where p is a prime, q is a prime power of an odd prime, and b > 1 is integer such that p, q, and b are pairwise coprime. Hence, the bound 4 is the best bound for the derived length of solvable groups whose character degree set is in the form {1, a, b, c, ab, ac} for some pairwise coprime integers a, b, and c.     

Complexity of approximating the oriented diameter of chordal graphs

The oriented diameter of a bridgeless connected undirected (bcu) graph G is the smallest diameter among all the diameters of strongly connected orientations of G. We study algorithmic aspects of determining the oriented diameter of a chordal graph. We (a) construct a linear‐time approximation algorithm that, for a given chordal bcu graph G, finds a strongly connected orientation of G with diameter at most one plus twice the oriented diameter of G; (b) prove that, for every k ≥ 2 and k # 3, to decide whether a chordal (split for k = 2) bcu graph G admits an orientation of diameter k is NP‐complete; (c) show that, unless P = NP, there is neither a polynomial‐time absolute approximation algorithm nor an α‐approximation algorithm that computes the oriented diameter of a bcu chordal graph for α < . © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 45: 255–269, 2004     

Chromatic uniqueness of certain complete tripartite graphs

Let P(G, λ) be the chromatic polynomial of a graph G. A graph G is chromatically unique if for any graph H, P(H, λ) = P(G, λ) implies H is isomorphic to G. Liu et al. [Liu, R. Y., Zhao, H. X., Ye, C. F.: A complete solution to a conjecture on chromatic uniqueness of complete tripartite graphs. Discrete Math., 289, 175–179 (2004)], and Lau and Peng [Lau, G. C., Peng, Y. H.: Chromatic uniqueness of certain complete t-partite graphs. Ars Comb., 92, 353–376 (2009)] show that K(p − k, p − i, p) for i = 0, 1 are chromatically unique if p ≥ k + 2 ≥ 4. In this paper, we show that if 2 ≤ i ≤ 4, the complete tripartite graph K(p − k, p − i, p) is chromatically unique for integers k ≥ i and p ≥ k ²/4 + i + 1.     

An <Emphasis Type="Italic">s</Emphasis>-Hamiltonian Line Graph Problem

For an integer k > 0, a graph G is k-triangular if every edge of G lies in at least k distinct 3-cycles of G. In (J Graph Theory 11:399–407 (1987)), Broersma and Veldman proposed an open problem: for a given positive integer k, determine the value s for which the statement “Let G be a k-triangular graph. Then L(G), the line graph of G, is s-hamiltonian if and only L(G) is (s + 2)-connected” is valid. Broersma and Veldman proved in 1987 that the statement above holds for 0 ≤ s ≤ k and asked, specifically, if the statement holds when s = 2k. In this paper, we prove that the statement above holds for 0 ≤ s ≤ max{2k, 6k − 16}.     

Distance graphs with maximum chromatic number

The distance graph G(D) has the set of integers as vertices and two vertices are adjacent in G(D) if their difference is contained in the set D⊂Z. A conjecture of Zhu states that if the chromatic number of G(D) achieves its maximum value |D|+1 then the graph has a triangle. The conjecture is proven to be true if |D|?3. We prove that the chromatic number of a distance graph with D={a,b,c,d} is five only if either D={1,2,3,4k} or D={a,b,a+b,b-a}. This confirms a stronger version of Zhu's conjecture for |D|=4, namely, if the chromatic number achieves its maximum value then the graph contains K₄.     

Boxicity of Circular Arc Graphs

A k-dimensional box is a Cartesian product R ₁ × · · · × R _k where each R _i is a closed interval on the real line. The boxicity of a graph G, denoted as box(G), is the minimum integer k such that G can be represented as the intersection graph of a collection of k-dimensional boxes. That is, two vertices are adjacent if and only if their corresponding boxes intersect. A circular arc graph is a graph that can be represented as the intersection graph of arcs on a circle. We show that if G is a circular arc graph which admits a circular arc representation in which no arc has length at least p(\fraca-1a){\pi(\frac{\alpha-1}{\alpha})} for some a ? \mathbbN _{3 2}{\alpha\in\mathbb{N}_{\geq 2}}, then box(G) ≤ α (Here the arcs are considered with respect to a unit circle). From this result we show that if G has maximum degree D < ?\fracn(a-1)2a?{\Delta < \lfloor{\frac{n(\alpha-1)}{2\alpha}}\rfloor} for some a ? \mathbbN _{3 2}{\alpha \in \mathbb{N}_{\geq 2}}, then box(G) ≤ α. We also demonstrate a graph having box(G) > α but with D = n\frac(a-1)2a+ \fracn2a(a+1)+(a+2){\Delta=n\frac{(\alpha-1)}{2\alpha}+ \frac{n}{2\alpha(\alpha+1)}+(\alpha+2)}. For a proper circular arc graph G, we show that if D < ?\fracn(a-1)a?{\Delta < \lfloor{\frac{n(\alpha-1)}{\alpha}}\rfloor} for some a ? \mathbbN _{3 2}{\alpha\in \mathbb{N}_{\geq 2}}, then box(G) ≤ α. Let r be the cardinality of the minimum overlap set, i.e. the minimum number of arcs passing through any point on the circle, with respect to some circular arc representation of G. We show that for any circular arc graph G, box(G) ≤ r + 1 and this bound is tight. We show that if G admits a circular arc representation in which no family of k ≤ 3 arcs covers the circle, then box(G) ≤ 3 and if G admits a circular arc representation in which no family of k ≤ 4 arcs covers the circle, then box(G) ≤ 2. We also show that both these bounds are tight.     

Minors in Expanding Graphs

We propose a unifying framework for studying extremal problems related to graph minors. This framework relates the existence of a large minor in a given graph to its expansion properties. We then apply the developed framework to several extremal problems and prove in particular that: (a) Every -free graph G with average degree r ( are constants) contains a minor with average degree , for some constant ; (b) Every C_2k-free graph G with average degree r (k ≥ 2 is a constant) contains a minor with average degree , for some constant c = c(k) > 0. We also derive explicit lower bounds on the minor density in random, pseudo-random and expanding graphs. Received: March 2008, Accepted: May 2008     

On the generalization of the D. H. Lehmer problem

Let n ≥ 2 be a fixed positive integer, q ≥ 3 and c be two integers with （n, q） = （c, q） = 1. We denote by rn（51, 52, C; q） （δ 〈 δ1,δ2≤ 1） the number of all pairs of integers a, b satisfying ab ≡ c（mod q）, 1 〈 a ≤δ1q, 1 ≤ b≤δ2q, （a,q） = （b,q） = 1 and nt（a＋b）. The main purpose of this paper is to study the asymptotic properties of rn （δ1, δ2, c; q）, and give a sharp asymptotic formula for it.     

On κ—ordered Graphs Involved Degree Sum

A graph G is κ-ordered Hamiltonian 2≤κ≤n,if for every ordered sequence S of κ distinct vertices of G,there exists a Hamiltonian cycle that encounters S in the given order,In this article,we prove that if G is a graph on n vertices with degree sum of nonadjacent vertices at least n 3κ-9/2,then G is κ-ordered Hamiltonian for κ=3,4,…,[n/19].We also show that the degree sum bound can be reduced to n 2[κ/2]-2 if κ(G）≥3κ-1/2 or δ（G）≥5κ-4.Several known results are generalized.     

Structures and Chromaticity of Extremal 3-Colourable Sparse Graphs

 Assume that G is a 3-colourable connected graph with e(G) = 2v(G) −k, where k≥ 4. It has been shown that s ₃(G) ≥ 2 ^{k −3}, where s _r (G) = P(G,r)/r! for any positive integer r and P(G, λ) is the chromatic polynomial of G. In this paper, we prove that if G is 2-connected and s ₃(G) < 2 ^{k −2}, then G contains at most v(G) −k triangles; and the upper bound is attained only if G is a graph obtained by replacing each edge in the k-cycle C _k by a 2-tree. By using this result, we settle the problem of determining if W(n, s) is χ-unique, where W(n, s) is the graph obtained from the wheel W _n by deleting all but s consecutive spokes. Received: January 29, 1999 Final version received: April 8, 2000     

Homomorphisms of Products of Graphs into Graphs Without Four Cycles

Given two graphs A and G, we write if there is a homomorphism of A to G and if there is no such homomorphism. The graph G is -free if, whenever both a and c are adjacent to b and d, then a = c or b = d. We will prove that if A and B are connected graphs, each containing a triangle and if G is a -free graph with and , then (here " denotes the categorical product). Received August 31, 1998/Revised April 19, 2000 RID="†" ID="†" Supported by NSERC of Canada Grant #691325.     

Edge choosability of planar graphs without short cycles

In this paper we prove that if G is a planar graph with △= 5 and without 4-cycles or 6-cycles, then G is edge-6-choosable. This consequence together with known results show that, for each fixed k ∈{3,4,5,6}, a k-cycle-free planar graph G is edge-(△ 1)-choosable, where △ denotes the maximum degree of G.     

Additive Latin transversals and group rings

LetA={a ₁, …,a _k} and {b ₁, …,b _k} be two subsets of an abelian groupG, k≤|G|. Snevily conjectured that, when |G| is odd, there is a numbering of the elements ofB such thata _i+b _i,1≤i≤k are pairwise distinct. By using a polynomial method, Alon affirmed this conjecture for |G| prime, even whenA is a sequence ofk<|G| elements. With a new application of the polynomial method, Dasgupta, Károlyi, Serra and Szegedy extended Alon’s result to the groupsZ _p ^r andZ _p ^rin the casek<p and verified Snevily’s conjecture for every cyclic group. In this paper, by employing group rings as a tool, we prove that Alon’s result is true for any finite abelianp-group withk<√2p, and verify Snevily’s conjecture for every abelian group of odd order in the casek<√p, wherep is the smallest prime divisor of |G|. This work has been supported partly by NSFC grant number 19971058 and 10271080.     

On the Cubicity of Interval Graphs

A k-cube (or “a unit cube in k dimensions”) is defined as the Cartesian product where R _i (for 1 ≤ i ≤ k) is an interval of the form [a _i , a _i  + 1] on the real line. The k-cube representation of a graph G is a mapping of the vertices of G to k-cubes such that the k-cubes corresponding to two vertices in G have a non-empty intersection if and only if the vertices are adjacent. The cubicity of a graph G, denoted as cub(G), is defined as the minimum dimension k such that G has a k-cube representation. An interval graph is a graph that can be represented as the intersection of intervals on the real line - i.e., the vertices of an interval graph can be mapped to intervals on the real line such that two vertices are adjacent if and only if their corresponding intervals overlap. We show that for any interval graph G with maximum degree Δ, . This upper bound is shown to be tight up to an additive constant of 4 by demonstrating interval graphs for which cubicity is equal to .     

A Neighborhood Condition for Graphs to Have [a, b]-Factors II

 Let a, b, m, and t be integers such that 1≤a<b and 1≤t≤⌉(b−m+1)/a⌉. Suppose that G is a graph of order |G| and H is any subgraph of G with the size |E(H)|=m. Then we prove that G has an [a,b]-factor containing all the edges of H if the minimum degree is at least a, |G|>((a+b)(t(a+b−1)−1)+2m)/b, and |N _G (x ₁)∪⋯ ∪N _G (x _t )|≥(a|G|+2m)/(a+b) for every independent set {x ₁,…,x _t }⊆V(G). This result is best possible in some sense and it is an extension of the result of H. Matsuda (A neighborhood condition for graphs to have [a,b]-factors, Discrete Mathematics 224 (2000) 289–292). Received: October, 2001 Final version received: September 17, 2002 RID="*" ID="*" This research was partially supported by the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, Grant-in-Aid for Encouragement of Young Scientists, 13740084, 2001     

Acyclic edge coloring of 2‐degenerate graphs

An acyclic edge coloring of a graph is a proper edge coloring such that there are no bichromatic cycles. The acyclic chromatic index of a graph is the minimum number k such that there is an acyclic edge coloring using k colors and is denoted by a′(G). A graph is called 2‐degenerate if any of its induced subgraph has a vertex of degree at most 2. The class of 2‐degenerate graphs properly contains series–parallel graphs, outerplanar graphs, non ? regular subcubic graphs, planar graphs of girth at least 6 and circle graphs of girth at least 5 as subclasses. It was conjectured by Alon, Sudakov and Zaks (and much earlier by Fiamcik) that a′(G)?Δ + 2, where Δ = Δ(G) denotes the maximum degree of the graph. We prove the conjecture for 2‐degenerate graphs. In fact we prove a stronger bound: we prove that if G is a 2‐degenerate graph with maximum degree Δ, then a′(G)?Δ + 1. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 69: 1–27, 2012