1 research outputs found
Interval colorings of graphsâCoordinated and unstable noâwait schedules
A proper edgeâcoloring of a graph is an interval coloring if the labels on the edges incident to any vertex form an interval, that is, form a set of consecutive integers. The interval coloring thickness of a graph is the smallest number of interval colorable graphs edgeâdecomposing . We prove that for any graph on n vertices. This improves the previously known bound of , see Asratian, Casselgren, and Petrosyan. While we do not have a single example of a graph with an interval coloring thickness strictly greater than 2, we construct bipartite graphs whose interval coloring spectrum has arbitrarily many arbitrarily large gaps. Here, an interval coloring spectrum of a graph is the set of all integers such that the graph has an interval coloring using colors. Interval colorings of bipartite graphs naturally correspond to noâwait schedules, say for parentâteacher conferences, where a conversation between any teacher and any parent lasts the same amount of time. Our results imply that any such conference with participants can be coordinated in noâwait periods. In addition, we show that for any integers and , there is a set of pairs of parents and teachers wanting to talk to each other, such that any noâwait schedules are unstableâthey could last hours and could last hours, but there is no possible noâwait schedule lasting hours if