Paired bondage in trees

Let G=(V,E) be a graph with δ(G)≥1. A set D⊆V is a paired dominating set if D is dominating, and the induced subgraph 〈D〉 contains a perfect matching. The paired domination number of G, denoted by γ_p(G), is the minimum cardinality of a paired dominating set of G. The paired bondage number, denoted by b_p(G), is the minimum cardinality among all sets of edges E^′⊆E such that δ(G−E^′)≥1 and γ_p(G−E^′)>γ_p(G). We say that G is a γ_p-strongly stable graph if, for all E^′⊆E, either γ_p(G−E^′)=γ_p(G) or δ(G−E^′)=0. We discuss the basic properties of paired bondage and give a constructive characterization of γ_p-strongly stable trees.     

On the strong p-Helly property

The notion of strong p-Helly hypergraphs was introduced by Golumbic and Jamison in 1985 [M.C. Golumbic, R.E. Jamison, The edge intersection graphs of paths in a tree, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B 38 (1985) 8-22]. Independently, other authors [A. Bretto, S. Ubéda, J. ?erovnik, A polynomial algorithm for the strong Helly property. Inform. Process. Lett. 81 (2002) 55-57, E. Prisner, Hereditary clique-Helly graphs, J. Combin. Math. Combin. Comput. 14 (1993) 216-220, W.D. Wallis, Guo-Hui Zhang, On maximal clique irreducible graphs. J. Combin. Math. Combin. Comput. 8 (1990) 187-193.] have also considered the strong Helly property in other contexts. In this paper, we characterize strong p-Helly hypergraphs. This characterization leads to an algorithm for recognizing such hypergraphs, which terminates within polynomial time whenever p is fixed. In contrast, we show that the recognition problem is co-NP-complete, for arbitrary p. Further, we apply the concept of strong p-Helly hypergraphs to the cliques of a graph, leading to the class of strong p-clique-Helly graphs. For p=2, this class is equivalent to that of hereditary clique-Helly graphs [E. Prisner, Hereditary clique-Helly graphs, J. Combin. Math. Combin. Comput. 14 (1993) 216-220]. We describe a characterization for this class and obtain an algorithm for recognizing such graphs. Again, the algorithm has polynomial-time complexity for p fixed, and we show the corresponding recognition problem to be NP-hard, for arbitrary p.     

On maximizing clique, clique-Helly and hereditary clique-Helly induced subgraphs

Clique-Helly and hereditary clique-Helly graphs are polynomial-time recognizable. Recently, we presented a proof that the clique graph recognition problem is NP-complete [L. Alcón, L. Faria, C.M.H. de Figueiredo, M. Gutierrez, Clique graph recognition is NP-complete, in: Proc. WG 2006, in: Lecture Notes in Comput. Sci., vol. 4271, Springer, 2006, pp. 269-277]. In this work, we consider the decision problems: given a graph G=(V,E) and an integer k≥0, we ask whether there exists a subset V^′⊆V with |V^′|≥k such that the induced subgraph G[V^′] of G is, variously, a clique, clique-Helly or hereditary clique-Helly graph. The first problem is clearly NP-complete, from the above reference; we prove that the other two decision problems mentioned are NP-complete, even for maximum degree 6 planar graphs. We consider the corresponding maximization problems of finding a maximum induced subgraph that is, respectively, clique, clique-Helly or hereditary clique-Helly. We show that these problems are Max SNP-hard, even for maximum degree 6 graphs. We show a general polynomial-time -approximation algorithm for these problems when restricted to graphs with fixed maximum degree Δ. We generalize these results to other graph classes. We exhibit a polynomial 6-approximation algorithm to minimize the number of vertices to be removed in order to obtain a hereditary clique-Helly subgraph.     

Piercing Numbers for Balanced and Unbalanced Families

Given a finite family F\mathcal{F} of convex sets in ℝ ^d , we say that F\mathcal{F} has the (p,q) _r property if for any p convex sets in F\mathcal{F} there are at least r q-tuples that have nonempty intersection. The piercing number of F\mathcal{F} is the minimum number of points we need to intersect all the sets in F\mathcal{F}. In this paper we will find some bounds for the piercing number of families of convex sets with (p,q) _r properties.     

Metrizable refinements of group topologies and the pseudo-intersection number

The pseudo-intersection number, denoted p, is the minimum cardinality of a family A⊆P(ω) having the strong finite intersection property but no infinite pseudo-intersection. For every countable topologizable group G, let pG denote the minimum character of a nondiscrete Hausdorff group topology on G which cannot be refined to a nondiscrete metrizable group topology. We show that pG=p.     

On a conjecture of Brouwer involving the connectivity of strongly regular graphs

In this paper, we study a conjecture of Andries E. Brouwer from 1996 regarding the minimum number of vertices of a strongly regular graph whose removal disconnects the graph into non-singleton components.We show that strongly regular graphs constructed from copolar spaces and from the more general spaces called Δ-spaces are counterexamples to Brouwer?s Conjecture. Using J.I. Hall?s characterization of finite reduced copolar spaces, we find that the triangular graphs T(m), the symplectic graphs Sp(2r,q) over the field Fq (for any q prime power), and the strongly regular graphs constructed from the hyperbolic quadrics O⁺(2r,2) and from the elliptic quadrics O⁻(2r,2) over the field F₂, respectively, are counterexamples to Brouwer?s Conjecture. For each of these graphs, we determine precisely the minimum number of vertices whose removal disconnects the graph into non-singleton components. While we are not aware of an analogue of Hall?s characterization theorem for Δ-spaces, we show that complements of the point graphs of certain finite generalized quadrangles are point graphs of Δ-spaces and thus, yield other counterexamples to Brouwer?s Conjecture.We prove that Brouwer?s Conjecture is true for many families of strongly regular graphs including the conference graphs, the generalized quadrangles GQ(q,q) graphs, the lattice graphs, the Latin square graphs, the strongly regular graphs with smallest eigenvalue −2 (except the triangular graphs) and the primitive strongly regular graphs with at most 30 vertices except for few cases.We leave as an open problem determining the best general lower bound for the minimum size of a disconnecting set of vertices of a strongly regular graph, whose removal disconnects the graph into non-singleton components.     

Classes of interval graphs under expanding length restrictions

Let C(α) denote the finite interval graphs representable as intersection graphs of closed real intervals with lengths in [1, α]. The points of increase for C are the rational α ≥ 1. The set D(α) = [∩_β>αC(β)]\C(α) of graphs that appear as soon as we go past α is characterized up to isomorphism on the basis of finite sets E(α) of irreducible graphs for each rational α. With α = p/q and p and q relatively prime, ∣E(α)∣ is computed for all (p,q) with q ? 2 and p = q + 1. When q = 1, E(p) contains only the bipartite star K¹, p_+2. A lowr bound on ∣E(α)∣ is given for all rational α.     

Colorful flowers

For a set A let k[A] denote the family of all k-element subsets of A. A function f:k[A]→C is a local coloring if it maps disjoint sets of A into different elements of C. A family F⊆k[A] is called a flower if there exists E∈[A]^k−1 so that |F∩F^′|=E for all F,F^′∈F, F≠F^′. A flower is said to be colorful if f(F)≠f(F^′) for any two F,F^′∈F. In the paper we find the smallest cardinal γ such that there exists a local coloring of k[A] containing no colorful flower of size γ. As a consequence we answer a question raised by Pelant, Holický and Kalenda. We also discuss a few results and conjectures concerning a generalization of this problem.     

Small point sets of PG(n, q 3) intersecting each k-subspace in 1 mod q points

The main result of this paper is that point sets of PG(n, q ³), q = p ^h , p ≥ 7 prime, of size less than 3(q ^3(n?k) + 1)/2 intersecting each k-space in 1 modulo q points (these are always small minimal blocking sets with respect to k-spaces) are linear blocking sets. As a consequence, we get that minimal blocking sets of PG(n, p ³), p ≥ 7 prime, of size less than 3(p ^3(n?k) + 1)/2 with respect to k-spaces are linear. We also give a classification of small linear blocking sets of PG(n, q ³) which meet every (n ? 2)-space in 1 modulo q points.     

Minimizing a monotone concave function with laminar covering constraints

Let V be a finite set with |V|=n. A family F⊆2^V is called laminar if for all two sets X,Y∈F, X∩Y≠∅ implies X⊆Y or X⊇Y. Given a laminar family F, a demand function , and a monotone concave cost function , we consider the problem of finding a minimum-cost such that x(X)?d(X) for all X∈F. Here we do not assume that the cost function F is differentiable or even continuous. We show that the problem can be solved in O(n²q) time if F can be decomposed into monotone concave functions by the partition of V that is induced by the laminar family F, where q is the time required for the computation of F(x) for any . We also prove that if F is given by an oracle, then it takes Ω(n²q) time to solve the problem, which implies that our O(n²q) time algorithm is optimal in this case. Furthermore, we propose an algorithm if F is the sum of linear cost functions with fixed setup costs. These also make improvements in complexity results for source location and edge-connectivity augmentation problems in undirected networks. Finally, we show that in general our problem requires Ω(2^n/2q) time when F is given implicitly by an oracle, and that it is NP-hard if F is given explicitly in a functional form.     

Integral circulant graphs of prime power order with maximal energy

The energy of a graph is the sum of the moduli of the eigenvalues of its adjacency matrix. We study the energy of integral circulant graphs, also called gcd graphs, which can be characterized by their vertex count n and a set D of divisors of n in such a way that they have vertex set Z_n and edge set {{a,b}:a,b∈Z_n,gcd(a-b,n)∈D}. Using tools from convex optimization, we analyze the maximal energy among all integral circulant graphs of prime power order p^s and varying divisor sets D. Our main result states that this maximal energy approximately lies between s(p-1)p^s-1 and twice this value. We construct suitable divisor sets for which the energy lies in this interval. We also characterize hyperenergetic integral circulant graphs of prime power order and exhibit an interesting topological property of their divisor sets.     

Finite prime-field characteristic sets for planar configurations

Examples are constructed of planar matroids with finite prime-field characteristic sets (i.e. matroids representable over a finite set of prime fields but over fields of no other characteristic). In particular, for any n>3, a projectively unique integer matrix is constructed with 2lsqblog₂nrsqb+6 columns which often gives nonsingleton characteristic sets and, when n is prime, has characteristic set {n}. Many finite subsets of primes are shown to be characteristic sets, including {23,59} (the smallest pair found using these methods), all pairs of primes {p, p′:67?p<p′?293}, and the seventeen largest five-digit primes. Probabilistic arguments are presented to support the conjecture that prime-field characteristic sets exist of every finite cardinality. For p>3, AG(2,p) is shown to be a subset of PG(2, q) only for q=p^s. Another general construction technique suggests that when $\text{P}\text{={p}{}_1\text{,…,p}{}_{\mathrm{k}}\text{}}$ are the primitive prime divisors of 2ⁿ±1 (n sufficiently large), then there is a matroid with O (log n) points whose characteristic set is $\text{P}$. We remark that although only one finite nonsingleton characteristic set (due to R. Reid) was known prior to this paper, a new technique by J. Kahn has shown that every finite set of primes forms a (non-prime-field) characteristic set.     

A characterization of Grassmann graphs

Let q be a prime power and suppose that e and n are integers satisfying 1 e n − 1. Then the Grassmann graph Γ(e, q, n) has as vertices the e-dimensional subspaces of a vector space of dimension n over the field F_q, where two vertices are adjacent iff they meet in a subspace of dimension e − 1. In this paper, a characterization of Γ(e, q, n) in terms of parameters is obtained provided that and ( if q ε {2, 3}) and if q = 3). As a consequence we can show that these Grassmann graphs are uniquely determined as distance-regular graphs by their intersection arrays.     

A recognition algorithm for the intersection graphs of paths in trees

Let F be a finite family of non-empty sets. An undirected graph G is an intersection graph for F if there is a one-to-one correspondence between the vertices of G and the sets of F such that two sets have a non-empty intersection exactly when the corresponding vertices are adjacent in G. If this is the case then F is said to be an intersection model for the graph G. If F is a family of paths within a tree T, then G is called a path graph. This paper proves a characterization for the path graphs and then gives a polynomial time algorithm for their recognition. If G is a path graph the algorithm constructs a path intersection model for G.     

Semi-regular relative difference sets with large forbidden subgroups

Motivated by a connection between semi-regular relative difference sets and mutually unbiased bases, we study relative difference sets with parameters (m,n,m,m/n) in groups of non-prime-power orders. Let p be an odd prime. We prove that there does not exist a (2p,p,2p,2) relative difference set in any group of order 2p², and an abelian (4p,p,4p,4) relative difference set can only exist in the group . On the other hand, we construct a family of non-abelian relative difference sets with parameters (4q,q,4q,4), where q is an odd prime power greater than 9 and . When q=p is a prime, p>9, and , the (4p,p,4p,4) non-abelian relative difference sets constructed here are genuinely non-abelian in the sense that there does not exist an abelian relative difference set with the same parameters.     

On linear sets on a projective line

Linear sets generalise the concept of subgeometries in a projective space. They have many applications in finite geometry. In this paper we address two problems for linear sets: the equivalence problem and the intersection problem. We consider linear sets as quotient geometries and determine the exact conditions for two linear sets to be equivalent. This is then used to determine in which cases all linear sets of rank 3 of the same size on a projective line are (projectively) equivalent. In (Donati and Durante, Des Codes Cryptogr, 46:261–267), the intersection problem for subgeometries of PG(n, q) is solved. The intersection of linear sets is much more difficult. We determine the intersection of a subline PG(1, q) with a linear set in PG(1, q ^h ) and investigate the existence of irregular sublines, contained in a linear set. We also derive an upper bound, which is sharp for odd q, on the size of the intersection of two different linear sets of rank 3 in PG(1, q ^h ).     

On graphs with equal domination and 2-domination numbers

Let G be a simple graph, and let p be a positive integer. A subset D⊆V(G) is a p-dominating set of the graph G, if every vertex v∈V(G)-D is adjacent to at least p vertices in D. The p-domination numberγ_p(G) is the minimum cardinality among the p-dominating sets of G. Note that the 1-domination number γ₁(G) is the usual domination numberγ(G). This definition immediately leads to the inequality γ(G)?γ₂(G).In this paper we present some sufficient as well as some necessary conditions for graphs G with the property that γ₂(G)=γ(G). In particular, we characterize all cactus graphs H with γ₂(H)=γ(H).     

On hereditary clique-Helly self-clique graphs

A graph is clique-Helly if any family of mutually intersecting (maximal) cliques has non-empty intersection, and it is hereditary clique-Helly (HCH) if its induced subgraphs are clique-Helly. The clique graph of a graph G is the intersection graph of its cliques, and G is self-clique if it is connected and isomorphic to its clique graph. We show that every HCH graph is an induced subgraph of a self-clique HCH graph, and give a characterization of self-clique HCH graphs in terms of their constructibility starting from certain digraphs with some forbidden subdigraphs. We also specialize this results to involutive HCH graphs, i.e. self-clique HCH graphs whose vertex-clique bipartite graph admits a part-switching involution.     

Arc-regular cubic graphs of order four times an odd integer

A graph is arc-regular if its automorphism group acts sharply-transitively on the set of its ordered edges. This paper answers an open question about the existence of arc-regular 3-valent graphs of order 4m where m is an odd integer. Using the Gorenstein?CWalter theorem, it is shown that any such graph must be a normal cover of a base graph, where the base graph has an arc-regular group of automorphisms that is isomorphic to a subgroup of Aut(PSL(2,q)) containing PSL(2,q) for some odd prime-power?q. Also a construction is given for infinitely many such graphs??namely a family of Cayley graphs for the groups PSL(2,p ³) where p is an odd prime; the smallest of these has order?9828.