Related papers: Planar Graphs have Independence Ratio at least 3/1…

We describe an infinite family of graphs $G_n$, where $G_n$ has $n$ vertices, independence number at least $n/4$, and no set of less than $\sqrt{n}/2$ vertices intersects all its maximum independent sets. This is motivated by a question of…

A recent lower bound on the number of edges in a k-critical n-vertex graph by Kostochka and Yancey yields a half-page proof of the celebrated Gr\"otzsch Theorem that every planar triangle-free graph is 3-colorable. In this paper we use the…

This paper presents a path to proving the Four-Color Theorem that differs from the traditional "reducible configuration" method. By introducing concepts such as "outer boundary," "primitive set," "Property A," "knot," "valid pair group,"…

Let $X$ be $k$-regular graph on $v$ vertices and let $\tau$ denote the least eigenvalue of its adjacency matrix $A(X)$. If $\alpha(X)$ denotes the maximum size of an independent set in $X$, we have the following well known bound: \[…

Galvin showed that for all fixed $\delta$ and sufficiently large $n$, the $n$-vertex graph with minimum degree $\delta$ that admits the most independent sets is the complete bipartite graph $K_{\delta,n-\delta}$. He conjectured that except…

We consider the following problem posed by Erdos in 1962. Suppose that $G$ is an $n$-vertex graph where the number of $s$-cliques in $G$ is $t$. How small can the independence number of $G$ be? Our main result suggests that for fixed $s$,…

We introduce a new method for computing bounds on the independence number and fractional chromatic number of classes of graphs with local constraints, and apply this method in various scenarios. We establish a formula that generates a…

In a fractional coloring, vertices of a graph are assigned measurable subsets of the real line and adjacent vertices receive disjoint subsets; the fractional chromatic number of a graph is at most $k$ if it has a fractional coloring in…

Deciding whether a planar graph (even of maximum degree $4$) is $3$-colorable is NP-complete. Determining subclasses of planar graphs being $3$-colorable has a long history, but since Gr\"{o}tzsch's result that triangle-free planar graphs…

We prove that for any triangle-free intersection graph of $n$ axis-parallel segments in the plane, the independence number $\alpha$ of this graph is at least $\alpha \ge n/4 + \Omega(\sqrt{n})$. We complement this with a construction of a…

We show that the number of independent sets in an N-vertex, d-regular graph is at most (2^{d+1} - 1)^{N/2d}, where the bound is sharp for a disjoint union of complete d-regular bipartite graphs. This settles a conjecture of Alon in 1991 and…

The famous four color theorem states that for all planar graphs, every vertex can be assigned one of 4 colors such that no two adjacent vertices receive the same color. Since Francis Guthrie first conjectured it in 1852, it is until 1976…

There has been interest recently in maximizing the number of independent sets in graphs. For example, the Kahn-Zhao theorem gives an upper bound on the number of independent sets in a $d$-regular graph. Similarly, it is a corollary of the…

A {\em conflict-free coloring} of a graph {\em with respect to open} (resp., {\em closed}) {\em neighborhood} is a coloring of vertices such that for every vertex there is a color appearing exactly once in its open (resp., closed)…

Let $G$ be an $n$-vertex triangle-free graph. The celebrated Mantel's theorem showed that $e(G)\leq \lfloor\frac{n^2}{4}\rfloor$. In 1962, Erd\H{o}s (together with Gallai), and independently Andr\'{a}sfai, proved that if $G$ is…

We prove that $\frac{7}{4}\alpha(G)+\beta(G)\geq n(G)$ and $\alpha(G)+\frac{3}{2}\beta(G)\geq n(G)$ for every triangle-free graph $G$ with maximum degree at most $4$, where $\alpha(G)$ is the independence number and $\beta(G)$ is the…

We strengthen a result by Laskar and Lyle (Discrete Appl. Math. (2009), 330-338) by proving that it is NP-complete to decide whether a bipartite planar graph can be partitioned into three independent dominating sets. In contrast, we show…

Let $G$ be a $\{C_4, C_5\}$-free planar graph with a list assignment $L$. Suppose a preferred color is given for some of the vertices. We prove that if all lists have size at least four, then there exists an $L$-coloring respecting at least…

The chromatic number of an planar graph is not greater than four and this is known by the famous four color theorem and is equal to two when the planar graph is bipartite. When the planar graph is even-triangulated or all cycles are greater…

A strong edge-coloring of a graph $G$ is a coloring of the edges such that every color class induces a matching in $G$. The strong chromatic index of a graph is the minimum number of colors needed in a strong edge-coloring of the graph. In…