Cover numbers by certain graph families

Abstract: We define the cover number of a graph $G$ by a graph class $\mathcal P$ as the minimum number of graphs of class $\mathcal P$ required to cover the edge set of $G$. Taking inspiration from a paper by Harary, Hsu and Miller, we find an exact formula for the cover number by the graph classes ${ G \mid \chi(G) \leq f(\omega(G))}$ for an arbitrary non-decreasing function $f$. After this, we establish a chain of inequalities with five cover numbers, the one by the class ${ G \mid \chi(G) = \omega(G)}$, by the class of perfect graphs, generalized split graphs, co-unipolar graphs and finally by bipartite graphs. We prove that at each inequality, the difference between the two sides can grow arbitrarily large. We also prove that the cover number by unipolar graphs cannot be expressed in terms of the chromatic or the clique number.