Related papers: 4-coloring ($P_6$, bull)-free graphs

The complexity of {\sc Colouring} is fully understood for $H$-free graphs, but there are still major complexity gaps if two induced subgraphs $H_1$ and $H_2$ are forbidden. Let $H_1$ be the $s$-vertex cycle $C_s$ and $H_2$ be the $t$-vertex…

In this paper, we prove that the class of graphs with no triangle and no induced cycle of even length at least 6 has bounded chromatic number. It is well-known that even-hole-free graphs are $\chi$-bounded but we allow here the existence of…

We elucidate the structure of $(P_6,C_4)$-free graphs by showing that every such graph either has a clique cutset, or a universal vertex, or belongs to several special classes of graphs. Using this result, we show that for any…

We design an $O(n^3)$ algorithm to find a minimum weighted coloring of a ($P_5, \bar{P}_5$)-free graph. Furthermore, the same technique can be used to solve the same problem for several classes of graphs, defined by forbidden induced…

A colouring of a graph $G=(V,E)$ is a mapping $c\colon V\to \{1,2,\ldots\}$ such that $c(u)\neq c(v)$ for every two adjacent vertices $u$ and $v$ of $G$. The {\sc List $k$-Colouring} problem is to decide whether a graph $G=(V,E)$ with a…

We give a linear-time algorithm to decide 3-colorability of a triangle-free graph embedded in a fixed surface, and a quadratic-time algorithm to output a 3-coloring in the affirmative case. The algorithms also allow to prescribe the…

A {\em hole} is an induced cycle of length at least 4, a $k$-hole is a hole of length $k$, and an {\em odd hole} is a hole of odd length. Let $\ell\ge 2$ be an integer. Let ${\cal A}_{\ell}$ be the family of graphs of girth at least $2\ell$…

We prove that there are 24 4-critical $P_6$-free graphs, and give the complete list. We remark that, if $H$ is connected and not a subgraph of $P_6$, there are infinitely many 4-critical $H$-free graphs. Our result answers questions of…

We show that every ($P_6$, diamond, $K_4$)-free graph is $6$-colorable. Moreover, we give an example of a ($P_6$, diamond, $K_4$)-free graph $G$ with $\chi(G) = 6$. This generalizes some known results in the literature.

We give a new, stronger proof that there are only finitely many $k$-vertex-critical ($P_5$,~gem)-free graphs for all $k$. Our proof further refines the structure of these graphs and allows for the implementation of a simple exhaustive…

Testing whether there is an induced path in a graph spanning k given vertices is already NP-complete in general graphs when k=3. We show how to solve this problem in polynomial time on claw-free graphs, when k is not part of the input but…

A class ${\cal G}$ of graphs is $\chi$-{\em polydet} if ${\cal G}$ has a polynomial binding function $f$ and there is a polynomial time algorithm to determine an $f(\omega(G))$-coloring of $G\in {\cal G}$. Let $P_t$ and $C_t$ denote a path…

A bull is a graph obtained from a four-vertex path by adding a vertex adjacent to the two middle vertices of the path. A graph $G$ is bull-free if no induced subgraph of $G$ is a bull. We prove that for all $k,t\in \mathbb{N}$, if $G$ is a…

A graph is called (claw,diamond)-free if it contains neither a claw (a $K_{1,3}$) nor a diamond (a $K_4$ with an edge removed) as an induced subgraph. Equivalently, (claw,diamond)-free graphs can be characterized as line graphs of…

The maximum stable set problem is NP-hard, even when restricted to triangle-free graphs. In particular, one cannot expect a polynomial time algorithm deciding if a bull-free graph has a stable set of size $k$, when $k$ is part of the…

We show that for any nonnegative integer $r$, the Weighted Maximum List-$k$-Colourable Induced Subgraph problem can be solved in polynomial time for input graphs that do not contain $(P_5+ rK_1)$ as an induced subgraph, and give an explicit…

For a graph $G$, let $\chi(G)$ and $\omega(G)$ respectively denote the chromatic number and clique number of $G$. We give an explicit structural description of ($P_5$,gem)-free graphs, and show that every such graph $G$ satisfies…

Let $K_4^+$ be the 5-vertex graph obtained from $K_4$, the complete graph on four vertices, by subdividing one edge precisely once (i.e. by replacing one edge by a path on three vertices). We prove that if the chromatic number of some graph…

An injective $k$-edge-coloring of a graph $G$ is an assignment of colors, i.e. integers in $\{1, \ldots , k\}$, to the edges of $G$ such that any two edges each incident with one distinct endpoint of a third edge, receive distinct colors.…

A graph $G$ is $k$-vertex-critical if $\chi(G) = k$ but $\chi(G-v)<k$ for all $v \in V(G)$. A graph is $(H_1,H_2)$-free if it contains no induced subgraph isomorphic to $H_1$ nor $H_2$. A $W_4$ is the graph consisting of a $C_4$ plus an…