Acyclic 5-choosability of planar graphs without 4-cycles

A proper vertex coloring of a graph G=(V,E) is acyclic if G contains no bicolored cycle. A graph G is acyclically L-list colorable if for a given list assignment L={L(v):v∈V}, there exists a proper acyclic coloring π of G such that π(v)∈L(v) for all v∈V. If G is acyclically L-list colorable for any list assignment with |L(v)|≥k for all v∈V, then G is acyclically k-choosable. In this paper we prove that every planar graph without 4-cycles and without two 3-cycles at distance less than 3 is acyclically 5-choosable. This improves a result in [M. Montassier, P. Ochem, A. Raspaud, On the acyclic choosability of graphs, J. Graph Theory 51 (2006) 281-300], which says that planar graphs of girth at least 5 are acyclically 5-choosable.     

Every toroidal graph is acyclically 8-choosable

A proper coloring of a graphG is acyclic if G contains no 2-colored cycle.A graph G is acyclically L-list colorable if for a given list assignment L={L(v):v∈V(G)},there exists a proper acyclic coloringφof G such thatφ(v)∈L(v)for all v∈V(G).If G is acyclically L-list colorable for any list assignment L with|L(v)|≥k for all v∈V(G),then G is acyclically k-choosable.In this article,we prove that every toroidal graph is acyclically 8-choosable.     

Acyclic 5-choosability of planar graphs with neither 4-cycles nor chordal 6-cycles

A proper vertex coloring of a graph G=(V,E) is acyclic if G contains no bicolored cycle. A graph G is acyclically L-list colorable if for a given list assignment L={L(v):v∈V}, there exists a proper acyclic coloring ? of G such that ?(v)∈L(v) for all v∈V(G). If G is acyclically L-list colorable for any list assignment with |L(v)|≥k for all v∈V, then G is acyclically k-choosable. In this paper it is proved that every planar graph with neither 4-cycles nor chordal 6-cycles is acyclically 5-choosable. This generalizes the results of [M. Montassier, A. Raspaud, W. Wang, Acyclic 5-choosability of planar graphs without small cycles, J. Graph Theory 54 (2007) 245-260], and a corollary of [M. Montassier, P. Ochem, A. Raspaud, On the acyclic choosability of graphs, J. Graph Theory 51 (4) (2006) 281-300].     

A note on the acyclic 3-choosability of some planar graphs

An acyclic coloring of a graph G is a coloring of its vertices such that: (i) no two adjacent vertices in G receive the same color and (ii) no bicolored cycles exist in G. A list assignment of G is a function L that assigns to each vertex v∈V(G) a list L(v) of available colors. Let G be a graph and L be a list assignment of G. The graph G is acyclically L-list colorable if there exists an acyclic coloring ? of G such that ?(v)∈L(v) for all v∈V(G). If G is acyclically L-list colorable for any list assignment L with |L(v)|≥k for all v∈V(G), then G is said to be acyclically k-choosable. Borodin et al. proved that every planar graph with girth at least 7 is acyclically 3-choosable (Borodin et al., submitted for publication [4]). More recently, Borodin and Ivanova showed that every planar graph without cycles of length 4 to 11 is acyclically 3-choosable (Borodin and Ivanova, submitted for publication [7]). In this note, we connect these two results by a sequence of intermediate sufficient conditions that involve the minimum distance between 3-cycles: we prove that every planar graph with neither cycles of lengths 4 to 7 (resp. to 8, to 9, to 10) nor triangles at distance less than 7 (resp. 5, 3, 2) is acyclically 3-choosable.     

Planar graphs without 4‐cycles are acyclically 6‐choosable

A proper vertex coloring of a graph G=(V, E) is acyclic if G contains no bicolored cycle. A graph G is acyclically L‐list colorable if for a given list assignment L={L(v)|v∈V}, there exists a proper acyclic coloring π of G such that π(v)∈L(v) for all v∈V. If G is acyclically L‐list colorable for any list assignment with |L(v)|≥k for all v∈V, then G is acyclically k‐choosable. In this paper we prove that every planar graph G without 4‐cycles is acyclically 6‐choosable. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 61: 307–323, 2009     

Acyclic 5‐choosability of planar graphs without small cycles

A proper vertex coloring of a graph G = (V,E) is acyclic if G contains no bicolored cycle. A graph G is acyclically L‐list colorable if for a given list assignment L = {L(v): v: ∈ V}, there exists a proper acyclic coloring ? of G such that ?(v) ∈ L(v) for all v ∈ V. If G is acyclically L‐list colorable for any list assignment with |L (v)|≥ k for all v ∈ V, then G is acyclically k‐choosable. In this article, we prove that every planar graph G without 4‐ and 5‐cycles, or without 4‐ and 6‐cycles is acyclically 5‐choosable. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 54: 245–260, 2007     

Linear choosability of graphs

A proper vertex coloring of a non-oriented graph G is linear if the graph induced by the vertices of any two color classes is a forest of paths. A graph G is linearly L-list colorable if for a given list assignment L={L(v):v∈V(G)}, there exists a linear coloring c of G such that c(v)∈L(v) for all v∈V(G). If G is linearly L-list colorable for any list assignment with |L(v)|?k for all v∈V(G), then G is said to be linearly k-choosable. In this paper, we investigate the linear choosability for some families of graphs: graphs with small maximum degree, with given maximum average degree, outerplanar and planar graphs. Moreover, we prove that deciding whether a bipartite subcubic planar graph is linearly 3-colorable is an NP-complete problem.     

A sufficient condition for planar graphs to be acyclically 5‐choosable

A proper vertex coloring of a graph G = (V, E) is acyclic if G contains no bicolored cycle. Given a list assignment L = {L(v)|v∈V} of G, we say G is acyclically L‐list colorable if there exists a proper acyclic coloring π of G such that π(v)∈L(v) for all v∈V. If G is acyclically L‐list colorable for any list assignment with |L(v)|≥k for all v∈V, then G is acyclically k‐choosable. In this article we prove that every planar graph without 4‐cycles and without intersecting triangles is acyclically 5‐choosable. This improves the result in [M. Chen and W. Wang, Discrete Math 308 (2008), 6216–6225], which says that every planar graph without 4‐cycles and without two triangles at distance less than 3 is acyclically 5‐choosable. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory     

Acyclic 6-choosability of planar graphs without adjacent short cycles

A proper vertex coloring of a graph G is acyclic if G contains no bicolored cycles.Given a list assignment L={L(v)|v∈V}of G,we say that G is acyclically L-colorable if there exists a proper acyclic coloringπof G such thatπ(v)∈L(v)for all v∈V.If G is acyclically L-colorable for any list assignment L with|L(v)|k for all v∈V(G),then G is acyclically k-choosable.In this paper,we prove that every planar graph G is acyclically 6-choosable if G does not contain 4-cycles adjacent to i-cycles for each i∈{3,4,5,6}.This improves the result by Wang and Chen(2009).     

On the acyclic choosability of graphs

A proper vertex coloring of a graph G = (V,E) is acyclic if G contains no bicolored cycle. A graph G is L‐list colorable if for a given list assignment L = {L(v): v ∈ V}, there exists a proper coloring c of G such that c (v) ∈ L(v) for all v ∈ V. If G is L‐list colorable for every list assignment with |L (v)| ≥ k for all v ∈ V, then G is said k‐choosable. A graph is said to be acyclically k‐choosable if the obtained coloring is acyclic. In this paper, we study the links between acyclic k‐choosability of G and Mad(G) defined as the maximum average degree of the subgraphs of G and give some observations about the relationship between acyclic coloring, choosability, and acyclic choosability. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 51: 281–300, 2006     

Bordeaux 3-color conjecture and 3-choosability

A graph G=(V,E) is list L-colorable if for a given list assignment L={L(v):v∈V}, there exists a proper coloring c of G such that c(v)∈L(v) for all v∈V. If G is list L-colorable for every list assignment with |L(v)|?k for all v∈V, then G is said to be k-choosable.In this paper, we prove that (1) every planar graph either without 4- and 5-cycles, and without triangles at distance less than 4, or without 4-, 5- and 6-cycles, and without triangles at distance less than 3 is 3-choosable; (2) there exists a non-3-choosable planar graph without 4-cycles, 5-cycles, and intersecting triangles. These results have some consequences on the Bordeaux 3-color conjecture by Borodin and Raspaud [A sufficient condition for planar graphs to be 3-colorable. J. Combin. Theory Ser. B 88 (2003) 17-27].     

On 3-colorable non-4-choosable planar graphs

An L-list coloring of a graph G is a proper vertex coloring in which every vertex v gets a color from a list L(v) of allowed colors. G is called k-choosable if all lists L(v) have exactly k elements and if G is L-list colorable for all possible assignments of such lists. Verifying conjectures of Erdos, Rubin and Taylor it was shown during the last years that every planar graph is 5-choosable and that there are planar graphs which are not 4-choosable. The question whether there are 3-colorable planar graphs which are not 4-choosable remained unsolved. The smallest known example far a non-4-choosable planar graph has 75 vertices and is described by Gutner. In fact, this graph is also 3 colorable and answers the above question. In addition, we give a list assignment for this graph using 5 colors only in all of the lists together such that the graph is not List-colorable. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A note on list improper coloring of plane graphs

A list-assignment L to the vertices of G is an assignment of a set L(v) of colors to vertex v for every v∈V(G). An (L,d)^∗-coloring is a mapping ? that assigns a color ?(v)∈L(v) to each vertex v∈V(G) such that at most d neighbors of v receive color ?(v). A graph is called (k,d)^∗-choosable, if G admits an (L,d)^∗-coloring for every list assignment L with |L(v)|≥k for all v∈V(G). In this note, it is proved that every plane graph, which contains no 4-cycles and l-cycles for some l∈{8,9}, is (3,1)^∗-choosable.     

Acyclic edge coloring of subcubic 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 it is denoted by a^′(G). From a result of Burnstein it follows that all subcubic graphs are acyclically edge colorable using five colors. This result is tight since there are 3-regular graphs which require five colors. In this paper we prove that any non-regular connected graph of maximum degree 3 is acyclically edge colorable using at most four colors. This result is tight since all edge maximal non-regular connected graphs of maximum degree 3 require four colors.     

List circular coloring of trees and cycles

Suppose G=(V, E) is a graph and p ≥ 2q are positive integers. A (p, q)‐coloring of G is a mapping ?: V → {0, 1, …, p‐1} such that for any edge xy of G, q ≤ |?(x)‐?(y)| ≤ p‐q. A color‐list is a mapping L: V → ({0, 1, …, p‐1}) which assigns to each vertex v a set L(v) of permissible colors. An L‐(p, q)‐coloring of G is a (p, q)‐coloring ? of G such that for each vertex v, ?(v) ∈ L(v). We say G is L‐(p, q)‐colorable if there exists an L‐(p, q)‐coloring of G. A color‐size‐list is a mapping ? which assigns to each vertex v a non‐negative integer ?(v). We say G is ?‐(p, q)‐colorable if for every color‐list L with |L(v)| = ?(v), G is L‐(p, q)‐colorable. In this article, we consider list circular coloring of trees and cycles. For any tree T and for any p ≥ 2q, we present a necessary and sufficient condition for T to be ?‐(p, q)‐colorable. For each cycle C and for each positive integer k, we present a condition on ? which is sufficient for C to be ?‐(2k+1, k)‐colorable, and the condition is sharp. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 55: 249–265, 2007     

Acyclic chromatic indices of planar graphs with large girth

An acyclic edge coloring of a graph G is a proper edge coloring such that no bichromatic cycles are produced. The acyclic chromatic index a^′(G) of G is the smallest k such that G has an acyclic edge coloring using k colors.In this paper, we prove that every planar graph G with girth g(G) and maximum degree Δ has a^′(G)=Δ if there exists a pair (k,m)∈{(3,11),(4,8),(5,7),(8,6)} such that G satisfies Δ≥k and g(G)≥m.     

Precoloring extension for K4‐minor‐free graphs

Let G=(V, E) be a graph where every vertex v∈V is assigned a list of available colors L(v). We say that G is list colorable for a given list assignment if we can color every vertex using its list such that adjacent vertices get different colors. If L(v)={1, …, k} for all v∈V then a corresponding list coloring is nothing other than an ordinary k‐coloring of G. Assume that W?V is a subset of V such that G[W] is bipartite and each component of G[W] is precolored with two colors taken from a set of four. The minimum distance between the components of G[W] is denoted by d(W). We will show that if G is K₄‐minor‐free and d(W)≥7, then such a precoloring of W can be extended to a 4‐coloring of all of V. This result clarifies a question posed in 10. Moreover, we will show that such a precoloring is extendable to a list coloring of G for outerplanar graphs, provided that |L(v)|=4 for all v∈V\W and d(W)≥7. In both cases the bound for d(W) is best possible. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 60: 284‐294, 2009     

On list critical graphs

In this paper we discuss some basic properties of k-list critical graphs. A graph G is k-list critical if there exists a list assignment L for G with |L(v)|=k−1 for all vertices v of G such that every proper subgraph of G is L-colorable, but G itself is not L-colorable. This generalizes the usual definition of a k-chromatic critical graph, where L(v)={1,…,k−1} for all vertices v of G. While the investigation of k-critical graphs is a well established part of coloring theory, not much is known about k-list critical graphs. Several unexpected phenomena occur, for instance a k-list critical graph may contain another one as a proper induced subgraph, with the same value of k. We also show that, for all 2≤p≤k, there is a minimal k-list critical graph with chromatic number p. Furthermore, we discuss the question, for which values of k and n is the complete graph K_nk-list critical. While this is the case for all 5≤k≤n, K_n is not 4-list critical if n is large.     

Linear and 2-Frugal Choosability of Graphs of Small Maximum Average Degree

A proper vertex colouring of a graph G is 2-frugal (resp. linear) if the graph induced by the vertices of any two colour classes is of maximum degree 2 (resp. is a forest of paths). A graph G is 2-frugally (resp. linearly) L-colourable if for a given list assignment L:V(G)? 2^{\mathbb N}{L:V(G)\mapsto 2^{\mathbb N}} , there exists a 2-frugal (resp. linear) colouring c of G such that c(v) ? L(v){c(v) \in L(v)} for all v ? V(G){v\in V(G)} . If G is 2-frugally (resp. linearly) L-list colourable for any list assignment such that |L(v)| ≥ k for all v ? V(G){v\in V(G)}, then G is 2-frugally (resp. linearly) k-choosable. In this paper, we improve some bounds on the 2-frugal choosability and linear choosability of graphs with small maximum average degree.     

List Colorings of K5‐Minor‐Free Graphs With Special List Assignments

The following question was raised by Bruce Richter. Let G be a planar, 3‐connected graph that is not a complete graph. Denoting by d(v) the degree of vertex v, is G L‐list colorable for every list assignment L with |L(v)| = min{d(v), 6} for all v∈V(G)? More generally, we ask for which pairs (r, k) the following question has an affirmative answer. Let r and k be the integers and let G be a K₅‐minor‐free r‐connected graph that is not a Gallai tree (i.e. at least one block of G is neither a complete graph nor an odd cycle). Is G L‐list colorable for every list assignment L with |L(v)| = min{d(v), k} for all v∈V(G)? We investigate this question by considering the components of G[S_k], where S_k: = {v∈V(G)|d(v)8k} is the set of vertices with small degree in G. We are especially interested in the minimum distance d(S_k) in G between the components of G[S_k]. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 71:18–30, 2012