Circular choosability is rational

The circular choosability or circular list chromatic number of a graph is a list-version of the circular chromatic number, that was introduced by Mohar in 2002 and has been studied by several groups of authors since then. One of the nice properties that the circular chromatic number enjoys is that it is a rational number for all finite graphs G, and a fundamental question, posed by Zhu and reiterated by others, is whether the same holds for the circular choosability. In this paper we show that this is indeed the case.     

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     

Circular consecutive choosability of k‐choosable graphs

Let S(r) denote a circle of circumference r. The circular consecutive choosability ch_cc(G) of a graph G is the least real number t such that for any r≥χ_c(G), if each vertex v is assigned a closed interval L(v) of length t on S(r), then there is a circular r‐coloring f of G such that f(v)∈L(v). We investigate, for a graph, the relations between its circular consecutive choosability and choosability. It is proved that for any positive integer k, if a graph G is k‐choosable, then ch_cc(G)?k + 1 ? 1/k; moreover, the bound is sharp for k≥3. For k = 2, it is proved that if G is 2‐choosable then ch_cc(G)?2, while the equality holds if and only if G contains a cycle. In addition, we prove that there exist circular consecutive 2‐choosable graphs which are not 2‐choosable. In particular, it is shown that ch_cc(G) = 2 holds for all cycles and for K_{2, n} with n≥2. On the other hand, we prove that ch_cc(G)>2 holds for many generalized theta graphs. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 67: 178‐197, 2011     

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     

The circular chromatic numbers of planar digraphs

The circular chromatic number is a refinement of the chromatic number of a graph. It has been established in [3,6,7] that there exists planar graphs with circular chromatic number r if and only if r is a rational in the set {1} ∪ [2,4]. Recently, Mohar, in [1,2] has extended the concept of the circular chromatic number to digraphs and it is interesting to ask what the corresponding result is for digraphs. In this article, we shall prove the new result that there exist planar digraphs with circular chromatic number r if and only if r is a rational in the interval [1,4]. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 55: 14–26, 2007     

On two questions about circular choosability

We answer two questions of Zhu on circular choosability of graphs. We show that the circular list chromatic number of an even cycle is equal to 2 and give an example of a graph for which the infimum in the definition of the circular list chromatic number is not attained. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 58:261‐269, 2008     

Bi‐arc graphs and the complexity of list homomorphisms

Given graphs G, H, and lists L(v) ? V(H), v ε V(G), a list homomorphism of G to H with respect to the lists L is a mapping f : V(G) → V(H) such that uv ε E(G) implies f(u)f(v) ε E(H), and f(v) ε L(v) for all v ε V(G). The list homomorphism problem for a fixed graph H asks whether or not an input graph G, together with lists L(v) ? V(H), v ε V(G), admits a list homomorphism with respect to L. In two earlier papers, we classified the complexity of the list homomorphism problem in two important special cases: When H is a reflexive graph (every vertex has a loop), the problem is polynomial time solvable if H is an interval graph, and is NP‐complete otherwise. When H is an irreflexive graph (no vertex has a loop), the problem is polynomial time solvable if H is bipartite and H is a circular arc graph, and is NP‐complete otherwise. In this paper, we extend these classifications to arbitrary graphs H (each vertex may or may not have a loop). We introduce a new class of graphs, called bi‐arc graphs, which contains both reflexive interval graphs (and no other reflexive graphs), and bipartite graphs with circular arc complements (and no other irreflexive graphs). We show that the problem is polynomial time solvable when H is a bi‐arc graph, and is NP‐complete otherwise. In the case when H is a tree (with loops allowed), we give a simpler algorithm based on a structural characterization. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 42: 61–80, 2003     

On some simple degree conditions that guarantee the upper bound on the chromatic (choice) number of random graphs

It is well known that almost every graph in the random space G(n, p) has chromatic number of order O(np/log(np)), but it is not clear how we can recognize such graphs without eventually computing the chromatic numbers, which is NP‐hard. The first goal of this article is to show that the above‐mentioned upper bound on the chromatic number can be guaranteed by simple degree conditions, which are satisfied by G(n, p) almost surely for most values of p. It turns out that the same conditions imply a similar bound for the choice number of a graph. The proof implies a polynomial coloring algorithm for the case p is not too small. Our result has several applications. It can be used to determine the right order of magnitude of the choice number of random graphs and hypergraphs. It also leads to a general bound on the choice number of locally sparse graphs and to several interesting facts about finite fields. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 31: 201–226, 1999     

Circular flow numbers of regular multigraphs

The circular flow number F_c(G) of a graph G = (V, E) is the minimum r ϵ ℚ such that G admits a flow ϕ with 1 ≤ ϕ (e) ≤ r − 1, for each e ϵ E. We determine the circular flow number of some regular multigraphs. In particular, we characterize the bipartite (2t+1)‐regular graphs (t ≥ 1). Our results imply that there are gaps for possible circular flow numbers for (2t+1)‐regular graphs, e.g., there is no cubic graph G with 3 < F_c(G) < 4. We further show that there are snarks with circular flow number arbitrarily close to 4, answering a question of X. Zhu. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 36: 24–34, 2001     

Claw‐free circular‐perfect graphs

The circular chromatic number of a graph is a well‐studied refinement of the chromatic number. Circular‐perfect graphs form a superclass of perfect graphs defined by means of this more general coloring concept. This article studies claw‐free circular‐perfect graphs. First, we prove that if G is a connected claw‐free circular‐perfect graph with χ(G)>ω(G), then min{α(G), ω(G)}=2. We use this result to design a polynomial time algorithm that computes the circular chromatic number of claw‐free circular‐perfect graphs. A consequence of the strong perfect graph theorem is that minimal imperfect graphs G have min{α(G), ω(G)}=2. In contrast to this result, it is shown in Z. Pan and X. Zhu [European J Combin 29(4) (2008), 1055–1063] that minimal circular‐imperfect graphs G can have arbitrarily large independence number and arbitrarily large clique number. In this article, we prove that claw‐free minimal circular‐imperfect graphs G have min{α(G), ω(G)}≤3. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 65: 163–172, 2010     

Convex‐round graphs are circular‐perfect

We show a connection between two concepts that have hitherto been investigated separately, namely convex‐round graphs and circular cliques. The connections are twofold. We prove that the circular cliques are precisely the cores of convex‐round graphs; this implies that convex‐round graphs are circular‐perfect, a concept introduced recently by Zhu [10]. Secondly, we characterize maximal K_r‐free convex‐round graphs and show that they can be obtained from certain circular cliques in a simple fashion. Our proofs rely on several structural properties of convex‐round graphs. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 40: 182–194, 2002     

Distinguishing Cartesian powers of graphs

The distinguishing number D(G) of a graph is the least integer d such that there is a d‐labeling of the vertices of G that is not preserved by any nontrivial automorphism of G. We show that the distinguishing number of the square and higher powers of a connected graph G ≠ K₂, K₃ with respect to the Cartesian product is 2. This result strengthens results of Albertson [Electron J Combin, 12 ( 1 ), #N17] on powers of prime graphs, and results of Klav?ar and Zhu [Eu J Combin, to appear]. More generally, we also prove that d(G □ H) = 2 if G and H are relatively prime and |H| ≤ |G| < 2^|H| ? |H|. Under additional conditions similar results hold for powers of graphs with respect to the strong and the direct product. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 53: 250–260, 2006     

Fractional chromatic number and circular chromatic number for distance graphs with large clique size

An Erratum has been published for this article in Journal of Graph Theory 48: 329–330, 2005 . Let M be a set of positive integers. The distance graph generated by M, denoted by G(Z, M), has the set Z of all integers as the vertex set, and edges ij whenever |i?j| ∈ M. We investigate the fractional chromatic number and the circular chromatic number for distance graphs, and discuss their close connections with some number theory problems. In particular, we determine the fractional chromatic number and the circular chromatic number for all distance graphs G(Z, M) with clique size at least |M|, except for one case of such graphs. For the exceptional case, a lower bound for the fractional chromatic number and an upper bound for the circular chromatic number are presented; these bounds are sharp enough to determine the chromatic number for such graphs. Our results confirm a conjecture of Rabinowitz and Proulx 22 on the density of integral sets with missing differences, and generalize some known results on the circular chromatic number of distance graphs and the parameter involved in the Wills' conjecture 26 (also known as the “lonely runner conjecture” 1 ). © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 47: 129–146, 2004     

The circular chromatic number of series‐parallel graphs with large girth

It was proved by Hell and Zhu that, if G is a series‐parallel graph of girth at least 2⌊(3k − 1)/2⌋, then χ_c(G) ≤ 4k/(2k − 1). In this article, we prove that the girth requirement is sharp, i.e., for any k ≥ 2, there is a series‐parallel graph G of girth 2⌊(3k − 1)/2⌋ − 1 such that χ_c(G) > 4k/(2k − 1). © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 33: 185–198, 2000     

Sum List Coloring Graphs

Let G=(V,E) be a graph with n vertices and e edges. The sum choice number of G is the smallest integer p such that there exist list sizes (f(v):v ∈ V) whose sum is p for which G has a proper coloring no matter which color lists of size f(v) are assigned to the vertices v. The sum choice number is bounded above by n+e. If the sum choice number of G equals n+e, then G is sum choice greedy. Complete graphs K_n are sum choice greedy as are trees. Based on a simple, but powerful, lemma we show that a graph each of whose blocks is sum choice greedy is also sum choice greedy. We also determine the sum choice number of K_2,n, and we show that every tree on n vertices can be obtained from K_n by consecutively deleting single edges where all intermediate graphs are sc-greedy.     

The circular chromatic number of the Mycielskian of G

In a search for triangle-free graphs with arbitrarily large chromatic numbers, Mycielski developed a graph transformation that transforms a graph G into a new graph μ(G), we now call the Mycielskian of G, which has the same clique number as G and whose chromatic number equals χ(G) + 1. Chang, Huang, and Zhu [G. J. Chang, L. Huang, & X. Zhu, Discrete Math, to appear] have investigated circular chromatic numbers of Mycielskians for several classes of graphs. In this article, we study circular chromatic numbers of Mycielskians for another class of graphs G. The main result is that χ_c(μ(G)) = χ(μ(G)), which settles a problem raised in [G. J. Chang, L. Huang, & X. Zhu, Discrete Math, to appear, and X. Zhu, to appear]. As χ_c(G) = and χ(G) = , consequently, there exist graphs G such that χ_c(G) is as close to χ(G) − 1 as you want, but χ_c(μ(G)) = χ(μ(G)). © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 32: 63–71, 1999     

Circular perfect graphs

For 1 ≤ d ≤ k, let K_k/d be the graph with vertices 0, 1, …, k ? 1, in which i ～j if d ≤ |i ? j| ≤ k ? d. The circular chromatic number χ_c(G) of a graph G is the minimum of those k/d for which G admits a homomorphism to K_k/d. The circular clique number ω_c(G) of G is the maximum of those k/d for which K_k/d admits a homomorphism to G. A graph G is circular perfect if for every induced subgraph H of G, we have χ_c(H) = ω_c(H). In this paper, we prove that if G is circular perfect then for every vertex x of G, N_G[x] is a perfect graph. Conversely, we prove that if for every vertex x of G, N_G[x] is a perfect graph and G ? N[x] is a bipartite graph with no induced P₅ (the path with five vertices), then G is a circular perfect graph. In a companion paper, we apply the main result of this paper to prove an analog of Haj?os theorem for circular chromatic number for k/d ≥ 3. Namely, we shall design a few graph operations and prove that for any k/d ≥ 3, starting from the graph K_k/d, one can construct all graphs of circular chromatic number at least k/d by repeatedly applying these graph operations. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 48: 186–209, 2005     

On the circular chromatic number of circular partitionable graphs

This article studies the circular chromatic number of a class of circular partitionable graphs. We prove that an infinite family of circular partitionable graphs G has . A consequence of this result is that we obtain an infinite family of graphs G with the rare property that the deletion of each vertex decreases its circular chromatic number by exactly 1. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory     

Acyclic Edge Coloring of Triangle‐Free Planar 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). 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. If every induced subgraph H of G satisfies the condition |E(H)| ? 2|V(H)|?1, we say that the graph G satisfies Property A. In this article, we prove that if G satisfies Property A, then a′(G) ? Δ + 3. Triangle‐free planar graphs satisfy Property A. We infer that a′(G) ? Δ + 3, if G is a triangle‐free planar graph. Another class of graph which satisfies Property A is 2‐fold graphs (union of two forests). © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory