A graph $G$ is $k$-critical if $G$ is not $(k-1)$-colorable, but every proper subgraph of $G$ is $(k-1)$-colorable. A graph $G$ is $k$-choosable if $G$ has an $L$-coloring from every list assignment $L$ with $|L(v)|=k$ for all $v$, and a graph $G$ is \emph{$k$-list-critical} if $G$ is not $(k-1)$-choosable, but every proper subgraph of $G$ is $(k-1)$-choosable. The problem of bounding (from below) the number of edges in a $k$-critical graph has been widely studied, starting with work of Gallai and culminating with the seminal results of Kostochka and Yancey, who essentially solved the problem. In this paper, we improve the best lower bound on the number of edges in a $k$-list-critical graph. Our proof uses the discharging method, which makes it simpler and more modular than previous work in this area.
Motivated by the Erdős-Faber-Lovász (EFL) conjecture for hypergraphs, we consider the list edge coloring of linear hypergraphs. We discuss several conjectures for list edge coloring linear hypergraphs that generalize both EFL and Vizing's theorem for graphs. For example, we conjecture that in a linear hypergraph of rank 3, the list edge chromatic number is at most 2 times the maximum degree plus 1. We show that for sufficiently large fixed rank and sufficiently large degree, the conjectures are true.
{\emph A star edge-coloring} of a graph is a proper edge-coloring without bichromatic paths and cycles of length four. In this paper, we consider the list version of this coloring and prove that the list star chromatic index of every subcubic graph is at most $7$, answering the question of Dvořák et al. (Star chromatic index, J. Graph Theory 72 (2013), 313--326).
In 1995, Galvin proved that a bipartite graph $G$ admits a list edge coloring if every edge is assigned a color list of length $Δ(G)$, the maximum degree of the graph. This result was improved by Borodin, Kostochka and Woodall, who proved that $G$ still admits a list edge coloring if every edge $e=st$ is assigned a list of $\max\{d_{G}(s), d_{G}(t)\}$ colors. Recently, Iwata and Yokoi provided the list supermodular coloring theorem, that extends Galvin's result to the setting of Schrijver's supermodular coloring. This paper provides a common generalization of these two extensions of Galvin's r…
We prove that every $k$-list-critical graph ($k \ge 7$) on $n \ge k+2$ vertices has at least $\frac12 \left(k-1 + \frac{k-3}{(k-c)(k-1) + k-3}\right)n$ edges where $c = (k-3)\left(\frac12 - \frac{1}{(k-1)(k-2)}\right)$. This improves the bound established by Kostochka and Stiebitz. The same bound holds for online $k$-list-critical graphs, improving the bound established by Riasat and Schauz. Both bounds follow from a more general result stating that either a graph has many edges or it has an Alon-Tarsi orientable induced subgraph satisfying a certain degree condition.
The notion of a Galvin orientation of a line graph is introduced, generalizing the idea used by Galvin in his landmark proof of the list-edge-colouring conjecture for bipartite graphs. If L(G) has a proper Galvin orientation with respect to k, then it immediately implies that G is k-list-edge-colourable, but the converse is not true. The stronger property is studied in graphs of the form `bipartite plus an edge', the Petersen graph, cliques, and simple graphs without odd cycles of length 5 or longer.
A {\em strong edge coloring} of a graph is a proper edge coloring in which every color class is an induced matching. The {\em strong chromatic index} of a graph is the minimum number of colors needed to obtain a strong edge coloring. In an analogous way, we can define the list version of strong edge coloring and list version of strong chromatic index. In this paper, we prove that if $G$ is a graph with maximum degree at most four and maximum average degree less than $3$, then the list strong chromatic index is at most $3Δ+ 1$, where $Δ$ is the maximum degree of $G$. In addition, we prove that …
The Petersen colouring conjecture states that every bridgeless cubic graph admits an edge-colouring with $5$ colours such that for every edge $e$, the set of colours assigned to the edges adjacent to $e$ has cardinality either $2$ or $4$, but not $3$. We prove that every bridgeless cubic graph $G$ admits an edge-colouring with $4$ colours such that at most $\frac45\cdot|V(G)|$ edges do not satisfy the above condition. This bound is tight and the Petersen graph is the only connected graph for which the bound cannot be decreased. We obtain such a $4$-edge-colouring by using a carefully chosen su…
Let $G$ be a simple planar graph of maximum degree $Δ$, let $t$ be a positive integer, and let $L$ be an edge list assignment on $G$ with $|L(e)| \geq Δ+t$ for all $e \in E(G)$. We prove that if $H$ is a subgraph of $G$ that has been $L$-edge-coloured, then the edge-precolouring can be extended to an $L$-edge-colouring of $G$, provided that $H$ has maximum degree $d\leq t$ and either $d \leq t-4$ or $Δ$ is large enough ($Δ\geq 16+d$ suffices). If $d>t$, there are examples for any choice of $Δ$ where the extension is impossible.
We prove that the list chromatic index of a graph of maximum degree $Δ$ and treewidth $\leq \sqrt{2Δ} -3$ is $Δ$; and that the total chromatic number of a graph of maximum degree $Δ$ and treewidth $\leq Δ/3 +1$ is $Δ+1$. This improves results by Meeks and Scott.
We study the class of simple graphs $\mathcal{G}^*$ for which every pair of distinct odd cycles intersect in at most one edge. We give a structural characterization of the graphs in $\mathcal{G}^*$ and prove that every $G \in \mathcal{G}^*$ satisfies the list-edge-coloring conjecture. When $Δ(G) \geq 4$, we in fact prove a stronger result about kernel-perfect orientations in $L(G)$ which implies that $G$ is $(mΔ(G):m)$-edge-choosable and $Δ(G)$-edge-paintable for every $m \geq 1$.
It is known that every loopless cubic graph is 4-edge choosable. We prove the following strengthened result. Let G be a planar cubic graph having b cut-edges. There exists a set F of at most 5b/2 edges of G with the following property. For any function L which assigns to each edge of F a set of 4 colours and which assigns to each edge in E(G)-F a set of 3 colours, the graph G has a proper edge colouring where the colour of each edge e belongs to L(e).
A strong edge-coloring of a graph $G$ is an edge-coloring such that any two edges on a path of length three receive distinct colors. We denote the strong chromatic index by $χ_{s}'(G)$ which is the minimum number of colors that allow a strong edge-coloring of $G$. Erdős and Nešetřil conjectured in 1985 that the upper bound of $χ_{s}'(G)$ is $\frac{5}{4}Δ^{2}$ when $Δ$ is even and $\frac{1}{4}(5Δ^{2}-2Δ+1)$ when $Δ$ is odd, where $Δ$ is the maximum degree of $G$. The conjecture is proved right when $Δ\leq3$. The best known upper bound for $Δ=4$ is 22 due to Cranston previously. In this paper we…
Signed list edge coloring in graphs of bounded treewidth
Yan’an University（延安大学）；School of Mathematics and Statistics, Northwestern Polytechnical University（西北工业大学数学与统计学院）；School of Mathematics and Statistics & Key Laboratory of Analytical Mathematics and Applications (Ministry of Education), Fujian Normal University（福建师范大学数学与统计学院与分析数学及应用重点实验室（教育部））；School of Marine Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University（西北工业大学海洋科学与技术学院）
Given a partial edge coloring of a complete graph $K_n$ and lists of allowed colors for the non-colored edges of $K_n$, can we extend the partial edge coloring to a proper edge coloring of $K_n$ using only colors from the lists? We prove that this question has a positive answer in the case when both the partial edge coloring and the color lists satisfy certain sparsity conditions.
We consider the following type of question: Given a partial proper $d$-edge coloring of the $d$-dimensional hypercube $Q_d$, and lists of allowed colors for the non-colored edges of $Q_d$,can we extend the partial coloring to a proper $d$-edge coloring using only colors from the lists? We prove that this question has a positive answer in the case when both the partial coloring and the color lists satisfy certain sparsity conditions.
Among other results, it is shown that 3-trees are $Δ$-edge-choosable and that graphs of tree-width 3 and maximum degree at least 7 are $Δ$-edge-choosable.
We show that for a simple graph $G$, $c'(G)\leqΔ(G)+2$ where $c'(G)$ is the choice index (or edge-list chromatic number) of $G$, and $Δ(G)$ is the maximum degree of $G$. As a simple corollary of this result, we show that the total chromatic number $χ_T(G)$ of a simple graph satisfies the inequality $χ_T(G)\leq\ Δ(G)+4$ and the total choice number $c_T(G)$ also satisfies this inequality. We also relate these bounds to the Hall index and the Hall condition index of a simple graph, and to the total Hall number and the total Hall condition number of a simple graph.
This paper has been withdrawn by the author. Peterson and Woodall previously proved that the list-edge-colouring conjecture holds for graphs without odd cycles of length 5 or longer. D. Peterson and D. R. Woodall, Edge-choosability in line-perfect multigraphs, Discrete Mathematics 202 (1999), 191-199. D. Peterson and D. R. Woodall, Erratum to "Edge-choosability in line-perfect multigraphs", Discrete Mathematics 260 (2003), 323-326.
A strong $k$-edge-coloring of a graph G is an edge-coloring with $k$ colors in which every color class is an induced matching. The strong chromatic index of $G$, denoted by $χ'_{s}(G)$, is the minimum $k$ for which $G$ has a strong $k$-edge-coloring. In 1985, Erdős and Nešetřil conjectured that $χ'_{s}(G)\leq\frac{5}{4}Δ(G)^2$, where $Δ(G)$ is the maximum degree of $G$. When $G$ is a graph with maximum degree at most 3, the conjecture was verified independently by Andersen and Horák, Qing, and Trotter. In this paper, we consider the list version of strong edge-coloring. In particular, we show …
A star $k$-edge coloring is a proper edge coloring such that there are no bichromatic paths or cycles of length four. The smallest integer $k$ such that $G$ admits a star $k$-edge coloring is the star chromatic index of $G$. Deng \etal \cite{MR2933839}, and Bezegov{á} \etal \cite{MR3431294} independently proved that the star chromatic index of a tree is at most $\lfloor \frac{3Δ}{2} \rfloor$, and the bound is sharp. Han \etal \cite{MR3924408} strengthened the result to list version of star chromatic index, and proved that $\lfloor \frac{3Δ}{2} \rfloor$ is also the sharp upper bound for the lis…
A type is the set of all pairwise nonisotopic binary trees with the same passport. A type is called decomposable, if it is a union of several Galois orbits. In this work we present the list of all passports of plane binary trees with ten edges and the list of all Galois orbits.
The strong chromatic index of a graph $G$, denoted $χ_s'(G)$, is the least number of colors needed to edge-color $G$ so that edges at distance at most two receive distinct colors. The strong list chromatic index, denoted $χ_{s,\ell}'(G)$, is the least integer $k$ such that if arbitrary lists of size $k$ are assigned to each edge then $G$ can be edge-colored from those lists where edges at distance at most two receive distinct colors. We use the discharging method, the Combinatorial Nullstellensatz, and computation to show that if $G$ is a subcubic planar graph with $\operatorname{girth}(G) \ge…
DP-coloring was introduced by Dvořák and Postle as a generalization of list coloring. It was originally used to solve a longstanding conjecture by Borodin, stating that every planar graph without cycles of lengths 4 to 8 is 3-choosable. In this paper, we give three sufficient conditions for a planar graph to be DP-4-colorable. Actually all the results (Theorem 1.3, 1.4 and 1.7) are stated in the ``color extendability'' form, and uniformly proved by vertex identification and discharging method.
Let $N_2DL(v)$ denote the set of degrees of vertices at distance 2 from $v$. The $2$-neighborhood degree list of a graph is a listing of $N_2DL(v)$ for every vertex $v$. A degree restricted $2$-switch on edges $v_1v_2$ and $w_1w_2$, where $deg(v_1)=deg(w_1)$ and $deg(v_2)=deg(w_2)$, is the replacement of a pair of edges $v_1v_2$ and $w_1w_2$ by the edges $v_1w_2$ and $v_2w_1$ given that $v_1w_2$ and $v_2w_1$ did not appear in the graph originally. Let $G$ and $H$ be two graphs of diameter 2 on the same vertex set. We prove that $G$ and $H$ have the same $2$-neighborhood degree list if and only…
We take an application of the Kernel Lemma by Kostochka and Yancey to its logical conclusion. The consequence is a sort of magical way to draw conclusions about list coloring (and online list coloring) just from the existence of an independent set incident to many edges. We use this to prove an Ore-degree version of Brooks' Theorem for online list-coloring. The Ore-degree of an edge $xy$ in a graph $G$ is $θ(xy) = d_G(x) + d_G(y)$. The Ore-degree of $G$ is $θ(G) = \max_{xy\in E(G)}θ(xy)$. We show that every graph with $θ\ge18$ and $ω\le\fracθ{2}$ is online $\left\lfloor \fracθ{2}\right\rfloor …
The 1-2-3 Conjecture asks whether almost all graphs can be (edge-)labelled with $1,2,3$ so that no two adjacent vertices are incident to the same sum of labels. In the last decades, several aspects of this problem have been studied in literature, including more general versions and slight variations. Notable such variations include the List 1-2-3 Conjecture variant, in which edges must be assigned labels from dedicated lists of three labels, and the Multiplicative 1-2-3 Conjecture variant, in which labels~$1,2,3$ must be assigned to the edges so that adjacent vertices are incident to different…
A graph is (7, 2)-edge-choosable if, for every assignment of lists of size 7 to the edges, it is possible to choose two colors for each edge from its list so that no color is chosen for two incident edges. We show that every 3-edge-colorable graph is (7, 2)-edge-choosable and also that many non-3-edge-colorable 3-regular graphs are (7, 2)-edge-choosable.
An acyclic edge coloring of a graph $G$ is a proper edge coloring such that no bichromatic cycles are produced. The acyclic edge coloring conjecture by Fiam{č}ik (1978) and Alon, Sudakov and Zaks (2001) states that every simple graph with maximum degree $Δ$ is acyclically edge $(Δ+ 2)$-colorable. Despite many milestones, the conjecture remains open even for planar graphs. In this paper, we confirm affirmatively the conjecture on planar graphs without intersecting triangles. We do so by first showing, by discharging methods, that every planar graph without intersecting triangles must have at le…
A triangle in a hypergraph is a collection of distinct vertices u,v,w and distinct edges e,f,g with u,v \in e, v,w \in f, w,u \in g, and \{u,v,w\} \cap e \cap f \cap g=\emptyset. The i-degree of a vertex in a hypergraph is the number of edges of size i containing it. We prove that every triangle-free hypergraph of rank three (edges have size two or three) with maximum 3-degree Δ_3 and maximum 2-degree Δ_2 has list chromatic number at most c max{Δ_2/ log{Δ_2}}, (Δ_3 / log{Δ_3})^(1/2)} for some absolute positive constant c. This generalizes a result of Johansson and a result of Frieze and the se…
A graph is outer-1-planar if it can be drawn in the plane so that all vertices are on the outer face and each edge is crossed at most once. It is known that the list edge chromatic number $χ'_l(G)$ of any outer-1-planar graph $G$ with maximum degree $Δ(G)\geq 5$ is exactly its maximum degree. In this paper, we prove $χ'_l(G)=Δ(G)$ for outer-1-planar graphs $G$ with $Δ(G)=4$ and with the crossing distance being at least 3.
As starting point, we formulate a corollary to the Quantitative Combinatorial Nullstellensatz. This corollary does not require the consideration of any coefficients of polynomials, only evaluations of polynomial functions. In certain situations, our corollary is more directly applicable and more ready-to-go than the Combinatorial Nullstellensatz itself. It is also of interest from a numerical point of view. We use it to explain a well-known connection between the sign of 1-factorizations (edge colorings) and the List Edge Coloring Conjecture. For efficient calculations and a better understandi…
An adjacent vertex distinguishing edge colouring of a graph $G$ without isolated edges is its proper edge colouring such that no pair of adjacent vertices meets the same set of colours in $G$. We show that such colouring can be chosen from any set of lists associated to the edges of $G$ as long as the size of every list is at least $Δ+CΔ^{\frac{1}{2}}(\logΔ)^4$, where $Δ$ is the maximum degree of $G$ and $C$ is a constant. The proof is probabilistic. The same is true in the environment of total colourings.
Let $G$ be a planar graph with no two 3-cycles sharing an edge. We show that if $Δ(G)\geq 9$, then $χ'_l(G) = Δ(G)$ and $χ''_l(G)=Δ(G)+1.$ We also show that if $Δ(G)\geq 6$, then $χ'_l(G)\leqΔ(G)+1$ and if $Δ(G)\geq 7$, then $χ''_l(G)\leqΔ(G)+2$. All of these results extend to graphs in the projective plane and when $Δ(G)\geq 7$ the results also extend to graphs in the torus and Klein bottle. This second edge-choosability result improves on work of Wang and Lih and of Zhang and Wu. All of our results use the discharging method to prove structural lemmas about the existence of subgraphs with sm…
For any $r$-uniform hypergraph $\mathcal{H}$ with $m$ ($\geq 2$) edges, let $P(\mathcal{H},k)$ and $P_l(\mathcal{H},k)$ be the chromatic polynomial and the list-color function of $\mathcal{H}$ respectively, and let $ρ(\mathcal{H})$ denote the minimum value of $|e\setminus e'|$ among all pairs of distinct edges $e,e'$ in $\mathcal{H}$. We will show that if $r\ge3$, $ρ(\mathcal{H})\ge 2$ and $m\ge \frac{ρ(\mathcal{H})^3}2+1$, then $P_l(\mathcal{H},k)=P(\mathcal{H},k)$ holds for all integers $k\geq \frac{2.4(m-1)}{ρ(\mathcal{H})\log(m-1)}$.
The star chromatic index of a multigraph $G$, denoted $χ'_{s}(G)$, is the minimum number of colors needed to properly color the edges of $G$ such that no path or cycle of length four is bi-colored. A multigraph $G$ is star $k$-edge-colorable if $χ'_{s}(G)\le k$. Dvořák, Mohar and Šámal [Star chromatic index, J. Graph Theory 72 (2013), 313--326] proved that every subcubic multigraph is star $7$-edge-colorable. They conjectured in the same paper that every subcubic multigraph should be star $6$-edge-colorable. In this paper, we first prove that it is NP-complete to determine whether $χ'_s(G)\le3…
This paper proves the following result: If $G$ is a planar graph and $L$ is a $4$-list assignment of $G$ such that $|L(x) \cap L(y)| \le 2$ for every edge $xy$, then $G$ is $L$-colourable. This answers a question asked by Kratochvíl, Tuza and Voigt in [Journal of Graph Theory, 27(1):43--49, 1998].
We give polynomial time algorithms for the seminal results of Kahn, who showed that the Goldberg-Seymour and List-Coloring conjectures for (list-)edge coloring multigraphs hold asymptotically. Kahn's arguments are based on the probabilistic method and are non-constructive. Our key insight is to show that the main result of Achlioptas, Iliopoulos and Kolmogorov for analyzing local search algorithms can be used to make constructive applications of a powerful version of the so-called Lopsided Lovasz Local Lemma. In particular, we use it to design algorithms that exploit the fact that correlations…
