On The b-Chromatic Number of Regular Graphs Without 4-Cycle

The b-chromatic number of a graph $G$, denoted by $\phi(G)$, is the largest integer $k$ that $G$ admits a proper $k$-coloring such that each color class has a vertex that is adjacent to at least one vertex in each of the other color classes. We prove that for each $d$-regular graph $G$ which contains no 4-cycle, $\phi(G)\geq\lfloor\frac{d+3}{2}\rfloor$ and if $G$ has a triangle, then $\phi(G)\geq\lfloor\frac{d+4}{2}\rfloor$. Also, if $G$ is a $d$-regular graph which contains no 4-cycle and $diam(G)\geq6$, then $\phi(G)=d+1$. Finally, we show that for any $d$-regular graph $G$ which does not contain 4-cycle and $\kappa(G)\leq\frac{d+1}{2}$, $\phi(G)=d+1$

The effect of girth on the kernelization complexity of Connected Dominating Set

In the Connected Dominating Set problem we are given as input a graph $G$ and a positive integer $k$, and are asked if there is a set $S$ of at most $k$ vertices of $G$ such that $S$ is a dominating set of $G$ and the subgraph induced by $S$ is connected. This is a basic connectivity problem that is known to be NP-complete, and it has been extensively studied using several algorithmic approaches. In this paper we study the effect of excluding short cycles, as a subgraph, on the kernelization complexity of Connected Dominating Set. Kernelization algorithms are polynomial-time algorithms that take an input and a positive integer $k$ (the parameter) and output an equivalent instance where the size of the new instance and the new parameter are both bounded by some function $g(k)$. The new instance is called a $g(k)$ kernel for the problem. If $g(k)$ is a polynomial in $k$ then we say that the problem admits polynomial kernels. The girth of a graph $G$ is the length of a shortest cycle in $G$. It turns out that Connected Dominating Set is ``hard\u27\u27 on graphs with small cycles, and becomes progressively easier as the girth increases. More specifically, we obtain the following interesting trichotomy: Connected Dominating Set (a) does not have a kernel of any size on graphs of girth $3$ or $4$ (since the problem is W[2]-hard); (b) admits a $g(k)$ kernel, where $g(k)$ is $k^{O(k)}$, on graphs of girth $5$ or $6$ but has no polynomial kernel (unless the Polynomial Hierarchy (PH) collapses to the third level) on these graphs; (c) has a cubic ($O(k^3)$) kernel on graphs of girth at least $7$. While there is a large and growing collection of parameterized complexity results available for problems on graph classes characterized by excluded minors, our results add to the very few known in the field for graph classes characterized by excluded subgraphs

On the complexity of computing the kk-restricted edge-connectivity of a graph

The \emph{$k$-restricted edge-connectivity} of a graph $G$, denoted by $\lambda_k(G)$, is defined as the minimum size of an edge set whose removal leaves exactly two connected components each containing at least $k$ vertices. This graph invariant, which can be seen as a generalization of a minimum edge-cut, has been extensively studied from a combinatorial point of view. However, very little is known about the complexity of computing $\lambda_k(G)$. Very recently, in the parameterized complexity community the notion of \emph{good edge separation} of a graph has been defined, which happens to be essentially the same as the $k$-restricted edge-connectivity. Motivated by the relevance of this invariant from both combinatorial and algorithmic points of view, in this article we initiate a systematic study of its computational complexity, with special emphasis on its parameterized complexity for several choices of the parameters. We provide a number of NP-hardness and W[1]-hardness results, as well as FPT-algorithms.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

On the Connectivity of Token Graphs of Trees

Let $k$ and $n$ be integers such that $1\leq k \leq n-1$, and let $G$ be a simple graph of order $n$. The $k$-token graph $F_k(G)$ of $G$ is the graph whose vertices are the $k$-subsets of $V(G)$, where two vertices are adjacent in $F_k(G)$ whenever their symmetric difference is an edge of $G$. In this paper we show that if $G$ is a tree, then the connectivity of $F_k(G)$ is equal to the minimum degree of $F_k(G)$