A characterization of domination perfect graphs

Let γ(G) and i(G) be the domination number and independent domination number of a graph G, respectively. Sumner and Moore [8] define a graph G to be domination perfect if γ(H) = i(H), for every induced subgraph H of G. In this article, we give a finite forbidden induced subgraph characterization of domination perfect graphs. Bollobás and Cockayne [4] proved an inequality relating γ(G) and i(G) for the class of K^1,k -free graphs. It is shown that the same inequality holds for a wider class of graphs.     

k-Bounded classes of dominant-independent perfect graphs

Let α(G), γ(G), and i(G) be the independence number, the domination number, and the independent domination number of a graph G, respectively. For any k ≥ 0, we define the following hereditary classes: αi(k) = {G : α(H) − i(H) ≤ k for every H ∈ ISub(G)}; αγ(k) = {G : α(H) − γ(H) ≤ k for every H ∈ ISub(G)}; and iγ(k) = {G : i(H) − γ(H) ≤ k for every H ∈ ISub(G)}, where ISub(G) is the set of all induced subgraphs of a graph G. In this article, we present a finite forbidden induced subgraph characterization for αi(k) and αγ(k) for any k ≥ 0. We conjecture that iγ(k) also has such a characterization. Up to the present, it is known only for iγ(0) (domination perfect graphs [Zverovich & Zverovich, J Graph Theory 20 (1995), 375–395]). © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 32: 303–310, 1999     

Upper domination and upper irredundance perfect graphs

Let β(G), Γ(G) and IR(G) be the independence number, the upper domination number and the upper irredundance number, respectively. A graph G is called Γ-perfect if β(H) = Γ(H), for every induced subgraph H of G. A graph G is called IR-perfect if Γ(H) =IR(H), for every induced subgraph H of G. In this paper, we present a characterization of Γ-perfect graphs in terms of a family of forbidden induced subgraphs, and show that the class of Γ-perfect graphs is a subclass of IR-perfect graphs and that the class of absorbantly perfect graphs is a subclass of Γ-perfect graphs. These results imply a number of known theorems on Γ-perfect graphs and IR-perfect graphs. Moreover, we prove a sufficient condition for a graph to be Γ-perfect and IR-perfect which improves a known analogous result.     

A generalization of perfect graphs—i-perfect graphs

Let i be a positive integer. We generalize the chromatic number _X(G) of G and the clique number o(G) of G as follows: The i-chromatic number of G, denoted by _X(G), is the least number k for which G has a vertex partition V₁, V₂,…, V_k such that the clique number of the subgraph induced by each V_j, 1 ≤ j ≤ k, is at most i. The i-clique number, denoted by o_i(G), is the i-chromatic number of a largest clique in G, which equals [o(G/i]. Clearly _X1(G) = _X(G) and o₁(G) = o(G). An induced subgraph G′ of G is an i-transversal iff o(G′) = i and o(G − G′) = o(G) − i. We generalize the notion of perfect graphs as follows: (1) A graph G is i-perfect iff _Xi(H) = o_i(H) for every induced subgraph H of G. (2) A graph G is perfectly i-transversable iff either o(G) ≤ i or every induced subgraph H of G with o(H) > i contains an i-transversal of H. We study the relationships among i-perfect graphs and perfectly i-transversable graphs. In particular, we show that 1-perfect graphs and perfectly 1-transversable graphs both coincide with perfect graphs, and that perfectly i-transversable graphs form a strict subset of i-perfect graphs for every i ≥ 2. We also show that all planar graphs are i-perfect for every i ≥ 2 and perfectly i-transversable for every i ≥ 3; the latter implies a new proof that planar graphs satisfy the strong perfect graph conjecture. We prove that line graphs of all triangle-free graphs are 2-perfect. Furthermore, we prove for each i greater than or equal to2, that the recognition of i-perfect graphs and the recognition of perfectly i-transversable graphs are intractable and not likely to be in co-NP. We also discuss several issues related to the strong perfect graph conjecture. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Proof of a conjecture on irredundance perfect graphs

Let ir(G) and γ(G) be the irredundance number and the domination number of a graph G, respectively. A graph G is called irredundance perfect if ir(H)=γ(H), for every induced subgraph H of G. In this article we present a result which immediately implies three known conjectures on irredundance perfect graphs. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 41: 292–306, 2002     

Convex domination in the composition and cartesian product of graphs

In this paper we characterize the convex dominating sets in the composition and Cartesian product of two connected graphs. The concepts of clique dominating set and clique domination number of a graph are defined. It is shown that the convex domination number of a composition G[H] of two non-complete connected graphs G and H is equal to the clique domination number of G. The convex domination number of the Cartesian product of two connected graphs is related to the convex domination numbers of the graphs involved.     

A note on domination, girth and minimum degree

Let G be a graph of order n, minimum degree δ?2, girth g?5 and domination number γ. In 1990 Brigham and Dutton [Bounds on the domination number of a graph, Q. J. Math., Oxf. II. Ser. 41 (1990) 269-275] proved that γ?⌈n/2-g/6⌉. This result was recently improved by Volkmann [Upper bounds on the domination number of a graph in terms of diameter and girth, J. Combin. Math. Combin. Comput. 52 (2005) 131-141; An upper bound for the domination number of a graph in terms of order and girth, J. Combin. Math. Combin. Comput. 54 (2005) 195-212] who for i∈{1,2} determined a finite set of graphs G_i such that γ?⌈n/2-g/6-(3i+3)/6⌉ unless G is a cycle or G∈G_i.Our main result is that for every i∈N there is a finite set of graphs G_i such that γ?n/2-g/6-i unless G is a cycle or G∈G_i. Furthermore, we conjecture another improvement of Brigham and Dutton's bound and prove a weakened version of this conjecture.     

Perfect Matchings in Total Domination Critical Graphs

A graph is total domination edge-critical if the addition of any edge decreases the total domination number, while a graph with minimum degree at least two is total domination vertex-critical if the removal of any vertex decreases the total domination number. A 3 _t EC graph is a total domination edge-critical graph with total domination number 3 and a 3 _t VC graph is a total domination vertex-critical graph with total domination number 3. A graph G is factor-critical if G − v has a perfect matching for every vertex v in G. In this paper, we show that every 3 _t EC graph of even order has a perfect matching, while every 3 _t EC graph of odd order with no cut-vertex is factor-critical. We also show that every 3 _t VC graph of even order that is K _1,7-free has a perfect matching, while every 3 _t VC graph of odd order that is K _1,6-free is factor-critical. We show that these results are tight in the sense that there exist 3 _t VC graphs of even order with no perfect matching that are K _1,8-free and 3 _t VC graphs of odd order that are K _1,7-free but not factor-critical.     

Partial characterizations of clique-perfect and coordinated graphs: Superclasses of triangle-free graphs

A graph G is clique-perfect if the cardinality of a maximum clique-independent set of H equals the cardinality of a minimum clique-transversal of H, for every induced subgraph H of G. A graph G is coordinated if the minimum number of colors that can be assigned to the cliques of H in such a way that no two cliques with non-empty intersection receive the same color equals the maximum number of cliques of H with a common vertex, for every induced subgraph H of G. Coordinated graphs are a subclass of perfect graphs. The complete lists of minimal forbidden induced subgraphs for the classes of clique-perfect and coordinated graphs are not known, but some partial characterizations have been obtained. In this paper, we characterize clique-perfect and coordinated graphs by minimal forbidden induced subgraphs when the graph is either paw-free or {gem, W₄, bull}-free, both superclasses of triangle-free graphs.     

Claw‐free circular‐perfect graphs

The circular chromatic number of a graph is a well‐studied refinement of the chromatic number. Circular‐perfect graphs form a superclass of perfect graphs defined by means of this more general coloring concept. This article studies claw‐free circular‐perfect graphs. First, we prove that if G is a connected claw‐free circular‐perfect graph with χ(G)>ω(G), then min{α(G), ω(G)}=2. We use this result to design a polynomial time algorithm that computes the circular chromatic number of claw‐free circular‐perfect graphs. A consequence of the strong perfect graph theorem is that minimal imperfect graphs G have min{α(G), ω(G)}=2. In contrast to this result, it is shown in Z. Pan and X. Zhu [European J Combin 29(4) (2008), 1055–1063] that minimal circular‐imperfect graphs G can have arbitrarily large independence number and arbitrarily large clique number. In this article, we prove that claw‐free minimal circular‐imperfect graphs G have min{α(G), ω(G)}≤3. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 65: 163–172, 2010     

Quasi‐Random Oriented Graphs

We show that a number of conditions on oriented graphs, all of which are satisfied with high probability by randomly oriented graphs, are equivalent. These equivalences are similar to those given by Chung, Graham, and Wilson [5] in the case of unoriented graphs, and by Chung and Graham [3] in the case of tournaments. Indeed, our main theorem extends to the case of a general underlying graph G, the main result of [3] which corresponds to the case that G is complete. One interesting aspect of these results is that exactly two of the four orientations of a four cycle can be used for a quasi‐randomness condition, i.e., if the number of appearances they make in D is close to the expected number in a random orientation of the same underlying graph, then the same is true for every small oriented graph H.     

On the strong perfect graph conjecture

A graph G is perfect if for every induced subgraph H of G the chromatic number χ(H) equals the largest number ω(H) of pairwise adjacent vertices in H. Berge's famous Strong Perfect Graph Conjecture asserts that a graph G is perfect if and only if neither G nor its complement G¯ contains an odd chordless cycle of length at least 5. Its resolution has eluded researchers for more than 20 years. We prove that the conjecture is true for a class of graphs that we describe by forbidden configurations.     

A decomposition for strongly perfect graphs

A graph G is strongly perfect if every induced subgraph H of G contains a stable set that meets all the maximal cliques of H. We present a graph decomposition that preserves strong perfection: more precisely, a stitch decomposition of a graph G = (V, E) is a partition of V into nonempty disjoint subsets V₁, V₂ such that in every P₄ with vertices in both V_iapos;s, each of the three edges has an endpoint in V₁ and the other in V₂. We give a good characterization of graphs that admit a stitch decomposition and establish several results concerning the stitch decomposition of strongly perfect graphs.     

Circular perfect graphs

For 1 ≤ d ≤ k, let K_k/d be the graph with vertices 0, 1, …, k ? 1, in which i ～j if d ≤ |i ? j| ≤ k ? d. The circular chromatic number χ_c(G) of a graph G is the minimum of those k/d for which G admits a homomorphism to K_k/d. The circular clique number ω_c(G) of G is the maximum of those k/d for which K_k/d admits a homomorphism to G. A graph G is circular perfect if for every induced subgraph H of G, we have χ_c(H) = ω_c(H). In this paper, we prove that if G is circular perfect then for every vertex x of G, N_G[x] is a perfect graph. Conversely, we prove that if for every vertex x of G, N_G[x] is a perfect graph and G ? N[x] is a bipartite graph with no induced P₅ (the path with five vertices), then G is a circular perfect graph. In a companion paper, we apply the main result of this paper to prove an analog of Haj?os theorem for circular chromatic number for k/d ≥ 3. Namely, we shall design a few graph operations and prove that for any k/d ≥ 3, starting from the graph K_k/d, one can construct all graphs of circular chromatic number at least k/d by repeatedly applying these graph operations. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 48: 186–209, 2005     

Domination versus disjunctive domination in graphs

A dominating set in a graph G is a set S of vertices of G such that every vertex not in S is adjacent to a vertex of S. The domination number of G is the minimum cardinality of a dominating set of G. For a positive integer b, a set S of vertices in a graph G is a b-disjunctive dominating set in G if every vertex v not in S is adjacent to a vertex of S or has at least b vertices in S at distance 2 from it in G. The b-disjunctive domination number of G is the minimum cardinality of a b-disjunctive dominating set. In this paper, we continue the study of disjunctive domination in graphs. We present properties of b-disjunctive dominating sets in a graph. A characterization of minimal b-disjunctive dominating sets is given. We obtain bounds on the ratio of the domination number and the b-disjunctive domination number for various families of graphs, including regular graphs and trees.     

Reduced graphs of diameter two

A graph H is collapsible if for every subset X ? V(H), H has a spanning connected subgraph whose set of odd-degree vertices is X. In any graph G there is a unique collection of maximal collapsible subgraphs, and when all of them are contracted, the resulting contraction of G is a reduced graph. Interest in reduced graphs arises from the fact [4] that a graph G has a spanning closed trail if and only if its corresponding reduced graph has a spanning closed trail. The concept can also be applied to study hamiltonian line graphs [11] or double cycle covers [8]. In this article, we characterize the reduced graphs of diameter two. As applications, we obtain prior results in [12] and [14], and show that every 2-edge-connected graph with diameter at most two either admits a double cycle cover with three even subgraphs or is isomorphic to the Petersen graph.     

Matching properties in connected domination critical graphs

A dominating set of vertices S of a graph G is connected if the subgraph G[S] is connected. Let γ_c(G) denote the size of any smallest connected dominating set in G. A graph G is k-γ-connected-critical if γ_c(G)=k, but if any edge is added to G, then γ_c(G+e)?k-1. This is a variation on the earlier concept of criticality of edge addition with respect to ordinary domination where a graph G was defined to be k-critical if the domination number of G is k, but if any edge is added to G, the domination number falls to k-1.A graph G is factor-critical if G-v has a perfect matching for every vertex v∈V(G), bicritical if G-u-v has a perfect matching for every pair of distinct vertices u,v∈V(G) or, more generally, k-factor-critical if, for every set S⊆V(G) with |S|=k, the graph G-S contains a perfect matching. In two previous papers [N. Ananchuen, M.D. Plummer, Matching properties in domination critical graphs, Discrete Math. 277 (2004) 1-13; N. Ananchuen, M.D. Plummer, 3-factor-criticality in domination critical graphs, Discrete Math. 2007, to appear [3].] on ordinary (i.e., not necessarily connected) domination, the first and third authors showed that under certain assumptions regarding connectivity and minimum degree, a critical graph G with (ordinary) domination number 3 will be factor-critical (if |V(G)| is odd), bicritical (if |V(G)| is even) or 3-factor-critical (again if |V(G)| is odd). Analogous theorems for connected domination are presented here. Although domination and connected domination are similar in some ways, we will point out some interesting differences between our new results for the case of connected domination and the results in [N. Ananchuen, M.D. Plummer, Matching properties in domination critical graphs, Discrete Math. 277 (2004) 1-13; N. Ananchuen, M.D. Plummer, 3-factor-criticality in domination critical graphs, Discrete Math. 2007, to appear [3].].     

Partial characterizations of coordinated graphs: line graphs and complements of forests

A graph G is coordinated if the minimum number of colors that can be assigned to the cliques of H in such a way that no two cliques with non-empty intersection receive the same color is equal to the maximum number of cliques of H with a common vertex, for every induced subgraph H of G. Coordinated graphs are a subclass of perfect graphs. The list of minimal forbidden induced subgraphs for the class of coordinated graphs is not known. In this paper, we present a partial result in this direction, that is, we characterize coordinated graphs by minimal forbidden induced subgraphs when the graph is either a line graph, or the complement of a forest. F. Bonomo, F. Soulignac, and G. Sueiro’s research partially supported by UBACyT Grant X184 (Argentina), and CNPq under PROSUL project Proc. 490333/2004-4 (Brazil). The research of G. Durán is partially supported by FONDECyT Grant 1080286 and Millennium Science Institute “Complex Engineering Systems” (Chile), and CNPq under PROSUL project Proc. 490333/2004-4 (Brazil).     

Partial characterizations of clique-perfect and coordinated graphs: superclasses of triangle-free graphs

A graph is clique-perfect if the cardinality of a maximum clique-independent set equals the cardinality of a minimum clique-transversal, for all its induced subgraphs. A graph G is coordinated if the chromatic number of the clique graph of H equals the maximum number of cliques of H with a common vertex, for every induced subgraph H of G. Coordinated graphs are a subclass of perfect graphs. The complete lists of minimal forbidden induced subgraphs for the classes of cliqueperfect and coordinated graphs are not known, but some partial characterizations have been obtained. In this paper, we characterize clique-perfect and coordinated graphs by minimal forbidden induced subgraphs when the graph is either paw-free or {gem,W₄,bull}-free, two superclasses of triangle-free graphs.     

A note on Ki-perfect graphs

Ki-perfect graphs are a special instance of F - G perfect graphs, where F and G are fixed graphs with F a partial subgraph of G. Given S, a collection of G-subgraphs of graph K, an F - G cover of S is a set of T of F-subgraphs of K such that each subgraph in S contains as a subgraph a member of T. An F - G packing of S is a subcollection S′? S such that no two subgraphs in S′ have an F-subgraph in common. K is F - G perfect if for all such S, the minimum cardinality of an F - G cover of S equals the maximum cardinality of an F - G packing of S. Thus K_i-perfect graphs are precisely K_i-1 - K_i perfect graphs. We develop a hypergraph characterization of F - G perfect graphs that leads to an alternate proof of previous results on K_i-perfect graphs as well as to a characterization of F - G perfect graphs for other instances of F and G.