A Graph-Theoretic Model for a Generic Three Jug Puzzle

In a classic three jug puzzle we have three jugs $A$, $B$, and $C$ with some fixed capacities. The jug A is fully filled with wine to its capacity. The goal is to divide the wine into two equal halves by pouring it from one jug to another without using any other measuring devices. This particular puzzle has a known solution. However, we consider a generic three jug puzzle and present an independent graph theoretic model to determine whether the puzzle has a solution at first place. If it has a solution, then the same can be determined using this model.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figur

Acyclic Chromatic Index of Chordless Graphs

An acyclic edge coloring of a graph is a proper edge coloring in which there are no bichromatic cycles. The acyclic chromatic index of a graph $G$ denoted by $a'(G)$, is the minimum positive integer $k$ such that $G$ has an acyclic edge coloring with $k$ colors. It has been conjectured by Fiam\v{c}\'{\i}k that $a'(G) \le \Delta+2$ for any graph $G$ with maximum degree $\Delta$. Linear arboricity of a graph $G$, denoted by $la(G)$, is the minimum number of linear forests into which the edges of $G$ can be partitioned. A graph is said to be chordless if no cycle in the graph contains a chord. Every $2$-connected chordless graph is a minimally $2$-connected graph. It was shown by Basavaraju and Chandran that if $G$ is $2$-degenerate, then $a'(G) \le \Delta+1$. Since chordless graphs are also $2$-degenerate, we have $a'(G) \le \Delta+1$ for any chordless graph $G$. Machado, de Figueiredo and Trotignon proved that the chromatic index of a chordless graph is $\Delta$ when $\Delta \ge 3$. They also obtained a polynomial time algorithm to color a chordless graph optimally. We improve this result by proving that the acyclic chromatic index of a chordless graph is $\Delta$, except when $\Delta=2$ and the graph has a cycle, in which case it is $\Delta+1$. We also provide the sketch of a polynomial time algorithm for an optimal acyclic edge coloring of a chordless graph. As a byproduct, we also prove that $la(G) = \lceil \frac{\Delta }{2} \rceil$, unless $G$ has a cycle with $\Delta=2$, in which case $la(G) = \lceil \frac{\Delta+1}{2} \rceil = 2$. To obtain the result on acyclic chromatic index, we prove a structural result on chordless graphs which is a refinement of the structure given by Machado, de Figueiredo and Trotignon for this class of graphs. This might be of independent interest

An improved upper bound for the domination number of a graph

Let $G$ be a graph of order $n$. A classical upper bound for the domination number of a graph $G$ having no isolated vertices is $\lfloor\frac{n}{2}\rfloor$. However, for several families of graphs, we have $\gamma(G) \le \lfloor\sqrt{n}\rfloor$ which gives a substantially improved upper bound. In this paper, we give a condition necessary for a graph $G$ to have $\gamma(G) \le \lfloor\sqrt{n}\rfloor$, and some conditions sufficient for a graph $G$ to have $\gamma(G) \le \lfloor\sqrt{n}\rfloor$. We also present a characterization of all connected graphs $G$ of order $n$ with $\gamma(G) = \lfloor\sqrt{n}\rfloor$. Further, we prove that for a graph $G$ not satisfying $rad(G)=diam(G)=rad(\overline{G})=diam(\overline{G})=2$, deciding whether $\gamma(G) \le \lfloor\sqrt{n}\rfloor$ or $\gamma(\overline{G}) \le \lfloor\sqrt{n}\rfloor$ can be done in polynomial time. We conjecture that this decision problem can be solved in polynomial time for any graph $G$