Bounds on a graph's security number

Let G=(V,E) be a graph. A set S⊆V is a defensive alliance if |N[x]∩S|?|N[x]-S| for every x∈S. Thus, each vertex of a defensive alliance can, with the aid of its neighbors in S, be defended from attack by its neighbors outside of S. An entire set S is secure if any subset X⊆S, not just singletons, can be defended from an attack from outside of S, under an appropriate definition of what such a defense implies. The security number s(G) of G is the cardinality of a smallest secure set. Bounds on s(G) are presented.     

On the global offensive alliance number of a graph

An offensive alliance in a graph Γ=(V,E) is a set of vertices S⊂V where for each vertex v in its boundary the majority of vertices in v’s closed neighborhood are in S. In the case of strong offensive alliance, strict majority is required. An alliance S is called global if it affects every vertex in V?S, that is, S is a dominating set of Γ. The global offensive alliance numberγ_o(Γ) is the minimum cardinality of a global offensive alliance in Γ. An offensive alliance is connected if its induced subgraph is connected. The global-connected offensive alliance number, γ_co(Γ), is the minimum cardinality of a global-connected offensive alliance in Γ.In this paper we obtain several tight bounds on γ_o(Γ) and γ_co(Γ) in terms of several parameters of Γ. The case of strong alliances is studied by analogy.     

Security in graphs

Let G=(V,E) be a graph. A set S⊆V is a defensive alliance if |N[x]∩S|?|N[x]-S| for every x∈S. Thus, each vertex of a defensive alliance can, with the aid of its neighbors in S, be defended from attack by its neighbors outside of S. An entire set S is secure if any subset X⊆S can be defended from an attack from outside of S, under an appropriate definition of what such a defense implies. Necessary and sufficient conditions for a set to be secure are determined.     

Total domination critical and stable graphs upon edge removal

A set S of vertices in a graph G is a total dominating set of G if every vertex of G is adjacent to some vertex in S. The minimum cardinality of a total dominating set of G is the total domination number of G. A graph is total domination edge critical if the removal of any arbitrary edge increases the total domination number. On the other hand, a graph is total domination edge stable if the removal of any arbitrary edge has no effect on the total domination number. In this paper, we characterize total domination edge critical graphs. We also investigate various properties of total domination edge stable graphs.     

Geodetic and Steiner geodetic sets in 3-Steiner distance hereditary graphs

Let G be a connected graph and S⊆V(G). Then the Steiner distance of S, denoted by d_G(S), is the smallest number of edges in a connected subgraph of G containing S. Such a subgraph is necessarily a tree called a Steiner tree for S. The Steiner interval for a set S of vertices in a graph, denoted by I(S) is the union of all vertices that belong to some Steiner tree for S. If S={u,v}, then I(S) is the interval I[u,v] between u and v. A connected graph G is 3-Steiner distance hereditary (3-SDH) if, for every connected induced subgraph H of order at least 3 and every set S of three vertices of H, d_H(S)=d_G(S). The eccentricity of a vertex v in a connected graph G is defined as e(v)=max{d(v,x)|x∈V(G)}. A vertex v in a graph G is a contour vertex if for every vertex u adjacent with v, e(u)?e(v). The closure of a set S of vertices, denoted by I[S], is defined to be the union of intervals between pairs of vertices of S taken over all pairs of vertices in S. A set of vertices of a graph G is a geodetic set if its closure is the vertex set of G. The smallest cardinality of a geodetic set of G is called the geodetic number of G and is denoted by g(G). A set S of vertices of a connected graph G is a Steiner geodetic set for G if I(S)=V(G). The smallest cardinality of a Steiner geodetic set of G is called the Steiner geodetic number of G and is denoted by sg(G). We show that the contour vertices of 3-SDH and HHD-free graphs are geodetic sets. For 3-SDH graphs we also show that g(G)?sg(G). An efficient algorithm for finding Steiner intervals in 3-SDH graphs is developed.     

Total domination dot-stable graphs

A set S of vertices in a graph G is a total dominating set if every vertex of G is adjacent to some vertex in S. The minimum cardinality of a total dominating set of G is the total domination number of G. Two vertices of G are said to be dotted (identified) if they are combined to form one vertex whose open neighborhood is the union of their neighborhoods minus themselves. We note that dotting any pair of vertices cannot increase the total domination number. Further we show it can decrease the total domination number by at most 2. A graph is total domination dot-stable if dotting any pair of adjacent vertices leaves the total domination number unchanged. We characterize the total domination dot-stable graphs and give a sharp upper bound on their total domination number. We also characterize the graphs attaining this bound.     

Partitioning a graph into alliance free sets

A strong defensive alliance in a graph G=(V,E) is a set of vertices A⊆V, for which every vertex v∈A has at least as many neighbors in A as in V−A. We call a partition A,B of vertices to be an alliance-free partition, if neither A nor B contains a strong defensive alliance as a subset. We prove that a connected graph G has an alliance-free partition exactly when G has a block that is other than an odd clique or an odd cycle.     

Relations between (κ, τ)-regular sets and star complements

Let G be a finite graph with an eigenvalue µ of multiplicity m. A set X of m vertices in G is called a star set for µ in G if µ is not an eigenvalue of the star complement G\X which is the subgraph of G induced by vertices not in X. A vertex subset of a graph is (κ, τ)-regular if it induces a κ-regular subgraph and every vertex not in the subset has τ neighbors in it. We investigate the graphs having a (κ, τ)-regular set which induces a star complement for some eigenvalue. A survey of known results is provided and new properties for these graphs are deduced. Several particular graphs where these properties stand out are presented as examples.     

Small alliances in a weighted graph

We extend the notion of a defensive alliance to weighted graphs. Let (G,w) be a weighted graph, where G is a graph and w be a function from V(G) to the set of positive real numbers. A non-empty set of vertices S in G is said to be a weighted defensive alliance if ∑_{x∈NG(v)∩S}w(x)+w(v)≥∑_{x∈NG(v)−S}w(x) holds for every vertex v in S. Fricke et al. (2003) [3] have proved that every graph of order n has a defensive alliance of order at most . In this note, we generalize this result to weighted defensive alliances. Let G be a graph of order n. Then we prove that for any weight function w on V(G), (G,w) has a defensive weighted alliance of order at most . We also extend the notion of strong defensive alliance to weighted graphs and generalize a result in Fricke et al. (2003) [3].     

Spanning Star Trees in Regular Graphs

For a subset W of vertices of an undirected graph G, let S(W) be the subgraph consisting of W, all edges incident to at least one vertex in W, and all vertices adjacent to at least one vertex in W. If S(W) is a tree containing all the vertices of G, then we call it a spanning star tree of G. In this case W forms a weakly connected but strongly acyclic dominating set for G. We prove that for every r ≥ 3, there exist r-regular n-vertex graphs that have spanning star trees, and there exist r-regular n-vertex graphs that do not have spanning star trees, for all n sufficiently large (in terms of r). Furthermore, the problem of determining whether a given regular graph has a spanning star tree is NP-complete.     

Independent domination in chordal graphs

A graph chordal if it does not contain any cycle of length greater than three as an induced subgraph. A set of S of vertices of a graph G = (V,E) is independent if not two vertices in S are adjacent, and is dominating if every vertex in V?S is adjacent to some vertex in S. We present a linear algorithm to locate a minimum weight independent dominating set in a chordal graph with 0–1 vertex weights.     

Locating and total dominating sets in trees

A set S of vertices in a graph G=(V,E) is a total dominating set of G if every vertex of V is adjacent to a vertex in S. We consider total dominating sets of minimum cardinality which have the additional property that distinct vertices of V are totally dominated by distinct subsets of the total dominating set.     

On the geodetic number and related metric sets in Cartesian product graphs

A set S of vertices of a graph G is a geodetic set if every vertex of G lies in at least one interval between the vertices of S. The size of a minimum geodetic set in G is the geodetic number of G. Upper bounds for the geodetic number of Cartesian product graphs are proved and for several classes exact values are obtained. It is proved that many metrically defined sets in Cartesian products have product structure and that the contour set of a Cartesian product is geodetic if and only if their projections are geodetic sets in factors.     

On the equivalence between some local and global Chinese postman and traveling salesman graphs

A connected graph G=(V,E), a vertex in V and a non-negative weight function defined on E can be used to induce Chinese postman and traveling salesman (cooperative) games. A graph G=(V,E) is said to be locally (respectively, globally) Chinese postman balanced (respectively, totally balanced, submodular) if for at least one vertex (respectively, for all vertices) in V and any non-negative weight function defined on E, the corresponding Chinese postman game is balanced (respectively, totally balanced, submodular). Local and global traveling salesman balanced (respectively, totally balanced, submodular) graphs are similarly defined.In this paper, we study the equivalence between local and global Chinese postman balanced (respectively, totally balanced, submodular) graphs, and between local and global traveling salesman submodular graphs.     

On the Independent Domination Number of Regular Graphs

A set S of vertices in a graph G is an independent dominating set of G if S is an independent set and every vertex not in S is adjacent to a vertex in S. In this paper, we consider questions about independent domination in regular graphs.     

A survey of selected recent results on total domination in graphs

A set S of vertices in a graph G is a total dominating set of G if every vertex of G is adjacent to some vertex in S. In this paper, we offer a survey of selected recent results on total domination in graphs.     

Total domination changing and stable graphs upon vertex removal

A set S of vertices in a graph G is a total dominating set if every vertex of G is adjacent to some vertex in S. The minimum cardinality of a total dominating set of G is the total domination number of G. A graph is total domination vertex removal stable if the removal of an arbitrary vertex leaves the total domination number unchanged. On the other hand, a graph is total domination vertex removal changing if the removal of an arbitrary vertex changes the total domination number. In this paper, we study total domination vertex removal changing and stable graphs.     

On geodetic sets formed by boundary vertices

Let G be a finite simple connected graph. A vertex v is a boundary vertex of G if there exists a vertex u such that no neighbor of v is further away from u than v. We obtain a number of properties involving different types of boundary vertices: peripheral, contour and eccentric vertices. Before showing that one of the main results in [G. Chartrand, D. Erwin, G.L. Johns, P. Zhang, Boundary vertices in graphs, Discrete Math. 263 (2003) 25-34] does not hold for one of the cases, we establish a realization theorem that not only corrects the mentioned wrong statement but also improves it.Given S⊆V(G), its geodetic closure I[S] is the set of all vertices lying on some shortest path joining two vertices of S. We prove that the boundary vertex set ∂(G) of any graph G is geodetic, that is, I[∂(G)]=V(G). A vertex v belongs to the contour Ct(G) of G if no neighbor of v has an eccentricity greater than v. We present some sufficient conditions to guarantee the geodeticity of either the contour Ct(G) or its geodetic closure I[Ct(G)].     

3-Factor-criticality in domination critical graphs

A graph G is said to be k-γ-critical if the size of any minimum dominating set of vertices is k, but if any edge is added to G the resulting graph can be dominated with k-1 vertices. The structure of k-γ-critical graphs remains far from completely understood when k?3.A graph G is factor-critical if G-v has a perfect matching for every vertex v∈V(G) and is bicritical if G-u-v has a perfect matching for every pair of distinct vertices u,v∈V(G). More generally, a graph is said to be k-factor-critical if G-S has a perfect matching for every set S of k vertices in G. In three previous papers [N. Ananchuen, M.D. Plummer, Some results related to the toughness of 3-domination-critical graphs, Discrete Math. 272 (2003) 5-15; N. Ananchuen, M.D. Plummer, Matching properties in domination critical graphs, Discrete Math. 277 (2004) 1-13; N. Ananchuen, M.D. Plummer, Some results related to the toughness of 3-domination-critical graphs. II. Utilitas Math. 70 (2006) 11-32], we explored the toughness of 3-γ-critical graphs and some of their matching properties. In particular, we obtained some properties which are sufficient for a 3-γ-critical graph to be factor-critical and, respectively, bicritical. In the present work, we obtain similar results for k-factor-critical graphs when k=3.     

Paired-Domination in Subdivided Star-Free Graphs

A set S of vertices in a graph G is a paired-dominating set of G if every vertex of G is adjacent to some vertex in S and if the subgraph induced by S contains a perfect matching. The paired-domination number of G, denoted by γ _pr(G), is the minimum cardinality of a paired-dominating set of G. In [Dorbec P, Gravier S, Henning MA, J Comb Optim 14(1):1–7, 2007], the authors gave tight bounds for paired-dominating sets of generalized claw-free graphs. Yet, the critical cases are not claws but subdivided stars. We here give a bound for graphs containing no induced subdivided stars, depending on the size of the star.