ON $r$-EQUITABLE COLORING OF COMPLETE MULTIPARTITE GRAPHS

Abstract

Let $r \geqslant 0$ and $k \geqslant 1$ be integers. We say that a graph $G$ has an $r$-equitable $k$-coloring if there exists a proper $k$-coloring of $G$ such that the sizes of any two color classes differ by at most $r$. The least $k$ such that a graph $G$ has an $r$-equitable $k$-coloring is denoted by $\chi_{r=}(G)$, and the least $n$ such that a graph $G$ has an $r$-equitable $k$-coloring for all $k \geqslant n$ is denoted by $\chi^*_{r=}(G)$. In this paper, we propose a necessary and sufficient condition for a complete multipartite graph $G$ to have an $r$-equitable $k$-coloring, and also give exact values of $\chi_{r=}(G)$ and $\chi^*_{r=}(G)$.