Coloring Fast Without Learning Your Neighbors' Colors

We give an improved randomized CONGEST algorithm for distance-$2$ coloring that uses $\Delta^2+1$ colors and runs in $O(\log n)$ rounds, improving the recent $O(\log \Delta \cdot \log n)$-round algorithm in [Halld\'orsson, Kuhn, Maus; PODC '20]. We then improve the time complexity to $O(\log \Delta) + 2^{O(\sqrt{\log\log n})}$.