Definability equals recognizability for k-outerplanar graphs and l-chordal partial k-trees

One of the most famous algorithmic meta-theorems states that every graph property which can be defined in counting monadic second order logic (CMSOL) can be checked in linear time on graphs of bounded treewidth, which is known as Courcelle's Theorem (Courcelle, 1990). These algorithms are constructed as finite state tree automata and hence every CMSOL-definable graph property is recognizable. Courcelle also conjectured that the converse holds, i.e. every recognizable graph property is definable in CMSOL for graphs of bounded treewidth. In this paper we prove two special cases of this conjecture, first for the class of k-outerplanar graphs, which are known to have treewidth at most 3k−1 (Bodlaender, 1998) and for graphs of bounded treewidth without chordless cycles of length at least some constant ℓ. We furthermore show that for a proof of Courcelle's Conjecture it is sufficient to show that all members of a graph class admit constant width tree decompositions whose bags and edges can be identified with MSOL-predicates. For graph classes that admit MSOL-definable constant width tree decompositions that have bounded degree or allow for a linear ordering of all nodes with the same parent we even give a stronger result: In that case, the counting predicates of CMSOL are not needed

Definability equals recognizability for k-outerplanar graphs and l-chordal partial k-trees

One of the most famous algorithmic meta-theorems states that every graph property which can be defined in counting monadic second order logic (CMSOL) can be checked in linear time on graphs of bounded treewidth, which is known as Courcelle's Theorem (Courcelle, 1990). These algorithms are constructed as finite state tree automata and hence every CMSOL-definable graph property is recognizable. Courcelle also conjectured that the converse holds, i.e. every recognizable graph property is definable in CMSOL for graphs of bounded treewidth. In this paper we prove two special cases of this conjecture, first for the class of k-outerplanar graphs, which are known to have treewidth at most 3k−1 (Bodlaender, 1998) and for graphs of bounded treewidth without chordless cycles of length at least some constant ℓ. We furthermore show that for a proof of Courcelle's Conjecture it is sufficient to show that all members of a graph class admit constant width tree decompositions whose bags and edges can be identified with MSOL-predicates. For graph classes that admit MSOL-definable constant width tree decompositions that have bounded degree or allow for a linear ordering of all nodes with the same parent we even give a stronger result: In that case, the counting predicates of CMSOL are not needed

Logic and Automata

Mathematical logic and automata theory are two scientific disciplines with a fundamentally close relationship. The authors of Logic and Automata take the occasion of the sixtieth birthday of Wolfgang Thomas to present a tour d'horizon of automata theory and logic. The twenty papers in this volume cover many different facets of logic and automata theory, emphasizing the connections to other disciplines such as games, algorithms, and semigroup theory, as well as discussing current challenges in the field

LIPIcs, Volume 261, ICALP 2023, Complete Volume

LIPIcs, Volume 261, ICALP 2023, Complete Volum

LIPIcs, Volume 274, ESA 2023, Complete Volume

LIPIcs, Volume 274, ESA 2023, Complete Volum