Some remarks on the geodetic number of a graph

A set of vertices D of a graph G is geodetic if every vertex of G lies on a shortest path between two not necessarily distinct vertices in D. The geodetic number of G is the minimum cardinality of a geodetic set of G.We prove that it is NP-complete to decide for a given chordal or chordal bipartite graph G and a given integer k whether G has a geodetic set of cardinality at most k. Furthermore, we prove an upper bound on the geodetic number of graphs without short cycles and study the geodetic number of cographs, split graphs, and unit interval graphs.     

On a conjecture of Fink and Jacobson concerning k-domination and k-dependence

A set D of vertices of a graph is k-dependent if every vertex of D is joined to at most k?1 vertices in D. Let β_k(G) be the maximum order of a k-dependent set in G. A set D of vertices of G is k-dominating if every vertex not in D is joined to at least k vertices of D. Let γ_k(G) be the minimum order of a k-dominating set in G. Here we prove the following conjecture of Fink and Jacobson: for any simple graph G and any positive integer k, γ_k(G) ≤ β_k(G).     

On the Ratio Between 2-Domination and Total Outer-Independent Domination Numbers of Trees

A 2-dominating set of a graph G is a set D of vertices of G such that every vertex of V(G)\D has at least two neighbors in D.A total outer-independent dominating set of a graph G is a set D of vertices of G such that every vertex of G has a neighbor in D,and the set V(G)\D is independent.The 2-domination(total outer-independent domination,respectively)number of a graph G is the minimum cardinality of a 2-dominating(total outer-independent dominating,respectively)set of G.We investigate the ratio between2-domination and total outer-independent domination numbers of trees.     

Clustering and domination in perfect graphs

A k-cluster in a graph is an induced subgraph on k vertices which maximizes the number of edges. Both the k-cluster problem and the k-dominating set problem are NP-complete for graphs in general. In this paper we investigate the complexity status of these problems on various sub-classes of perfect graphs. In particular, we examine comparability graphs, chordal graphs, bipartite graphs, split graphs, cographs and κ-trees. For example, it is shown that the k-cluster problem is NP-complete for both bipartite and chordal graphs and the independent k-dominating set problem is NP-complete for bipartite graphs. Furthermore, where the k-cluster problem is polynomial we study the weighted and connected versions as well. Similarly we also look at the minimum k-dominating set problem on families which have polynomial k-dominating set algorithms.     

R-domination on block graphs

The k-domination problem is to select a minimum cardinality vertex set D of a graph G such that every vertex of G is within distance k from some vertex of D. We consider a generalization of the k-domination problem, called the R-domination problem. A linear algorithm is presented that solves this problem for block graphs. Our algorithm is a generalization of Slater's algorithm [12], which is applicable for forest graphs.     

Average distances and distance domination numbers

Let k be a positive integer and G be a simple connected graph with order n. The average distance μ(G) of G is defined to be the average value of distances over all pairs of vertices of G. A subset D of vertices in G is said to be a k-dominating set of G if every vertex of V(G)−D is within distance k from some vertex of D. The minimum cardinality among all k-dominating sets of G is called the k-domination number γ_k(G) of G. In this paper tight upper bounds are established for μ(G), as functions of n, k and γ_k(G), which generalizes the earlier results of Dankelmann [P. Dankelmann, Average distance and domination number, Discrete Appl. Math. 80 (1997) 21-35] for k=1.     

Coloring, location and domination of corona graphs

A vertex coloring of a graph G is an assignment of colors to the vertices of G so that every two adjacent vertices of G have different colors. A coloring related property of a graphs is also an assignment of colors or labels to the vertices of a graph, in which the process of labeling is done according to an extra condition. A set S of vertices of a graph G is a dominating set in G if every vertex outside of S is adjacent to at least one vertex belonging to S. A domination parameter of G is related to those structures of a graph that satisfy some domination property together with other conditions on the vertices of G. In this article we study several mathematical properties related to coloring, domination and location of corona graphs. We investigate the distance-k colorings of corona graphs. Particularly, we obtain tight bounds for the distance-2 chromatic number and distance-3 chromatic number of corona graphs, through some relationships between the distance-k chromatic number of corona graphs and the distance-k chromatic number of its factors. Moreover, we give the exact value of the distance-k chromatic number of the corona of a path and an arbitrary graph. On the other hand, we obtain bounds for the Roman dominating number and the locating–domination number of corona graphs. We give closed formulaes for the k-domination number, the distance-k domination number, the independence domination number, the domatic number and the idomatic number of corona graphs.     

Minimum 2-tuple dominating set of permutation graphs

For a fixed positive integer k, a k-tuple dominating set of a graph G=(V,E) is a subset D?V such that every vertex in V is dominated by at least k vertex in D. The k-tuple domination number γ _×k (G) is the minimum size of a k-tuple dominating set of G. The special case when k=1 is the usual domination. The case when k=2 was called double domination or 2-tuple domination. A 2-tuple dominating set D ₂ is said to be minimal if there does not exist any D′?D ₂ such that D′ is a 2-tuple dominating set of G. A 2-tuple dominating set D ₂, denoted by γ _×2(G), is said to be minimum, if it is minimal as well as it gives 2-tuple domination number. In this paper, we present an efficient algorithm to find a minimum 2-tuple dominating set on permutation graphs with n vertices which runs in O(n ²) time.     

Edge-dominating cycles in graphs

A set S of vertices in a graph G is said to be an edge-dominating set if every edge in G is incident with a vertex in S. A cycle in G is said to be a dominating cycle if its vertex set is an edge-dominating set. Nash-Williams [Edge-disjoint hamiltonian circuits in graphs with vertices of large valency, Studies in Pure Mathematics, Academic Press, London, 1971, pp. 157-183] has proved that every longest cycle in a 2-connected graph of order n and minimum degree at least is a dominating cycle. In this paper, we prove that for a prescribed positive integer k, under the same minimum degree condition, if n is sufficiently large and if we take k disjoint cycles so that they contain as many vertices as possible, then these cycles form an edge-dominating set. Nash-Williams’ Theorem corresponds to the case of k=1 of this result.     

Domatic partitions of computable graphs

Given a graph G, we say that a subset D of the vertex set V is a dominating set if it is near all the vertices, in that every vertex outside of D is adjacent to a vertex in D. A domatic k-partition of G is a partition of V into k dominating sets. In this paper, we will consider issues of computability related to domatic partitions of computable graphs. Our investigation will center on answering two types of questions for the case when k = 3. First, if domatic 3-partitions exist in a computable graph, how complicated can they be? Second, a decision problem: given a graph, how difficult is it to decide whether it has a domatic 3-partition? We will completely classify this decision problem for highly computable graphs, locally finite computable graphs, and computable graphs in general. Specifically, we show the decision problems for these kinds of graphs to be ${\Pi^{0}_{1}}$ -, ${\Pi^{0}_{2}}$ -, and ${\Sigma^{1}_{1}}$ -complete, respectively.     

Packing seagulls

A seagull in a graph is an induced three-vertex path. When does a graph G have k pairwise vertex-disjoint seagulls? This is NP-complete in general, but for graphs with no stable set of size three we give a complete solution. This case is of special interest because of a connection with Hadwiger’s conjecture which was the motivation for this research; and we deduce a unification and strengthening of two theorems of Blasiak [2] concerned with Hadwiger’s conjecture. Our main result is that a graph G (different from the five-wheel) with no three-vertex stable set contains k disjoint seagulls if and only if

1. |V (G)|≥3k
2. G is k-connected
3. for every clique C of G, if D denotes the set of vertices in V (G)\C that have both a neighbour and a non-neighbour in C then |D|+|V (G)\C|≥2k, and
4. the complement graph of G has a matching with k edges.

We also address the analogous fractional and half-integral packing questions, and give a polynomial time algorithm to test whether there are k disjoint seagulls.     

Convexity in oriented graphs

For vertices u and v in an oriented graph D, the closed interval I[u,v] consists of u and v together with all vertices lying in a u−v geodesic or v−u geodesic in D. For S⊆V(D), I[S] is the union of all closed intervals I[u,v] with u,v∈S. A set S is convex if I[S]=S. The convexity number con(D) is the maximum cardinality of a proper convex set of V(D). The nontrivial connected oriented graphs of order n with convexity number n−1 are characterized. It is shown that there is no connected oriented graph of order at least 4 with convexity number 2 and that every pair k, n of integers with 1⩽k⩽n−1 and k≠2 is realizable as the convexity number and order, respectively, of some connected oriented graph. For a nontrivial connected graph G, the lower orientable convexity number con⁻(G) is the minimum convexity number among all orientations of G and the upper orientable convexity number con⁺(G) is the maximum such convexity number. It is shown that con⁺(G)=n−1 for every graph G of order n⩾2. The lower orientable convexity numbers of some well-known graphs are determined, with special attention given to outerplanar graphs.     

Orientations of infinite graphs with prescribed edge-connectivity

We prove a decomposition result for locally finite graphs which can be used to extend results on edge-connectivity from finite to infinite graphs. It implies that every 4k-edge-connected graph G contains an immersion of some finite 2k-edge-connected Eulerian graph containing any prescribed vertex set (while planar graphs show that G need not containa subdivision of a simple finite graph of large edge-connectivity). Also, every 8k-edge connected infinite graph has a k-arc-connected orientation, as conjectured in 1989.     

Upper bounds on the signed (k, k)-domatic number

Let G be a graph with vertex set V(G), and let f : V(G) → {?1, 1} be a two-valued function. If k ≥ 1 is an integer and ${\sum_{x\in N[v]} f(x) \ge k}$ for each ${v \in V(G)}$ , where N[v] is the closed neighborhood of v, then f is a signed k-dominating function on G. A set {f ₁,f ₂, . . . ,f _d } of distinct signed k-dominating functions on G with the property that ${\sum_{i=1}^d f_i(x) \le k}$ for each ${x \in V(G)}$ , is called a signed (k, k)-dominating family (of functions) on G. The maximum number of functions in a signed (k, k)-dominating family on G is the signed (k, k)-domatic number of G. In this article we mainly present upper bounds on the signed (k, k)-domatic number, in particular for regular graphs.     

The competition number of a graph and the dimension of its hole space

The competition graph of a digraph D is a (simple undirected) graph which has the same vertex set as D and has an edge between x and y if and only if there exists a vertex v in D such that (x,v) and (y,v) are arcs of D. For any graph G, G together with sufficiently many isolated vertices is the competition graph of some acyclic digraph. The competition number k(G) of G is the smallest number of such isolated vertices. In general, it is hard to compute the competition number k(G) for a graph G and it has been one of the important research problems in the study of competition graphs to characterize a graph by its competition number. Recently, the relationship between the competition number and the number of holes of a graph has been studied. A hole of a graph is a cycle of length at least 4 as an induced subgraph. In this paper, we conjecture that the dimension of the hole space of a graph is not smaller than the competition number of the graph. We verify this conjecture for various kinds of graphs and show that our conjectured inequality is indeed an equality for connected triangle-free graphs.     

On Trees with Double Domination Number Equal to the 2-Outer-Independent Domination Number Plus One

A vertex of a graph is said to dominate itself and all of its neighbors.A double dominating set of a graph G is a set D of vertices of G,such that every vertex of G is dominated by at least two vertices of D.The double domination number of a graph G is the minimum cardinality of a double dominating set of G.For a graph G =(V,E),a subset D V(G) is a 2-dominating set if every vertex of V(G) \ D has at least two neighbors in D,while it is a 2-outer-independent dominating set of G if additionally the set V(G)\D is independent.The 2-outer-independent domination number of G is the minimum cardinality of a 2-outer-independent dominating set of G.This paper characterizes all trees with the double domination number equal to the 2-outer-independent domination number plus one.     

Construction for bicritical graphs and k-extendable bipartite graphs

A graph G is said to be bicritical if G-u-v has a perfect matching for every choice of a pair of points u and v. Bicritical graphs play a central role in decomposition theory of elementary graphs with respect to perfect matchings. As Plummer pointed out many times, the structure of bicritical graphs is far from completely understood. This paper presents a concise structure characterization on bicritical graphs in terms of factor-critical graphs and transversals of hypergraphs. A connected graph G with at least 2k+2 points is said to be k-extendable if it contains a matching of k lines and every such matching is contained in a perfect matching. A structure characterization for k-extendable bipartite graphs is given in a recursive way. Furthermore, this paper presents an O(mn) algorithm for determining the extendability of a bipartite graph G, the maximum integer k such that G is k-extendable, where n is the number of points and m is the number of lines in G.     

On distance-3 matchings and induced matchings

For a finite undirected graph G=(V,E) and positive integer k≥1, an edge set M⊆E is a distance-k matching if the pairwise distance of edges in M is at least k in G. For k=1, this gives the usual notion of matching in graphs, and for general k≥1, distance-k matchings were called k-separated matchings by Stockmeyer and Vazirani. The special case k=2 has been studied under the names induced matching (i.e., a matching which forms an induced subgraph in G) by Cameron and strong matching by Golumbic and Laskar in various papers.Finding a maximum induced matching is NP-complete even on very restricted bipartite graphs and on claw-free graphs but it can be done efficiently on various classes of graphs such as chordal graphs, based on the fact that an induced matching in G corresponds to an independent vertex set in the square L(G)² of the line graph L(G) of G which, by a result of Cameron, is chordal for any chordal graph G.We show that, unlike for k=2, for a chordal graph G, L(G)³ is not necessarily chordal, and finding a maximum distance-3 matching, and more generally, finding a maximum distance-(2k+1) matching for k≥1, remains NP-complete on chordal graphs. For strongly chordal graphs and interval graphs, however, the maximum distance-k matching problem can be solved in polynomial time for every k≥1. Moreover, we obtain various new results for maximum induced matchings on subclasses of claw-free graphs.     

A linear algorithm for the domination number of a series-parallel graph

A vertex u in an undirected graph G = (V, E) is said to dominate all its adjacent vertices and itself. A subset D of V is a dominating set in G if every vertex in G is dominated by a vertex in D, and is a minimum dominating set in G if no other dominating set in G has fewer vertices than D. The domination number of G is the cardinality of a minimum dominating set in G.The problem of determining, for a given positive integer k and an undirected graph G, whether G has a dominating set D in G satisfying ¦D¦ ≤ k, is a well-known NP-complete problem. Cockayne have presented a linear time algorithm for finding a minimum dominating set in a tree. In this paper, we will present a linear time algorithm for finding a minimum dominating set in a series-parallel graph.