Packing 3-vertex paths in claw-free graphs and related topics

An L-factor of a graph G is a spanning subgraph of G whose every component is a 3-vertex path. Let v(G) be the number of vertices of G and d(G) the domination number of G. A claw is a graph with four vertices and three edges incident to the same vertex. A graph is claw-free if it has no induced subgraph isomorphic to a claw. Our results include the following. Let G be a 3-connected claw-free graph, x a vertex in G, e = xy an edge in G, and P a 3-vertex path in G. Then (a1) if v(G) = 0 mod 3, then G has an L-factor containing (avoiding) e, (a2) if v(G) = 1 mod 3, then G - x has an L-factor, (a3) if v(G) = 2 mod 3, then G - {x,y} has an L-factor, (a4) if v(G) = 0 mod 3 and G is either cubic or 4-connected, then G - P has an L-factor, (a5) if G is cubic with v(G) > 5 and E is a set of three edges in G, then G - E has an L-factor if and only if the subgraph induced by E in G is not a claw and not a triangle, (a6) if v(G) = 1 mod 3, then G - {v,e} has an L-factor for every vertex v and every edge e in G, (a7) if v(G) = 1 mod 3, then there exist a 4-vertex path N and a claw Y in G such that G - N and G - Y have L-factors, and (a8) d(G) < v(G)/3 +1 and if in addition G is not a cycle and v(G) = 1 mod 3, then d(G) < v(G)/3. We explore the relations between packing problems of a graph and its line graph to obtain some results on different types of packings. We also discuss relations between L-packing and domination problems as well as between induced L-packings and the Hadwiger conjecture. Keywords: claw-free graph, cubic graph, vertex disjoint packing, edge disjoint packing, 3-vertex factor, 3-vertex packing, path-factor, induced packing, graph domination, graph minor, the Hadwiger conjecture.Comment: 29 page

Packing 3-vertex paths in cubic 3-connected graphs

Let v(G) and p(G) be the number of vertices and the maximum number of disjoint 3-vertex paths in G, respectively. We discuss the following old Problem: Is the following claim (P) true ? (P) if G is a 3-connected and cubic graph, then p(G) = [v(G)/3], where [v(G)/3] is the floor of v(G)/3. We show, in particular, that claim (P) is equivalent to some seemingly stronger claims. It follows that if claim (P) is true, then Reed's dominating graph conjecture (see [14]) is true for cubic 3-connected graphs.Comment: 24 pages and 11 figure

S-Packing Colorings of Cubic Graphs

Given a non-decreasing sequence $S=(s\_1,s\_2, \ldots, s\_k)$ of positive integers, an {\em $S$-packing coloring} of a graph $G$ is a mapping $c$ from $V(G)$ to $\{s\_1,s\_2, \ldots, s\_k\}$ such that any two vertices with color $s\_i$ are at mutual distance greater than $s\_i$, $1\le i\le k$. This paper studies $S$-packing colorings of (sub)cubic graphs. We prove that subcubic graphs are $(1,2,2,2,2,2,2)$-packing colorable and $(1,1,2,2,3)$-packing colorable. For subdivisions of subcubic graphs we derive sharper bounds, and we provide an example of a cubic graph of order $38$ which is not $(1,2,\ldots,12)$-packing colorable

Some NP-complete edge packing and partitioning problems in planar graphs

Graph packing and partitioning problems have been studied in many contexts, including from the algorithmic complexity perspective. Consider the packing problem of determining whether a graph contains a spanning tree and a cycle that do not share edges. Bern\'ath and Kir\'aly proved that this decision problem is NP-complete and asked if the same result holds when restricting to planar graphs. Similarly, they showed that the packing problem with a spanning tree and a path between two distinguished vertices is NP-complete. They also established the NP-completeness of the partitioning problem of determining whether the edge set of a graph can be partitioned into a spanning tree and a (not-necessarily spanning) tree. We prove that all three problems remain NP-complete even when restricted to planar graphs.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure

Domination number of graphs with minimum degree five

We prove that for every graph $G$ on $n$ vertices and with minimum degree five, the domination number $\gamma(G)$ cannot exceed $n/3$. The proof combines an algorithmic approach and the discharging method. Using the same technique, we provide a shorter proof for the known upper bound $4n/11$ on the domination number of graphs of minimum degree four.Comment: 17 page