On the stable degree of graphs

We define the stable degree s(G) of a graph G by s(G)∈=∈ min max d (v), where the minimum is taken over all maximal independent sets U of G. For this new parameter we prove the following. Deciding whether a graph has stable degree at most k is NP-complete for every fixed k∈≥∈3; and the stable degree is hard to approximate. For asteroidal triple-free graphs and graphs of bounded asteroidal number the stable degree can be computed in polynomial time. For graphs in these classes the treewidth is bounded from below and above in terms of the stable degree

Minimum Degree up to Local Complementation: Bounds, Parameterized Complexity, and Exact Algorithms

The local minimum degree of a graph is the minimum degree that can be reached by means of local complementation. For any n, there exist graphs of order n which have a local minimum degree at least 0.189n, or at least 0.110n when restricted to bipartite graphs. Regarding the upper bound, we show that for any graph of order n, its local minimum degree is at most 3n/8+o(n) and n/4+o(n) for bipartite graphs, improving the known n/2 upper bound. We also prove that the local minimum degree is smaller than half of the vertex cover number (up to a logarithmic term). The local minimum degree problem is NP-Complete and hard to approximate. We show that this problem, even when restricted to bipartite graphs, is in W[2] and FPT-equivalent to the EvenSet problem, which W[1]-hardness is a long standing open question. Finally, we show that the local minimum degree is computed by a O*(1.938^n)-algorithm, and a O*(1.466^n)-algorithm for the bipartite graphs

On bipartite graphs of defect at most 4

We consider the bipartite version of the degree/diameter problem, namely, given natural numbers {\Delta} \geq 2 and D \geq 2, find the maximum number Nb({\Delta},D) of vertices in a bipartite graph of maximum degree {\Delta} and diameter D. In this context, the Moore bipartite bound Mb({\Delta},D) represents an upper bound for Nb({\Delta},D). Bipartite graphs of maximum degree {\Delta}, diameter D and order Mb({\Delta},D), called Moore bipartite graphs, have turned out to be very rare. Therefore, it is very interesting to investigate bipartite graphs of maximum degree {\Delta} \geq 2, diameter D \geq 2 and order Mb({\Delta},D) - \epsilon with small \epsilon > 0, that is, bipartite ({\Delta},D,-\epsilon)-graphs. The parameter \epsilon is called the defect. This paper considers bipartite graphs of defect at most 4, and presents all the known such graphs. Bipartite graphs of defect 2 have been studied in the past; if {\Delta} \geq 3 and D \geq 3, they may only exist for D = 3. However, when \epsilon > 2 bipartite ({\Delta},D,-\epsilon)-graphs represent a wide unexplored area. The main results of the paper include several necessary conditions for the existence of bipartite $(\Delta,d,-4)$-graphs; the complete catalogue of bipartite (3,D,-\epsilon)-graphs with D \geq 2 and 0 \leq \epsilon \leq 4; the complete catalogue of bipartite ({\Delta},D,-\epsilon)-graphs with {\Delta} \geq 2, 5 \leq D \leq 187 (D /= 6) and 0 \leq \epsilon \leq 4; and a non-existence proof of all bipartite ({\Delta},D,-4)-graphs with {\Delta} \geq 3 and odd D \geq 7. Finally, we conjecture that there are no bipartite graphs of defect 4 for {\Delta} \geq 3 and D \geq 5, and comment on some implications of our results for upper bounds of Nb({\Delta},D).Comment: 25 pages, 14 Postscript figure