| Abstract: | Let G be a graph, and let D be a directed graph. Write G → D to mean that, no matter how the edges of G are given orientations, a copy of D must appear as a subgraph of the resulting oriented graph. It is proved that among all G for which G → D, the minimum chromatic number is equal to the minimum k for which Kk → hom(D), where hom(D) is the set of homomorphs of D. Next, necessary and sufficient conditions are given for a directed graph to have a homomorphism into a given transitive tournament, directed path, or directed cycle. These results are then applied to various cases of the above theorem. In particular, the minimum chromatic number is evaluated whenever D is an oriented forest, and all D are characterized for which the minimum chromatic number is no more than three. |
