Hitting all maximum cliques with a stable set using lopsided independent transversals

Rabern recently proved that any graph with omega >= (3/4)(Delta+1) contains a stable set meeting all maximum cliques. We strengthen this result, proving that such a stable set exists for any graph with omega > (2/3)(Delta+1). This is tight, i.e. the inequality in the statement must be strict. The proof relies on finding an independent transversal in a graph partitioned into vertex sets of unequal size.Comment: 7 pages. v4: Correction to statement of Lemma 8 and clarified proof

A note on coloring vertex-transitive graphs

We prove bounds on the chromatic number $\chi$ of a vertex-transitive graph in terms of its clique number $\omega$ and maximum degree $\Delta$. We conjecture that every vertex-transitive graph satisfies $\chi \le \max \left\{\omega, \left\lceil\frac{5\Delta + 3}{6}\right\rceil\right\}$ and we prove results supporting this conjecture. Finally, for vertex-transitive graphs with $\Delta \ge 13$ we prove the Borodin-Kostochka conjecture, i.e., $\chi\le\max\{\omega,\Delta-1\}$

Exploiting c\mathbf{c}-Closure in Kernelization Algorithms for Graph Problems

A graph is c-closed if every pair of vertices with at least c common neighbors is adjacent. The c-closure of a graph G is the smallest number such that G is c-closed. Fox et al. [ICALP '18] defined c-closure and investigated it in the context of clique enumeration. We show that c-closure can be applied in kernelization algorithms for several classic graph problems. We show that Dominating Set admits a kernel of size k^O(c), that Induced Matching admits a kernel with O(c^7*k^8) vertices, and that Irredundant Set admits a kernel with O(c^(5/2)*k^3) vertices. Our kernelization exploits the fact that c-closed graphs have polynomially-bounded Ramsey numbers, as we show

A different short proof of Brooks' theorem

Lov\'asz gave a short proof of Brooks' theorem by coloring greedily in a good order. We give a different short proof by reducing to the cubic case. Then we show how to extend the result to (online) list coloring via the Kernel Lemma.Comment: added cute Kernel Lemma trick to lift up to (online) list colorin

The Graph Motif problem parameterized by the structure of the input graph

The Graph Motif problem was introduced in 2006 in the context of biological networks. It consists of deciding whether or not a multiset of colors occurs in a connected subgraph of a vertex-colored graph. Graph Motif has been mostly analyzed from the standpoint of parameterized complexity. The main parameters which came into consideration were the size of the multiset and the number of colors. Though, in the many applications of Graph Motif, the input graph originates from real-life and has structure. Motivated by this prosaic observation, we systematically study its complexity relatively to graph structural parameters. For a wide range of parameters, we give new or improved FPT algorithms, or show that the problem remains intractable. For the FPT cases, we also give some kernelization lower bounds as well as some ETH-based lower bounds on the worst case running time. Interestingly, we establish that Graph Motif is W[1]-hard (while in W[P]) for parameter max leaf number, which is, to the best of our knowledge, the first problem to behave this way.Comment: 24 pages, accepted in DAM, conference version in IPEC 201

Bidimensionality and Geometric Graphs

In this paper we use several of the key ideas from Bidimensionality to give a new generic approach to design EPTASs and subexponential time parameterized algorithms for problems on classes of graphs which are not minor closed, but instead exhibit a geometric structure. In particular we present EPTASs and subexponential time parameterized algorithms for Feedback Vertex Set, Vertex Cover, Connected Vertex Cover, Diamond Hitting Set, on map graphs and unit disk graphs, and for Cycle Packing and Minimum-Vertex Feedback Edge Set on unit disk graphs. Our results are based on the recent decomposition theorems proved by Fomin et al [SODA 2011], and our algorithms work directly on the input graph. Thus it is not necessary to compute the geometric representations of the input graph. To the best of our knowledge, these results are previously unknown, with the exception of the EPTAS and a subexponential time parameterized algorithm on unit disk graphs for Vertex Cover, which were obtained by Marx [ESA 2005] and Alber and Fiala [J. Algorithms 2004], respectively. We proceed to show that our approach can not be extended in its full generality to more general classes of geometric graphs, such as intersection graphs of unit balls in R^d, d >= 3. Specifically we prove that Feedback Vertex Set on unit-ball graphs in R^3 neither admits PTASs unless P=NP, nor subexponential time algorithms unless the Exponential Time Hypothesis fails. Additionally, we show that the decomposition theorems which our approach is based on fail for disk graphs and that therefore any extension of our results to disk graphs would require new algorithmic ideas. On the other hand, we prove that our EPTASs and subexponential time algorithms for Vertex Cover and Connected Vertex Cover carry over both to disk graphs and to unit-ball graphs in R^d for every fixed d