Sigma Partitioning: Complexity and Random Graphs

Abstract

A $\textit{sigma partitioning}$ of a graph $G$ is a partition of the vertices into sets $P_1, \ldots, P_k$ such that for every two adjacent vertices $u$ and $v$ there is an index $i$ such that $u$ and $v$ have different numbers of neighbors in $P_i$. The $\textit{ sigma number}$ of a graph $G$, denoted by $\sigma(G)$, is the minimum number $k$ such that $ G $ has a sigma partitioning $P_1, \ldots, P_k$. Also, a $\textit{ lucky labeling}$ of a graph $G$ is a function $ \ell :V(G) \rightarrow \mathbb{N}$, such that for every two adjacent vertices $ v $ and $ u$ of $ G $, $ \sum_{w \sim v}\ell(w)\neq \sum_{w \sim u}\ell(w) $ ($ x \sim y $ means that $ x $ and $y$ are adjacent). The $\textit{ lucky number}$ of $ G $, denoted by $\eta(G)$, is the minimum number $k $ such that $ G $ has a lucky labeling $ \ell :V(G) \rightarrow \mathbb{N}_k$. It was conjectured in [Inform. Process. Lett., 112(4):109--112, 2012] that it is $ \mathbf{NP} $-complete to decide whether $ \eta(G)=2$ for a given 3-regular graph $G$. In this work, we prove this conjecture. Among other results, we give an upper bound of five for the sigma number of a uniformly random graph.