A Note on Graphs of $k$-Colourings

For a graph $G$, the $k$-colouring graph of $G$ has vertices corresponding to proper $k$-colourings of $G$ and edges between colourings that differ at a single vertex. The graph supports the Glauber dynamics Markov chain for $k$-colourings, and has been extensively studied from both extremal and probabilistic perspectives. In this note, we show that for every graph $G$, there exists $k$ such that $G$ is uniquely determined by its $k$-colouring graph, confirming two conjectures of Asgarli, Krehbiel, Levinson and Russell. We further show that no finite family of generalised chromatic polynomials for $G$, which encode induced subgraph counts of its colouring graphs, uniquely determine $G$.

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Publication Details

Journal
The Electronic Journal of Combinatorics
Published
2024-11-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.37236/12853
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Advanced Graph Theory Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.72

Funders

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article

A Note on Graphs of $k$-Colourings

Jane Tan, Alex Scott, Youri Tamitegama, Emma Hogan
2 citations
The Electronic Journal of Combinatorics
Advanced Graph Theory Research
0.72
article

A Note on Graphs of $k$-Colourings

Jane Tan, Alex Scott, Youri Tamitegama, Emma Hogan
article en
2 citations

Abstract

For a graph $G$, the $k$-colouring graph of $G$ has vertices corresponding to proper $k$-colourings of $G$ and edges between colourings that differ at a single vertex. The graph supports the Glauber dynamics Markov chain for $k$-colourings, and has been extensively studied from both extremal and probabilistic perspectives. In this note, we show that for every graph $G$, there exists $k$ such that $G$ is uniquely determined by its $k$-colouring graph, confirming two conjectures of Asgarli, Krehbiel, Levinson and Russell. We further show that no finite family of generalised chromatic polynomials for $G$, which encode induced subgraph counts of its colouring graphs, uniquely determine $G$.

The Electronic Journal of CombinatoricsVol. 31(4)
University of Oxford (GB)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Openalex Percentile: Top 24%
Advanced Graph Theory Research
0.72
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