Minimum k-path vertex cover

International audienceA subset S of vertices of a graph G is called a k-path vertex cover if every path of order k in G contains at least one vertex from S. Denote by P_k(G) the minimum cardinality of a k-path vertex cover in G. It is shown that the problem of determining P_k(G) is NP-hard for each k ≥ 2, while for trees the problem can be solved in linear time. We investigate upper bounds on the value of P_k(G) and provide several estimations and exact values of P_k(G). We also prove that P_3(G) ≤ (2n + m)/6, for every graph G with n vertices and m edges

On the path sequence of a graph

A subset S of vertices of a graph G = (V;E) is called a k-path vertex cover if every path on k vertices in G contains at least one vertex from S. Denote by k(G) the minimum cardinality of a k-path vertex cover in G and form a sequence (G) = ( 1(G); 2(G); : : : ; jV j(G)), called the path sequence of G. In this paper we prove necessary and sufficient conditions for two integers to appear on fixed positions in (G). A complete list of all possible path sequences (with multiplicities) for small connected graphs is also given

The k-fixed-endpoint path partition problem

The Hamiltonian path problem is to determine whether a graph has a Hamiltonian path. This problem is NP-complete in general. The path partition problem is to determine the minimum number of vertex-disjoint paths required to cover a graph. Since this problem is a generalization of the Hamiltonian path problem, it is also NP-complete in general. The k-fixed-endpoint path partition problem is to determine the minimum number of vertex-disjoint paths required to cover a graphG such that each vertex in a set T of k vertices is an endpoint of a path. Since this problem is a generalization of the Hamiltonian path problem and path partition problem, it is also NP-complete in general. For certain classes of graphs, there exist efficient algorithms for the k-fixed-endpoint path partition problem. We consider this problem restricted to trees, threshold graphs, block graphs, and unit interval graphs and show min-max theorems which characterize the k-fixed-endpoint pathpartition number

On the Path Sequence of a Graph

A subset S of vertices of a graph G = (V,E) is called a k-path vertex cover if every path on k vertices in G contains at least one vertex from S. Denote by Ψk (G) the minimum cardinality of a k-path vertex cover in G and form a sequence Ψ (G) = (Ψ1 (G), Ψ2 (G), . . . , Ψ|V| (G)), called the path sequence of G. In this paper we prove necessary and sufficient conditions for two integers to appear on fixed positions in Ψ(G). A complete list of all possible path sequences (with multiplicities) for small connected graphs is also given

Isometric path complexity of graphs

A set $S$ of isometric paths of a graph $G$ is "$v$-rooted", where $v$ is a vertex of $G$, if $v$ is one of the end-vertices of all the isometric paths in $S$. The isometric path complexity of a graph $G$, denoted by $ipco(G)$, is the minimum integer $k$ such that there exists a vertex $v\in V(G)$ satisfying the following property: the vertices of any isometric path $P$ of $G$ can be covered by $k$ many $v$-rooted isometric paths. First, we provide an $O(n^2 m)$-time algorithm to compute the isometric path complexity of a graph with $n$ vertices and $m$ edges. Then we show that the isometric path complexity remains bounded for graphs in three seemingly unrelated graph classes, namely, hyperbolic graphs, (theta, prism, pyramid)-free graphs, and outerstring graphs. Hyperbolic graphs are extensively studied in Metric Graph Theory. The class of (theta, prism, pyramid)-free graphs are extensively studied in Structural Graph Theory, e.g. in the context of the Strong Perfect Graph Theorem. The class of outerstring graphs is studied in Geometric Graph Theory and Computational Geometry. Our results also show that the distance functions of these (structurally) different graph classes are more similar than previously thought. There is a direct algorithmic consequence of having small isometric path complexity. Specifically, we show that if the isometric path complexity of a graph $G$ is bounded by a constant, then there exists a polynomial-time constant-factor approximation algorithm for ISOMETRIC PATH COVER, whose objective is to cover all vertices of a graph with a minimum number of isometric paths. This applies to all the above graph classes.Comment: A preliminary version appeared in the proceedings of the MFCS 2023 conferenc