1,373 research outputs found
On Minimum Maximal Distance-k Matchings
We study the computational complexity of several problems connected with
finding a maximal distance- matching of minimum cardinality or minimum
weight in a given graph. We introduce the class of -equimatchable graphs
which is an edge analogue of -equipackable graphs. We prove that the
recognition of -equimatchable graphs is co-NP-complete for any fixed . We provide a simple characterization for the class of strongly chordal
graphs with equal -packing and -domination numbers. We also prove that
for any fixed integer the problem of finding a minimum weight
maximal distance- matching and the problem of finding a minimum weight
-independent dominating set cannot be approximated in polynomial
time in chordal graphs within a factor of unless
, where is a fixed constant (thereby
improving the NP-hardness result of Chang for the independent domination case).
Finally, we show the NP-hardness of the minimum maximal induced matching and
independent dominating set problems in large-girth planar graphs.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure
On strongly chordal graphs that are not leaf powers
A common task in phylogenetics is to find an evolutionary tree representing
proximity relationships between species. This motivates the notion of leaf
powers: a graph G = (V, E) is a leaf power if there exist a tree T on leafset V
and a threshold k such that uv is an edge if and only if the distance between u
and v in T is at most k. Characterizing leaf powers is a challenging open
problem, along with determining the complexity of their recognition. This is in
part due to the fact that few graphs are known to not be leaf powers, as such
graphs are difficult to construct. Recently, Nevries and Rosenke asked if leaf
powers could be characterized by strong chordality and a finite set of
forbidden subgraphs.
In this paper, we provide a negative answer to this question, by exhibiting
an infinite family \G of (minimal) strongly chordal graphs that are not leaf
powers. During the process, we establish a connection between leaf powers,
alternating cycles and quartet compatibility. We also show that deciding if a
chordal graph is \G-free is NP-complete, which may provide insight on the
complexity of the leaf power recognition problem
The Price of Connectivity for Vertex Cover
The vertex cover number of a graph is the minimum number of vertices that are
needed to cover all edges. When those vertices are further required to induce a
connected subgraph, the corresponding number is called the connected vertex
cover number, and is always greater or equal to the vertex cover number.
Connected vertex covers are found in many applications, and the relationship
between those two graph invariants is therefore a natural question to
investigate. For that purpose, we introduce the {\em Price of Connectivity},
defined as the ratio between the two vertex cover numbers. We prove that the
price of connectivity is at most 2 for arbitrary graphs. We further consider
graph classes in which the price of connectivity of every induced subgraph is
bounded by some real number . We obtain forbidden induced subgraph
characterizations for every real value .
We also investigate critical graphs for this property, namely, graphs whose
price of connectivity is strictly greater than that of any proper induced
subgraph. Those are the only graphs that can appear in a forbidden subgraph
characterization for the hereditary property of having a price of connectivity
at most . In particular, we completely characterize the critical graphs that
are also chordal.
Finally, we also consider the question of computing the price of connectivity
of a given graph. Unsurprisingly, the decision version of this question is
NP-hard. In fact, we show that it is even complete for the class , the class of decision problems that can be solved in polynomial
time, provided we can make queries to an NP-oracle. This paves the
way for a thorough investigation of the complexity of problems involving ratios
of graph invariants.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figure
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