Injective edge chromatic index of sparse graphs (Q6992287)

A \(k\)-edge coloring \(\phi\) of a graph \(G\) is called injective if \(\phi(e_1) \not = \phi(e_3)\) for any three consecutive edges \(e_1\), \(e_2\), \(e_3\) of a path or a triangle. The injective edge-chromatic index \(\chi^\prime_i(H)\) of a graph \(H\) is the minimum \(t\), such there exists an injective \(t\)-edge coloring of \(H\). The maximum vertex degree of \(H\) is denoted by \(\Delta(H)\) and the average vertex degree of \(H\) is denoted by \(\mathrm{mad}(H)\).\N\NThe paper proves upper bounds for \(\chi^\prime_i\) depending on the average vertex degree. For a graph \(G\) with \(\Delta(G) \geq 3\) it is proved that \(\chi^\prime_i(G) \leq \Delta(G)+2\) if \(\mathrm{mad}(G) < \frac{5}{2}\) and that \(\chi'_i(G) \leq \Delta(G)+1\) if \(\mathrm{mad}(G) < \frac{7}{3}\).