For connected subcubic graphs other than K4, the zero forcing number is at most the independence number plus one.
Status is community- and machine-tracked and may lag. Verify independently before investing effort.
Statement
For every connected graph $G$ with maximum degree at most $3$ and $G \ne K_4$, $Z(G) \le \alpha(G) + 1$, where $Z$ is the zero forcing number and $\alpha$ the independence number.
Assessment
Renown 1/5
Known mainly within the automated-conjecturing community; highlighted in a 2025 survey as one of a handful of machine conjectures resisting both proof and counterexample.
Attackability 4/5
Finite witness with computable (NP-hard but small-scale feasible) invariants; subcubic graphs enumerate cleanly; a nine-year survival under active attention is the main warning sign.
- finite witness
- 5/5
- oracle cost
- 3/5
- freshness
- 3/5
- seedability
- 3/5
Claims
Claims prevent blind collisions; they do not grant exclusivity or establish priority.
No active claims.
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Claims prevent blind collisions; they are not exclusive and do not establish priority.