On the (non-)existence of polynomial kernels for Pl-free edge modification problems

Given a graph G = (V,E) and an integer k, an edge modification problem for a graph property P consists in deciding whether there exists a set of edges F of size at most k such that the graph H = (V,E \vartriangle F) satisfies the property P. In the P edge-completion problem, the set F of edges is constrained to be disjoint from E; in the P edge-deletion problem, F is a subset of E; no constraint is imposed on F in the P edge-edition problem. A number of optimization problems can be expressed in terms of graph modification problems which have been extensively studied in the context of parameterized complexity. When parameterized by the size k of the edge set F, it has been proved that if P is an hereditary property characterized by a finite set of forbidden induced subgraphs, then the three P edge-modification problems are FPT. It was then natural to ask whether these problems also admit a polynomial size kernel. Using recent lower bound techniques, Kratsch and Wahlstrom answered this question negatively. However, the problem remains open on many natural graph classes characterized by forbidden induced subgraphs. Kratsch and Wahlstrom asked whether the result holds when the forbidden subgraphs are paths or cycles and pointed out that the problem is already open in the case of P4-free graphs (i.e. cographs). This paper provides positive and negative results in that line of research. We prove that parameterized cograph edge modification problems have cubic vertex kernels whereas polynomial kernels are unlikely to exist for the Pl-free and Cl-free edge-deletion problems for large enough l

Balancedness of subclasses of circular-arc graphs

A graph is balanced if its clique-vertex incidence matrix contains no square submatrix of odd order with exactly two ones per row and per column. There is a characterization of balanced graphs by forbidden induced subgraphs, but no characterization by mininal forbidden induced subgraphs is known, not even for the case of circular-arc graphs. A circular-arc graph is the intersection graph of a family of arcs on a circle. In this work, we characterize when a given graph G is balanced in terms of minimal forbidden induced subgraphs, by restricting the analysis to the case where G belongs to certain classes of circular-arc graphs, including Helly circular-arc graphs, claw-free circular-arc graphs, and gem-free circular-arc graphs. In the case of gem-free circular-arc graphs, analogous characterizations are derived for two superclasses of balanced graphs: clique-perfect graphs and coordinated graphs.Fil: Bonomo, Flavia. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Computación; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Duran, Guillermo Alfredo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Computación; Argentina. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Safe, Martin Dario. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento. Instituto de Ciencias; ArgentinaFil: Wagler, Annegret Katrin. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Franci

Letter graphs and geometric grid classes of permutations: characterization and recognition

In this paper, we reveal an intriguing relationship between two seemingly unrelated notions: letter graphs and geometric grid classes of permutations. An important property common for both of them is well-quasi-orderability, implying, in a non-constructive way, a polynomial-time recognition of geometric grid classes of permutations and $k$-letter graphs for a fixed $k$. However, constructive algorithms are available only for $k=2$. In this paper, we present the first constructive polynomial-time algorithm for the recognition of $3$-letter graphs. It is based on a structural characterization of graphs in this class.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1108.6319 by other author