We introduce weak oddness $\omega_{ \textrm w}$, a new measure of uncolourability of cubic graphs, defined as the least number of odd components in an even factor. For every bridgeless cubic graph $G$, $\rho(G)\le\omega_{ \textrm w}(G)\le\omega(G)$, where $\rho(G)$ denotes the resistance of $G$ and $\omega(G)$ denotes the oddness of $G$, so this new measure is an approximation of both oddness and resistance. We demonstrate that there are graphs $G$ satisfying $\rho(G) < \omega_{ \textrm w}(G) < \omega(G)$, and that the difference between any two of those three measures can be arbitrarily large. The construction implies that if we replace a vertex of a cubic graph with a triangle, then its oddness can decrease by an arbitrarily large amount.
Categories: cs.DM math.CO