On Group Chromatic Number of Graphs

Let G be a graph and A an Abelian group. Denote by F(G, A) the set of all functions from E(G) to A. Denote by D an orientation of E(G). For f ∈ F(G,A), an (A,f)-coloring of G under the orientation D is a function c : V(G)↦A such that for every directed edge uv from u to v, c(u)−c(v) ≠ f(uv). G is A-colorable under the orientation D if for any function f ∈ F(G, A), G has an (A, f)-coloring. It is known that A-colorability is independent of the choice of the orientation. The group chromatic number of a graph G is defined to be the least positive integer m for which G is A-colorable for any Abelian group A of order ≥m, and is denoted by χ_g(G). In this note we will prove the following results. (1) Let H₁ and H₂ be two subgraphs of G such that V(H₁)∩V(H₂)=∅ and V(H₁)∪V(H₂)=V(G). Then χ_g(G)≤min{max{χ_g(H₁), max_v∈V(H2)deg(v,G)+1},max{χ_g(H₂), max_u∈V(H1) deg (u, G) + 1}}. We also show that this bound is best possible. (2) If G is a simple graph without a K_3,3-minor, then χ_g(G)≤5.     

Group connectivity and group colorings of graphs — A survey

In 1950s, Tutte introduced the theory of nowhere-zero flows as a tool to investigate the coloring problem of maps, together with his most fascinating conjectures on nowhere-zero flows. These have been extended by Jaeger et al. in 1992 to group connectivity, the nonhomogeneous form of nowhere-zero flows. Let G be a 2-edge-connected undirected graph, A be an (additive) abelian group and A* = A − {0}. The graph G is A-connected if G has an orientation D(G) such that for every map b: V (G) ↦ A satisfying Σ _v∈V(G) b(v) = 0, there is a function f: E(G) ↦ A* such that for each vertex v ∈ V (G), the total amount of f-values on the edges directed out from v minus the total amount of f-values on the edges directed into v is equal to b(v). The group coloring of a graph arises from the dual concept of group connectivity. There have been lots of investigations on these subjects. This survey provides a summary of researches on group connectivity and group colorings of graphs. It contains the following sections.

On vertex-coloring edge-weighting of graphs

A k-edge-weighting w of a graph G is an assignment of an integer weight, w(e) ∈ {1,…,k}, to each edge e. An edge-weighting naturally induces a vertex coloring c by defining c(u) = Σ _e∋u w(e) for every u ∈ V (G). A k-edge-weighting of a graph G is vertex-coloring if the induced coloring c is proper, i.e., c(u) ≠ c(v) for any edge uv ∈ E(G). When k ≡ 2 (mod 4) and k ⩾ 6, we prove that if G is k-colorable and 2-connected, δ(G) ⩾ k − 1, then G admits a vertex-coloring k-edge-weighting. We also obtain several sufficient conditions for graphs to be vertex-coloring k-edge-weighting.      

Partial Parity (g,f )-Factors and Subgraphs Covering Given Vertex Subsets

 Let G be a graph and W a subset of V(G). Let g,f:V(G)→Z be two integer-valued functions such that g(x)≤f(x) for all x∈V(G) and g(y)≡f(y) (mod 2) for all y∈W. Then a spanning subgraph F of G is called a partial parity (g,f)-factor with respect to W if g(x)≤deg _F (x)≤f(x) for all x∈V(G) and deg _F (y)≡f(y) (mod 2) for all y∈W. We obtain a criterion for a graph G to have a partial parity (g,f)-factor with respect to W. Furthermore, by making use of this criterion, we give some necessary and sufficient conditions for a graph G to have a subgraph which covers W and has a certain given property. Received: June 14, 1999?Final version received: August 21, 2000     

Minimum Cost Homomorphism Dichotomy for Oriented Cycles

For digraphs D and H, a mapping f : V(D) → V(H) is a homomorphism of D to H if uv ∈ A(D) implies f(u) f(v) ∈ A(H). If, moreover, each vertex u ∈ V(D) is associated with costs c _i (u), i ∈ V(H), then the cost of the homomorphism f is ∑ _{u ∈V(D)} c _f(u)(u). For each fixed digraph H, we have the minimum cost homomorphism problem for H (abbreviated MinHOM(H)). The problem is to decide, for an input graph D with costs c _i (u), u ∈ V(D), i ∈ V(H), whether there exists a homomorphism of D to H and, if one exists, to find one of minimum cost. We obtain a dichotomy classification for the time complexity of MinHOM(H) when H is an oriented cycle. We conjecture a dichotomy classification for all digraphs with possible loops.     

Factors and Connected Induced Subgraphs

 Let G be a connected graph without loops and without multiple edges, and let p be an integer such that 0 < p<|V(G)|. Let f be an integer-valued function on V(G) such that 2≤f(x)≤ deg _G (x) for all x∈V(G). We show that if every connected induced subgraph of order p of G has an f-factor, then G has an f-factor, unless ∑ _{x ∈ V ( G )} f(x) is odd. Received: June 29, 1998?Final version received: July 30, 1999     

Equitable Total Coloring of Graphs with Maximum Degree 3

 The equitable total chromatic number χr d q u o; _e (G) of a graph G is the smallest integer k for which G has a total k-coloring such that the number of vertices and edges in any two color classes differ by at most one. We prove in this paper that χr d q u o; _e (G)≤5 if G is a multigraph with maximum degree at most 3. Received: February 24, 2000 Final version received: February 2, 2001 Acknowledgments. The author would like to thank the referee for valuable suggestions to improve this work.     

Bounds on the Distance Two-Domination Number of a Graph

 For a graph G = (V, E), a subset D⊆V(G) is said to be distance two-dominating set in G if for each vertex u∈V−D, there exists a vertex v∈D such that d(u,v)≤2. The minimum cardinality of a distance two-dominating set in G is called a distance two-domination number and is denoted by γ₂(G). In this note we obtain various upper bounds for γ₂(G) and characterize the classes of graphs attaining these bounds. Received: May 31, 1999 Final version received: July 13, 2000     

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.     

A Generalization of the Gallai–Roy Theorem

 A well-known and essential result due to Roy ([4], 1967) and independently to Gallai ([3], 1968) is that if D is a digraph with chromatic number χ(D), then D contains a directed path of at least χ(D) vertices. We generalize this result by showing that if ψ(D) is the minimum value of the number of the vertices in a longest directed path starting from a vertex that is connected to every vertex of D, then χ(D) ≤ψ(D). For graphs, we give a positive answer to the following question of Fajtlowicz: if G is a graph with chromatic number χ(G), then for any proper coloring of G of χ(G) colors and for any vertex v∈V(G), there is a path P starting at v which represents all χ(G) colors. Received: May 20, 1999 Final version received: December 24, 1999     

On Connected [g,f +1]-Factors in Graphs

Let G = (V (G),E(G)) be a graph with vertex set V (G) and edge set E(G), and g and f two positive integral functions from V (G) to Z⁺-{1} such that g(v) ≤ f(v) ≤ d_G(v) for all v ∈V (G), where d_G(v) is the degree of the vertex v. It is shown that every graph G, including both a [g,f]-factor and a hamiltonian path, contains a connected [g,f +1]-factor. This result also extends Kano’s conjecture concerning the existence of connected [k,k+1]-factors in graphs. * The work of this author was supported by NSFC of China under Grant No. 10271065, No. 60373025. † The work of these authors was also supported in part by the US Department of Energy’s Genomes to Life program (http://doegenomestolife.org/) under project, “Carbon Sequestration in Synechococcus sp.: From Molecular Machines to Hierarchical Modeling” (www.genomes2life.org) and by National Science Foundation (NSF/DBI-0354771,NSF/ITR-IIS-0407204).     

Full friendly index sets of Cartesian products of two cycles

Let G =（V, E） be a connected simple graph. A labeling f ： V → Z2 induces an edge labeling f＊ ： E → Z2 defined by f＊（xy） = f（x） ＋f（y） for each xy ∈ E. For i ∈ Z2, let vf（i） = ｜f^-1（i）｜ and ef（i） = ｜f＊^-1（i）｜. A labeling f is called friendly if ｜vf（1） - vf（0）｜ ≤ 1. For a friendly labeling f of a graph G, we define the friendly index of G under f by if（G） = e（1） - el（0）. The set [if（G） ｜ f is a friendly labeling of G} is called the full friendly index set of G, denoted by FFI（G）. In this paper, we will determine the full friendly index set of every Cartesian product of two cycles.     

A 2-factor with Short Cycles Passing Through Specified Independent Vertices in Graph

For a graph G, we define σ₂(G) := min{d(u) + d(v)|u, v ≠ ∈ E(G), u ≠ v}. Let k ≥ 1 be an integer and G be a graph of order n ≥ 3k. We prove if σ₂(G) ≥ n + k − 1, then for any set of k independent vertices v ₁,...,v _k , G has k vertex-disjoint cycles C ₁,..., C _k of length at most four such that v _i ∈ V(C _i ) for all 1 ≤ i ≤ k. And show if σ₂(G) ≥ n + k − 1, then for any set of k independent vertices v ₁,...,v _k , G has k vertex-disjoint cycles C ₁,..., C _k such that v _i ∈ V(C _i ) for all 1 ≤ i ≤ k, V(C ₁) ∪...∪ V(C _k ) = V(G), and |C _i | ≤ 4 for all 1 ≤ i ≤ k − 1. The condition of degree sum σ₂(G) ≥ n + k − 1 is sharp. Received: December 20, 2006. Final version received: December 12, 2007.     

Decomposition of Graphs into (g, f)-Factors

Let G be a multigraph, g and f be integer-valued functions defined on V(G). Then a graph G is called a (g, f)-graph if g(x)≤deg _G(x)≤f(x) for each x∈V(G), and a (g, f)-factor is a spanning (g, f)-subgraph. If the edges of graph G can be decomposed into (g, f)-factors, then we say that G is (g, f)-factorable. In this paper, we obtained some sufficient conditions for a graph to be (g, f)-factorable. One of them is the following: Let m be a positive integer, l be an integer with l=m (mod 4) and 0≤l≤3. If G is an -graph, then G is (g, f)-factorable. Our results imply several previous (g, f)-factorization results. Revised: June 11, 1998     

On product-cordial index sets and friendly index sets of 2-regular graphs and generalized wheels

A vertex labeling f : V → Z2 of a simple graph G = (V, E) induces two edge labelings f+ , f*: E → Z2 defined by f+ (uv) = f(u)+f(v) and f*(uv) = f(u)f(v). For each i∈Z2 , let vf(i) = |{v ∈ V : f(v) = i}|, e+f(i) = |{e ∈ E : f+(e) = i}| and e*f(i)=|{e∈E:f*(e)=i}|. We call f friendly if |vf(0)-vf(1)|≤ 1. The friendly index set and the product-cordial index set of G are defined as the sets{|e+f(0)-e+f(1)|:f is friendly} and {|e*f(0)-e*f(1)| : f is friendly}. In this paper we study and determine the connection between the friendly index sets and product-cordial index sets of 2-regular graphs and generalized wheel graphs.     

The Convexity Number of a Graph

 For two vertices u and v of a connected graph G, the set I[u,v] consists of all those vertices lying on a u−v shortest path in G, while for a set S of vertices of G, the set I[S] is the union of all sets I[u,v] for u,v∈S. A set S is convex if I[S]=S. The convexity number con(G) of G is the maximum cardinality of a proper convex set of G. The clique number ω(G) is the maximum cardinality of a clique in G. If G is a connected graph of order n that is not complete, then n≥3 and 2≤ω(G)≤con(G)≤n−1. It is shown that for every triple l,k,n of integers with n≥3 and 2≤l≤k≤n−1, there exists a noncomplete connected graph G of order n with ω(G)=l and con(G)=k. Other results on convex numbers are also presented. Received: August 19, 1998 Final version received: May 17, 2000     

An upper bound for the adjacent vertex distinguishing acyclic edge chromatic number of a graph

A proper k-edge coloring of a graph G is called adjacent vertex distinguishing acyclic edge coloring if there is no 2-colored cycle in G and the color set of edges incident to u is not equal to the color set of edges incident to υ, where uυ ∈ E(G). The adjacent vertex distinguishing acyclic edge chromatic number of G, denoted by χ′ _aa (G), is the minimal number of colors in an adjacent vertex distinguishing acyclic edge coloring of G. In this paper we prove that if G(V, E) is a graph with no isolated edges, then χ′ _aa (G) ≤ 32Δ. Supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province (3ZS051-A25-025)     

The Entire Coloring of Series-Parallel Graphs

The entire chromatic number X_(vef)(G) of a plane graph G is the minimal number of colors needed for coloring vertices, edges and faces of G such that no two adjacent or incident elements are of the same color. Let G be a series-parallel plane graph, that is, a plane graph which contains no subgraphs homeomorphic to K_(4-) It is proved in this paper that X_(vef)(G)≤max{8, △(G) 2} and X_(vef)(G)=△ 1 if G is 2-connected and △(G)≥6.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">f</Emphasis>-Colorings of some graphs of <Emphasis Type="Italic">f</Emphasis>-class 1

An f-coloring of a graph G is an edge-coloring of G such that each color appears at each vertex v V（G） at most f（v） times. The minimum number of colors needed to f-color G is called the f-chromatic index of G and is denoted by X′f（G）. Any simple graph G has the f-chromatic index equal to △f（G） or △f（G） ＋ 1, where △f（G） =max v V（G）{[d（v）/f（v）]}. If X′f（G） = △f（G）, then G is of f-class 1; otherwise G is of f-class 2. In this paper, a class of graphs of f-class 1 are obtained by a constructive proof. As a result, f-colorings of these graphs with △f（G） colors are given.     

An upper bound for domination number of 5-regular graphs

Let G = (V, E) be a simple graph. A subset S ⊆ V is a dominating set of G, if for any vertex u ∈ V-S, there exists a vertex v ∈ S such that uv ∈ E. The domination number, denoted by γ(G), is the minimum cardinality of a dominating set. In this paper we will prove that if G is a 5-regular graph, then γ(G) ⩽ 5/14n.