Chromatic polynomial

In the mathematical field of graph theory the chromatic polynomial for a given graph is a polynomial which encodes the number of different ways to vertex color the graph using n colors. It was first used by Birkhoff and Lewis in their attack on the four-color theorem.

Related Topics:
Mathematical - Graph theory - Graph - Polynomial - Vertex color - Birkhoff - Lewis - Four-color theorem

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It remains an unsolved problem to characterize graphs which have the same chromatic polynomial and to determine precisely what polynomials are chromatic.

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Constructing the chromatic polynomial is hard and an NP-complete problem.

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