Problems on Matchings and Independent Sets of a Graph

Let $G$ be a finite simple graph. For $X \subset V(G)$, the difference of $X$, $d(X) := |X| - |N (X)|$ where $N(X)$ is the neighborhood of $X$ and $\max \, \{d(X):X\subset V(G)\}$ is called the critical difference of $G$. $X$ is called a critical set if $d(X)$ equals the critical difference and ker$(G)$ is the intersection of all critical sets. It is known that ker$(G)$ is an independent (vertex) set of $G$. diadem$(G)$ is the union of all critical independent sets. An independent set $S$ is an inclusion minimal set with $d(S) > 0$ if no proper subset of $S$ has positive difference. A graph $G$ is called K\"onig-Egerv\'ary if the sum of its independence number ($\alpha (G)$) and matching number ($\mu (G)$) equals $|V(G)|$. It is known that bipartite graphs are K\"onig-Egerv\'ary. In this paper, we study independent sets with positive difference for which every proper subset has a smaller difference and prove a result conjectured by Levit and Mandrescu in 2013. The conjecture states that for any graph, the number of inclusion minimal sets $S$ with $d(S) > 0$ is at least the critical difference of the graph. We also give a short proof of the inequality $|$ker$(G)| + |$diadem$(G)| \le 2\alpha (G)$ (proved by Short in 2016). A characterization of unicyclic non-K\"onig-Egerv\'ary graphs is also presented and a conjecture which states that for such a graph $G$, the critical difference equals $\alpha (G) - \mu (G)$, is proved. We also make an observation about ker$G)$ using Edmonds-Gallai Structure Theorem as a concluding remark.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figure

On the Core of a Unicyclic Graph

A set S is independent in a graph G if no two vertices from S are adjacent. By core(G) we mean the intersection of all maximum independent sets. The independence number alpha(G) is the cardinality of a maximum independent set, while mu(G) is the size of a maximum matching in G. A connected graph having only one cycle, say C, is a unicyclic graph. In this paper we prove that if G is a unicyclic graph of order n and n-1 = alpha(G) + mu(G), then core(G) coincides with the union of cores of all trees in G-C.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Computing Unique Maximum Matchings in O(m) time for Konig-Egervary Graphs and Unicyclic Graphs

Let alpha(G) denote the maximum size of an independent set of vertices and mu(G) be the cardinality of a maximum matching in a graph G. A matching saturating all the vertices is perfect. If alpha(G) + mu(G) equals the number of vertices of G, then it is called a Konig-Egervary graph. A graph is unicyclic if it has a unique cycle. In 2010, Bartha conjectured that a unique perfect matching, if it exists, can be found in O(m) time, where m is the number of edges. In this paper we validate this conjecture for Konig-Egervary graphs and unicylic graphs. We propose a variation of Karp-Sipser leaf-removal algorithm (Karp and Spiser, 1981), which ends with an empty graph if and only if the original graph is a Konig-Egervary graph with a unique perfect matching obtained as an output as well. We also show that a unicyclic non-bipartite graph G may have at most one perfect matching, and this is the case where G is a Konig-Egervary graph.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Out-Tournament Adjacency Matrices with Equal Ranks

Much work has been done in analyzing various classes of tournaments, giving a partial characterization of tournaments with adjacency matrices having equal and full real, nonnegative integer, Boolean, and term ranks. Relatively little is known about the corresponding adjacency matrix ranks of local out-tournaments, a larger family of digraphs containing the class of tournaments. Based on each of several structural theorems from Bang-Jensen, Huang, and Prisner, we will identify several classes of out-tournaments which have the desired adjacency matrix rank properties. First we will consider matrix ranks of out-tournament matrices from the perspective of the structural composition of the strong component layout of the adjacency matrix. Following that, we will consider adjacency matrix ranks of an out-tournament based on the cycles that the out-tournament contains. Most of the remaining chapters consider the adjacency matrix ranks of several classes of out-tournaments based on the form of their underlying graphs. In the case of the strong out-tournaments discussed in the final chapter, we examine the underlying graph of a representation that has the strong out-tournament as its catch digraph

Minimum Vector Rank and Complement Critical Graphs

Given a graph G, a real orthogonal representation of G is a function from its set of vertices to R^d such that two vertices are mapped to orthogonal vectors if and only if they are not neighbors. The minimum vector rank of a graph is the smallest dimension d for which such a representation exists. This quantity is closely related to the minimum semidefinite rank of G, which has been widely studied. Considering the minimum vector rank as an analogue of the chromatic number, this work defines critical graphs as those for which the removal of any vertex decreases the minimum vector rank; and complement critical graphs as those for which the removal of any vertex decreases the minimum vector rank of either the graph or its complement. It establishes necessary and sufficient conditions for certain classes of graphs to be complement critical, in the process calculating their minimum vector rank. In addition, this work demonstrates that complement critical graphs form a sufficient set to prove the Graph Complement Conjecture, which remains open.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figure