On the algorithmic complexity of coloring simple hypergraphs and steiner triple systems

In this paper we establish that decidingt-colorability for a simplek-graph whent≧3,k≧3 is NP-complete. Next, we establish that if there is a polynomial time algorithm for finding the chromatic number of a Steiner Triple system then there exists a polynomial time “approximation” algorithm for the chromatic number of simple 3-graphs. Finally, we show that the existence of such an approximation algorithm would imply that P=NP. Dedicated to Paul Erdős on his seventieth birthday     

Explicit inverse of a tridiagonal k−Toeplitz matrix

Summary We obtain explicit formulas for the entries of the inverse of a nonsingular and irreducible tridiagonal k–Toeplitz matrix A. The proof is based on results from the theory of orthogonal polynomials and it is shown that the entries of the inverse of such a matrix are given in terms of Chebyshev polynomials of the second kind. We also compute the characteristic polynomial of A which enables us to state some conditions for the existence of A^–1. Our results also extend known results for the case when the residue mod k of the order of A is equal to 0 or k–1 (Numer. Math., 10 (1967), pp. 153–161.).The work was supported by CMUC (Centro de Matemática da Universidade de Coimbra) and by Acção Integrada Luso-Espanhola E-6/03     

Star chromatic numbers of graphs

We investigate the relation between the star-chromatic number (G) and the chromatic number (G) of a graphG. First we give a sufficient condition for graphs under which their starchromatic numbers are equal to their ordinary chromatic numbers. As a corollary we show that for any two positive integersk, g, there exists ak-chromatic graph of girth at leastg whose star-chromatic number is alsok. The special case of this corollary withg=4 answers a question of Abbott and Zhou. We also present an infinite family of triangle-free planar graphs whose star-chromatic number equals their chromatic number. We then study the star-chromatic number of An infinite family of graphs is constructed to show that for each >0 and eachm2 there is anm-connected (m+1)-critical graph with star chromatic number at mostm+. This answers another question asked by Abbott and Zhou.     

Hajós Theorem For Colorings Of Edge-Weighted Graphs

Hajós theorem states that every graph with chromatic number at least k can be obtained from the complete graph K _k by a sequence of simple operations such that every intermediate graph also has chromatic number at least k. Here, Hajós theorem is extended in three slightly different ways to colorings and circular colorings of edge-weighted graphs. These extensions shed some new light on the Hajós theorem and show that colorings of edge-weighted graphs are most natural extension of usual graph colorings.* Supported in part by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of Slovenia, Research Program P0–0507–0101.     

Subgraphs of colour-critical graphs

Some problems and results on the distribution of subgraphs in colour-critical graphs are discussed. In section 3 arbitrarily largek-critical graphs withn vertices are constructed such that, in order to reduce the chromatic number tok−2, at leastc _k n ² edges must be removed. In section 4 it is proved that a 4-critical graph withn vertices contains at mostn triangles. Further it is proved that ak-critical graph which is not a complete graph contains a (k−1)-critical graph which is not a complete graph.     

The chromatic polynomial of fatgraphs and its categorification

Motivated by Khovanov homology and relations between the Jones polynomial and graph polynomials, we construct a homology theory for embedded graphs from which the chromatic polynomial can be recovered as the Euler characteristic. For plane graphs, we show that our chromatic homology can be recovered from the Khovanov homology of an associated link. We apply this connection with Khovanov homology to show that the torsion-free part of our chromatic homology is independent of the choice of planar embedding of a graph. We extend our construction and categorify the Bollobás-Riordan polynomial (a generalization of the Tutte polynomial to embedded graphs). We prove that both our chromatic homology and the Khovanov homology of an associated link can be recovered from this categorification.     

Some remarks on (k−1)-critical subgraphs ofk-critical graphs

A graphG is said to bek-critical if it has chromatic numberk, but every proper subgraph ofG has a (k–1)-coloring. Gallai asked whether every largek-critical graph contains many (k–1)-critical subgraphs. We provide some information concerning this question and some related questions.     

On coloring graphs with locally small chromatic number

In 1973, P. Erdös conjectured that for eachkε2, there exists a constantc _k so that ifG is a graph onn vertices andG has no odd cycle with length less thanc _k n ^1/k , then the chromatic number ofG is at mostk+1. Constructions due to Lovász and Schriver show thatc _k , if it exists, must be at least 1. In this paper we settle Erdös’ conjecture in the affirmative. We actually prove a stronger result which provides an upper bound on the chromatic number of a graph in which we have a bound on the chromatic number of subgraphs with small diameter.     

Induced Ramsey Numbers

   We investigate the induced Ramsey number of pairs of graphs (G, H). This number is defined to be the smallest possible order of a graph Γ with the property that, whenever its edges are coloured red and blue, either a red induced copy of G arises or else a blue induced copy of H arises. We show that, for any G and H with , we have

On analytic equivalence of functions at infinity

In this paper we define the relation of analytic equivalence of functions at infinity. We prove that if the ?ojasiewicz exponent at infinity of the gradient of a polynomial f∈R[x₁,…,xn] is greater or equal to k−1, then there exists ε>0 such that for every polynomial P∈R[x₁,…,xn] of degree less or equal to k, whose coefficients of monomials of degree k are less or equal ε, the polynomials f and f+P are analytically equivalent at infinity.     

Diperfect graphs

Gallai and Milgram have shown that the vertices of a directed graph, with stability number α(G), can be covered by exactly α(G) disjoint paths. However, the various proofs of this result do not imply the existence of a maximum stable setS and of a partition of the vertex-set into paths μ₁, μ₂, ..., μ_k such tht |μ_i ∩S|=1 for alli. Later, Gallai proved that in a directed graph, the maximum number of vertices in a path is at least equal to the chromatic number; here again, we do not know if there exists an optimal coloring (S ₁,S ₂, ...,S _k) and a path μ such that |μ ∩S _i|=1 for alli. In this paper we show that many directed graphs, like the perfect graphs, have stronger properties: for every maximal stable setS there exists a partition of the vertex set into paths which meet the stable set in only one point. Also: for every optimal coloring there exists a path which meets each color class in only one point. This suggests several conjecties similar to the perfect graph conjecture. Dedicated to Tibor Gallai on his seventieth birthday     

Call routing and the ratcatcher

Suppose we expect there to bep(ab) phone calls between locationsa andb, all choices ofa, b from some setL of locations. We wish to design a network to optimally handle these calls. More precisely, a routing tree is a treeT with set of leavesL, in which every other vertex has valency 3. It has congestion <k if for every edgee ofT, there are fewer thank calls which will be routed alonge, that is, between locationa, b in different components ofT/e. Deciding if there is a routing tree with congestion <k is NP-hard, but if the pairsab, withp(ab)>0 form the edges of a planar graphG, there is an efficient, strongly polynomial algorithm.This is because the problem is equivalent to deciding if a ratcatcher can corner a rat loose in the walls of a house with floor planG, wherep(ab) is a thickness of the wallab. The ratcatcher carries a noisemaker of powerk, and the rat will not move through any wall in which the noise level is too high (determined by the total thickness of the intervening walls between this one and the noisemaker).It follows that branch-width is polynomially computable for planar graphs—that too is NP-hard for general graphs.This research was performed under a consulting agreement with Bellcore.     

Adjoint polynomials of bridge–path and bridge–cycle graphs and Chebyshev polynomials

The chromatic polynomial of a simple graph G with n>0 vertices is a polynomial of degree n, where α_k(G) is the number of k-independent partitions of G for all k. The adjoint polynomial of G is defined to be , where is the complement of G. We find explicit formulas for the adjoint polynomials of the bridge–path and bridge–cycle graphs. Consequence, we find the zeros of the adjoint polynomials of several families of graphs.     

List edge colourings of some 1-factorable multigraphs

The List Edge Colouring Conjecture asserts that, given any multigraphG with chromatic indexk and any set system {S _e :eE(G)} with each |S _e |=k, we can choose elementss _e S _e such thats _e s _f whenevere andf are adjacent edges. Using a technique of Alon and Tarsi which involves the graph monomial of an oriented graph, we verify this conjecture for certain families of 1-factorable multigraphs, including 1-factorable planar graphs.Supported by the University Research Council of Vanderbilt University and NSERC Canada grants A5414 and A5499.Supported by NSERC Canada grant A5499     

Tutte polynomials for trees

We define two two-variable polynomials for rooted trees and one two-variable polynomial for unrooted trees, all of which are based on the coranknullity formulation of the Tutte polynomial of a graph or matroid. For the rooted polynomials, we show that the polynomial completely determines the rooted tree, i.e., rooted trees T₁ and T₂ are isomorphic if and only if f(T₁) = f(T₂). The corresponding question is open in the unrooted case, although we can reconstruct the degree sequence, number of subtrees of size k for all k, and the number of paths of length k for all k from the (unrooted) polynomial. The key difference between these three polynomials and the standard Tutte polynomial is the rank function used; we use pruning and branching ranks to define the polynomials. We also give a subtree expansion of the polynomials and a deletion-contraction recursion they satisfy.     

Matching Polynomials And Duality

Let G be a simple graph on n vertices. An r-matching in G is a set of r independent edges. The number of r-matchings in G will be denoted by p(G, r). We set p(G, 0) = 1 and define the matching polynomial of G by and the signless matching polynomial of G by .It is classical that the matching polynomials of a graph G determine the matching polynomials of its complement . We make this statement more explicit by proving new duality theorems by the generating function method for set functions. In particular, we show that the matching functions and are, up to a sign, real Fourier transforms of each other.Moreover, we generalize Foatas combinatorial proof of the Mehler formula for Hermite polynomials to matching polynomials. This provides a new short proof of the classical fact that all zeros of µ(G, x) are real. The same statement is also proved for a common generalization of the matching polynomial and the rook polynomial.     

Equitable coloring of random graphs

An equitable coloring of a graph is a proper vertex coloring such that the sizes of any two color classes differ by at most one. The least positive integer k for which there exists an equitable coloring of a graph G with k colors is said to be the equitable chromatic number of G and is denoted by χ₌(G). The least positive integer k such that for any k′ ≥ k there exists an equitable coloring of a graph G with k′ colors is said to be the equitable chromatic threshold of G and is denoted by χ₌*(G). In this paper, we investigate the asymptotic behavior of these coloring parameters in the probability space G(n,p) of random graphs. We prove that if n^?1/5+? < p < 0.99 for some 0 < ?, then almost surely χ(G(n,p)) ≤ χ₌(G(n,p)) = (1 + o(1))χ(G(n,p)) holds (where χ(G(n,p)) is the ordinary chromatic number of G(n,p)). We also show that there exists a constant C such that if C/n < p < 0.99, then almost surely χ(G(n,p)) ≤ χ₌(G(n,p)) ≤ (2 + o(1))χ(G(n,p)). Concerning the equitable chromatic threshold, we prove that if n^?(1??) < p < 0.99 for some 0 < ?, then almost surely χ(G(n,p)) ≤ χ₌* (G(n,p)) ≤ (2 + o(1))χ(G(n,p)) holds, and if < p < 0.99 for some 0 < ?, then almost surely we have χ(G(n,p)) ≤ χ₌*(G(n,p)) = O_?(χ(G(n,p))). © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 2009     

On the sum of the reciprocals of cycle lengths in sparse graphs

For a graphG let ℒ(G)=Σ{1/k contains a cycle of lengthk}. Erdős and Hajnal [1] introduced the real functionf(α)=inf {ℒ (G)|E(G)|/|V(G)|≧α} and suggested to study its properties. Obviouslyf(1)=0. We provef (k+1/k)≧(300k logk)⁻¹ for all sufficiently largek, showing that sparse graphs of large girth must contain many cycles of different lengths.     

ON UNIQUELY -G k-COLOURABLE GRAPHS

Abstract

Given graphs F and G and a nonnegative integer k, a map Π: V(F) → + {lm …, k} is a -G k-colouring of F if the subgraphs induced by each colour class do not contain G as an induced subgraph; F is -G k-chromatic if F has a -G k-colouring but no -G (k—1)-colouring. Further, we say F is uniquely -G k-colourable if and only if F is -G k-chromatic and, up to a permutation of colours, it has only one -G k-colouring. Such notions are extensions of the well known corresponding definitions from chromatic theory. In a previous paper (J. Graph. Th. 11 (1987), 87–99), the authors conjectured that for all graphs G of order at least two and all nonnegative integers k there exist uniquely -G k-colourable graphs. We show here that the conjecture holds whenever G or its complement is 2-connected.     

Differential operators associated with zonal polynomials. II

Summary LetC _κ(S) be the zonal polynomial of the symmetricm×m matrixS=(s_ij), corresponding to the partition κ of the non-negative integerk. If ∂/∂S is them×m matrix of differential operators with (i, j)th entry ((1+δ_ij)∂/∂s_ij)/2, δ being Kronecker's delta, we show that C_k(∂/∂S)C_λ(S)=k!δ_λkC_k(I), where λ is a partition ofk. This is used to obtain new orthogonality relations for the zonal polynomials, and to derive expressions for the coefficients in the zonal polynomial expansion of homogenous symmetric polynomials.