Path factors and parallel knock-out schemes of almost claw-free graphs

An H₁,{H₂}-factor of a graph G is a spanning subgraph of G with exactly one component isomorphic to the graph H₁ and all other components (if there are any) isomorphic to the graph H₂. We completely characterise the class of connected almost claw-free graphs that have a P₇,{P₂}-factor, where P₇ and P₂ denote the paths on seven and two vertices, respectively. We apply this result to parallel knock-out schemes for almost claw-free graphs. These schemes proceed in rounds in each of which each surviving vertex eliminates one of its surviving neighbours. A graph is reducible if such a scheme eliminates every vertex in the graph. Using our characterisation, we are able to classify all reducible almost claw-free graphs, and we can show that every reducible almost claw-free graph is reducible in at most two rounds. This leads to a quadratic time algorithm for determining if an almost claw-free graph is reducible (which is a generalisation and improvement upon the previous strongest result that showed that there was a O(n^5.376) time algorithm for claw-free graphs on n vertices).     

Characterizing planarity using theta graphs

A theta graph is a homeomorph of K_2,3. In an embedded planar graph the local rotation at one degree-three vertex of a theta graph determines the local rotation at the other degree-three vertex. Using this observation, we give a characterization of planar graphs in terms of balance in an associated signed graph whose vertices are K_1,3 subgraphs and whose edges correspond to theta graphs. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 27: 17–20, 1998     

Minimal comparability completions of arbitrary graphs

A transitive orientation of an undirected graph is an assignment of directions to its edges so that these directed edges represent a transitive relation between the vertices of the graph. Not every graph has a transitive orientation, but every graph can be turned into a graph that has a transitive orientation, by adding edges. We study the problem of adding an inclusion minimal set of edges to an arbitrary graph so that the resulting graph is transitively orientable. We show that this problem can be solved in polynomial time, and we give a surprisingly simple algorithm for it. We use a vertex incremental approach in this algorithm, and we also give a more general result that describes graph classes Π for which Π completion of arbitrary graphs can be achieved through such a vertex incremental approach.     

Properties of vertex cover obstructions

We study properties of the sets of minimal forbidden minors for the families of graphs having a vertex cover of size at most k. We denote this set by O(k-VERTEX COVER) and call it the set of obstructions. Our main result is to give a tight vertex bound of O(k-VERTEX COVER), and then confirm a conjecture made by Liu Xiong that there is a unique connected obstruction with maximum number of vertices for k-VERTEX COVER and this graph is C_2k+1. We also find two iterative methods to generate graphs in O((k+1)-VERTEX COVER) from any graph in O(k-VERTEX COVER).     

Clique-critical graphs: Maximum size and recognition

The clique graph of G, K(G), is the intersection graph of the family of cliques (maximal complete sets) of G. Clique-critical graphs were defined as those whose clique graph changes whenever a vertex is removed. We prove that if G has m edges then any clique-critical graph in K^-1(G) has at most 2m vertices, which solves a question posed by Escalante and Toft [On clique-critical graphs, J. Combin. Theory B 17 (1974) 170-182]. The proof is based on a restatement of their characterization of clique-critical graphs. Moreover, the bound is sharp. We also show that the problem of recognizing clique-critical graphs is NP-complete.     

Vertex PI indices of four sums of graphs

Suppose that e is an edge of a graph G. Denote by m_e(G) the number of vertices of G that are not equidistant from both ends of e. Then the vertex PI index of G is defined as the summation of m_e(G) over all edges e of G. In this paper we give the explicit expressions for the vertex PI indices of four sums of two graphs in terms of other indices of two individual graphs, which correct the main results in a paper published in Ars Combin. 98 (2011).     

K3,3-free intersection graphs of finite groups

The intersection graph of a group G is an undirected graph without loops and multiple edges defined as follows: the vertex set is the set of all proper non-trivial subgroups of G, and there is an edge between two distinct vertices H and K if and only if H∩K≠1 where 1 denotes the trivial subgroup of G. In this paper we classify all finite groups whose intersection graphs are K_3,3-free.     

Some observations on maximum weight stable sets in certain P5-free graphs

The maximum weight stable set problem (MWS) is the weighted version of the maximum stable set problem (MS), which is NP-hard. The class of P₅-free graphs – i.e., graphs with no induced path of five vertices – is the unique minimal class, defined by forbidding a single connected subgraph, for which the computational complexity of MS is an open question. At the same time, it is known that MS can be efficiently solved for (_P5,F)$(P_5\text{,}F)$-free graphs, where F is any graph of five vertices different to a C₅. In this paper we introduce some observations on P₅-free graphs, and apply them to introduce certain subclasses of such graphs for which one can efficiently solve MWS. That extends or improves some known results, and implies – together with other known results – that MWS can be efficiently solved for (_P5,F)$(P_5\text{,}F)$-free graphs where F is any graph of five vertices different to a C₅.     

An extension of regular supermagic graphs

A graph is called supermagic if it admits a labelling of the edges by pairwise different consecutive positive integers such that the sum of the labels of the edges incident with a vertex is independent of the particular vertex. In this paper we consider an extension of regular supermagic graphs and apply it to some constructions of supermagic graphs. Using the extension we prove that for any graph G there is a supermagic regular graph which contains an induced subgraph isomorphic to G.     

On the maximum number of edges in quasi-planar graphs

A topological graph is quasi-planar, if it does not contain three pairwise crossing edges. Agarwal et al. [P.K. Agarwal, B. Aronov, J. Pach, R. Pollack, M. Sharir, Quasi-planar graphs have a linear number of edges, Combinatorica 17 (1) (1997) 1-9] proved that these graphs have a linear number of edges. We give a simple proof for this fact that yields the better upper bound of 8n edges for n vertices. Our best construction with 7n−O(1) edges comes very close to this bound. Moreover, we show matching upper and lower bounds for several relaxations and restrictions of this problem. In particular, we show that the maximum number of edges of a simple quasi-planar topological graph (i.e., every pair of edges have at most one point in common) is 6.5n−O(1), thereby exhibiting that non-simple quasi-planar graphs may have many more edges than simple ones.     

Large Cliques in -Free Graphs

Dedicated to the memory of Paul Erdős A graph is called -free if it contains no cycle of length four as an induced subgraph. We prove that if a -free graph has n vertices and at least edges then it has a complete subgraph of vertices, where depends only on . We also give estimates on and show that a similar result does not hold for H-free graphs––unless H is an induced subgraph of . The best value of is determined for chordal graphs. Received October 25, 1999 RID="*" ID="*" Supported by OTKA grant T029074. RID="**" ID="**" Supported by TKI grant stochastics@TUB and by OTKA grant T026203.     

The square of a block graph

The square H² of a graph H is obtained from H by adding new edges between every two vertices having distance two in H. A block graph is one in which every block is a clique. For the first time, good characterizations and a linear time recognition of squares of block graphs are given in this paper. Our results generalize several previous known results on squares of trees.     

Intersection reverse sequences and geometric applications

Pinchasi and Radoi?i? [On the number of edges in geometric graphs with no self-intersecting cycle of length 4, in: J. Pach (Ed.), Towards a Theory of Geometric Graphs, Contemporary Mathematics, vol. 342, American Mathematical Society, Providence, RI, 2004] used the following observation to bound the number of edges of a topological graph without a self-crossing cycle of length 4: if we make a list of the neighbors for every vertex in such a graph and order these lists cyclically according to the order of the emanating edges, then the common elements in any two lists have reversed cyclic order. Building on their work we give an improved estimate on the size of the lists having this property. As a consequence we get that a topological graph on n vertices not containing a self-crossing C₄ has O(n^3/2logn) edges. Our result also implies that n pseudo-circles in the plane can be cut into O(n^3/2logn) pseudo-segments, which in turn implies bounds on point-curve incidences and on the complexity of a level of an arrangement of curves.     

On anti-magic labeling for graph products

An anti-magic labeling of a finite simple undirected graph with p vertices and q edges is a bijection from the set of edges to the set of integers {1,2,…,q} such that the vertex sums are pairwise distinct, where the vertex sum at one vertex is the sum of labels of all edges incident to such vertex. A graph is called anti-magic if it admits an anti-magic labeling. Hartsfield and Ringel conjectured in 1990 that all connected graphs except K₂ are anti-magic. Recently, Alon et al. showed that this conjecture is true for dense graphs, i.e. it is true for p-vertex graphs with minimum degree Ω(logp). In this article, new classes of sparse anti-magic graphs are constructed through Cartesian products and lexicographic products.     

Some Remarks on Rainbow Connectivity

An edge (vertex) colored graph is rainbow‐connected if there is a rainbow path between any two vertices, i.e. a path all of whose edges (internal vertices) carry distinct colors. Rainbow edge (vertex) connectivity of a graph G is the smallest number of colors needed for a rainbow edge (vertex) coloring of G. In this article, we propose a very simple approach to studying rainbow connectivity in graphs. Using this idea, we give a unified proof of several known results, as well as some new ones.     

A vertex incremental approach for maintaining chordality

For a chordal graph G=(V,E), we study the problem of whether a new vertex u∉V and a given set of edges between u and vertices in V can be added to G so that the resulting graph remains chordal. We show how to resolve this efficiently, and at the same time, if the answer is no, specify a maximal subset of the proposed edges that can be added along with u, or conversely, a minimal set of extra edges that can be added in addition to the given set, so that the resulting graph is chordal. In order to do this, we give a new characterization of chordal graphs and, for each potential new edge uv, a characterization of the set of edges incident to u that also must be added to G along with uv. We propose a data structure that can compute and add each such set in O(n) time. Based on these results, we present an algorithm that computes both a minimal triangulation and a maximal chordal subgraph of an arbitrary input graph in O(nm) time, using a totally new vertex incremental approach. In contrast to previous algorithms, our process is on-line in that each new vertex is added without reconsidering any choice made at previous steps, and without requiring any knowledge of the vertices that might be added subsequently.     

Queue layouts of iterated line directed graphs

In this paper, we study queue layouts of iterated line directed graphs. A k-queue layout of a directed graph consists of a linear ordering of the vertices and an assignment of each arc to exactly one of the k queues so that any two arcs assigned to the same queue do not nest. The queuenumber of a directed graph is the minimum number of queues required for a queue layout of the directed graph.We present upper and lower bounds on the queuenumber of an iterated line directed graph L^k(G) of a directed graph G. Our upper bound depends only on G and is independent of the number of iterations k. Queue layouts can be applied to three-dimensional drawings. From the results on the queuenumber of L^k(G), it is shown that for any fixed directed graph G, L^k(G) has a three-dimensional drawing with O(n) volume, where n is the number of vertices in L^k(G). These results are also applied to specific families of iterated line directed graphs such as de Bruijn, Kautz, butterfly, and wrapped butterfly directed graphs. In particular, the queuenumber of k-ary butterfly directed graphs is determined if k is odd.     

On Switching to H‐Free Graphs

In this article, we study the problem of deciding if, for a fixed graph H, a given graph is switching equivalent to an H‐free graph. Polynomial‐time algorithms are known for H having at most three vertices or isomorphic to P₄. We show that for H isomorphic to a claw, the problem is polynomial, too. On the other hand, we give infinitely many graphs H such that the problem is NP‐complete, thus solving an open problem [Kratochvíl, Ne?et?il and Zýka, Ann Discrete Math 51 (1992)]. Further, we give a characterization of graphs switching equivalent to a K_{1, 2}‐free graph by ten forbidden‐induced subgraphs, each having five vertices. We also give the forbidden‐induced subgraphs for graphs switching equivalent to a forest of bounded vertex degrees.     

Eulerian detachments with local edge-connectivity

For a graph G, a detachment operation at a vertex transforms the graph into a new graph by splitting the vertex into several vertices in such a way that the original graph can be obtained by contracting all the split vertices into a single vertex. A graph obtained from a given graph G by applying detachment operations at several vertices is called a detachment of graph G. While detachment operations may decrease the connectivity of graphs, there are several works on conditions for preserving the connectivity. In this paper, we present necessary and sufficient conditions for a given graph/digraph to have an Eulerian detachment that satisfies a given local edge-connectivity requirement. We also discuss conditions for the detachment to be loopless.     

On conservative and supermagic graphs

A graph is called supermagic if it admits a labelling of the edges by pairwise different consecutive positive integers such that the sum of the labels of the edges incident with a vertex is independent of the particular vertex. A graph G is called conservative if it admits an orientation and a labelling of the edges by integers {1,…,|E(G)|} such that at each vertex the sum of the labels on the incoming edges is equal to the sum of the labels on the outgoing edges. In this paper we deal with conservative graphs and their connection with the supermagic graphs. We introduce a new method to construct supermagic graphs using conservative graphs. Inter alia we show that the union of some circulant graphs and regular complete multipartite graphs are supermagic.