Disjoint list-colorings for planar graphs

Abstract

One of Thomassen's classical results is that every planar graph of girth at least $5$ is 3-choosable. One can wonder if for a planar graph $G$ of girth sufficiently large and a $3$-list-assignment $L$, one can do even better. Can one find $3$ disjoint $L$-colorings (a packing), or $2$ disjoint $L$-colorings, or a collection of $L$-colorings that to every vertex assigns every color on average in one third of the cases (a fractional packing)? We prove that the packing is impossible, but two disjoint $L$-colorings are guaranteed if the girth is at least $8$, and a fractional packing exists when the girth is at least $6.$ For a graph $G$, the least $k$ such that there are always $k$ disjoint proper list-colorings whenever we have lists all of size $k$ associated to the vertices is called the list packing number of $G$. We lower the two-times-degeneracy upper bound for the list packing number of planar graphs of girth $3,4$ or $5$. As immediate corollaries, we improve bounds for $ε$-flexibility of classes of planar graphs with a given girth. For instance, where previously Dvořák et al. proved that planar graphs of girth $6$ are (weighted) $ε$-flexibly $3$-choosable for an extremely small value of $ε$, we obtain the optimal value $ε=\frac{1}{3}$. Finally, we completely determine and show interesting behavior on the packing numbers for $H$-minor-free graphs for some small graphs $H.$