On the Minimum Edge-Density of 4-Critical Graphs of Girth Five

Abstract

We prove that if G is a 4-critical graph of girth at least five then |E(G)|>=(5|V(G)|+2)/3. As a corollary, graphs of girth at least five embeddable in the Klein bottle or torus are 3-colorable. These are results of Thomas and Walls, and Thomassen respectively. The proof uses the new potential technique developed by Kostochka and Yancey who proved that 4-critical graphs satisfy: |E(G)|>=(5|V(G)|-2)/3.

17 pages