vol. 21 no. 1, ICGT 2018


1. On Stronger Types of Locating-dominating Codes

Ville Junnila ; Tero Laihonen ; Tuomo Lehtilä ; María Luz Puertas.
Locating-dominating codes in a graph find their application in sensor networks and have been studied extensively over the years. A locating-dominating code can locate one object in a sensor network, but if there is more than one object, it may lead to false conclusions. In this paper, we consider stronger types of locating-dominating codes which can locate one object and detect if there are multiple objects. We study the properties of these codes and provide bounds on the smallest possible size of these codes, for example, with the aid of the Dilworth number and Sperner families. Moreover, these codes are studied in trees and Cartesian products of graphs. We also give the complete realization theorems for the coexistence of the smallest possible size of these codes and the optimal locating-dominating codes in a graph.

2. A general decomposition theory for the 1-2-3 Conjecture and locally irregular decompositions

Olivier Baudon ; Julien Bensmail ; Tom Davot ; Hervé Hocquard ; Jakub Przybyło ; Mohammed Senhaji ; Eric Sopena ; Mariusz Woźniak.
How can one distinguish the adjacent vertices of a graph through an edge-weighting? In the last decades, this question has been attracting increasing attention, which resulted in the active field of distinguishing labellings. One of its most popular problems is the one where neighbours must be distinguishable via their incident sums of weights. An edge-weighting verifying this is said neighbour-sum-distinguishing. The popularity of this notion arises from two reasons. A first one is that designing a neighbour-sum-distinguishing edge-weighting showed up to be equivalent to turning a simple graph into a locally irregular (i.e., without neighbours with the same degree) multigraph by adding parallel edges, which is motivated by the concept of irregularity in graphs. Another source of popularity is probably the influence of the famous 1-2-3 Conjecture, which claims that such weightings with weights in {1,2,3} exist for graphs with no isolated edge. The 1-2-3 Conjecture has recently been investigated from a decompositional angle, via so-called locally irregular decompositions, which are edge-partitions into locally irregular subgraphs. Through several recent studies, it was shown that this concept is quite related to the 1-2-3 Conjecture. However, the full connexion between all those concepts was not clear. In this work, we propose an approach that generalizes all concepts above, involving coloured weights and sums. As a consequence, we get another interpretation of several […]

3. FPT algorithms to recognize well covered graphs

Rafael Araujo ; Eurinardo Costa ; Sulamita Klein ; Rudini Sampaio ; Ueverton S. Souza.
Given a graph $G$, let $vc(G)$ and $vc^+(G)$ be the sizes of a minimum and a maximum minimal vertex covers of $G$, respectively. We say that $G$ is well covered if $vc(G)=vc^+(G)$ (that is, all minimal vertex covers have the same size). Determining if a graph is well covered is a coNP-complete problem. In this paper, we obtain $O^*(2^{vc})$-time and $O^*(1.4656^{vc^+})$-time algorithms to decide well coveredness, improving results of Boria et. al. (2015). Moreover, using crown decomposition, we show that such problems admit kernels having linear number of vertices. In 2018, Alves et. al. (2018) proved that recognizing well covered graphs is coW[2]-hard when the independence number $\alpha(G)=n-vc(G)$ is the parameter. Contrasting with such coW[2]-hardness, we present an FPT algorithm to decide well coveredness when $\alpha(G)$ and the degeneracy of the input graph $G$ are aggregate parameters. Finally, we use the primeval decomposition technique to obtain a linear time algorithm for extended $P_4$-laden graphs and $(q,q-4)$-graphs, which is FPT parameterized by $q$, improving results of Klein et al (2013).

4. On Weakly Distinguishing Graph Polynomials

Johann A. Makowsky ; Vsevolod Rakita.
A univariate graph polynomial P(G;X) is weakly distinguishing if for almost all finite graphs G there is a finite graph H with P(G;X)=P(H;X). We show that the clique polynomial and the independence polynomial are weakly distinguishing. Furthermore, we show that generating functions of induced subgraphs with property C are weakly distinguishing provided that C is of bounded degeneracy or tree-width. The same holds for the harmonious chromatic polynomial.

5. Bisplit graphs satisfy the Chen-Chvátal conjecture

Laurent Beaudou ; Giacomo Kahn ; Matthieu Rosenfeld.
In this paper, we give a lengthy proof of a small result! A graph is bisplit if its vertex set can be partitioned into three stable sets with two of them inducing a complete bipartite graph. We prove that these graphs satisfy the Chen-Chvátal conjecture: their metric space (in the usual sense) has a universal line (in an unusual sense) or at least as many lines as the number of vertices.

6. Characterising and recognising game-perfect graphs

Dominique Andres ; Edwin Lock.
Consider a vertex colouring game played on a simple graph with $k$ permissible colours. Two players, a maker and a breaker, take turns to colour an uncoloured vertex such that adjacent vertices receive different colours. The game ends once the graph is fully coloured, in which case the maker wins, or the graph can no longer be fully coloured, in which case the breaker wins. In the game $g_B$, the breaker makes the first move. Our main focus is on the class of $g_B$-perfect graphs: graphs such that for every induced subgraph $H$, the game $g_B$ played on $H$ admits a winning strategy for the maker with only $\omega(H)$ colours, where $\omega(H)$ denotes the clique number of $H$. Complementing analogous results for other variations of the game, we characterise $g_B$-perfect graphs in two ways, by forbidden induced subgraphs and by explicit structural descriptions. We also present a clique module decomposition, which may be of independent interest, that allows us to efficiently recognise $g_B$-perfect graphs.

7. New Bounds for the Dichromatic Number of a Digraph

Narda Cordero-Michel ; Hortensia Galeana-Sánchez.
The chromatic number of a graph $G$, denoted by $\chi(G)$, is the minimum $k$ such that $G$ admits a $k$-coloring of its vertex set in such a way that each color class is an independent set (a set of pairwise non-adjacent vertices). The dichromatic number of a digraph $D$, denoted by $\chi_A(D)$, is the minimum $k$ such that $D$ admits a $k$-coloring of its vertex set in such a way that each color class is acyclic. In 1976, Bondy proved that the chromatic number of a digraph $D$ is at most its circumference, the length of a longest cycle. Given a digraph $D$, we will construct three different graphs whose chromatic numbers bound $\chi_A(D)$. Moreover, we prove: i) for integers $k\geq 2$, $s\geq 1$ and $r_1, \ldots, r_s$ with $k\geq r_i\geq 0$ and $r_i\neq 1$ for each $i\in[s]$, that if all cycles in $D$ have length $r$ modulo $k$ for some $r\in\{r_1,\ldots,r_s\}$, then $\chi_A(D)\leq 2s+1$; ii) if $D$ has girth $g$ and there are integers $k$ and $p$, with $k\geq g-1\geq p\geq 1$ such that $D$ contains no cycle of length $r$ modulo $\lceil \frac{k}{p} \rceil p$ for each $r\in \{-p+2,\ldots,0,\ldots,p\}$, then $\chi_A (D)\leq \lceil \frac{k}{p} \rceil$; iii) if $D$ has girth $g$, the length of a shortest cycle, and circumference $c$, then $\chi_A(D)\leq \lceil \frac{c-1}{g-1} \rceil +1$, which improves, substantially, the bound proposed by Bondy. Our results show that if we have more information about the lengths of cycles in a digraph, then we can improve the bounds for […]

8. Parameterized Complexity of Equitable Coloring

Guilherme de C. M. Gomes ; Carlos V. G. C. Lima ; Vinícius F. dos Santos.
A graph on $n$ vertices is equitably $k$-colorable if it is $k$-colorable and every color is used either $\left\lfloor n/k \right\rfloor$ or $\left\lceil n/k \right\rceil$ times. Such a problem appears to be considerably harder than vertex coloring, being $\mathsf{NP\text{-}Complete}$ even for cographs and interval graphs. In this work, we prove that it is $\mathsf{W[1]\text{-}Hard}$ for block graphs and for disjoint union of split graphs when parameterized by the number of colors; and $\mathsf{W[1]\text{-}Hard}$ for $K_{1,4}$-free interval graphs when parameterized by treewidth, number of colors and maximum degree, generalizing a result by Fellows et al. (2014) through a much simpler reduction. Using a previous result due to Dominique de Werra (1985), we establish a dichotomy for the complexity of equitable coloring of chordal graphs based on the size of the largest induced star. Finally, we show that \textsc{equitable coloring} is $\mathsf{FPT}$ when parameterized by the treewidth of the complement graph.

9. The 2-domination and Roman domination numbers of grid graphs

Michaël Rao ; Alexandre Talon.
We investigate the 2-domination number for grid graphs, that is the size of a smallest set $D$ of vertices of the grid such that each vertex of the grid belongs to $D$ or has at least two neighbours in $D$. We give a closed formula giving the 2-domination number of any $n \!\times\! m$ grid, hereby confirming the results found by Lu and Xu, and Shaheen et al. for $n \leq 4$ and slightly correct the value of Shaheen et al. for $n = 5$. The proof relies on some dynamic programming algorithms, using transfer matrices in (min,+)-algebra. We also apply the method to solve the Roman domination problem on grid graphs.

10. Stable gonality is computable

Ragnar Groot Koerkamp ; Marieke van der Wegen.
Stable gonality is a multigraph parameter that measures the complexity of a graph. It is defined using maps to trees. Those maps, in some sense, divide the edges equally over the edges of the tree; stable gonality asks for the map with the minimum number of edges mapped to each edge of the tree. This parameter is related to treewidth, but unlike treewidth, it distinguishes multigraphs from their underlying simple graphs. Stable gonality is relevant for problems in number theory. In this paper, we show that deciding whether the stable gonality of a given graph is at most a given integer $k$ belongs to the class NP, and we give an algorithm that computes the stable gonality of a graph in $O((1.33n)^nm^m \text{poly}(n,m))$ time.

11. Computing metric hulls in graphs

Kolja Knauer ; Nicolas Nisse.
We prove that, given a closure function the smallest preimage of a closed set can be calculated in polynomial time in the number of closed sets. This implies that there is a polynomial time algorithm to compute the convex hull number of a graph, when all its convex subgraphs are given as input. We then show that deciding if the smallest preimage of a closed set is logarithmic in the size of the ground set is LOGSNP-hard if only the ground set is given. A special instance of this problem is to compute the dimension of a poset given its linear extension graph, that is conjectured to be in P.The intent to show that the latter problem is LOGSNP-complete leads to several interesting questions and to the definition of the isometric hull, i.e., a smallest isometric subgraph containing a given set of vertices $S$. While for $|S|=2$ an isometric hull is just a shortest path, we show that computing the isometric hull of a set of vertices is NP-complete even if $|S|=3$. Finally, we consider the problem of computing the isometric hull number of a graph and show that computing it is $\Sigma^P_2$ complete.

12. Alternating Hamiltonian cycles in $2$-edge-colored multigraphs

Alejandro Contreras-Balbuena ; Hortensia Galeana-Sánchez ; Ilan A. Goldfeder.
A path (cycle) in a $2$-edge-colored multigraph is alternating if no two consecutive edges have the same color. The problem of determining the existence of alternating Hamiltonian paths and cycles in $2$-edge-colored multigraphs is an $\mathcal{NP}$-complete problem and it has been studied by several authors. In Bang-Jensen and Gutin's book "Digraphs: Theory, Algorithms and Applications", it is devoted one chapter to survey the last results on this topic. Most results on the existence of alternating Hamiltonian paths and cycles concern on complete and bipartite complete multigraphs and a few ones on multigraphs with high monochromatic degrees or regular monochromatic subgraphs. In this work, we use a different approach imposing local conditions on the multigraphs and it is worthwhile to notice that the class of multigraphs we deal with is much larger than, and includes, complete multigraphs, and we provide a full characterization of this class. Given a $2$-edge-colored multigraph $G$, we say that $G$ is $2$-$\mathcal{M}$-closed (resp. $2$-$\mathcal{NM}$-closed)} if for every monochromatic (resp. non-monochromatic) $2$-path $P=(x_1, x_2, x_3)$, there exists an edge between $x_1$ and $x_3$. In this work we provide the following characterization: A $2$-$\mathcal{M}$-closed multigraph has an alternating Hamiltonian cycle if and only if it is color-connected and it has an alternating cycle factor. Furthermore, we construct an infinite family of […]

13. On the End-Vertex Problem of Graph Searches

Jesse Beisegel ; Carolin Denkert ; Ekkehard Köhler ; Matjaž Krnc ; Nevena Pivač ; Robert Scheffler ; Martin Strehler.
End vertices of graph searches can exhibit strong structural properties and are crucial for many graph algorithms. The problem of deciding whether a given vertex of a graph is an end-vertex of a particular search was first introduced by Corneil, Köhler and Lanlignel in 2010. There they showed that this problem is in fact NP-complete for LBFS on weakly chordal graphs. A similar result for BFS was obtained by Charbit, Habib and Mamcarz in 2014. Here, we prove that the end-vertex problem is NP-complete for MNS on weakly chordal graphs and for MCS on general graphs. Moreover, building on previous results, we show that this problem is linear for various searches on split and unit interval graphs.

14. The maximum number of $P_\ell$ copies in $P_k$-free graphs

Ervin Győri ; Nika Salia ; Casey Tompkins ; Oscar Zamora.
Generalizing Turán's classical extremal problem, Alon and Shikhelman investigated the problem of maximizing the number of $T$ copies in an $H$-free graph, for a pair of graphs $T$ and $H$. Whereas Alon and Shikhelman were primarily interested in determining the order of magnitude for large classes of graphs $H$, we focus on the case when $T$ and $H$ are paths, where we find asymptotic and in some cases exact results. We also consider other structures like stars and the set of cycles of length at least $k$, where we derive asymptotically sharp estimates. Our results generalize well-known extremal theorems of Erdős and Gallai.

15. Clustered Spanning Tree - Conditions for Feasibility

Nili Guttmann-Beck ; Zeev Sorek ; Michal Stern.
Let H =< V, S > be a hypergraph, where V is a set of vertices and S is a set of not necessarily disjoint clusters Si ⊆ V. The Clustered Spanning Tree problem is to find a spanning tree of G which satisfies that each cluster induces a subtree, when it exists. We provide an efficient and unique algorithm which finds a feasible solution tree for H when it exists, or states that no feasible solution exists. The paper also uses special structures of the intersection graph of H to construct a feasible solution more efficiently. For cases when the hypergraph does not have a feasible solution tree, we consider adding vertices to exactly one cluster in order to gain feasibility. We characterize when such addition can gain feasibility, find the appropriate cluster and a possible set of vertices to be added.

16. Cayley graphs of basic algebraic structures

Didier Caucal.
We present simple graph-theoretic characterizations for the Cayley graphs of monoids, right-cancellative monoids, left-cancellative monoids, and groups.