We show how to couple phase-oscillators on a graph so that collective dynamics “searches” for the coloring of that graph as it relaxes toward the dynamical equilibrium. This translates a combinatorial optimization problem (graph coloring) into a functional optimization problem (finding and evaluating the global minimum of dynamical non-equilibrium potential, done by the natural system’s evolution). Using a sample of graphs, we show that our method can serve as a viable alternative to the traditional combinatorial algorithms. Moreover, we show that, with the same computational cost, our method efficiently solves the harder problem of improper coloring of weighed graphs.
