Strong colorings of hypergraphs

Abstract

A strong vertex coloring of a hypergraph assigns distinct colors to vertices that are contained in a common hyperedge. This captures many previously studied graph coloring problems. We present nearly tight upper and lower bound on approximating general hypergraphs, both offline and online. We then consider various parameters that make coloring easier, and give a unified treatment. In particular, we give an algebraic scheme using integer programming to color graphs of bounded composition-width. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.