A path in an edge-colored graph G, where adjacent edges may have the same color, is called a rainbow path if no two edges of the path are colored the same. The rainbow connection number rc(G) of G is the minimum integer i for which there exists an i-edge-coloring of G such that every two distinct vertices of G are connected by a rainbow path. It is known that for a graph G with diameter 2, to determine rc(G) is NP-hard. So, it is interesting to know the best upper bound of rc(G) for such a graph G. In this paper, we show that rc(G) ≤ 5 if G is a bridgeless graph with diameter 2, and that rc(G) ≤ k + 2 if G is a connected graph of diameter 2 with k bridges, where k ≥ 1.
Graph Theory
International audience
The generalized connectivity of a graph, which was introduced by Chartrand et al. in 1984, is a generalization of the concept of vertex connectivity. Let S be a nonempty set of vertices of G, a collection \T-1, T (2), ... , T-r\ of trees in G is said to be internally disjoint trees connecting S if E(T-i) boolean AND E(T-j) - empty set and V (T-i) boolean AND V(T-j) = S for any pair of distinct integers i, j, where 1 <= i, j <= r. For an integer k with 2 <= k <= n, the k-connectivity kappa(k) (G) of G is the greatest positive integer r for which G contains at least r internally disjoint trees connecting S for any set S of k vertices of G. Obviously, kappa(2)(G) = kappa(G) is the connectivity of G. Sabidussi's Theorem showed that kappa(G square H) >= kappa(G) + kappa(H) for any two connected graphs G and H. In this paper, we prove that for any two connected graphs G and H with kappa(3) (G) >= kappa(3) (H), if kappa(G) > kappa(3) (G), then kappa(3) (G square H) >= kappa(3) (G) + kappa(3) (H); if kappa(G) = kappa(3)(G), then kappa(3)(G square H) >= kappa(3)(G) + kappa(3) (H) - 1. Our result could be seen as an extension of Sabidussi's Theorem. Moreover, all the bounds are sharp.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.