Dinitz conjecture

Last updated

In combinatorics, the Dinitz theorem (formerly known as Dinitz conjecture) is a statement about the extension of arrays to partial Latin squares, proposed in 1979 by Jeff Dinitz, [1] and proved in 1994 by Fred Galvin. [2] [3]

The Dinitz theorem is that given an n×n square array, a set of m symbols with mn, and for each cell of the array an n-element set drawn from the pool of m symbols, it is possible to choose a way of labeling each cell with one of those elements in such a way that no row or column repeats a symbol. It can also be formulated as a result in graph theory, that the list chromatic index of the complete bipartite graph equals . That is, if each edge of the complete bipartite graph is assigned a set of colors, it is possible to choose one of the assigned colors for each edge such that no two edges incident to the same vertex have the same color.

Galvin's proof generalizes to the statement that, for every bipartite multigraph, the list chromatic index equals its chromatic index. The more general edge list coloring conjecture states that the same holds not only for bipartite graphs, but also for any loopless multigraph. An even more general conjecture states that the list chromatic number of claw-free graphs always equals their chromatic number. [4] The Dinitz theorem is also related to Rota's basis conjecture. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bipartite graph</span> Graph divided into two independent sets

In the mathematical field of graph theory, a bipartite graph is a graph whose vertices can be divided into two disjoint and independent sets and , that is, every edge connects a vertex in to one in . Vertex sets and are usually called the parts of the graph. Equivalently, a bipartite graph is a graph that does not contain any odd-length cycles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turán graph</span> Balanced complete multipartite graph

The Turán graph, denoted by , is a complete multipartite graph; it is formed by partitioning a set of vertices into subsets, with sizes as equal as possible, and then connecting two vertices by an edge if and only if they belong to different subsets. Where and are the quotient and remainder of dividing by , the graph is of the form , and the number of edges is

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perfect graph</span> Graph with tight clique-coloring relation

In graph theory, a perfect graph is a graph in which the chromatic number equals the size of the maximum clique, both in the graph itself and in every induced subgraph. In all graphs, the chromatic number is greater than or equal to the size of the maximum clique, but they can be far apart. A graph is perfect when these numbers are equal, and remain equal after the deletion of arbitrary subsets of vertices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edge coloring</span> Problem of coloring a graphs edges such that meeting edges do not match

In graph theory, a proper edge coloring of a graph is an assignment of "colors" to the edges of the graph so that no two incident edges have the same color. For example, the figure to the right shows an edge coloring of a graph by the colors red, blue, and green. Edge colorings are one of several different types of graph coloring. The edge-coloring problem asks whether it is possible to color the edges of a given graph using at most k different colors, for a given value of k, or with the fewest possible colors. The minimum required number of colors for the edges of a given graph is called the chromatic index of the graph. For example, the edges of the graph in the illustration can be colored by three colors but cannot be colored by two colors, so the graph shown has chromatic index three.

In mathematics, list edge-coloring is a type of graph coloring that combines list coloring and edge coloring. An instance of a list edge-coloring problem consists of a graph together with a list of allowed colors for each edge. A list edge-coloring is a choice of a color for each edge, from its list of allowed colors; a coloring is proper if no two adjacent edges receive the same color.

In graph theory, the strong perfect graph theorem is a forbidden graph characterization of the perfect graphs as being exactly the graphs that have neither odd holes nor odd antiholes. It was conjectured by Claude Berge in 1961. A proof by Maria Chudnovsky, Neil Robertson, Paul Seymour, and Robin Thomas was announced in 2002 and published by them in 2006.

In mathematics, in the areas of order theory and combinatorics, Dilworth's theorem characterizes the width of any finite partially ordered set in terms of a partition of the order into a minimum number of chains. It is named for the mathematician Robert P. Dilworth (1950).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hadwiger conjecture (graph theory)</span>

In graph theory, the Hadwiger conjecture states that if is loopless and has no minor then its chromatic number satisfies . It is known to be true for . The conjecture is a generalization of the four-color theorem and is considered to be one of the most important and challenging open problems in the field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graph factorization</span>

In graph theory, a factor of a graph G is a spanning subgraph, i.e., a subgraph that has the same vertex set as G. A k-factor of a graph is a spanning k-regular subgraph, and a k-factorization partitions the edges of the graph into disjoint k-factors. A graph G is said to be k-factorable if it admits a k-factorization. In particular, a 1-factor is a perfect matching, and a 1-factorization of a k-regular graph is a proper edge coloring with k colors. A 2-factor is a collection of cycles that spans all vertices of the graph.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kőnig's theorem (graph theory)</span> Theorem showing that maximum matching and minimum vertex cover are equivalent for bipartite graphs

In the mathematical area of graph theory, Kőnig's theorem, proved by Dénes Kőnig (1931), describes an equivalence between the maximum matching problem and the minimum vertex cover problem in bipartite graphs. It was discovered independently, also in 1931, by Jenő Egerváry in the more general case of weighted graphs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triangle-free graph</span> Graph without triples of adjacent vertices

In the mathematical area of graph theory, a triangle-free graph is an undirected graph in which no three vertices form a triangle of edges. Triangle-free graphs may be equivalently defined as graphs with clique number ≤ 2, graphs with girth ≥ 4, graphs with no induced 3-cycle, or locally independent graphs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grötzsch graph</span> Triangle-free graph requiring four colors

In the mathematical field of graph theory, the Grötzsch graph is a triangle-free graph with 11 vertices, 20 edges, chromatic number 4, and crossing number 5. It is named after German mathematician Herbert Grötzsch, who used it as an example in connection with his 1959 theorem that planar triangle-free graphs are 3-colorable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claw-free graph</span> Graph without four-vertex star subgraphs

In graph theory, an area of mathematics, a claw-free graph is a graph that does not have a claw as an induced subgraph.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Star (graph theory)</span> Tree graph with one central node and leaves of length 1

In graph theory, a starSk is the complete bipartite graph K1,k : a tree with one internal node and k leaves. Alternatively, some authors define Sk to be the tree of order k with maximum diameter 2; in which case a star of k > 2 has k − 1 leaves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greedy coloring</span> One-by-one assignment of colors to graph vertices

In the study of graph coloring problems in mathematics and computer science, a greedy coloring or sequential coloring is a coloring of the vertices of a graph formed by a greedy algorithm that considers the vertices of the graph in sequence and assigns each vertex its first available color. Greedy colorings can be found in linear time, but they do not, in general, use the minimum number of colors possible.

In graph theory, an area of mathematics, an equitable coloring is an assignment of colors to the vertices of an undirected graph, in such a way that

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Folkman graph</span> Bipartite 4-regular graph with 20 nodes and 40 edges

In the mathematical field of graph theory, the Folkman graph is a 4-regular graph with 20 vertices and 40 edges. It is a regular bipartite graph with symmetries taking every edge to every other edge, but the two sides of its bipartition are not symmetric with each other, making it the smallest possible semi-symmetric graph. It is named after Jon Folkman, who constructed it for this property in 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gallai–Hasse–Roy–Vitaver theorem</span> Duality of graph colorings and orientations

In graph theory, the Gallai–Hasse–Roy–Vitaver theorem is a form of duality between the colorings of the vertices of a given undirected graph and the orientations of its edges. It states that the minimum number of colors needed to properly color any graph equals one plus the length of a longest path in an orientation of chosen to minimize this path's length. The orientations for which the longest path has minimum length always include at least one acyclic orientation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham–Pollak theorem</span>

In graph theory, the Graham–Pollak theorem states that the edges of an -vertex complete graph cannot be partitioned into fewer than complete bipartite graphs. It was first published by Ronald Graham and Henry O. Pollak in two papers in 1971 and 1972, in connection with an application to telephone switching circuitry.

Jeannette Catharina Maria Janssen is a Dutch and Canadian mathematician whose research concerns graph theory and the theory of complex networks. She is a professor of mathematics at Dalhousie University, the chair of the Dalhousie Department of Mathematics and Statistics, and the chair of the Activity Group on Discrete Mathematics of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

References

  1. Erdős, P.; Rubin, A. L.; Taylor, H. (1979). "Choosability in graphs". Proc. West Coast Conference on Combinatorics, Graph Theory and Computing, Arcata (PDF). Congressus Numerantium. Vol. 26. pp. 125–157. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-09. Retrieved 2017-04-22.
  2. F. Galvin (1995). "The list chromatic index of a bipartite multigraph". Journal of Combinatorial Theory . Series B. 63 (1): 153–158. doi: 10.1006/jctb.1995.1011 .
  3. Zeilberger, D. (1996). "The method of undetermined generalization and specialization illustrated with Fred Galvin's amazing proof of the Dinitz conjecture". American Mathematical Monthly . 103 (3): 233–239. arXiv: math/9506215 . doi:10.2307/2975373. JSTOR   2975373.
  4. Gravier, Sylvain; Maffray, Frédéric (2004). "On the choice number of claw-free perfect graphs". Discrete Mathematics . 276 (1–3): 211–218. doi: 10.1016/S0012-365X(03)00292-9 . MR   2046636.
  5. Chow, T. Y. (1995). "On the Dinitz conjecture and related conjectures" (PDF). Discrete Mathematics . 145 (1–3): 73–82. doi: 10.1016/0012-365X(94)00055-N .