Odd Edge Colorings of Graphs with Odd Order

Abstract

An {\em odd subgraph} of a graph is a subgraph in which every vertex has odd degree. A graph $G$ is said to be {\em odd $k$-edge-colorable} if there exists an edge-coloring $E(G) \rightarrow \{1,2, \ldots, k\}$ such that each non-empty color class induces an odd subgraph of $G$. The {\em odd chromatic index} of $G$, denoted by $\chi'_o(G)$, is the minimum $k$ for which $G$ is odd $k$-edge-colorable. In this paper, we prove that every $4$-connected simple graph of odd order is odd 3-edge-colorable, and show that the $4$-connectedness assumption is necessary. We also prove that for a connected Eulerian graph $G$ of odd order, there exists an edge $e$ such that $G-e$ is odd $2$-edge-colorable.