On Polynomial Representations of the DP Color Function: Theta Graphs and Their Generalizations

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Main Authors: Halberg, Charlie, Kaul, Hemanshu, Liu, Andrew, Mudrock, Jeffrey A., Shin, Paul, Thomason, Seth
Format: Preprint
Published: 2020
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author Halberg, Charlie
Kaul, Hemanshu
Liu, Andrew
Mudrock, Jeffrey A.
Shin, Paul
Thomason, Seth
author_facet Halberg, Charlie
Kaul, Hemanshu
Liu, Andrew
Mudrock, Jeffrey A.
Shin, Paul
Thomason, Seth
contents DP-coloring (also called correspondence coloring) is a generalization of list coloring that has been widely studied in recent years after its introduction by Dvořák and Postle in 2015. As the analogue of the chromatic polynomial $P(G,m)$, the DP color function of a graph $G$, denoted $P_{DP}(G,m)$, counts the minimum number of DP-colorings over all possible $m$-fold covers. It is known that, unlike the list color function $P_{\ell}(G,m)$, for any $g \geq 3$ there exists a graph $G$ with girth $g$ such that $P_{DP}(G,m) < P(G,m)$ when $m$ is sufficiently large. Thus, two fundamental open questions regarding the DP color function are: (i) for which $G$ does there exist an $N \in \mathbb{N}$ such that $P_{DP}(G,m) = P(G,m)$ whenever $m \geq N$, (ii) Given a graph $G$ does there always exist an $N \in \mathbb{N}$ and a polynomial $p(m)$ such that $P_{DP}(G,m) = p(m)$ whenever $m \geq N$? In this paper we give exact formulas for the DP color function of a Theta graph based on the parity of its path lengths. This gives an explicit answer, including the formulas for the polynomials that are not the chromatic polynomial, to both the questions above for Theta graphs. We extend this result to Generalized Theta graphs by characterizing the exact parity condition that ensures the DP color function eventually equals the chromatic polynomial. To answer the second question for Generalized Theta graphs, we confirm it for the larger class of graphs with a feedback vertex set of size one.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2012_12897
institution arXiv
publishDate 2020
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle On Polynomial Representations of the DP Color Function: Theta Graphs and Their Generalizations
Halberg, Charlie
Kaul, Hemanshu
Liu, Andrew
Mudrock, Jeffrey A.
Shin, Paul
Thomason, Seth
Combinatorics
05C15, 05C30, 05C69
DP-coloring (also called correspondence coloring) is a generalization of list coloring that has been widely studied in recent years after its introduction by Dvořák and Postle in 2015. As the analogue of the chromatic polynomial $P(G,m)$, the DP color function of a graph $G$, denoted $P_{DP}(G,m)$, counts the minimum number of DP-colorings over all possible $m$-fold covers. It is known that, unlike the list color function $P_{\ell}(G,m)$, for any $g \geq 3$ there exists a graph $G$ with girth $g$ such that $P_{DP}(G,m) < P(G,m)$ when $m$ is sufficiently large. Thus, two fundamental open questions regarding the DP color function are: (i) for which $G$ does there exist an $N \in \mathbb{N}$ such that $P_{DP}(G,m) = P(G,m)$ whenever $m \geq N$, (ii) Given a graph $G$ does there always exist an $N \in \mathbb{N}$ and a polynomial $p(m)$ such that $P_{DP}(G,m) = p(m)$ whenever $m \geq N$? In this paper we give exact formulas for the DP color function of a Theta graph based on the parity of its path lengths. This gives an explicit answer, including the formulas for the polynomials that are not the chromatic polynomial, to both the questions above for Theta graphs. We extend this result to Generalized Theta graphs by characterizing the exact parity condition that ensures the DP color function eventually equals the chromatic polynomial. To answer the second question for Generalized Theta graphs, we confirm it for the larger class of graphs with a feedback vertex set of size one.
title On Polynomial Representations of the DP Color Function: Theta Graphs and Their Generalizations
topic Combinatorics
05C15, 05C30, 05C69
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2012.12897