New upper bounds for the chromatic number of a graph*

We show that for any graph G, the chromatic number χ(G) ≤ Δ₂(G) + 1, where Δ₂(G) is the largest degree that a vertex ν can have subject to the condition that ν is adjacent to a vertex whose degree is at least as big as its own. Moreover, we show that the upper bound is best possible in the the following sense: If Δ₂(G) ≥ 3, then to determine whether χ(G) ≤ Δ₂(G) is an NP‐complete problem. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 36: 117–120, 2001     

Vizing's coloring algorithm and the fan number

Most upper bounds for the chromatic index of a graph come from algorithms that produce edge colorings. One such algorithm was invented by Vizing [Diskret Analiz 3 (1964), 25–30] in 1964. Vizing's algorithm colors the edges of a graph one at a time and never uses more than Δ+µ colors, where Δ is the maximum degree and µ is the maximum multiplicity, respectively. In general, though, this upper bound of Δ+µ is rather generous. In this paper, we define a new parameter fan(G) in terms of the degrees and the multiplicities of G. We call fan(G) the fan number of G. First we show that the fan number can be computed by a polynomial‐time algorithm. Then we prove that the parameter Fan(G)=max{Δ(G), fan(G)} is an upper bound for the chromatic index that can be realized by Vizing's coloring algorithm. Many of the known upper bounds for the chromatic index are also upper bounds for the fan number. Furthermore, we discuss the following question. What is the best (efficiently realizable) upper bound for the chromatic index in terms of Δ and µ ? Goldberg's Conjecture supports the conjecture that χ′+1 is the best efficiently realizable upper bound for χ′ at all provided that P ≠ NP . © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 65: 115–138, 2010     

List‐coloring the square of a subcubic graph

The square G² of a graph G is the graph with the same vertex set G and with two vertices adjacent if their distance in G is at most 2. Thomassen showed that every planar graph G with maximum degree Δ(G) = 3 satisfies χ(G²) ≤ 7. Kostochka and Woodall conjectured that for every graph, the list‐chromatic number of G² equals the chromatic number of G², that is, χ_l(G²) = χ(G²) for all G. If true, this conjecture (together with Thomassen's result) implies that every planar graph G with Δ(G) = 3 satisfies χ_l(G²) ≤ 7. We prove that every connected graph (not necessarily planar) with Δ(G) = 3 other than the Petersen graph satisfies χ_l(G²) ≤8 (and this is best possible). In addition, we show that if G is a planar graph with Δ(G) = 3 and girth g(G) ≥ 7, then χ_l(G²) ≤ 7. Dvo?ák, ?krekovski, and Tancer showed that if G is a planar graph with Δ(G) = 3 and girth g(G) ≥ 10, then χ_l(G²) ≤6. We improve the girth bound to show that if G is a planar graph with Δ(G) = 3 and g(G) ≥ 9, then χ_l(G²) ≤ 6. All of our proofs can be easily translated into linear‐time coloring algorithms. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 57: 65–87, 2008     

Coloring the square of a planar graph

We prove that for any planar graph G with maximum degree Δ, it holds that the chromatic number of the square of G satisfies χ(G²) ≤ 2Δ + 25. We generalize this result to integer labelings of planar graphs involving constraints on distances one and two in the graph. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 42: 110–124, 2003     

Linear arboricity for graphs with multiple edges

Akiyama, Exoo, and Harary conjectured that for any simple graph G with maximum degree Δ(G), the linear arboricity la(G) satisfies ?Δ(G)/2? ≦ la(G) ≦ ?(Δ(G) + 1)/2?. Here it is proved that if G is a loopless graph with maximum degree Δ(G) ≦ k and maximum edge multiplicity μ(G) ≦ k ? 2ⁿ⁺¹ + 1, where k ≧ 2^n?2, then la(G) ≦ k ? 2ⁿ. It is also conjectured that for any loopless graph G, ?Δ(G)/2? ≦ la(G) ≦ ?(Δ(G) + μ(G))/2?.     

Edge‐face chromatic number and edge chromatic number of simple plane graphs

Given a simple plane graph G, an edge‐face k‐coloring of G is a function ? : E(G) ∪ F(G) → {1,…,k} such that, for any two adjacent or incident elements a, b ∈ E(G) ∪ F(G), ?(a) ≠ ?(b). Let χ_e(G), χ_ef(G), and Δ(G) denote the edge chromatic number, the edge‐face chromatic number, and the maximum degree of G, respectively. In this paper, we prove that χ_ef(G) = χ_e(G) = Δ(G) for any 2‐connected simple plane graph G with Δ (G) ≥ 24. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory     

A note on list edge and list total coloring of planar graphs without adjacent short cycles

LetGbe a planar graph with maximum degreeΔ.In this paper,we prove that if any4-cycle is not adjacent to ani-cycle for anyi∈{3,4}in G,then the list edge chromatic numberχl(G)=Δand the list total chromatic numberχl(G)=Δ+1.     

Acyclic edge colorings of graphs

A proper coloring of the edges of a graph G is called acyclic if there is no 2‐colored cycle in G. The acyclic edge chromatic number of G, denoted by a′(G), is the least number of colors in an acyclic edge coloring of G. For certain graphs G, a′(G) ≥ Δ(G) + 2 where Δ(G) is the maximum degree in G. It is known that a′(G) ≤ 16 Δ(G) for any graph G. We prove that there exists a constant c such that a′(G) ≤ Δ(G) + 2 for any graph G whose girth is at least cΔ(G) log Δ(G), and conjecture that this upper bound for a′(G) holds for all graphs G. We also show that a′(G) ≤ Δ + 2 for almost all Δ‐regular graphs. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 37: 157–167, 2001     

ENTIRE CHROMATIC NUMBER AND △-MATCHING OF OUTERPLANE GRAPHS

Let G be an outerplane graph with maximum degree A and the entire chromatic number Xvef（G）. This paper proves that if △ ≥6, then △＋ 1≤Xvef（G）≤△＋ 2, and Xvef （G） = △＋ 1 if and only if G has a matching M consisting of some inner edges which covers all its vertices of maximum degree.     

An upper bound for the total chromatic number of dense graphs

In this paper we consider those graphs that have maximum degree at least 1/k times their order, where k is a (small) positive integer. A result of Hajnal and Szemerédi concerning equitable vertex-colorings and an adaptation of the standard proof of Vizing's Theorem are used to show that if the maximum degree of a graph G satisfies Δ(G) ≥ |V(G)/k, then X″(G) ≤ Δ(G) + 2k + 1. This upper bound is an improvement on the currently available upper bounds for dense graphs having large order.     

Total coloring of embedded graphs of maximum degree at least ten

A total k-coloring of a graph G is a coloring of V(G) ∪ E(G) using k colors such that no two adjacent or incident elements receive the same color.The total chromatic number χ〃(G) is the smallest integer k such that G has a total k-coloring.In this paper,it is proved that the total chromatic number of any graph G embedded in a surface Σ of Euler characteristic χ(Σ)≥0 is Δ(G) + 1 if Δ(G)≥10,where Δ(G) denotes the maximum degree of G.     

A sufficient condition for bipartite graphs to be type one

The total chromatic number χ_T(G) of graph G is the least number of colors assigned to V(G) ∪ E(G) such that no adjacent or incident elements receive the same color. In this article, we give a sufficient condition for a bipartite graph G to have χ_T(G) = Δ(G) + 1. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Graph Theory 29: 133–137, 1998     

List 2-distance (Δ + 1)-coloring of planar graphs with girth at least 7

The trivial lower bound for the 2-distance chromatic number χ ₂(G) of a graph G with maximum degree Δ is Δ + 1. There are available some examples of the graphs with girth g ≤ 6 that have arbitrarily large Δ and χ ₂(G) ≥ Δ + 2. In the paper we improve the known restrictions on Δ and g under which a planar graph G has χ ₂(G) = Δ + 1.     

On a conjecture by Plummer and Toft

The cyclic chromatic number χ_c(G) of a 2‐connected plane graph G is the minimum number of colors in an assigment of colors to the vertices of G such that, for every face‐bounding cycle f of G, the vertices of f have different colors. Plummer and Toft proved that, for a 3‐connected plane graph G, under the assumption Δ*(G) ≥ 42, where Δ*(G) is the size of a largest face of G, it holds that χ_c(G) ≤ Δ*(G) + 4. They conjectured that, if G is a 3‐connected plane graph, then χ_c>(G) ≤ Δ*(G) + 2. In the article the conjecture is proved for Δ*(G) ≥ 24. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 30: 177–189, 1999     

Inequalities for the first‐fit chromatic number

The First‐Fit (or Grundy) chromatic number of G, written as χ_FF(G), is defined as the maximum number of classes in an ordered partition of V(G) into independent sets so that each vertex has a neighbor in each set earlier than its own. The well‐known Nordhaus‐‐Gaddum inequality states that the sum of the ordinary chromatic numbers of an n‐vertex graph and its complement is at most n + 1. Zaker suggested finding the analogous inequality for the First‐Fit chromatic number. We show for n ≥ 10 that ?(5n + 2)/4? is an upper bound, and this is sharp. We extend the problem for multicolorings as well and prove asymptotic results for infinitely many cases. We also show that the smallest order of C₄‐free bipartite graphs with χ_FF(G) = k is asymptotically 2k² (the upper bound answers a problem of Zaker [9]). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 59: 75–88, 2008     

Some reproducing identities for families of mean values

Gini, Lehmer, Beckenbach, and others studied the meanG _s (a, b) = (a ^s +b ^s )/(a ^{s 1} +b ^s-1 ) We proveTheorem 1 The identity (ina, b)G _s (G _t ,G _u ) =G _v holds if and only if (s, t, u, v) is (s, t, t, t) (the trivial solution) or one of (1, 1 –k, 1 +k, 1), (1/2, 1 –k, k, 1/2), or (0,–k, k, 0) (the exotic solutions,k is any real number)Theorem 2 IfP _s (a, b) is the power mean [(a ^s +b ^s )/2]^1/s , thenP _s (P _t ,P _u ) =P _v has only the trivial solution (s, t, u, v) = (s, t, t, t) and the exotic solution (0,t, –t, 0) The family of meansG _s (respP _s ) includes the classical arithmetic, geometric, and harmonic means     

On total chromatic number of planar graphs without 4-cycles

Let G be a simple graph with maximum degree A(G) and total chromatic number Xve(G). Vizing conjectured thatΔ(G) 1≤Xve(G)≤Δ(G) 2 (Total Chromatic Conjecture). Even for planar graphs, this conjecture has not been settled yet. The unsettled difficult case for planar graphs isΔ(G) = 6. This paper shows that if G is a simple planar graph with maximum degree 6 and without 4-cycles, then Xve(G)≤8. Together with the previous results on this topic, this shows that every simple planar graph without 4-cycles satisfies the Total Chromatic Conjecture.     

Some results on distance two labelling of outerplanar graphs

Let G be an outerplanar graph with maximum degree △. Let χ（G^2） and A（G） denote the chromatic number of the square and the L（2, 1）-labelling number of G, respectively. In this paper we prove the following results： （1） χ（G^2） = 7 if △= 6; （2） λ（G） ≤ △ ＋5 if △ ≥ 4, and ）,（G）≤ 7 if △ = 3; and （3） there is an outerplanar graph G with △ = 4 such that ）λ（G） = 7. These improve some known results on the distance two labelling of outerplanar graphs.     

Total coloring of graphs embedded in surfaces of nonnegative Euler characteristic

Let G be a graph which can be embedded in a surface of nonnegative Euler characteristic.In this paper,it is proved that the total chromatic number of G is △(G)+1 if △(G)9,where △(G)is the maximum degree of G.     

On the graph of large distances

For a setS of points in the plane, letd ₁>d ₂>... denote the different distances determined byS. Consider the graphG(S, k) whose vertices are the elements ofS, and two are joined by an edge iff their distance is at leastd _k . It is proved that the chromatic number ofG(S, k) is at most 7 if |S|constk ². IfS consists of the vertices of a convex polygon and |S|constk ², then the chromatic number ofG(S, k) is at most 3. Both bounds are best possible. IfS consists of the vertices of a convex polygon thenG(S, k) has a vertex of degree at most 3k – 1. This implies that in this case the chromatic number ofG(S, k) is at most 3k. The best bound here is probably 2k+1, which is tight for the regular (2k+1)-gon.