The circular chromatic number of series‐parallel graphs

In this article, we consider the circular chromatic number χ_c(G) of series‐parallel graphs G. It is well known that series‐parallel graphs have chromatic number at most 3. Hence, their circular chromatic numbers are at most 3. If a series‐parallel graph G contains a triangle, then both the chromatic number and the circular chromatic number of G are indeed equal to 3. We shall show that if a series‐parallel graph G has girth at least 2 ⌊(3k − 1)/2⌋, then χ_c(G) ≤ 4k/(2k − 1). The special case k = 2 of this result implies that a triangle free series‐parallel graph G has circular chromatic number at most 8/3. Therefore, the circular chromatic number of a series‐parallel graph (and of a K₄‐minor free graph) is either 3 or at most 8/3. This is in sharp contrast to recent results of Moser [5] and Zhu [14], which imply that the circular chromatic number of K₅‐minor free graphs are precisely all rational numbers in the interval [2, 4]. We shall also construct examples to demonstrate the sharpness of the bound given in this article. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 33: 14–24, 2000     

Short proofs for two theorems of Chien,Hell and Zhu

In (J Graph Theory 33 (2000), 14–24), Hell and Zhu proved that if a series–parallel graph G has girth at least 2?(3k?1)/2?, then χ_c(G)≤4k/(2k?1). In (J Graph Theory 33 (2000), 185–198), Chien and Zhu proved that the girth condition given in (J Graph Theory 33 (2000), 14–24) is sharp. Short proofs of both results are given in this note. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph 66: 83‐88, 2010 Theory     

Circular chromatic index of graphs of maximum degree 3

This paper proves that if G is a graph (parallel edges allowed) of maximum degree 3, then χ′_c(G) ≤ 11/3 provided that G does not contain H₁ or H₂ as a subgraph, where H₁ and H₂ are obtained by subdividing one edge of K (the graph with three parallel edges between two vertices) and K₄, respectively. As χ′_c(H₁) = χ′_c(H₂) = 4, our result implies that there is no graph G with 11/3 < χ′_c(G) < 4. It also implies that if G is a 2‐edge connected cubic graph, then χ′_c(G) ≤ 11/3. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 49: 325–335, 2005     

Tension polynomials of graphs

The tension polynomial F_G(k) of a graph G, evaluating the number of nowhere‐zero ?_k‐tensions in G, is the nontrivial divisor of the chromatic polynomial χ_G(k) of G, in that χ_G(k) = k^c(G)F_G(k), where c(G) denotes the number of components of G. We introduce the integral tension polynomial I_G(k), which evaluates the number of nowhere‐zero integral tensions in G with absolute values smaller than k. We show that 2^r(G)F_G(k)≥I_G(k)≥ (r(G)+1)F_G(k), where r(G)=|V(G)|?c(G), and, for every k>1, F_G(k+1)≥ F_G(k)˙k / (k?1) and I_G(k+1)≥I_G(k)˙k/(k?1). © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 40: 137–146, 2002     

Circular choosability of graphs

This paper discusses the circular version of list coloring of graphs. We give two definitions of the circular list chromatic number (or circular choosability) χ_{c, l}(G) of a graph G and prove that they are equivalent. Then we prove that for any graph G, χ_{c, l}(G) ≥ χ_l(G) ? 1. Examples are given to show that this bound is sharp in the sense that for any ? 0, there is a graph G with χ_{c, l}(G) > χ_l(G) ? 1 + ?. It is also proved that k‐degenerate graphs G have χ_{c, l}(G) ≤ 2k. This bound is also sharp: for each ? < 0, there is a k‐degenerate graph G with χ_{c, l}(G) ≥ 2k ? ?. This shows that χ_{c, l}(G) could be arbitrarily larger than χ_l(G). Finally we prove that if G has maximum degree k, then χ_{c, l}(G) ≤ k + 1. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 48: 210–218, 2005     

The symmetric (2k,k)‐graphs

A noncomplete graph G is called an (n, k)‐graph if it is n‐connected and G − X is not (n − |X| + 1)‐connected for any X ⊆ V(G) with |X| ≤ k. Mader conjectured that for k ≥ 3 the graph K_{2k + 2} − (1‐factor) is the unique (2k, k)‐graph. We settle this conjecture for strongly regular graphs, for edge transitive graphs, and for vertex transitive graphs. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 36: 35–51, 2001     

List‐coloring the square of a subcubic graph

The square G² of a graph G is the graph with the same vertex set G and with two vertices adjacent if their distance in G is at most 2. Thomassen showed that every planar graph G with maximum degree Δ(G) = 3 satisfies χ(G²) ≤ 7. Kostochka and Woodall conjectured that for every graph, the list‐chromatic number of G² equals the chromatic number of G², that is, χ_l(G²) = χ(G²) for all G. If true, this conjecture (together with Thomassen's result) implies that every planar graph G with Δ(G) = 3 satisfies χ_l(G²) ≤ 7. We prove that every connected graph (not necessarily planar) with Δ(G) = 3 other than the Petersen graph satisfies χ_l(G²) ≤8 (and this is best possible). In addition, we show that if G is a planar graph with Δ(G) = 3 and girth g(G) ≥ 7, then χ_l(G²) ≤ 7. Dvo?ák, ?krekovski, and Tancer showed that if G is a planar graph with Δ(G) = 3 and girth g(G) ≥ 10, then χ_l(G²) ≤6. We improve the girth bound to show that if G is a planar graph with Δ(G) = 3 and g(G) ≥ 9, then χ_l(G²) ≤ 6. All of our proofs can be easily translated into linear‐time coloring algorithms. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 57: 65–87, 2008     

Edge disjoint Hamilton cycles in sparse random graphs of minimum degree at least k

Let G_n,m,k denote the space of simple graphs with n vertices, m edges, and minimum degree at least k, each graph G being equiprobable. Let G have property A_k, if G contains ⌊(k − 1)/2⌋ edge disjoint Hamilton cycles, and, if k is even, a further edge disjoint matching of size ⌊n/2⌋. We prove that, for k ≥ 3, there is a constant C_k such that if 2m ≥ C_kn then A_k occurs in G_n,m,k with probability tending to 1 as n → ∞. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Graph Theory 34: 42–59, 2000     

On a conjecture by Plummer and Toft

The cyclic chromatic number χ_c(G) of a 2‐connected plane graph G is the minimum number of colors in an assigment of colors to the vertices of G such that, for every face‐bounding cycle f of G, the vertices of f have different colors. Plummer and Toft proved that, for a 3‐connected plane graph G, under the assumption Δ*(G) ≥ 42, where Δ*(G) is the size of a largest face of G, it holds that χ_c(G) ≤ Δ*(G) + 4. They conjectured that, if G is a 3‐connected plane graph, then χ_c>(G) ≤ Δ*(G) + 2. In the article the conjecture is proved for Δ*(G) ≥ 24. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 30: 177–189, 1999     

Edge‐face chromatic number and edge chromatic number of simple plane graphs

Given a simple plane graph G, an edge‐face k‐coloring of G is a function ? : E(G) ∪ F(G) → {1,…,k} such that, for any two adjacent or incident elements a, b ∈ E(G) ∪ F(G), ?(a) ≠ ?(b). Let χ_e(G), χ_ef(G), and Δ(G) denote the edge chromatic number, the edge‐face chromatic number, and the maximum degree of G, respectively. In this paper, we prove that χ_ef(G) = χ_e(G) = Δ(G) for any 2‐connected simple plane graph G with Δ (G) ≥ 24. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory     

Partitioning infinite trees

A graph G is bisectable if its edges can be colored by two colors so that the resulting monochromatic subgraphs are isomorphic. We show that any infinite tree of maximum degree Δ with infinitely many vertices of degree at least Δ −1 is bisectable as is any infinite tree of maximum degree Δ ≤ 4. Further, it is proved that every infinite tree T of finite maximum degree contains a finite subset E of its edges so that the graph T − E is bisectable. To measure how “far” a graph G is from being bisectable, we define c(G) to be the smallest number k > 1 so that there is a coloring of the edges of G by k colors with the property that any two monochromatic subgraphs are isomorphic. An upper bound on c(G), which is in a sense best possible, is presented. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 34: 113–127, 2000     

Chromatic‐index‐critical graphs of even order

A k‐critical (multi‐) graph G has maximum degree k, chromatic index χ′(G) = k + 1, and χ′(G − e) < k + 1 for each edge e of G. For each k ≥ 3, we construct k‐critical (multi‐) graphs with certain properties to obtain counterexamples to some well‐known conjectures. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 30: 27–36, 1999     

Decreasing the diameter of bounded degree graphs

Let f_d (G) denote the minimum number of edges that have to be added to a graph G to transform it into a graph of diameter at most d. We prove that for any graph G with maximum degree D and n > n₀ (D) vertices, f₂(G) = n − D − 1 and f₃(G) ≥ n − O(D³). For d ≥ 4, f_d (G) depends strongly on the actual structure of G, not only on the maximum degree of G. We prove that the maximum of f_d (G) over all connected graphs on n vertices is n/⌊d/2 ⌋ − O(1). As a byproduct, we show that for the n‐cycle C_n, f_d (C_n) = n/(2⌊d/2 ⌋ − 1) − O(1) for every d and n, improving earlier estimates of Chung and Garey in certain ranges. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 35: 161–172, 2000     

Posets and planar graphs

A k-decomposition (G₁,…,G_k) of a graph G is a partition of its edge set to form k spanning subgraphs G₁,…,G_k. The classical theorem of Nordhaus and Gaddum bounds χ(G₁) + χ(G₂) and χ(G₁)χ(G₂) over all 2-decompositions of K_n. For a graph parameter p, let p(k;G) denote the maximum of over all k-decompositions of the graph G. The clique number ω, chromatic number χ, list chromatic number χℓ, and Szekeres–Wilf number σ satisfy ω(2;K_n) = χ(2;K_n) = χℓ(2;K_n) = σ(2;K_n) = n + 1. We obtain lower and upper bounds for ω(k;K_n), χ(k;K_n), χℓ(k;K_n), and σ(k;K_n). The last three behave differently for large k. We also obtain lower and upper bounds for the maximum of χ(k;G) over all graphs embedded on a given surface. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory     

The Linear 2-Arboricity of Planar Graphs

 Let G be a planar graph with maximum degree Δ and girth g. The linear 2-arboricity la ₂(G) of G is the least integer k such that G can be partitioned into k edge-disjoint forests, whose component trees are paths of length at most 2. We prove that (1) la ₂(G)≤⌈(Δ+1)/2⌉+12; (2) la ₂(G)≤⌈(Δ+1)/2⌉+6 if g≥4; (3) la ₂(G)≤⌈(Δ+1)/2⌉+2 if g≥5; (4) la ₂(G)≤⌈(Δ+1)/2⌉+1 if g≥7. Received: June 28, 2001 Final version received: May 17, 2002 Acknowledgments. This work was done while the second and third authors were visiting the Institute of Mathematics, Academia Sinica, Taipei. The financial support provided by the Institute is greatly appreciated.     

Inequalities for the first‐fit chromatic number

The First‐Fit (or Grundy) chromatic number of G, written as χ_FF(G), is defined as the maximum number of classes in an ordered partition of V(G) into independent sets so that each vertex has a neighbor in each set earlier than its own. The well‐known Nordhaus‐‐Gaddum inequality states that the sum of the ordinary chromatic numbers of an n‐vertex graph and its complement is at most n + 1. Zaker suggested finding the analogous inequality for the First‐Fit chromatic number. We show for n ≥ 10 that ?(5n + 2)/4? is an upper bound, and this is sharp. We extend the problem for multicolorings as well and prove asymptotic results for infinitely many cases. We also show that the smallest order of C₄‐free bipartite graphs with χ_FF(G) = k is asymptotically 2k² (the upper bound answers a problem of Zaker [9]). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 59: 75–88, 2008     

Long cycles passing through a specified path in a graph

For a graph G and an integer k ≥ 1, let ς_k(G) = d_G(v_i): {v₁, …, v_k} is an independent set of vertices in G}. Enomoto proved the following theorem. Let s ≥ 1 and let G be a (s + 2)-connected graph. Then G has a cycle of length ≥ min{|V(G)|, ς₂(G) − s} passing through any path of length s. We generalize this result as follows. Let k ≥ 3 and s ≥ 1 and let G be a (k + s − 1)-connected graph. Then G has a cycle of length ≥ min{|V(G)|, − s} passing through any path of length s. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Graph Theory 29: 177–184, 1998     

Odd‐angulated graphs and cancelling factors in box products

Under what conditions is it true that if there is a graph homomorphism G □ H → G □ T, then there is a graph homomorphism H→ T? Let G be a connected graph of odd girth 2k + 1. We say that G is (2k + 1)‐angulated if every two vertices of G are joined by a path each of whose edges lies on some (2k + 1)‐cycle. We call G strongly (2k + 1)‐angulated if every two vertices are connected by a sequence of (2k + 1)‐cycles with consecutive cycles sharing at least one edge. We prove that if G is strongly (2k + 1)‐angulated, H is any graph, S, T are graphs with odd girth at least 2k + 1, and ?: G□ H→S□T is a graph homomorphism, then either ? maps G□{h} to S□{t_h} for all h∈V(H) where t_h∈V(T) depends on h; or ? maps G□{h} to {s_h}□ T for all h∈V(H) where s_h∈V(S) depends on h. This theorem allows us to prove several sufficient conditions for a cancelation law of a graph homomorphism between two box products with a common factor. We conclude the article with some open questions. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 58:221‐238, 2008