The Clique Problem in Intersection Graphs of Ellipses and Triangles

Intersection graphs of disks and of line segments, respectively, have been well studied, because of both practical applications and theoretically interesting properties of these graphs. Despite partial results, the complexity status of the Clique problem for these two graph classes is still open. Here, we consider the Clique problem for intersection graphs of ellipses, which, in a sense, interpolate between disks and line segments, and show that the problem is APX-hard in that case. Moreover, this holds even if for all ellipses, the ratio of the larger over the smaller radius is some prescribed number. Furthermore, the reduction immediately carries over to intersection graphs of triangles. To our knowledge, this is the first hardness result for the Clique problem in intersection graphs of convex objects with finite description complexity. We also describe a simple approximation algorithm for the case of ellipses for which the ratio of radii is bounde

The Clique Problem in Ray Intersection Graphs

Ray intersection graphs are intersection graphs of rays, or halflines, in the plane. We show that any planar graph has an even subdivision whose complement is a ray intersection graph. The construction can be done in polynomial time and implies that finding a maximum clique in a segment intersection graph is NP-hard. This solves a 21-year old open problem posed by Kratochv\'il and Ne\v{s}et\v{r}il.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

On max-clique for intersection graphs of sets and the hadwiger-debrunner numbers

Let HDd(p, q) denote the minimal size of a transversal that can always be guaranteed for a family of compact convex sets in Rd which satisfy the (p, q)-property (p ≥ q ≥ d + 1). In a celebrated proof of the Hadwiger-Debrunner conjecture, Alon and Kleitman proved that HDd(p, q) exists for all p ≥ q ≥ d + 1. Specifically, they prove that HDd(p, d + 1) is O(pd2+d). This paper has two parts. In the first part we present several improved bounds on HDd(p, q). In particular, we obtain the first near tight estimate of HDd(p, q) for an extended range of values of (p, q) since the 1957 Hadwiger-Debrunner theorem. In the second part we prove a (p, 2)-theorem for families in R2 with union complexity below a specific quadratic bound. Based on this, we introduce a polynomial time constant factor approximation algorithm for MAX-CLIQUE of intersection graphs of convex sets satisfying this property. It is not likely that our constant factor approximation can be improved to a PTAS as MAX-CLIQUE for intersection graphs of fat ellipses is known to be APX-HARD and fat ellipses have sub-quadratic union complexity. Copyright © by SIAM

EPTAS and Subexponential Algorithm for Maximum Clique on Disk and Unit Ball Graphs

A (unit) disk graph is the intersection graph of closed (unit) disks in the plane. Almost three decades ago, an elegant polynomial-time algorithm was found for Maximum Cliqe on unit disk graphs [Clark, Colbourn, Johnson; Discrete Mathematics ’90]. Since then, it has been an intriguing open question whether or not tractability can be extended to general disk graphs. We show that the disjoint union of two odd cycles is never the complement of a disk graph nor of a unit (3-dimensional) ball graph. From that fact and existing results, we derive a simple QPTAS and a subexponential algorithm running in time 2O˜(n2/3) for Maximum Cliqe on disk and unit ball graphs. We then obtain a randomized EPTAS for computing the independence number on graphs having no disjoint union of two odd cycles as an induced subgraph, bounded VC-dimension, and linear independence number. This, in combination with our structural results, yields a randomized EPTAS for Max Cliqe on disk and unit ball graphs. Max Cliqe on unit ball graphs is equivalent to finding, given a collection of points in R3, a maximum subset of points with diameter at most some fixed value. In stark contrast, Maximum Cliqe on ball graphs and unit 4-dimensional ball graphs, as well as intersection graphs of filled ellipses (even close to unit disks) or filled triangles is unlikely to have such algorithms. Indeed, we show that, for all those problems, there is a constant ratio of approximation which cannot be attained even in time 2n1−ε, unless the Exponential Time Hypothesis fails

The clique problem in intersection graphs of ellipses and triangles

ISSN:1432-4350ISSN:1433-049