Rainbow Connection in 3-Connected Graphs

An edge-colored graph G is rainbow connected if any two vertices are connected by a path whose edges have distinct colors. The rainbow connection number of a connected graph G, denoted by rc(G), is the smallest number of colors that are needed in order to make G rainbow connected. In this paper, we proved that rc(G) ≤ 3(n + 1)/5 for all 3-connected graphs.     

The rainbow connection of a graph is (at most) reciprocal to its minimum degree

An edge‐colored graph Gis rainbow edge‐connected if any two vertices are connected by a path whose edges have distinct colors. The rainbow connection of a connected graph G, denoted by rc(G), is the smallest number of colors that are needed in order to make Grainbow edge‐connected. We prove that if Ghas nvertices and minimum degree δ then rc(G)<20n/δ. This solves open problems from Y. Caro, A. Lev, Y. Roditty, Z. Tuza, and R. Yuster (Electron J Combin 15 (2008), #R57) and S. Chakrborty, E. Fischer, A. Matsliah, and R. Yuster (Hardness and algorithms for rainbow connectivity, Freiburg (2009), pp. 243–254). A vertex‐colored graph Gis rainbow vertex‐connected if any two vertices are connected by a path whose internal vertices have distinct colors. The rainbow vertex‐connection of a connected graph G, denoted by rvc(G), is the smallest number of colors that are needed in order to make Grainbow vertex‐connected. One cannot upper‐bound one of these parameters in terms of the other. Nevertheless, we prove that if Ghas nvertices and minimum degree δ then rvc(G)<11n/δ. We note that the proof in this case is different from the proof for the edge‐colored case, and we cannot deduce one from the other. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 63: 185–191, 2010     

Rainbow Connection Number of Graph Power and Graph Products

Rainbow connection number, rc(G), of a connected graph G is the minimum number of colors needed to color its edges so that every pair of vertices is connected by at least one path in which no two edges are colored the same (note that the coloring need not be proper). In this paper we study the rainbow connection number with respect to three important graph product operations (namely the Cartesian product, the lexicographic product and the strong product) and the operation of taking the power of a graph. In this direction, we show that if G is a graph obtained by applying any of the operations mentioned above on non-trivial graphs, then rc(G) ≤ 2r(G) + c, where r(G) denotes the radius of G and \({c \in \{0, 1, 2\}}\) . In general the rainbow connection number of a bridgeless graph can be as high as the square of its radius [1]. This is an attempt to identify some graph classes which have rainbow connection number very close to the obvious lower bound of diameter (and thus the radius). The bounds reported are tight up to additive constants. The proofs are constructive and hence yield polynomial time \({(2 + \frac{2}{r(G)})}\) -factor approximation algorithms.     

Rainbow Connection and Graph Products

A path in an edge colored graph G is called a rainbow path if all its edges have pairwise different colors. Then G is rainbow connected if there exists a rainbow path between every pair of vertices of G and the least number of colors needed to obtain a rainbow connected graph is the rainbow connection number. If we demand that there must exist a shortest rainbow path between every pair of vertices, we speak about strongly rainbow connected graph and the strong rainbow connection number. In this paper we study the (strong) rainbow connection number on the direct, strong, and lexicographic product and present several upper bounds for these products that are attained by many graphs. Several exact results are also obtained.     

Polynomial algorithm for sharp upper bound of rainbow connection number of maximal outerplanar graphs

For a finite simple edge-colored connected graph G (the coloring may not be proper), a rainbow path in G is a path without two edges colored the same; G is rainbow connected if for any two vertices of G, there is a rainbow path connecting them. Rainbow connection number, rc(G), of G is the minimum number of colors needed to color its edges such that G is rainbow connected. Chakraborty et al. (2011) [5] proved that computing rc(G) is NP-hard and deciding if rc(G)=2 is NP-complete. When edges of G are colored with fixed number k of colors, Kratochvil [6] proposed a question: what is the complexity of deciding whether G is rainbow connected? is this an FPT problem? In this paper, we prove that any maximal outerplanar graph is k rainbow connected for suitably large k and can be given a rainbow coloring in polynomial time.     

Rainbow Connection Number and Radius

The rainbow connection number, rc(G), of a connected graph G is the minimum number of colours needed to colour its edges, so that every pair of its vertices is connected by at least one path in which no two edges are coloured the same. In this note we show that for every bridgeless graph G with radius r, rc(G) ≤  r(r + 2). We demonstrate that this bound is the best possible for rc(G) as a function of r, not just for bridgeless graphs, but also for graphs of any stronger connectivity. It may be noted that for a general 1-connected graph G, rc(G) can be arbitrarily larger than its radius (K _1,n for instance). We further show that for every bridgeless graph G with radius r and chordality (size of a largest induced cycle) k, rc(G) ≤  rk. Hitherto, the only reported upper bound on the rainbow connection number of bridgeless graphs is 4n/5 ? 1, where n is order of the graph (Caro et al. in Electron J Comb 15(1):Research paper 57, 13, 2008). It is known that computing rc(G) is NP-Hard (Chakraborty and fischer in J Comb Optim 1–18, 2009). Here, we present a (r + 3)-factor approximation algorithm which runs in O(nm) time and a (d + 3)-factor approximation algorithm which runs in O(dm) time to rainbow colour any connected graph G on n vertices, with m edges, diameter d and radius r.     

Nordhaus–Gaddum-Type Theorem for Rainbow Connection Number of Graphs

An edge-colored graph G is rainbow connected if every two vertices of G are connected by a path whose edges have distinct colors. The rainbow connection number of G, denoted by rc(G), is the minimum number of colors that are needed to make G rainbow connected. In this paper we give a Nordhaus–Gaddum-type result for the rainbow connection number. We prove that if G and ${\overline{G}}$ are both connected, then ${4\leq rc(G)+rc(\overline{G})\leq n+2}$ . Examples are given to show that the upper bound is sharp for n ≥ 4, and the lower bound is sharp for n ≥ 8. Sharp lower bounds are also given for n = 4, 5, 6, 7, respectively.     

Some Remarks on Rainbow Connectivity

An edge (vertex) colored graph is rainbow‐connected if there is a rainbow path between any two vertices, i.e. a path all of whose edges (internal vertices) carry distinct colors. Rainbow edge (vertex) connectivity of a graph G is the smallest number of colors needed for a rainbow edge (vertex) coloring of G. In this article, we propose a very simple approach to studying rainbow connectivity in graphs. Using this idea, we give a unified proof of several known results, as well as some new ones.     

Rainbow Connection Number and Independence Number of a Graph

A path in an edge-colored graph is called rainbow if any two edges of the path have distinct colors. An edge-colored graph is called rainbow connected if there exists a rainbow path between every two vertices of the graph. For a connected graph G, the minimum number of colors that are needed to make G rainbow connected is called the rainbow connection number of G, denoted by rc(G). In this paper, we investigate the relation between the rainbow connection number and the independence number of a graph. We show that if G is a connected graph without pendant vertices, then \(\mathrm{rc}(G)\le 2\alpha (G)-1\). An example is given showing that the upper bound \(2\alpha (G)-1\) is equal to the diameter of G, and so the upper bound is sharp since the diameter of G is a lower bound of \(\mathrm{rc}(G)\).     

Graphs with small total rainbow connection number

A total-colored path is total rainbow if its edges and internal vertices have distinct colors. A total-colored graph G is total rainbow connected if any two distinct vertices are connected by some total rainbow path. The total rainbow connection number of G, denoted by trc(G), is the smallest number of colors required to color the edges and vertices of G in order to make G total rainbow connected. In this paper, we investigate graphs with small total rainbow connection number. First, for a connected graph G, we prove that \({\text{trc(G) = 3 if}}\left( {\begin{array}{*{20}{c}}{n - 1} \\2\end{array}} \right) + 1 \leqslant \left| {{\text{E(G)}}} \right| \leqslant \left( {\begin{array}{*{20}{c}}n \\2\end{array}} \right) - 1\), and \({\text{trc(G)}} \leqslant {\text{6 if }}\left| {{\text{E(G)}}} \right| \geqslant \left( {\begin{array}{*{20}{c}}{n - 2} \\2\end{array}} \right) + 2\). Next, we investigate the total rainbow connection numbers of graphs G with |V(G)| = n, diam(G) ≥ 2, and clique number ω(G) = n ? s for 1 ≤ s ≤ 3. In this paper, we find Theorem 3 of [Discuss. Math. Graph Theory, 2011, 31(2): 313–320] is not completely correct, and we provide a complete result for this theorem.     

Total Rainbow Connection Number and Complementary Graph

A vertex-colored graph G is rainbow vertex connected if any two distinct vertices are connected by a path whose internal vertices have distinct colors. The rainbow vertex connection number of G, denoted by rvc(G), is the smallest number of colors that are needed in order to make G rainbow vertex connected. In this paper, we prove that for a connected graph G, if \({{\rm diam}(\overline{G}) \geq 3}\), then \({{\rm rvc}(G) \leq 2}\), and this bound is tight. Next, we obtain that for a triangle-free graph \({\overline{G}}\) with \({{\rm diam}(\overline{G}) = 2}\), if G is connected, then \({{\rm rvc}(G) \leq 2}\), and this bound is tight. A total-colored path is total rainbow if its edges and internal vertices have distinct colors. A total-colored graph G is total rainbow connected if any two distinct vertices are connected by some total rainbow path. The total rainbow connection number of G, denoted by trc(G), is the smallest number of colors required to color the edges and vertices of G in order to make G total rainbow connected. In this paper, we prove that for a triangle-free graph \({\overline{G}}\) with \({{\rm diam}(\overline{G}) = 3}\), if G is connected, then trc\({(G) \leq 5}\), and this bound is tight. Next, a Nordhaus–Gaddum-type result for the total rainbow connection number is provided. We show that if G and \({\overline{G}}\) are both connected, then \({6 \leq {\rm trc} (G) + {\rm trc}(\overline{G}) \leq 4n - 6.}\) Examples are given to show that the lower bound is tight for \({n \geq 7}\) and n = 5. Tight lower bounds are also given for n = 4, 6.     

Rainbow faces in edge‐colored plane graphs

A face of an edge‐colored plane graph is called rainbow if the number of colors used on its edges is equal to its size. The maximum number of colors used in an edge coloring of a connected plane graph Gwith no rainbow face is called the edge‐rainbowness of G. In this paper we prove that the edge‐rainbowness of Gequals the maximum number of edges of a connected bridge face factor H of G, where a bridge face factor H of a plane graph Gis a spanning subgraph H of Gin which every face is incident with a bridge and the interior of any one face f∈F(G) is a subset of the interior of some face f′∈F(H). We also show upper and lower bounds on the edge‐rainbowness of graphs based on edge connectivity, girth of the dual graphs, and other basic graph invariants. Moreover, we present infinite classes of graphs where these equalities are attained. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 62: 84–99, 2009     

Small Edge Sets Meeting all Triangles of a Graph

It was conjectured in 1981 by the third author that if a graph G does not contain more than t pairwise edge-disjoint triangles, then there exists a set of at most 2t edges that shares an edge with each triangle of G. In this paper, we prove this conjecture for odd-wheel-free graphs and for ‘triangle-3-colorable’ graphs, where the latter property means that the edges of the graph can be colored with three colors in such a way that each triangle receives three distinct colors on its edges. Among the consequences we obtain that the conjecture holds for every graph with chromatic number at most four. Also, two subclasses of K ₄-free graphs are identified, in which the maximum number of pairwise edge-disjoint triangles is equal to the minimum number of edges covering all triangles. In addition, we prove that the recognition problem of triangle-3-colorable graphs is intractable.     

Contractible subgraphs in k‐connected graphs

For a graph G we define a graph T(G) whose vertices are the triangles in G and two vertices of T(G) are adjacent if their corresponding triangles in G share an edge. Kawarabayashi showed that if G is a k‐connected graph and T(G) contains no edge, then G admits a k‐contractible clique of size at most 3, generalizing an earlier result of Thomassen. In this paper, we further generalize Kawarabayashi's result by showing that if G is k‐connected and the maximum degree of T(G) is at most 1, then G admits a k‐contractible clique of size at most 3 or there exist independent edges e and f of G such that e and f are contained in triangles sharing an edge and G/e/f is k‐connected. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 55: 121–136, 2007     

A note on similar edges and edge-unique line graphs

If G is a connected graph having no vertices of degree 2 and L(G) is its line graph, two results are proven: if there exist distinct edges e and f with L(G) ? e ? L(G) ? f then there is an automorphism of L(G) mapping e to f; if $\text{G ? u ¦ G ? v}$ for any distinct vertices u, v, then $\text{L(G) ? e ¦ L(G) ? f}$ for any distinct edges e, f.     

On n-Hamiltonian line graphs

With each nonempty graph G one can associate a graph L(G), called the line graph of G, with the property that there exists a one-to-one correspondence between E(G) and V(L(G)) such that two vertices of L(G) are adjacent if and only if the corresponding edges of G are adjacent. For integers m ≥ 2, the mth iterated line graph L^m(G) of G is defined to be L(L^m-1(G)). A graph G of order p ≥ 3 is n-Hamiltonian, 0 ≤ n ≤ p ? 3, if the removal of any k vertices, 0 ≤ k ≤ n, results in a Hamiltonian graph. It is shown that if G is a connected graph with δ(G) ≥ 3, where δ(G) denotes the minimum degree of G, then L²(G) is (δ(G) ? 3)-Hamiltonian. Furthermore, if G is 2-connected and δ(G) ≥ 4, then L²(G) is (2δ(G) ? 4)-Hamiltonian. For a connected graph G which is neither a path, a cycle, nor the graph K(1, 3) and for any positive integer n, the existence of an integer k such that L^m(G) is n-Hamiltonian for every m ≥ k is exhibited. Then, for the special case n = 1, bounds on (and, in some cases, the exact value of) the smallest such integer k are determined for various classes of graphs.     

A characterization of well-covered graphs that contain neither 4- nor 5-cycles

A graph is well covered if every maximal independent set has the same cardinality. A vertex x, in a well-covered graph G, is called extendable if G – {x} is well covered and β(G) = β(G – {x}). If G is a connected, well-covered graph containing no 4- nor 5-cycles as subgraphs and G contains an extendable vertex, then G is the disjoint union of edges and triangles together with a restricted set of edges joining extendable vertices. There are only 3 other connected, well-covered graphs of this type that do not contain an extendable vertex. Moreover, all these graphs can be recognized in polynomial time.     

Proper connection number of bipartite graphs

An edge-colored graph G is proper connected if every pair of vertices is connected by a proper path. The proper connection number of a connected graph G, denoted by pc(G), is the smallest number of colors that are needed to color the edges of G in order to make it proper connected. In this paper, we obtain the sharp upper bound for pc(G) of a general bipartite graph G and a series of extremal graphs. Additionally, we give a proper 2-coloring for a connected bipartite graph G having δ(G) ≥ 2 and a dominating cycle or a dominating complete bipartite subgraph, which implies pc(G) = 2. Furthermore, we get that the proper connection number of connected bipartite graphs with δ ≥ 2 and diam(G) ≤ 4 is two.     

Iterated line graphs are maximally ordered

A graph G is k‐ordered if for every ordered sequence of k vertices, there is a cycle in G that encounters the vertices of the sequence in the given order. We prove that if G is a connected graph distinct from a path, then there is a number t_G such that for every t ≥ t_G the t‐iterated line graph of G, L^t (G), is (δ(L^t (G)) + 1)‐ordered. Since there is no graph H which is (δ(H)+2)‐ordered, the result is best possible. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 52: 171–180, 2006     

On an anti‐Ramsey problem of Burr,Erdős,Graham, and T. Sós

Given a graph L, in this article we investigate the anti‐Ramsey number χ_S(n,e,L), defined to be the minimum number of colors needed to edge‐color some graph G(n,e) with n vertices and e edges so that in every copy of L in G all edges have different colors. We call such a copy of L totally multicolored (TMC). In 7 among many other interesting results and problems, Burr, Erd?s, Graham, and T. Sós asked the following question: Let L be a connected bipartite graph which is not a star. Is it true then that In this article, we prove a slightly weaker statement, namely we show that the statement is true if L is a connected bipartite graph, which is not a complete bipartite graph. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 52: 147–156, 2006