Weighted-Set Graph Colorings

Abstract

We study a weighted-set graph coloring problem in which one assigns $q$ colors to the vertices of a graph such that adjacent vertices have different colors, with a vertex weighting $w$ that either disfavors or favors a given subset of $s$ colors contained in the set of $q$ colors. We construct and analyze a weighted-set chromatic polynomial $Ph(G,q,s,w)$ associated with this coloring. General properties of this weighted-set chromatic polynomial are proved, and illustrative calculations are presented for various families of graphs. This study extends a previous one for the case $s=1$ and reveals a number of interesting new features.