Conflict-free connection number and independence number of a graph

TL;DR

This paper explores the relationship between the conflict-free connection number and the independence number of graphs, establishing bounds and exact values for specific tree structures.

Contribution

It proves that the conflict-free connection number is at most the independence number for any connected graph and characterizes it for certain trees.

Findings

cfc(G) ≤ α(G) for any connected graph G

Example demonstrating the bound is sharp

For trees with maximum degree ≥ (α(T)+2)/2, cfc(T) equals the maximum degree

Abstract

An edge-colored graph $G$ is conflict-free connected if any two of its vertices are connected by a path, which contains a color used on exactly one of its edges. The conflict-free connection number of a connected graph $G$, denoted by $cfc(G)$, is defined as the minimum number of colors that are required in order to make $G$ conflict-free connected. In this paper, we investigate the relation between the conflict-free connection number and the independence number of a graph. We firstly show that $cfc(G)\le \alpha(G)$ for any connected graph $G$, and an example is given showing that the bound is sharp. With this result, we prove that if $T$ is a tree with $\Delta(T)\ge \frac{\alpha(T)+2}{2}$, then $cfc(T)=\Delta(T)$.