We study the conflict-free chromatic number chi_{CF} of graphs from extremal and probabilistic point of view. We resolve a question of Pach and Tardos about the maximum conflict-free chromatic number an n-vertex graph can have. Our construction is randomized. In relation to this we study the evolution of the conflict-free chromatic number of the Erdős-Rényi random graph G(n,p) and give the asymptotics for p=omega(1/n). We also show that for p \geq 1/2 the conflict-free chromatic number differs from the domination number by at most 3.
We investigate the relationship between two kinds of vertex colorings of hypergraphs: unique-maximum colorings and conflict-free colorings. In a unique-maximum coloring, the colors are ordered, and in every hyperedge of the hypergraph the maximum color appears only once. In a conflict-free coloring, in every hyperedge of the hypergraph there is a color that appears only once. We define corresponding unique-maximum and conflict-free chromatic numbers and investigate their relationship in arbitrary hypergraphs. Then, we concentrate on hypergraphs that are induced by simple paths in tree graphs.
A {\it proper conflict-free $c$-coloring} of a graph is a proper $c$-coloring such that each non-isolated vertex has a color appearing exactly once on its neighborhood. This notion was formally introduced by Fabrici et al., who proved that planar graphs have a proper conflict-free 8-coloring and constructed a planar graph with no proper conflict-free 5-coloring. Caro, Petruševski, and Škrekovski investigated this coloring concept further, and in particular studied upper bounds on the maximum average degree that guarantees a proper conflict-free $c$-coloring for $c\in\{4,5,6\}$. Along these lin…
In FOCS'2002, Even et al. introduced and studied the notion of conflict-free colorings of geometrically defined hypergraphs. They motivated it by frequency assignment problems in cellular networks. This notion has been extensively studied since then. A conflict-free coloring of a graph is a coloring of its vertices such that the neighborhood (pointed or closed) of each vertex contains a vertex whose color differs from the colors of all other vertices in that neighborhood. In this paper we study conflict-colorings of intersection graphs of geometric objects. We show that any intersection graph …
Given an undirected graph $G = (V,E)$, a conflict-free coloring with respect to open neighborhoods (CFON coloring) is a vertex coloring such that every vertex has a uniquely colored vertex in its open neighborhood. The minimum number of colors required for such a coloring is the CFON chromatic number of $G$, denoted by $χ_{ON}(G)$. In previous work [WG 2020], we showed the upper bound $χ_{ON}(G) \leq dc(G) + 3$, where $dc(G)$ denotes the distance to cluster parameter of $G$. In this paper, we obtain the improved upper bound of $χ_{ON}(G) \leq dc(G) + 1$. We also exhibit a family of graphs for …
Given a graph, the conflict-free coloring problem on open neighborhoods (CFON) asks to color the vertices of the graph so that all the vertices have a uniquely colored vertex in its open neighborhood. The smallest number of colors required for such a coloring is called the conflict-free chromatic number and denoted $χ_{ON}(G)$. In this note, we study this problem on $S_k$-free graphs where $S_k$ is a star on $k+1$ vertices. When $G$ is $S_k$-free, we show that $χ_{ON}(G) = O(k\cdot \log^{2+ε}Δ)$, for any $ε> 0$, where $Δ$ denotes the maximum degree of $G$. Further, we show existence of claw-fr…
A vertex coloring of a graph is said to be \textit{conflict-free} with respect to neighborhoods if for every non-isolated vertex there is a color appearing exactly once in its (open) neighborhood. As defined in [Fabrici et al., \textit{Proper Conflict-free and Unique-maximum Colorings of Planar Graphs with Respect to Neighborhoods}, arXiv preprint], the minimum number of colors in any such proper coloring of graph $G$ is the PCF chromatic number of $G$, denoted $χ_{\mathrm{pcf}}(G)$. In this paper, we determine the value of this graph parameter for several basic graph classes including trees, …
Degree-choosability of proper conflict-free list coloring of sparse graphs
Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University（庆应义塾大学理工学部）；Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana（卢布尔雅那大学数学与物理学院）；Faculty of Information Studies, Novo Mesto（新梅斯托信息学院）；Rudolfovo - Science and Technology Centre Novo Mesto（鲁多尔福沃-新梅斯托科学与技术中心）；School of Mathematical and Science, Zhejiang Normal University（浙江师范大学数理学院）
Conflict-free coloring is a kind of vertex coloring of hypergraphs requiring each hyperedge to have a color which appears only on one vertex. More generally, for a positive integer $k$ there are $k$-conflict-free colorings ($k$-CF-colorings for short) and $k$-strong-conflict-free colorings ($k$-SCF-colorings for short). %for some positive integer $k$. Let $H_n$ be the hypergraph of which the vertex-set is $V_n=\{1,2,\dots,n\}$ and the hyperedge-set $\cal{E}_n$ is the set of all (non-empty) subsets of $V_n$ consisting of consecutive elements of $V_n$. Firstly, we study the $k$-SCF-coloring of $…
A vertex-coloring of a hypergraph is conflict-free, if each edge contains a vertex whose color is not repeated on any other vertex of that edge. Let $f(r, Δ)$ be the smallest integer $k$ such that each $r$-uniform hypergraph of maximum vertex degree $Δ$ has a conflict-free coloring with at most $k$ colors. As shown by Tardos and Pach, similarly to a classical Brooks' type theorem for hypergraphs, $f(r, Δ)\leq Δ+1$. Compared to Brooks' theorem, according to which there is only a couple of graphs/hypergraphs that attain the $Δ+1$ bound, we show that there are several infinite classes of uniform …
Instituto de Ingeniería Matemática – CIMFAV, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de valparaíso（瓦尔帕莱索大学工程学院数学工程研究所-CIMFAV）；Universidade Federal do ABC（ABC联邦大学）
It is well known that any set of n intervals in $\mathbb{R}^1$ admits a non-monochromatic coloring with two colors and a conflict-free coloring with three colors. We investigate generalizations of this result to colorings of objects in more complex 1-dimensional spaces, namely so-called tree spaces and planar network spaces.
In an undirected graph, a conflict-free coloring (with respect to open neighborhoods) is an assignment of colors to the vertices of the graph $G$ such that every vertex in $G$ has a uniquely colored vertex in its open neighborhood. The conflict-free coloring problem asks to find the smallest number of colors required for a conflict-free coloring. The conflict-free coloring problem is NP-complete. From results in Abel et. al. [SODA 2017], it can be inferred that every planar graph has a conflict-free coloring with at most nine colors. As the best known lower bound for planar graphs is four colo…
An incidence of a graph $G$ is a vertex-edge pair $(v,e)$ such that $v$ is incidence with $e$. A conflict-free incidence coloring of a graph is a coloring of the incidences in such a way that two incidences $(u,e)$ and $(v,f)$ get distinct colors if and only if they conflict each other, i.e.,(i) $u=v$, (ii) $uv$ is $e$ or $f$, or (iii) there is a vertex $w$ such that $uw=e$ and $vw=f$. The minimum number of colors used among all conflict-free incidence colorings of a graph is the conflict-free incidence chromatic number. A graph is outer-1-planar if it can be drawn in the plane so that vertice…
Let $H=(V,E)$ be a hypergraph. A {\em conflict-free} coloring of $H$ is an assignment of colors to $V$ such that in each hyperedge $e \in E$ there is at least one uniquely-colored vertex. This notion is an extension of the classical graph coloring. Such colorings arise in the context of frequency assignment to cellular antennae, in battery consumption aspects of sensor networks, in RFID protocols and several other fields, and has been the focus of many recent research papers. In this paper, we survey this notion and its combinatorial and algorithmic aspects.
In an undirected graph $G$, a conflict-free coloring with respect to open neighborhoods (denoted by CFON coloring) is an assignment of colors to the vertices such that every vertex has a uniquely colored vertex in its open neighborhood. The minimum number of colors required for a CFON coloring of $G$ is the CFON chromatic number of $G$, denoted by $χ_{ON}(G)$. The decision problem that asks whether $χ_{ON}(G) \leq k$ is NP-complete. We obtain the following results: * Bodlaender, Kolay and Pieterse [WADS 2019] showed the upper bound $χ_{ON}(G)\leq {\sf fvs}(G)+3$, where ${\sf fvs}(G)$ denotes t…
A {\em conflict-free coloring} of a graph {\em with respect to open} (resp., {\em closed}) {\em neighborhood} is a coloring of vertices such that for every vertex there is a color appearing exactly once in its open (resp., closed) neighborhood. Similarly, a {\em unique-maximum coloring} of a graph {\em with respect to open} (resp., {\em closed}) {\em neighborhood} is a coloring of vertices such that for every vertex the maximum color appearing in its open (resp., closed) neighborhood appears exactly once. There is a vast amount of literature on both notions where the colorings need not be prop…
The `Conflict-Free Open (Closed) Neighborhood coloring', abbreviated CFON (CFCN) coloring, of a graph $G$ using $r$ colors is a coloring of the vertices of $G$ such that every vertex sees some color exactly once in its open (closed) neighborhood. The minimum $r$ such that $G$ has a CFON (CFCN) coloring using $r$ colors is called the `CFON chromatic number' (`CFCN chromatic number') of $G$. This is denoted by $χ_{CF}^{ON}(G)$ ($χ_{CF}^{CN}(G)$). D\k ebski and Przybyło in [J. Graph Theory, 2021] showed that if $G$ is a line graph with maximum degree $Δ$, then $χ_{CF}^{CN}(G) = O(\ln Δ)$. As an o…
A set-system $X$ is a $(λ, κ,μ)$-system iff $|X|=λ$, $|x|=κ$ for each $x\in X$, and $X$ is $μ$-almost disjoint. We write $[λ, κ, μ] -> ρ$ iff every $(λ, κ,μ)$-system has a "conflict free coloring with $ρ$ colors", i.e. there is a coloring of the elements of $\cup X$ with$ρ$ colors such that for each element $x$ of $X$ there is a color $ξ<ρ$ such that exactly one element of $x$ has color $ξ$. Our main object of study is the relation $[λ, κ, μ] -> ρ$. We give full description of this relation when $κ$ is finite. We also show that if $d$ is a natural number then $[λ,κ,d]-> ω$ always holds. Under …
In FOCS 2002, Even et al. showed that any set of $n$ discs in the plane can be Conflict-Free colored with a total of at most $O(\log n)$ colors. That is, it can be colored with $O(\log n)$ colors such that for any (covered) point $p$ there is some disc whose color is distinct from all other colors of discs containing $p$. They also showed that this bound is asymptotically tight. In this paper we prove the following stronger results: \begin{enumerate} \item [(i)] Any set of $n$ discs in the plane can be colored with a total of at most $O(k \log n)$ colors such that (a) for any point $p$ that is…
Conflict-free coloring (in short, CF-coloring) of a graph $G = (V,E)$ is a coloring of $V$ such that the neighborhood of each vertex contains a vertex whose color differs from the color of any other vertex in that neighborhood. Bounds on CF-chromatic numbers have been studied both for general graphs and for intersection graphs of geometric shapes. In this paper we obtain such bounds for several classes of string graphs, i.e., intersection graphs of curves in the plane: (i) We provide a general upper bound of $O(χ(G)^2 \log n)$ on the CF-chromatic number of any string graph $G$ with $n$ vertice…
We classify the trees on $n$ vertices with the maximum and the minimum number of certain generalized colorings, including conflict-free, odd, non-monochromatic, star, and star rainbow vertex colorings. We also extend a result of Cutler and Radcliffe on the maximum and minimum number of existence homomorphisms from a tree to a completely looped graph on $q$ vertices.
The closed neighborhood conflict-free chromatic number of a graph $G$, denoted by $χ_{CN}(G)$, is the minimum number of colors required to color the vertices of $G$ such that for every vertex, there is a color that appears exactly once in its closed neighborhood. Pach and Tardos [Combin. Probab. Comput. 2009] showed that $χ_{CN}(G) = O(\log^{2+\varepsilon} Δ)$, for any $\varepsilon > 0$, where $Δ$ is the maximum degree. In [Combin. Probab. Comput. 2014], Glebov, Szabó and Tardos showed existence of graphs $G$ with $χ_{CN}(G) = Ω(\log^2Δ)$. In this paper, we bridge the gap between the two bound…
Given a hypergraph H = (V, E), a coloring of its vertices is said to be conflict-free if for every hyperedge S \in E there is at least one vertex in S whose color is distinct from the colors of all other vertices in S. The discrete interval hypergraph Hn is the hypergraph with vertex set {1,...,n} and hyperedge set the family of all subsets of consecutive integers in {1,...,n}. We provide a polynomial time algorithm for conflict-free coloring any subhypergraph of Hn, we show that the algorithm has approximation ratio 2, and we prove that our analysis is tight, i.e., there is a subhypergraph fo…
A conflict-free k-coloring of a graph assigns one of k different colors to some of the vertices such that, for every vertex v, there is a color that is assigned to exactly one vertex among v and v's neighbors. Such colorings have applications in wireless networking, robotics, and geometry, and are well-studied in graph theory. Here we study the natural problem of the conflict-free chromatic number chi_CF(G) (the smallest k for which conflict-free k-colorings exist). We provide results both for closed neighborhoods N[v], for which a vertex v is a member of its neighborhood, and for open neighbo…
Using Shelah's revised GCH theorem we prove that if mu<beth_omega <= lambda are cardinals, then every mu-almost disjoint subfamily B of [lambda]^{beth_omega} is essentially disjoint, i.e. for each b from B there is a subset f(b) of b of size < |b| such that the family {b-f(b) b in B} is disjoint. We also show that if mu<=kappa<=lambda, and kappa is infinite, and (x) every mu-almost disjoint subfamily of [lambda]^kappa is essentially disjoint, then (xx) every mu-almost disjoint family B of subsets of lambda with |b|>=kappa for all b from B has a conflict-free colorings with kappa colors. Puttin…
A vertex coloring of a given graph $G$ is conflict-free if the closed neighborhood of every vertex contains a unique color (i.e. a color appearing only once in the neighborhood). The minimum number of colors in such a coloring is the conflict-free chromatic number of $G$, denoted $χ_{CF}(G)$. What is the maximum possible conflict-free chromatic number of a graph with a given maximum degree $Δ$? Trivially, $χ_{CF}(G)\leq χ(G)\leq Δ+1$, but it is far from optimal - due to results of Glebov, Szabó and Tardos, and of Bhyravarapu, Kalyanasundaram and Mathew, the answer in known to be $Θ\left(\ln^2Δ…
We study the conflict-free connection coloring of trees, which is also the conflict-free coloring of the so-called edge-path hypergraphs of trees. We first prove that for a tree $T$ of order $n$, $cfc(T)\geq cfc(P_n)=\lceil \log_{2} n\rceil$, which completely confirms the conjecture of Li and Wu. We then present a sharp upper bound for the conflict-free connection number of trees by a simple algorithm. Furthermore, we show that the conflict-free connection number of the binomial tree with $2^{k-1}$ vertices is $k-1$. At last, we study trees which are $cfc$-critical, and prove that if a tree $T…
Given a geometric hypergraph (or a range-space) $H=(V,\cal E)$, a coloring of its vertices is said to be conflict-free if for every hyperedge $S \in \cal E$ there is at least one vertex in $S$ whose color is distinct from the colors of all other vertices in $S$. The study of this notion is motivated by frequency assignment problems in wireless networks. We study the list-coloring (or choice) version of this notion. In this version, each vertex is associated with a set of (admissible) colors and it is allowed to be colored only with colors from its set. List coloring arises naturally in the con…
In the pliable index coding (PICOD) problem, a server is to serve multiple clients, each of which possesses a unique subset of the complete message set as side information and requests a new message which it does not have. The goal of the server is to do this using as few transmissions as possible. This work presents a hypergraph coloring approach to the scalar PICOD problem. A \textit{conflict-free coloring} of a hypergraph is known from literature as an assignment of colors to its vertices so that each hyperedge of the graph contains one uniquely colored vertex. For a given PICOD problem rep…
A path in a vertex-colored graph is called \emph{conflict free} if there is a color used on exactly one of its vertices. A vertex-colored graph is said to be \emph{conflict-free vertex-connected} if any two vertices of the graph are connected by a conflict-free path. This paper investigates the question: For a connected graph $G$, what is the smallest number of colors needed in a vertex-coloring of $G$ in order to make $G$ conflict-free vertex-connected. As a result, we get that the answer is easy for $2$-connected graphs, and very difficult for connected graphs with more cut-vertices, includi…
A 3-coloring of the elements of an abelian group is said to be rainbow--free if there is no 3-term arithmetic progression with its members having pairwise distinct colors. We give a structural characterization of rainbow--free colorings of abelian groups. This characterization proves a conjecture of Jungić et al. on the size of the smallest chromatic class of a rainbow-free 3-coloring of cyclic groups.
Thomassen conjectured that every triangle-free planar graph on n vertices has exponentially many 3-colorings, and proved that it has at least 2^[n^(1/12)/20000] distinct 3-colorings. We show that it has at least 2^sqrt(n/362) distinct 3-colorings.
Given a triangle-free planar graph G and a 9-cycle C in G, we characterize situations where a 3-coloring of C does not extend to a proper 3-coloring of G. This extends previous results when C is a cycle of length at most 8.
Thomassen conjectured that triangle-free planar graphs have exponentially many 3-colorings. Recently, he disproved his conjecture by providing examples of such graphs with $n$ vertices and at most $2^{15n/\log_2 n}$ 3-colorings. We improve his construction, giving examples of such graphs with at most $64^{n^{log_{9/2} 3}}<64^{n^{0.731}}$ 3-colorings. We conjecture this exponent is optimal.
A path in an(a) edge(vertex)-colored graph is called \emph{a conflict-free path} if there exists a color used on only one of its edges(vertices). An(A) edge(vertex)-colored graph is called \emph{conflict-free (vertex-)connected} if there is a conflict-free path between each pair of distinct vertices. We call the graph $G$ \emph{strongly conflict-free connected }if there exists a conflict-free path of length $d_G(u,v)$ for every two vertices $u,v\in V(G)$. And the \emph{strong conflict-free connection number} of a connected graph $G$, denoted by $scfc(G)$, is defined as the smallest number of c…
Let p be a prime number and Zp be the cyclic group of order p. A coloring of Zp is called rainbow-free with respect to a certain equation, if it contains no rainbow solution of the same, that is, a solution whose elements have pairwise distinct colors. In this paper we describe the structure of rainbow-free 3-colorings of Zp with respect to all linear equations on three variables. Consequently, we determine those linear equations on three variables for which every 3-coloring (with nonempty color classes) of Zp contains a rainbow solution of it.
