arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Zdeněk Dvořák.
A well-known result of Alon shows that the coloring number of a graph is bounded by a function of its choosability. We explore this relationship in a more general setting with relaxed assumptions on color classes, encoded by a graph parameter.
Let G be a planar graph with a list assignment L. Suppose a preferred color is given for some of the vertices. We prove that if G has girth at least six and all lists have size at least three, then there exists an L-coloring respecting at least a constant fraction of the preferences.
Let G be a planar graph with a list assignment L. Suppose a preferred color is given for some of the vertices. We prove that if G is triangle-free and all lists have size at least four, then there exists an L-coloring respecting at least a constant fraction of the preferences.
Baker devised a technique to obtain approximation schemes for many optimization problems restricted to planar graphs; her technique was later extended to more general graph classes. In particular, using the Baker's technique and the minor structure theorem, Dawar et al. gave Polynomial-Time Approximation Schemes (PTAS) for all monotone optimization problems expressible in the first-order logic when restricted to a proper minor-closed class of graphs. We define a Baker game formalizing the notion of repeated application of Baker's technique interspersed with vertex removal, prove that monotone optimization problems expressible in the first-order logic admit PTAS when restricted to graph classes in which the Baker game can be won in a constant number of rounds, and prove without use of the minor structure theorem that all proper minor-closed classes of graphs have this property.
Let G be a graph with a list assignment L. Suppose a preferred color is given for some of the vertices; how many of these preferences can be respected when L-coloring G? We explore several natural questions arising in this context, and propose directions for further research.
A graph G is (a:b)-colorable if there exists an assignment of b-element subsets of {1,...,a} to vertices of G such that sets assigned to adjacent vertices are disjoint. We first show that for every triangle-free planar graph G and a vertex x of G, the graph G has a set coloring phi by subsets of {1,...,6} such that |phi(v)|>=2 for each vertex v of G and |phi(x)|=3. As a corollary, every triangle-free planar graph on n vertices is (6n:2n+1)-colorable. We further use this result to prove that for every Delta, there exists a constant M_Delta such that every planar graph G of girth at least five and maximum degree Delta is (6M_Delta:2M_Delta+1)-colorable. Consequently, planar graphs of girth at least five with bounded maximum degree Delta have fractional chromatic number at most 3-3/(2M_Delta+1).
We prove that the two-colouring number of any planar graph is at most 8. This resolves a question of Kierstead et al. [SIAM J. Discrete Math.~23 (2009), 1548--1560]. The result is optimal.
A graph is $k$-degenerate if every subgraph has minimum degree at most $k$. We provide lower bounds on the size of a maximum induced 2-degenerate subgraph in a triangle-free planar graph. We denote the size of a maximum induced 2-degenerate subgraph of a graph $G$ by $α_2(G)$. We prove that if $G$ is a connected triangle-free planar graph with $n$ vertices and $m$ edges, then $α_2(G) \geq \frac{6n - m - 1}{5}$. By Euler's Formula, this implies $α_2(G) \geq \frac{4}{5}n$. We also prove that if $G$ is a triangle-free planar graph on $n$ vertices with at most $n_3$ vertices of degree at most three, then $α_2(G) \geq \frac{7}{8}n - 18 n_3$.
For real numbers c,epsilon>0, let G_{c,epsilon} denote the class of graphs G such that each subgraph H of G has a balanced separator of order at most c|V(H)|^{1-epsilon}. A class of graphs has strongly sublinear separators if it is a subclass of G_{c,epsilon} for some c,epsilon>0. We investigate properties of such graph classes, leading in particular to an approximate algorithm to determine membership in G_{c,epsilon}: there exist c'>0 such that for each input graph G, this algorithm in polynomial time determines either that G belongs to G_{c',epsilon^2/160}, or that G does not belong to G_{c,epsilon}.
The theory of Dvorak, Kral, and Thomas (2015) shows that a 4-critical triangle-free graph embedded in the torus has only a bounded number of faces of length greater than 4 and that the size of these faces is also bounded. We study the natural reduction in such embedded graphs - identification of opposite vertices in 4-faces. We give a computer-assisted argument showing that there are exactly four 4-critical triangle-free irreducible toroidal graphs in which this reduction cannot be applied without creating a triangle. Using this result, we show that every 4-critical triangle-free graph embedded in the torus has at most four 5-faces, or a 6-face and two 5-faces, or a 7-face and a 5-face, in addition to at least seven 4-faces. This result serves as a basis for the exact description of $4$-critical triangle-free toroidal graphs, which we present in a followup paper.
Dvorak (2013) gave a bound on the minimum size of a distance r dominating set in the terms of the maximum size of a distance 2r independent set and generalized coloring numbers, thus obtaining a constant factor approximation algorithm for the parameters in any class of graphs with bounded expansion. We improve and clarify this dependence using an LP-based argument inspired by the work of Bansal and Umboh (2017).
The clustered chromatic number of a graph class is the minimum integer $t$ such that for some $C$ the vertices of every graph in the class can be colored in $t$ colors so that every monochromatic component has size at most $C$. We show that the clustered chromatic number of the class of graphs embeddable on a given surface is four, proving the conjecture of Esperet and Ochem. Additionally, we study the list version of the concept and characterize the minor-closed classes of graphs of bounded treewidth with given clustered list chromatic number. We further strengthen the above results to solve some extremal problems on bootstrap percolation of minor-closed classes.
Thomassen conjectured that triangle-free planar graphs have an exponential number of $3$-colorings. We show this conjecture to be equivalent to the following statement: there exists a positive real $α$ such that whenever $G$ is a planar graph and $A$ is a subset of its edges whose deletion makes $G$ triangle-free, there exists a subset $A'$ of $A$ of size at least $α|A|$ such that $G-(A\setminus A')$ is $3$-colorable. This equivalence allows us to study restricted situations, where we can prove the statement to be true.
Robin Thomas asked whether for every proper minor-closed class C, there exists a polynomial-time algorithm approximating the chromatic number of graphs from C up to a constant additive error independent on the class C. We show this is not the case: unless P=NP, for every integer k>=1, there is no polynomial-time algorithm to color a K_{4k+1}-minor-free graph G using at most chi(G)+k-1 colors. More generally, for every k>=1 and 1<=β<=4/3, there is no polynomial-time algorithm to color a K_{4k+1}-minor-free graph G using less than beta.chi(G)+(4-3beta)k colors. As far as we know, this is the first non-trivial non-approximability result regarding the chromatic number in proper minor-closed classes. We also give somewhat weaker non-approximability bound for K_{4k+1}-minor-free graphs with no cliques of size 4. On the positive side, we present additive approximation algorithm whose error depends on the apex number of the forbidden minor, and an algorithm with additive error 6 under the additional assumption that the graph has no 4-cycles.
We prove that for every graph H and for every integer s, the class of graphs that do not contain K_s, K_{s,s}, or any subdivision of H as an induced subgraph has bounded expansion; this strengthens a result of Kuhn and Osthus. The argument also gives another characterization of graph classes with bounded expansion and of nowhere-dense graph classes.
We prove that every triangle-free graph of tree-width t has chromatic number at most ceil((t + 3)/2), and demonstrate that this bound is tight. The argument also establishes a connection between coloring graphs of tree-width t and on-line coloring of graphs of path-width t.
Baker devised a powerful technique to obtain approximation schemes for various problems restricted to planar graphs. Her technique can be directly extended to various other graph classes, among the most general ones the graphs avoiding a fixed apex graph as a minor. Further generalizations (e.g., to all proper minor closed graph classes) are known, but they use a combination of techniques and usually focus on somewhat restricted classes of problems. We present a new type of graph decompositions (thin systems of overlays) generalizing Baker's technique and leading to straightforward polynomial-time approximation schemes. We also show that many graph classes (all proper minor-closed classes, and all subgraph-closed classes with bounded maximum degree and strongly sublinear separators) admit such decompositions.
Dvořák, Král' and Thomas gave a description of the structure of triangle-free graphs on surfaces with respect to 3-coloring. Their description however contains two substructures (both related to graphs embedded in plane with two precolored cycles) whose coloring properties are not entirely determined. In this paper, we fill these gaps.