Map Coloring

Suppose removed all borders but still wanted

to see all the countries. 1 color insufficient.

L25 1
 Map Coloring
So add another color. Try to fill in every
country with one of the two colors.

L25 2
 Map Coloring
So add another color. Try to fill in every
country with one of the two colors.

L25 3
 Map Coloring
So add another color. Try to fill in every
country with one of the two colors.

L25 4
 Map Coloring
So add another color. Try to fill in every
country with one of the two colors.

L25 5
 Map Coloring
PROBLEM: Two adjacent countries forced to
have same color. Border unseen.

L25 6
 Map Coloring
So add another color:

L25 7
 Map Coloring
Insufficient. Need 4 colors because of this
country.

L25 8
 Map Coloring
With 4 colors, could do it.

L25 9
 4-Color Theorem
THM: Any planar map of regions can be
depicted using 4 colors so that no two regions
that share a positive-length border have the
same color.
Proof by Haaken and Appel used exhaustive
computer search.

L25 10
 From Map Coloring
to Graph Coloring
The problem of coloring a map, can be
reduced to a graph-theoretic problem:

L25 11
 From Map Coloring
to Graph Coloring
For each region introduce a vertex:

L25 12
 From Map Coloring
to Graph Coloring
For each pair of regions with a positive-length
common border introduce an edge:

L25 13
 From Maps to Graphs
to Dual Graphs
Really, could think of original map as a graph,
and we are looking at dual graph:

L25 14
 From Maps to Graphs
to Dual Graphs
Dual Graphs :
1) Put vertex inside each region:

L25 15
 From Maps to Graphs
to Dual Graphs
Dual Graphs :
2) Connect vertices across common edges:

L25 16
 Definition of Dual Graph
DEF: The dual graph G ^ of a planar graph G
= (V, E, R) [Vertices, Edges, Regions] is the
graph obtained by setting
– Vertices of G ^: V (G ^ ) = R
– Edges of G ^: E (G ^ ) = set of edges of the form
{F1,F2} where F1 and F2 share a common edge.

L25 17
 From Maps to Graphs
to Dual Graphs
So take dual graph:

L25 18
 From Map Coloring
to Graph Coloring
Coloring regions is equivalent to coloring
vertices of dual graph.

L25 19
 Definition of Colorable
DEF: Let n be a positive number. A simple
graph is n -colorable if the vertices can be
colored using n colors so that no two
adjacent vertices have the same color.
The chromatic number of a graph is smallest
number n for which it is n -colorable.
EG: A graph is bipartite iff it is 2-colorable.

L25 20
 From Map Coloring
to Graph Coloring
Map not 2-colorable, so dual graph not 2-
colorable:

L25 21
 From Map Coloring
to Graph Coloring
Map not 3-colorable, so graph not 3-
colorable:

L25 22
 From Map Coloring
to Graph Coloring
Graph is 4-colorable, so map is as well:

L25 23
 Maps and coloring
• A map is a partition of the plane into
connected regions
• Can we color the regions of every map
using at most four colors so that
neighboring regions have different
colors?
• Map Coloring  graph coloring
– A region  A vertex
– Adjacency  An edge

Graph Theory Ch. 1. Fundamental Concept 24

 Chromatic Number
• The chromatic number of a graph G,
written x(G), is the minimum number of
colors needed to label the vertices so that
adjacent vertices receive different colors

Blue Green

x(G) = 3

Red Blue

Graph Theory Ch. 1. Fundamental Concept 25

 Scheduling and graph Coloring 1

• Two committees can not hold meetings

at the same time if two committees have
common member

Committee 1 Committee 2

common
member

Graph Theory Ch. 1. Fundamental Concept 26

 Scheduling and graph Coloring 1

• Model:
– One committee being represented by a
vertex
– An edge between two vertices if two
corresponding committees have common
member
– Two adjacent vertices can not receive the
same color

Committee 1 Committee 2

common
Graph Theory
member
Ch. 1. Fundamental Concept 27
 Scheduling and graph Coloring 2

• Scheduling problem is equivalent to

graph coloring problem

Committee 2 Common
Common Member
Committee 1 Member Different Color
Committee 3

No Common Member
Same Color OK
Same time slot OK

Graph Theory Ch. 1. Fundamental Concept 28