Claw‐Free Graphs, Skeletal Graphs, and a Stronger Conjecture on ω, Δ, and χ

Abstract

AbstractThe second author's (B.A.R.) ω, Δ, χ conjecture proposes that every graph satisfies . In this article, we prove that the conjecture holds for all claw‐free graphs. Our approach uses the structure theorem of Chudnovsky and Seymour. Along the way, we discuss a stronger local conjecture, and prove that it holds for claw‐free graphs with a three‐colorable complement. To prove our results, we introduce a very useful χ‐preserving reduction on homogeneous pairs of cliques, and thus restrict our view to so‐called skeletal graphs.