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In graph theory, directed coloring (or dicoloring) is an analogue of graph coloring for directed graphs. A directed coloring is an assignment of colours to vertices of a directed graph so that no directed cycle is monochromatic. Alternatively, it can be defined as an assignment of colors to vertices in a manner that ensures the directed graph induced by any color is acyclic.

The dichromatic number (also known as the directed chromatic number) of a directed graph is the minimum number of colors required to achieve a valid directed coloring.

This definition was coined by Victor Neumann-Lara in 1982.

Examples
A directed cycle has dichromatic number two, since it does not admit any directed coloring with only one color and any assignment that uses two colors is a directed coloring. A directed acyclic graph has dichromatic number one, since assigning the same color to every vertex yields a directed coloring with one color.

Properties
The dichromatic number of a directed graph is equal to the highest dichromatic number among its strongly connected components.

By replacing each edge of a graph $$G$$ by two opposite arcs, one obtain a directed graph whose dichromatic number is equal to the chromatic number of $$G$$.

Since an independent set is acyclic, the dichromatic number of a directed graph is always greater than or equal to the chromatic number of its underlying graph. Note that the converse does not hold, since a transitive tournament on $$n$$ vertices has dichromatic number one, yet its underlying graph is a complete graph on $$n$$ vertices, which has chromatic number $$n$$.