The reverse mathematics of Brooks' theorem
Logic
2026-01-08 v1 Combinatorics
Abstract
This is an analysis of the status of Brooks' Theorem, a celebrated result in graph coloring, from the point of view of Reverse Mathematics. We prove that the restriction of Brooks' theorem to bounded graphs of degree greater than or equal to is provable in , while the statement for arbitrary graphs is equivalent to over . Brooks' Theorem for degree , even when restricted to bounded graphs, is equivalent to over .
Cite
@article{arxiv.2601.04001,
title = {The reverse mathematics of Brooks' theorem},
author = {Alberto Marcone and Gian Marco Osso},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.04001},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
25 pages, 9 figures