45 research outputs found
A parametric approach to hereditary classes
The “minimal class approach" consists of studying downwards-closed properties of hereditary graph classes (such as boundedness of a certain parameter within the class) by identifying the minimal obstructions to those properties. In this thesis, we look at various hereditary classes through this lens. In practice, this often amounts to analysing the structure of those classes by characterising boundedness of certain graph parameters within them. However, there is more to it than this: while adopting the minimal class viewpoint, we encounter a variety of interesting notions and problems { some more loosely related to the approach than others. The thesis compiles the author's work in the ensuing research directions
Topics in Graph Theory: Extremal Intersecting Systems, Perfect Graphs, and Bireflexive Graphs
In this thesis we investigate three different aspects of graph theory.
Firstly, we consider interesecting systems of independent sets in graphs, and the extension of the classical theorem of Erdos, Ko and Rado to graphs.
Our main results are a proof of an Erdos-Ko-Rado type theorem for a class of trees, and a class of trees which form counterexamples to a conjecture of Hurlberg and Kamat, in such a way that extends the previous counterexamples given by Baber.
Secondly, we investigate perfect graphs - specifically, edge modification aspects of perfect graphs and their subclasses. We give some alternative characterisations of perfect graphs in terms of edge modification, as well as considering the possible connection of the critically perfect graphs - previously studied by Wagler - to the Strong Perfect Graph Theorem. We prove that the situation where critically perfect graphs arise has no analogue in seven different subclasses of perfect graphs (e.g. chordal, comparability graphs), and consider the connectivity of a bipartite reconfiguration-type graph associated to each of these subclasses.
Thirdly, we consider a graph theoretic structure called a bireflexive graph where every vertex is both adjacent and nonadjacent to itself, and use this to characterise modular decompositions as the surjective homomorphisms of these structures. We examine some analogues of some graph theoretic notions and define a “dual” version of the reconstruction conjecture
Graph Colouring with Input Restrictions
In this thesis, we research the computational complexity of the graph colouring problem and its variants including precolouring extension and list colouring for graph classes that can be characterised by forbidding one or more induced subgraphs. We investigate the structural properties of such graph classes and prove a number of new properties. We then consider to what extent these properties can be used for efficiently solving the three types of colouring problems on these graph classes. In some cases we obtain polynomial-time algorithms, whereas other cases turn out to be NP-complete.
We determine the computational complexity of k-COLOURING, k-PRECOLOURING EXTENSION and LIST k-COLOURING on -free graphs. In particular, we prove that k-COLOURING on -free graphs is NP-complete, 4-PRECOLOURING EXTENSION -free graphs is NP-complete, and LIST 4-COLOURING on -free graphs is NP-complete. In addition, we show the existence of an integer r such that k-COLOURING is NP-complete for -free graphs with girth 4. In contrast, we determine for any fixed girth a lower bound such that every -free graph with girth at least is 3-colourable. We also prove that 3-LIST COLOURING is NP-complete for complete graphs minus a matching. We present a polynomial-time algorithm for solving 4-PRECOLOURING EXTENSION on -free graphs, a polynomial-time algorithm for solving LIST 3-Colouring on -free graphs, and a polynomial-time algorithm for solving LIST 3-COLOURING on -free graphs. We prove that LIST k-COLOURING for -free graphs is also polynomial-time solvable. We obtain several new dichotomies by combining the above results with some known results
Proceedings of the 8th Cologne-Twente Workshop on Graphs and Combinatorial Optimization
International audienceThe Cologne-Twente Workshop (CTW) on Graphs and Combinatorial Optimization started off as a series of workshops organized bi-annually by either Köln University or Twente University. As its importance grew over time, it re-centered its geographical focus by including northern Italy (CTW04 in Menaggio, on the lake Como and CTW08 in Gargnano, on the Garda lake). This year, CTW (in its eighth edition) will be staged in France for the first time: more precisely in the heart of Paris, at the Conservatoire National d’Arts et Métiers (CNAM), between 2nd and 4th June 2009, by a mixed organizing committee with members from LIX, Ecole Polytechnique and CEDRIC, CNAM
Complexity of Grundy coloring and its variants
The Grundy number of a graph is the maximum number of colors used by the
greedy coloring algorithm over all vertex orderings. In this paper, we study
the computational complexity of GRUNDY COLORING, the problem of determining
whether a given graph has Grundy number at least . We also study the
variants WEAK GRUNDY COLORING (where the coloring is not necessarily proper)
and CONNECTED GRUNDY COLORING (where at each step of the greedy coloring
algorithm, the subgraph induced by the colored vertices must be connected).
We show that GRUNDY COLORING can be solved in time and WEAK
GRUNDY COLORING in time on graphs of order . While GRUNDY
COLORING and WEAK GRUNDY COLORING are known to be solvable in time
for graphs of treewidth (where is the number of
colors), we prove that under the Exponential Time Hypothesis (ETH), they cannot
be solved in time . We also describe an
algorithm for WEAK GRUNDY COLORING, which is therefore
\fpt for the parameter . Moreover, under the ETH, we prove that such a
running time is essentially optimal (this lower bound also holds for GRUNDY
COLORING). Although we do not know whether GRUNDY COLORING is in \fpt, we
show that this is the case for graphs belonging to a number of standard graph
classes including chordal graphs, claw-free graphs, and graphs excluding a
fixed minor. We also describe a quasi-polynomial time algorithm for GRUNDY
COLORING and WEAK GRUNDY COLORING on apex-minor graphs. In stark contrast with
the two other problems, we show that CONNECTED GRUNDY COLORING is
\np-complete already for colors.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures. This version contains some new results and
improvements. A short paper based on version v2 appeared in COCOON'1
Graph classes and forbidden patterns on three vertices
This paper deals with graph classes characterization and recognition. A
popular way to characterize a graph class is to list a minimal set of forbidden
induced subgraphs. Unfortunately this strategy usually does not lead to an
efficient recognition algorithm. On the other hand, many graph classes can be
efficiently recognized by techniques based on some interesting orderings of the
nodes, such as the ones given by traversals.
We study specifically graph classes that have an ordering avoiding some
ordered structures. More precisely, we consider what we call patterns on three
nodes, and the recognition complexity of the associated classes. In this
domain, there are two key previous works. Damashke started the study of the
classes defined by forbidden patterns, a set that contains interval, chordal
and bipartite graphs among others. On the algorithmic side, Hell, Mohar and
Rafiey proved that any class defined by a set of forbidden patterns can be
recognized in polynomial time. We improve on these two works, by characterizing
systematically all the classes defined sets of forbidden patterns (on three
nodes), and proving that among the 23 different classes (up to complementation)
that we find, 21 can actually be recognized in linear time.
Beyond this result, we consider that this type of characterization is very
useful, leads to a rich structure of classes, and generates a lot of open
questions worth investigating.Comment: Third version version. 38 page