Robust graph coloring based on the matrix semi-tensor product with application to examination timetabling

This paper investigates the robust graph coloring problem with application to a kind of examination timetabling by using the matrix semi-tensor product, and presents a number of new results and algorithms. First, using the matrix semi-tensor product, the robust graph coloring is expressed into a kind of optimization problem taking in an algebraic form of matrices, based on which an algorithm is designed to find all the most robust coloring schemes for any simple graph. Second, an equivalent problem of robust graph coloring is studied, and a necessary and sufficient condition is proposed, from which a new algorithm to find all the most robust coloring schemes is established. Third, a kind of examination timetabling is discussed by using the obtained results, and a method to design a practicable timetabling scheme is presented. Finally, the effectiveness of the results/algorithms presented in this paper is shown by two illustrative examples.