Triple Crossing Numbers of Graphs

Abstract

We introduce the triple crossing number, a variation of the crossing number, of a graph, which is the minimal number of crossing points in all drawings of the graph with only triple crossings. It is defined to be zero for planar graphs, and to be infinite for non-planar graphs which do not admit a drawing with only triple crossings. In this paper, we determine the triple crossing numbers for all complete multipartite graphs which include all complete graphs.