The Hoffman number of a graph

For a connected graph G with n vertices, let {λ₁,λ₂,…,λ_r} be the set of distinct positive eigenvalues of the Laplacian matrix of G. The Hoffman number μ(G) of G is defined by μ(G)=λ₁λ₂…λ_r/n. In this paper, we study some properties and applications of the Hoffman number.     

No-hole L(2,1)-colorings

An L(2,1)-coloring of a graph G is a coloring of G's vertices with integers in {0,1,…,k} so that adjacent vertices’ colors differ by at least two and colors of distance-two vertices differ. We refer to an L(2,1)-coloring as a coloring. The span λ(G) of G is the smallest k for which G has a coloring, a span coloring is a coloring whose greatest color is λ(G), and the hole index ρ(G) of G is the minimum number of colors in {0,1,…,λ(G)} not used in a span coloring. We say that G is full-colorable if ρ(G)=0. More generally, a coloring of G is a no-hole coloring if it uses all colors between 0 and its maximum color. Both colorings and no-hole colorings were motivated by channel assignment problems. We define the no-hole span μ(G) of G as ∞ if G has no no-hole coloring; otherwise μ(G) is the minimum k for which G has a no-hole coloring using colors in {0,1,…,k}.

Let n denote the number of vertices of G, and let Δ be the maximum degree of vertices of G. Prior work shows that all non-star trees with Δ3 are full-colorable, all graphs G with n=λ(G)+1 are full-colorable, μ(G)λ(G)+ρ(G) if G is not full-colorable and nλ(G)+2, and G has a no-hole coloring if and only if nλ(G)+1. We prove two extremal results for colorings. First, for every m1 there is a G with ρ(G)=m and μ(G)=λ(G)+m. Second, for every m2 there is a connected G with λ(G)=2m, n=λ(G)+2 and ρ(G)=m.     

ContributionsChromatic Ramsey numbers

Suppose G is a graph. The chromatic Ramsey number r_c(G) of G is the least integer m such that there exists a graph F of chromatic number m for which the following is true: for any 2-colouring of the edges of F there is a monochromatic subgraph isomorphic to G. Let M_n = min[r_c(G): χ(G) = n]. It was conjectured by Burr et al. (1976) that M_n = (n − 1)² + 1. This conjecture has been confirmed previously for n 4. In this paper, we shall prove that the conjecture is true for n = 5. We shall also improve the upper bounds for M₆ and M₇.     

Cyclic coloring of plane graphs

Let G be a plane graph, and let χ_k(G) be the minimum number of colors to color the vertices of G so that every two of them which lie in the boundary of the same face of the size at most k, receive different colors. In 1966, Ore and Plummer proved that χ_k(G)2k for any k3. It is also known that χ₃(G)4 (Appel and Haken, 1976) and χ₄(G)6 (Borodin, 1984). The result in the present paper is: χ₅(G)9, χ₆(G)11, χ₇(G)12, and χ_k(G)2k − 3 if k8.     

Complete-factors and f-factors

A factor F of a graph is called a complete-factor if each component of F is complete. Let G be a graph, F be a complete-factor of G with ω(F)2, and f be an integer-valued function defined on V(G) with ∑_xV(G)f(x) even. If G−V(C) has an f-factor for each component C of F, then G has an f-factor.     

Intermediate error estimates

Let R[f] be the remainder of some approximation method, having estimates of the form f;R[f]f; ρ_i ; f⁽ⁱ⁾ for i = 0,…, r. In many cases, ρ₀ and ρ_r are known, but not the intermediate error constants ρ₁,…,ρ_r−1. For periodic functions, Ligun (1973) has obtained an estimate for these intermediate error constants by ρ₀ and ρ_r. In this paper, we show that this holds in the nonperiodic case, too. For instance, the estimates obtained can be applied to the error of polynomial or spline approximation and interpolation, or to numerical integration and differentiation.     

A special k-coloring for a connected k-chromatic graph

For each positive integer k we consider the smallest positive integer f(k) (dependent only on k) such that the following holds: Each connected graph G with chromatic number χ(G) = k can be properly vertex colored by k colors so that for each pair of vertices x_o and x_p in any color class there exist vertices x₁, x₂, …, x_p-1 of the same class with dist(x_i, x_i+1) f(k) for each i, 0 i p − 1. Thus, the graph is k-colorable with the vertices of each color class placed throughout the graph so that no subset of the class is at a distance > f(k) from the remainder of the class.

We prove that f(k) < 12k when the order of the graph is k(k − 2) + 1.     

Graphs having distance-n domination number half their order

For any positive integer n and any graph G a set D of vertices of G is a distance-n dominating set, if every vertex vV(G)−D has exactly distance n to at least one vertex in D. The distance-n domination number γ_=n(G) is the smallest number of vertices in any distance-n dominating set. If G is a graph of order p and each vertex in G has distance n to at least one vertex in G, then the distance-n domination number has the upper bound p/2 as Ore's upper bound on the classical domination number. In this paper, a characterization is given for graphs having distance-n domination number equal to half their order, when the diameter is greater or equal 2n−1. With this result we confirm a conjecture of Boland, Haynes, and Lawson.     

On L(d,1)-labelings of graphs

Given a graph G and a positive integer d, an L(d,1)-labeling of G is a function f that assigns to each vertex of G a non-negative integer such that if two vertices u and v are adjacent, then |f(u)−f(v)|d; if u and v are not adjacent but there is a two-edge path between them, then |f(u)−f(v)|1. The L(d,1)-number of G, λ_d(G), is defined as the minimum m such that there is an L(d,1)-labeling f of G with f(V){0,1,2,…,m}. Motivated by the channel assignment problem introduced by Hale (Proc. IEEE 68 (1980) 1497–1514), the L(2,1)-labeling and the L(1,1)-labeling (as d=2 and 1, respectively) have been studied extensively in the past decade. This article extends the study to all positive integers d. We prove that λ_d(G)Δ²+(d−1)Δ for any graph G with maximum degree Δ. Different lower and upper bounds of λ_d(G) for some families of graphs including trees and chordal graphs are presented. In particular, we show that the lower and the upper bounds for trees are both attainable, and the upper bound for chordal graphs can be improved for several subclasses of chordal graphs.     

Degrees in a digraph whose nodes are graphs

By an f-graph we mean an unlabeled graph having no vertex of degree greater than f. Let D(n, f) denote the digraph whose node set is the set of f-graphs of order n and such that there is an arc from the node corresponding to graph H to the node corresponding to the graph K if and only if K is obtainable from H by the addition of a single edge. In earlier work, algorithms were developed which produce exact results about the structure of D(n, f), nevertheless many open problems remain. For example, the computation of the order and size of D(n, f) for a number of values of n and f have been obtained. Formulas for the order and size for f = 2 have also been derived. However, no closed form formulas have been determined for the order and size of D(n, f) for any value of f. Here we focus on questions concerning the degrees of the nodes in D(n,n − 1) and comment on related questions for D(n,f) for 2 f < n − 1.     

Circular permutation graph family with applications

In a circular permutation diagram, there are two sets of terminals on two concentric circles: C_in and C_out. Given a permutation Π = [π₁, π₂, …, π_n], terminal i on C_in and terminal π_i on C_out are connected by a wire. The intersection graph G_c of a circular permutation diagram D_c is called a circular permutation graph of a permutation Π corresponding to the diagram D_c. The set of all circular permutation graphs of a permutation Π is called the circular permutation graph family of permutation Π. In this paper, we propose the following: (1) an O(V + E) time algorithm to check if a labeled graph G = (V, E) is a labeled circular permutation graph. (2) An O(n log n + nt) time algorithm to find a maximum independent set of a family, where n = Π and t is the cardinality of the output. (Number t in the worst case is O(n). However, if Π is uniformly distributed (and independent from i), its expected value is O(√n).) (3) An O(min(δV_clog logV_c,V_clogV_c) + E_c) time algorithm for finding a maximum independent set of a circular permutation diagram D_c, where δ is the minimum degree of vertices in the intersection graph G_c = (V_c,E_c) of D_c. (4) An O(n log log n) time algorithm for finding a maximum clique and the chromatic number of a circular permutation diagram, where n is the number of wires in the diagram.     

Error bounds on the power method for determining the largest eigenvalue of a symmetric, positive definite matrix

Let A be a positive definite, symmetric matrix. We wish to determine the largest eigenvalue, λ₁. We consider the power method, i.e. that of choosing a vector v₀ and setting v_k = A^kv₀; then the Rayleigh quotients R_k = (Av_k, v_k)/(v_k, v_k) usually converge to λ₁ as k → ∞ (here (u, v) denotes their inner product). In this paper we give two methods for determining how close R_k is to λ₁. They are both based on a bound on λ₁ − R_k involving the difference of two consecutive Rayleigh quotients and a quantity ω_k. While we do not know how to directly calculate ω_k, we can given an algorithm for giving a good upper bound on it, at least with high probability. This leads to an upper bound for λ₁ − R_k which is proportional to (λ₂/λ₁)^2k, which holds with a prescribed probability (the prescribed probability being an arbitrary δ > 0, with the upper bound depending on δ).     

Embeddings of the base and bundle isomorphisms

Let π_i :E_i→M, i=1,2, be oriented, smooth vector bundles of rank k over a closed, oriented n-manifold with zero sections s_i :M→E_i. Suppose that U is an open neighborhood of s₁(M) in E₁ and F :U→E₂ a smooth embedding so that π₂Fs₁ :M→M is homotopic to a diffeomorphism f. We show that if k>[(n+1)/2]+1 then E₁ and the induced bundle f^*E₂ are isomorphic as oriented bundles provided that f have degree +1; the same conclusion holds if f has degree −1 except in the case where k is even and one of the bundles does not have a nowhere-zero cross-section. For n≡0(4) and [(n+1)/2]+1<kn we give examples of nonisomorphic oriented bundles E₁ and E₂ of rank k over a homotopy n-sphere with total spaces diffeomorphic with orientation preserved, but such that E₁ and f^*E₂ are not isomorphic oriented bundles. We obtain similar results and counterexamples in the more difficult limiting case where k=[(n+1)/2]+1 and M is a homotopy n-sphere.     

On the planarity of jump graphs

For a graph G of size m1 and edge-induced subgraphs F and H of size k (1km), the subgraph H is said to be obtained from F by an edge jump if there exist four distinct vertices u,v,w, and x in G such that uvE(F), wxE(G)−E(F), and H=F−uv+wx. The minimum number of edge jumps required to transform F into H is the k-jump distance from F to H. For a graph G of size m1 and an integer k with 1km, the k-jump graph J_k(G) is that graph whose vertices correspond to the edge-induced subgraphs of size k of G and where two vertices of J_k(G) are adjacent if and only if the k-jump distance between the corresponding subgraphs is 1. All connected graphs G for which J₂(G) is planar are determined.     

Multicolor routing in the undirected hypercube

An undirected routing problem is a pair (G,R) where G is an undirected graph and R is an undirected multigraph such that V(G)=V(R). A solution to an undirected routing problem (G,R) is a collection P of undirected paths of G (possibly containing multiple occurrences of the same path) such that edges of R are in one-to-one correspondence with the paths of P, with the path corresponding to edge {u,v} connecting u and v. We say that a collection of paths P is k-colorable if each path of P can be colored by one of the k colors so that the paths of the same color are edge-disjoint (each edge of G appears at most once in the paths of each single color). In the circuit-switched routing context, and in optical network applications in particular, it is desirable to find a solution to a routing problem that is colorable with as few colors as possible. Let Q_n denote the n-dimensional hypercube, for arbitrary n1. We show that a routing problem (Q_n,R) always admits a 4d-colorable solution where d is the maximum vertex degree of R. This improves over the 16d/2-color result which is implicit in the previous work of Aumann and Rabani [SODA95, pp. 567–576]. Since, for any positive d, there is a multigraph R of degree d such that any solution to (Q_n,R) requires at least d colors, our result is tight up to a factor of four. In fact, when d=1, it is tight up to a factor of two, since there is a graph of degree one (the antipodal matching) that requires two colors.     

Maximum number of edges in a critically k-connected graph

A k-connected graph G is said to be critically k-connected if G−v is not k-connected for any vV(G). We show that if n,k are integers with k4 and nk+2, and G is a critically k-connected graph of order n, then |E(G)|n(n−1)/2−p(n−k)+p²/2, where p=(n/k)+1 if n/k is an odd integer and p=n/k otherwise. We also characterize extremal graphs.     

Weighted domination in triangle-free graphs

A weighted graph (G,w) is a graph G together with a positive weight-function on its vertex set w : V(G)→R^>0. The weighted domination number γ_w(G) of (G,w) is the minimum weight w(D)=∑_vDw(v) of a set DV(G) such that every vertex xV(D)−D has a neighbor in D. If ∑_vV(G)w(v)=|V(G)|, then we speak of a normed weighted graph. Recently, we proved that

for normed weighted bipartite graphs (G,w) of order n such that neither G nor the complement has isolated vertices. In this paper we will extend these Nordhaus–Gaddum-type results to triangle-free graphs.     

Coloring permutation graphs in parallel

A coloring of a graph G is an assignment of colors to its vertices so that no two adjacent vertices have the same color. We study the problem of coloring permutation graphs using certain properties of the lattice representation of a permutation and relationships between permutations, directed acyclic graphs and rooted trees having specific key properties. We propose an efficient parallel algorithm which colors an n-node permutation graph in O(log² n) time using O(n²/log n) processors on the CREW PRAM model. Specifically, given a permutation π we construct a tree T^*[π], which we call coloring-permutation tree, using certain combinatorial properties of π. We show that the problem of coloring a permutation graph is equivalent to finding vertex levels in the coloring-permutation tree.     

On the Characterization of Maximal Planar Graphs with a Given Signed Cycle Domination Number

Let G =(V, E) be a simple graph. A function f : E → {+1,-1} is called a signed cycle domination function(SCDF) of G if ∑_(e∈E(C))f(e) ≥ 1 for every induced cycle C of G. The signed cycle domination number of G is defined as γ'_(sc)(G) = min{∑_(e∈E)f(e)| f is an SCDF of G}. This paper will characterize all maximal planar graphs G with order n ≥ 6 and γ'_(sc)(G) = n.     

Reconstruction of infinite locally finite connected graphs

Let G be an infinite locally finite connected graph. We study the reconstructibility of G in relation to the structure of its end set . We prove that an infinite locally finite connected graph G is reconstructible if there exists a finite family (Ω_i)_0i (n2) of pairwise finitely separable subsets of such that, for all x,y,x′,y′V(G) and every isomorphism f of G−{x,y} onto G−{x′,y′} there is a permutation π of {0,…,n−1} such that for 0i<n. From this theorem we deduce, as particular consequences, that G is reconstructible if it satisfies one of the following properties: (i) G contains no end-respecting subdivision of the dyadic tree and has at least two ends of maximal order; (ii) the set of thick ends or the one of thin ends of G is finite and of cardinality greater than one. We also prove that if almost all vertices of G are cutvertices, then G is reconstructible if it contains a free end or if it has at least a vertex which is not a cutvertex.