Letter graphs and geometric grid classes of permutations: characterization and recognition

In this paper, we reveal an intriguing relationship between two seemingly unrelated notions: letter graphs and geometric grid classes of permutations. An important property common for both of them is well-quasi-orderability, implying, in a non-constructive way, a polynomial-time recognition of geometric grid classes of permutations and $k$-letter graphs for a fixed $k$. However, constructive algorithms are available only for $k=2$. In this paper, we present the first constructive polynomial-time algorithm for the recognition of $3$-letter graphs. It is based on a structural characterization of graphs in this class.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1108.6319 by other author

Optimal Grid Drawings of Complete Multipartite Graphs and an Integer Variant of the Algebraic Connectivity

How to draw the vertices of a complete multipartite graph $G$ on different points of a bounded $d$-dimensional integer grid, such that the sum of squared distances between vertices of $G$ is (i) minimized or (ii) maximized? For both problems we provide a characterization of the solutions. For the particular case $d=1$, our solution for (i) also settles the minimum-2-sum problem for complete bipartite graphs; the minimum-2-sum problem was defined by Juvan and Mohar in 1992. Weighted centroidal Voronoi tessellations are the solution for (ii). Such drawings are related with Laplacian eigenvalues of graphs. This motivates us to study which properties of the algebraic connectivity of graphs carry over to the restricted setting of drawings of graphs with integer coordinates.Comment: Appears in the Proceedings of the 26th International Symposium on Graph Drawing and Network Visualization (GD 2018

Walking Through Waypoints

We initiate the study of a fundamental combinatorial problem: Given a capacitated graph $G=(V,E)$, find a shortest walk ("route") from a source $s\in V$ to a destination $t\in V$ that includes all vertices specified by a set $\mathscr{W}\subseteq V$: the \emph{waypoints}. This waypoint routing problem finds immediate applications in the context of modern networked distributed systems. Our main contribution is an exact polynomial-time algorithm for graphs of bounded treewidth. We also show that if the number of waypoints is logarithmically bounded, exact polynomial-time algorithms exist even for general graphs. Our two algorithms provide an almost complete characterization of what can be solved exactly in polynomial-time: we show that more general problems (e.g., on grid graphs of maximum degree 3, with slightly more waypoints) are computationally intractable

Graph classes equivalent to 12-representable graphs

Jones et al. (2015) introduced the notion of $u$-representable graphs, where $u$ is a word over $\{1, 2\}$ different from $22\cdots2$, as a generalization of word-representable graphs. Kitaev (2016) showed that if $u$ is of length at least 3, then every graph is $u$-representable. This indicates that there are only two nontrivial classes in the theory of $u$-representable graphs: 11-representable graphs, which correspond to word-representable graphs, and 12-representable graphs. This study deals with 12-representable graphs. Jones et al. (2015) provided a characterization of 12-representable trees in terms of forbidden induced subgraphs. Chen and Kitaev (2022) presented a forbidden induced subgraph characterization of a subclass of 12-representable grid graphs. This paper shows that a bipartite graph is 12-representable if and only if it is an interval containment bigraph. The equivalence gives us a forbidden induced subgraph characterization of 12-representable bipartite graphs since the list of minimal forbidden induced subgraphs is known for interval containment bigraphs. We then have a forbidden induced subgraph characterization for grid graphs, which solves an open problem of Chen and Kitaev (2022). The study also shows that a graph is 12-representable if and only if it is the complement of a simple-triangle graph. This equivalence indicates that a necessary condition for 12-representability presented by Jones et al. (2015) is also sufficient. Finally, we show from these equivalences that 12-representability can be determined in $O(n^2)$ time for bipartite graphs and in $O(n(\bar{m}+n))$ time for arbitrary graphs, where $n$ and $\bar{m}$ are the number of vertices and edges of the complement of the given graph.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

On the 12-representability of induced subgraphs of a grid graph

The notion of a 12-representable graph was introduced by Jones, Kitaev, Pyatkin and Remmel in [Representing graphs via pattern avoiding words, Electron. J. Combin. 22 (2015) #P2.53]. This notion generalizes the notions of the much studied permutation graphs and co-interval graphs. It is known that any 12-representable graph is a comparability graph, and also that a tree is 12-representable if and only if it is a double caterpillar. Moreover, Jones et al. initiated the study of 12- representability of induced subgraphs of a grid graph, and asked whether it is possible to characterize such graphs. This question of Jones et al. is meant to be about induced subgraphs of a grid graph that consist of squares, which we call square grid graphs. However, an induced subgraph in a grid graph does not have to contain entire squares, and we call such graphs line grid graphs. In this paper we answer the question of Jones et al. by providing a complete characterization of 12-representable square grid graphs in terms of forbidden induced subgraphs. Moreover, we conjecture such a characterization for the line grid graphs and give a number of results towards solving this challenging conjecture. Our results are a major step in the direction of characterization of all 12-representable graphs since beyond our characterization, we also discuss relations between graph labelings and 12-representability, one of the key open questions in the area

Patrolling Grids with a Bit of Memory

We study the following problem in elementary robotics: can a mobile agent with $b$ bits of memory, which is able to sense only locations at Manhattan distance $V$ or less from itself, patrol a $d$-dimensional grid graph? We show that it is impossible to patrol some grid graphs with $0$ bits of memory, regardless of $V$, and give an exact characterization of those grid graphs that can be patrolled with $0$ bits of memory and visibility range $V$. On the other hand, we show that, surprisingly, an algorithm exists using $1$ bit of memory and $V=1$ that patrols any $d$-dimensional grid graph

Word-representability of face subdivisions of triangular grid graphs

A graph G = (V, E) is word-representable if there exists a word w over the alphabet V such that letters x and y alternate in w if and only if (x, y) ∈ E. A triangular grid graph is a subgraph of a tiling of the plane with equilateral triangles defined by a finite number of triangles, called cells. A face subdivision of a triangular grid graph is replacing some of its cells by plane copies of the complete graph K4. Inspired by a recent elegant result of Akrobotu et al., who classified wordrepresentable triangulations of grid graphs related to convex polyominoes, we characterize word-representable face subdivisions of triangular grid graphs. A key role in the characterization is played by smart orientations introduced by us in this paper. As a corollary to our main result, we obtain that any face subdivision of boundary triangles in the Sierpi´nski gasket graph is wordrepresentable

1-Safe Petri nets and special cube complexes: equivalence and applications

Nielsen, Plotkin, and Winskel (1981) proved that every 1-safe Petri net $N$ unfolds into an event structure $\mathcal{E}_N$. By a result of Thiagarajan (1996 and 2002), these unfoldings are exactly the trace regular event structures. Thiagarajan (1996 and 2002) conjectured that regular event structures correspond exactly to trace regular event structures. In a recent paper (Chalopin and Chepoi, 2017, 2018), we disproved this conjecture, based on the striking bijection between domains of event structures, median graphs, and CAT(0) cube complexes. On the other hand, in Chalopin and Chepoi (2018) we proved that Thiagarajan's conjecture is true for regular event structures whose domains are principal filters of universal covers of (virtually) finite special cube complexes. In the current paper, we prove the converse: to any finite 1-safe Petri net $N$ one can associate a finite special cube complex ${X}_N$ such that the domain of the event structure $\mathcal{E}_N$ (obtained as the unfolding of $N$) is a principal filter of the universal cover $\widetilde{X}_N$ of $X_N$. This establishes a bijection between 1-safe Petri nets and finite special cube complexes and provides a combinatorial characterization of trace regular event structures. Using this bijection and techniques from graph theory and geometry (MSO theory of graphs, bounded treewidth, and bounded hyperbolicity) we disprove yet another conjecture by Thiagarajan (from the paper with S. Yang from 2014) that the monadic second order logic of a 1-safe Petri net is decidable if and only if its unfolding is grid-free. Our counterexample is the trace regular event structure $\mathcal{\dot E}_Z$ which arises from a virtually special square complex $\dot Z$. The domain of $\mathcal{\dot E}_Z$ is grid-free (because it is hyperbolic), but the MSO theory of the event structure $\mathcal{\dot E}_Z$ is undecidable