Graph Isomorphism Parameterized by Elimination Distance to Bounded Degree

A commonly studied means of parameterizing graph problems is the deletion distance from triviality [11], which counts vertices that need to be deleted from a graph to place it in some class for which e cient algorithms are known. In the context of graph isomorphism, we de ne triviality to mean a graph with maximum degree bounded by a constant, as such graph classes admit polynomial-time isomorphism tests. We generalise deletion distance to a measure we call elimination distance to triviality, based on elimination trees or tree-depth decompositions. We establish that graph canonisation, and thus graph isomorphism, is FPT when parameterized by elimination distance to bounded degree, extending results of Bouland et al.The work was supported in part by EPSRC grant EP/H026835, DAAD grant A/13/05456, and DFG project Logik, Struktur und das Graphenisomorphieproblem.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00453-015-0045-

An FPT Algorithm for Elimination Distance to Bounded Degree Graphs

In the literature on parameterized graph problems, there has been an increased effort in recent years aimed at exploring novel notions of graph edit-distance that are more powerful than the size of a modulator to a specific graph class. In this line of research, Bulian and Dawar [Algorithmica, 2016] introduced the notion of elimination distance and showed that deciding whether a given graph has elimination distance at most k to any minor-closed class of graphs is fixed-parameter tractable parameterized by k [Algorithmica, 2017]. They showed that Graph Isomorphism parameterized by the elimination distance to bounded degree graphs is fixed-parameter tractable and asked whether determining the elimination distance to the class of bounded degree graphs is fixed-parameter tractable. Recently, Lindermayr et al. [MFCS 2020] obtained a fixed-parameter algorithm for this problem in the special case where the input is restricted to K?-minor free graphs. In this paper, we answer the question of Bulian and Dawar in the affirmative for general graphs. In fact, we give a more general result capturing elimination distance to any graph class characterized by a finite set of graphs as forbidden induced subgraphs

Elimination Distance to Bounded Degree on Planar Graphs

We study the graph parameter elimination distance to bounded degree, which was introduced by Bulian and Dawar in their study of the parameterized complexity of the graph isomorphism problem. We prove that the problem is fixed-parameter tractable on planar graphs, that is, there exists an algorithm that given a planar graph G and integers d and k decides in time f(k,d)? n^c for a computable function f and constant c whether the elimination distance of G to the class of degree d graphs is at most k

A fixed-parameter tractable algorithm for elimination distance to bounded degree graphs

In the literature on parameterized graph problems, there has been an increased effort in recent years aimed at exploring novel notions of graph edit-distance that are more powerful than the size of a modulator to a specific graph class. In this line of research, Bulian and Dawar [Algorithmica, 75 (2016), pp. 363--382] introduced the notion of elimination distance and showed that deciding whether a given graph has elimination distance at most $k$ to any minor-closed class of graphs is fixed-parameter tractable parameterized by $k$ [Algorithmica, 79 (2017), pp. 139--158]. They showed that graph isomorphism parameterized by the elimination distance to bounded degree graphs is fixed-parameter tractable and asked whether determining the elimination distance to the class of bounded degree graphs is fixed-parameter tractable. Recently, Lindermayr, Siebertz, and Vigny [MFCS 2020, LIPIcs Leibniz Int. Proc. Inform. 170, Wadern Germany, 2020, 65] obtained a fixed-parameter algorithm for this problem in the special case where the input is restricted to $K_5$-minor free graphs. In this paper, we answer the question of Bulian and Dawar in the affirmative for general graphs. In fact, we give a more general result capturing elimination distance to any graph class characterized by a finite set of graphs as forbidden induced subgraphs

Fixed-Parameter Tractable Distances to Sparse Graph Classes

We show that for various classes $\mathcal{C}$ of sparse graphs, and several measures of distance to such classes (such as edit distance and elimination distance), the problem of determining the distance of a given graph $\small{G}$ to $\mathcal{C}$ is fixed-parameter tractable. The results are based on two general techniques. The first of these, building on recent work of Grohe et al. establishes that any class of graphs that is slicewise nowhere dense and slicewise first-order definable is FPT. The second shows that determining the elimination distance of a graph $\small{G}$ to a minor-closed class $\mathcal{C}$ is FPT. We demonstrate that several prior results (of Golovach, Moser and Thilikos and Mathieson) on the fixed-parameter tractability of distance measures are special cases of our first method

On Sparsification for Computing Treewidth

We investigate whether an n-vertex instance (G,k) of Treewidth, asking whether the graph G has treewidth at most k, can efficiently be made sparse without changing its answer. By giving a special form of OR-cross-composition, we prove that this is unlikely: if there is an e > 0 and a polynomial-time algorithm that reduces n-vertex Treewidth instances to equivalent instances, of an arbitrary problem, with O(n^{2-e}) bits, then NP is in coNP/poly and the polynomial hierarchy collapses to its third level. Our sparsification lower bound has implications for structural parameterizations of Treewidth: parameterizations by measures that do not exceed the vertex count, cannot have kernels with O(k^{2-e}) bits for any e > 0, unless NP is in coNP/poly. Motivated by the question of determining the optimal kernel size for Treewidth parameterized by vertex cover, we improve the O(k^3)-vertex kernel from Bodlaender et al. (STACS 2011) to a kernel with O(k^2) vertices. Our improved kernel is based on a novel form of treewidth-invariant set. We use the q-expansion lemma of Fomin et al. (STACS 2011) to find such sets efficiently in graphs whose vertex count is superquadratic in their vertex cover number.Comment: 21 pages. Full version of the extended abstract presented at IPEC 201

First-Order Logic with Connectivity Operators

First-order logic (FO) can express many algorithmic problems on graphs, such as the independent set and dominating set problem, parameterized by solution size. On the other hand, FO cannot express the very simple algorithmic question of whether two vertices are connected. We enrich FO with connectivity predicates that are tailored to express algorithmic graph properties that are commonly studied in parameterized algorithmics. By adding the atomic predicates $conn_k (x, y, z_1 ,\ldots, z_k)$ that hold true in a graph if there exists a path between (the valuations of) $x$ and $y$ after (the valuations of) $z_1,\ldots,z_k$ have been deleted, we obtain separator logic $FO + conn$. We show that separator logic can express many interesting problems such as the feedback vertex set problem and elimination distance problems to first-order definable classes. We then study the limitations of separator logic and prove that it cannot express planarity, and, in particular, not the disjoint paths problem. We obtain the stronger disjoint-paths logic $FO + DP$ by adding the atomic predicates $disjoint-paths_k [(x_1, y_1 ),\ldots , (x_k , y_k )]$ that evaluate to true if there are internally vertex disjoint paths between (the valuations of) $x_i$ and $y_i$ for all $1 \le i \le k$. Disjoint-paths logic can express the disjoint paths problem, the problem of (topological) minor containment, the problem of hitting (topological) minors, and many more. Finally, we compare the expressive power of the new logics with that of transitive closure logics and monadic second-order logic.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figure

Deciding first-order properties of nowhere dense graphs

Nowhere dense graph classes, introduced by Nesetril and Ossona de Mendez, form a large variety of classes of "sparse graphs" including the class of planar graphs, actually all classes with excluded minors, and also bounded degree graphs and graph classes of bounded expansion. We show that deciding properties of graphs definable in first-order logic is fixed-parameter tractable on nowhere dense graph classes. At least for graph classes closed under taking subgraphs, this result is optimal: it was known before that for all classes C of graphs closed under taking subgraphs, if deciding first-order properties of graphs in C is fixed-parameter tractable, then C must be nowhere dense (under a reasonable complexity theoretic assumption). As a by-product, we give an algorithmic construction of sparse neighbourhood covers for nowhere dense graphs. This extends and improves previous constructions of neighbourhood covers for graph classes with excluded minors. At the same time, our construction is considerably simpler than those. Our proofs are based on a new game-theoretic characterisation of nowhere dense graphs that allows for a recursive version of locality-based algorithms on these classes. On the logical side, we prove a "rank-preserving" version of Gaifman's locality theorem.Comment: 30 page