Counting subgraphs of coloring graphs

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Asgarli, Shamil, Krehbiel, Sara, Levinson, Howard W., Russell, Heather M.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Asgarli, Shamil
Krehbiel, Sara
Levinson, Howard W.
Russell, Heather M.
author_facet Asgarli, Shamil
Krehbiel, Sara
Levinson, Howard W.
Russell, Heather M.
contents The chromatic polynomial $π_{G}(k)$ of a graph $G$ can be viewed as counting the number of vertices in a family of coloring graphs $\mathcal C_k(G)$ associated with (proper) $k$-colorings of $G$ as a function of the number of colors $k$. These coloring graphs can be understood as a reconfiguration system. We generalize the chromatic polynomial to $π_G^{(H)}(k)$, counting occurrences of arbitrary induced subgraphs $H$ in these coloring graphs, and we prove that these functions are polynomial in $k$. In particular, we study the chromatic pairs polynomial $π_{G}^{(P_2)}(k)$, which counts the number of edges in coloring graphs, corresponding to the number of pairs of colorings that differ on a single vertex. We show two trees share a chromatic pairs polynomial if and only if they have the same degree sequence, and we conjecture that the chromatic pairs polynomial refines the chromatic polynomial in general. We also instantiate our polynomials with other choices of $H$ to generate new graph invariants.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2401_12883
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Counting subgraphs of coloring graphs
Asgarli, Shamil
Krehbiel, Sara
Levinson, Howard W.
Russell, Heather M.
Combinatorics
05C15, 05C31
The chromatic polynomial $π_{G}(k)$ of a graph $G$ can be viewed as counting the number of vertices in a family of coloring graphs $\mathcal C_k(G)$ associated with (proper) $k$-colorings of $G$ as a function of the number of colors $k$. These coloring graphs can be understood as a reconfiguration system. We generalize the chromatic polynomial to $π_G^{(H)}(k)$, counting occurrences of arbitrary induced subgraphs $H$ in these coloring graphs, and we prove that these functions are polynomial in $k$. In particular, we study the chromatic pairs polynomial $π_{G}^{(P_2)}(k)$, which counts the number of edges in coloring graphs, corresponding to the number of pairs of colorings that differ on a single vertex. We show two trees share a chromatic pairs polynomial if and only if they have the same degree sequence, and we conjecture that the chromatic pairs polynomial refines the chromatic polynomial in general. We also instantiate our polynomials with other choices of $H$ to generate new graph invariants.
title Counting subgraphs of coloring graphs
topic Combinatorics
05C15, 05C31
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.12883