Minimum Sum Edge Colorings of Multicycles

In the minimum sum edge coloring problem, we aim to assign natural numbers to edges of a graph, so that adjacent edges receive different numbers, and the sum of the numbers assigned to the edges is minimum. The {\em chromatic edge strength} of a graph is the minimum number of colors required in a minimum sum edge coloring of this graph. We study the case of multicycles, defined as cycles with parallel edges, and give a closed-form expression for the chromatic edge strength of a multicycle, thereby extending a theorem due to Berge. It is shown that the minimum sum can be achieved with a number of colors equal to the chromatic index. We also propose simple algorithms for finding a minimum sum edge coloring of a multicycle. Finally, these results are generalized to a large family of minimum cost coloring problems

Dependent Random Graphs and Multiparty Pointer Jumping

We initiate a study of a relaxed version of the standard Erdos-Renyi random graph model, where each edge may depend on a few other edges. We call such graphs "dependent random graphs". Our main result in this direction is a thorough understanding of the clique number of dependent random graphs. We also obtain bounds for the chromatic number. Surprisingly, many of the standard properties of random graphs also hold in this relaxed setting. We show that with high probability, a dependent random graph will contain a clique of size $\frac{(1-o(1))\log n}{\log(1/p)}$, and the chromatic number will be at most $\frac{n \log(1/1-p)}{\log n}$. As an application and second main result, we give a new communication protocol for the k-player Multiparty Pointer Jumping (MPJ_k) problem in the number-on-the-forehead (NOF) model. Multiparty Pointer Jumping is one of the canonical NOF communication problems, yet even for three players, its communication complexity is not well understood. Our protocol for MPJ_3 costs $O(\frac{n\log\log n}{\log n})$ communication, improving on a bound of Brody and Chakrabarti [BC08]. We extend our protocol to the non-Boolean pointer jumping problem $\widehat{MPJ}_k$, achieving an upper bound which is o(n) for any $k >= 4$ players. This is the first o(n) bound for $\widehat{MPJ}_k$ and improves on a bound of Damm, Jukna, and Sgall [DJS98] which has stood for almost twenty years.Comment: 18 page

Algorithms for the minimum sum coloring problem: a review

The Minimum Sum Coloring Problem (MSCP) is a variant of the well-known vertex coloring problem which has a number of AI related applications. Due to its theoretical and practical relevance, MSCP attracts increasing attention. The only existing review on the problem dates back to 2004 and mainly covers the history of MSCP and theoretical developments on specific graphs. In recent years, the field has witnessed significant progresses on approximation algorithms and practical solution algorithms. The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive inspection of the most recent and representative MSCP algorithms. To be informative, we identify the general framework followed by practical solution algorithms and the key ingredients that make them successful. By classifying the main search strategies and putting forward the critical elements of the reviewed methods, we wish to encourage future development of more powerful methods and motivate new applications

Sum Coloring : New upper bounds for the chromatic strength

The Minimum Sum Coloring Problem (MSCP) is derived from the Graph Coloring Problem (GCP) by associating a weight to each color. The aim of MSCP is to find a coloring solution of a graph such that the sum of color weights is minimum. MSCP has important applications in fields such as scheduling and VLSI design. We propose in this paper new upper bounds of the chromatic strength, i.e. the minimum number of colors in an optimal solution of MSCP, based on an abstraction of all possible colorings of a graph called motif. Experimental results on standard benchmarks show that our new bounds are significantly tighter than the previous bounds in general, allowing to reduce substantially the search space when solving MSCP .Comment: pre-prin

Boolean complexes for Ferrers graphs

In this paper we provide an explicit formula for calculating the boolean number of a Ferrers graph. By previous work of the last two authors, this determines the homotopy type of the boolean complex of the graph. Specializing to staircase shapes, we show that the boolean numbers of the associated Ferrers graphs are the Genocchi numbers of the second kind, and obtain a relation between the Legendre-Stirling numbers and the Genocchi numbers of the second kind. In another application, we compute the boolean number of a complete bipartite graph, corresponding to a rectangular Ferrers shape, which is expressed in terms of the Stirling numbers of the second kind. Finally, we analyze the complexity of calculating the boolean number of a Ferrers graph using these results and show that it is a significant improvement over calculating by edge recursion.Comment: final version, to appear in the The Australasian Journal of Combinatoric