Abstract
A graph is said to be total-colored if all the edges and the vertices of the graph are colored. A path P in a total-colored graph G is called a total-proper path if (1) any two adjacent edges of P are assigned distinct colors; (2) any two adjacent internal vertices of P are assigned distinct colors; and (3) any internal vertex of P is assigned a distinct color from its incident edges of P. The total-colored graph G is total-proper connected if any two distinct vertices of G are connected by a total-proper path. The total-proper connection number of a connected graph G, denoted by tpc(G), is the minimum number of colors that are required to make G total-proper connected. In this paper, we first characterize the graphs G on n vertices with \(tpc(G)=n-1\). Based on this, we obtain a Nordhaus–Gaddum-type result for total-proper connection number. We prove that if G and \(\overline{G}\) are connected complementary graphs on n vertices, then \(6\le tpc(G)+tpc(\overline{G})\le n+2\). Examples are given to show that the lower bound is sharp for \(n\ge 4\). The upper bound is reached for \(n\ge 4\) if and only if G or \(\overline{G}\) is the tree with maximum degree \(n-2\).
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bondy, J.A., Murty, U.S.R.: Graph Theory with Applications. The Macmillan Press, London and Basingstoker (1976)
Borozan, V., Fujita, S., Gerek, A., Magnant, C., Manoussakis, Y., Montero, L., Tuza, Zs: Proper connection of graphs. Discrete Math. 312, 2550–2560 (2012)
Chartrand, G., Johns, G.L., McKeon, K.A., Zhang, P.: Rainbow connection in graphs. Math. Bohem. 133(1), 85–98 (2008)
Harary, F., Haynes, T.W.: Nordhaus–Gaddum inequalities for domination in graphs. Discrete Math. 155, 99–105 (1996)
Harary, F., Robinson, R.W.: The diameter of a graph and its complement. Am. Math. Monthly 92, 211–212 (1985)
Huang, F., Li, X., Wang, S.: Proper connection numbers of complementary graphs, Bull. Malays. Math. Sci. Soc., DOI:10.1007/s40840-016-0381-8 (in press)
Jiang, H., Li, X., Zhang, Y.: Total proper connection of graphs, arXiv preprint arXiv:1512.00726 [math.CO]
Li, X., Magnant, C.: Properly colored notions of connectivity—a dynamic survey. Theory Appl. Graphs 0(1)(2015), Art. 2
Li, X., Sun, Y.: Rainbow Connections of Graphs. Springer, New York (2012). SpringerBriefs in Math
Nordhaus, E.A., Gaddum, J.W.: On complementary graphs. Am. Math. Monthly 63, 175–177 (1956)
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions, which helped to improve the presentation of the paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by Sandi Klavžar.
Supported by NSFC Nos. 11371205 and 11531011.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Li, W., Li, X. & Zhang, J. Nordhaus–Gaddum-Type Theorem for Total-Proper Connection Number of Graphs. Bull. Malays. Math. Sci. Soc. 42, 381–390 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40840-017-0516-6
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40840-017-0516-6