Skip to main content
Log in

An intractability result for the vertex 3-colourability problem

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Optimization Letters Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The vertex 3-colourability problem is to decide whether the vertex set of a given graph can be split into three subsets of pairwise non-adjacent vertices. This problem is known to be NP-complete in a certain class of graphs, defined by an explicit description of allowed 5-vertex induced subgraphs in them. In the present paper, we improve this result by showing that the vertex 3-colourability problem remains NP-complete for a reduced set of allowed 5-vertex induced structures. It gives a step towards obtaining a complete complexity dichotomy for the mentioned problem and all the classes, defined by 5-vertex forbidden induced prohibitions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Bonomo, F., Chudnovsky, M., Maceli, P., Schaudt, O., Stein, M., Zhong, M.: Three-coloring and list three-coloring of graphs without induced paths on seven vertices. Combinatorica 38, 779–801 (2018)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  2. Broersma, H.J., Golovach, P.A., Paulusma, D., Song, J.: Updating the complexity status of coloring graphs without a fixed induced linear forest. Theoret. Comput. Sci. 414, 9–19 (2012)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  3. Dailey, D.P.: Uniqueness of colorability and colorability of planar 4-regular graphs are NP-complete. Discret. Math. 30, 289–293 (1980)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  4. Garey, M.R., Johnson, D.S.: Computers and intractability: a guide to the theory of NP-completeness. W. H. Freeman and Co., New York (1979)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  5. Golovach, P.A., Paulusma, D., Song, J.: 4-coloring \(H\)-free graphs when \(H\) is small. Discret. Appl. Math. 161, 140–150 (2013)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  6. Golovach, P., Paulusma, D., Ries, B.: Coloring graphs characterized by a forbidden subgraph. Discret. Appl. Math. 180, 101–110 (2015)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  7. Golovach, P., Johnson, M., Paulusma, D., Song, J.: A survey on the computational complexity of coloring graphs with forbidden subgraphs. J. Graph Theory 84, 331–363 (2017)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  8. Hell, P., Huang, S.: Complexity of coloring graphs without paths and cycles. Discret. Appl. Math. 216, 211–232 (2017)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  9. Hoàng, C., Kamiński, M., Lozin, V.V., Sawada, J., Shu, X.: \(k\)-colorability of \(P_5\)-free graphs in polynomial time. Algorithmica 57, 74–81 (2010)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  10. Huang, S.: Improved complexity results on \(k\)-coloring \(P_t\)-free graphs. Eur. J. Comb. 51, 336–346 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Malyshev, D.: The complexity of the 3-colorability problem in the absence of a pair of small forbidden induced subgraphs. Discret. Math. 338, 1860–1865 (2015)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  12. Malyshev, D.: The complexity of the vertex 3-colorability problem for some hereditary classes defined by 5-vertex forbidden induced subgraphs. Graphs Comb. 33, 1009–1022 (2017)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  13. Malyshev, D.: A complete classification of the complexity of the vertex 3-colourability problem for quadruples of induced 5-vertex prohibitions. Zhurnal Srednevolzhskogo matematicheskogo obshchestva 22, 38–47 (2020). ((in Russian))

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Sirotkin, D., Malyshev, D.: On the complexity of the vertex 3-coloring problem for the hereditary graph classes with forbidden subgraphs of small size. J. Appl. Ind. Math. 25, 759–769 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Spirkl, S., Chudnovsky, M., Zhong, M.: Four-coloring \(P_6\)-free graphs. In: Simposium on discrete algorithims, pp. 1239–1256 (2019)

Download references

Acknowledgements

The article was prepared within the framework of the Basic Research Program at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. S. Malyshev.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Malyshev, D.S., Pristavchenko, O.V. An intractability result for the vertex 3-colourability problem. Optim Lett 16, 1403–1409 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11590-022-01859-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11590-022-01859-9

Keywords

Navigation