Incidence coloring of graphs with high maximum average degree

Abstract

An incidence of an undirected graph G is a pair $(v,e)$ where $v$ is a vertex of $G$ and $e$ an edge of $G$ incident with $v$. Two incidences $(v,e)$ and $(w,f)$ are adjacent if one of the following holds: (i) $v = w$, (ii) $e = f$ or (iii) $vw = e$ or $f$. An incidence coloring of $G$ assigns a color to each incidence of $G$ in such a way that adjacent incidences get distinct colors. In 2005, Hosseini Dolama \emph{et al.}~\citep{ds05} proved that every graph with maximum average degree strictly less than $3$ can be incidence colored with $\Delta+3$ colors. Recently, Bonamy \emph{et al.}~\citep{Bonamy} proved that every graph with maximum degree at least $4$ and with maximum average degree strictly less than $\frac{7}{3}$ admits an incidence $(\Delta+1)$-coloring. In this paper we give bounds for the number of colors needed to color graphs having maximum average degrees bounded by different values between $4$ and $6$. In particular we prove that every graph with maximum degree at least $7$ and with maximum average degree less than $4$ admits an incidence $(\Delta+3)$-coloring. This result implies that every triangle-free planar graph with maximum degree at least $7$ is incidence $(\Delta+3)$-colorable. We also prove that every graph with maximum average degree less than 6 admits an incidence $(\Delta + 7)$-coloring. More generally, we prove that $\Delta+k-1$ colors are enough when the maximum average degree is less than $k$ and the maximum degree is sufficiently large.