Polar graphs and maximal independent sets

We study two central problems of algorithmic graph theory: finding maximum and minimum maximal independent sets. Both problems are known to be NP-hard in general. Moreover, they remain NP-hard in many special classes of graphs. For instance, the problem of finding minimum maximal independent sets has been recently proven to be NP-hard in the class of so-called (1,2)-polar graphs. On the other hand, both problems can be solved in polynomial time for (1,1)-polar, also known as split graphs. In this paper, we address the question of distinguishing new classes of graphs admitting polynomial-time solutions for the two problems in question. To this end, we extend the hierarchy of (α,β)-polar graphs and study the computational complexity of the problems on polar graphs of special types.     

A polynomial-time algorithm for near-unanimity graphs

We present a simple polynomial-time algorithm that recognises reflexive, symmetric graphs admitting a near-unanimity operation. Several other characterisations of these graphs are also presented.     

The core and the Weber set of games on augmenting systems

This paper deals with cooperative games in which only certain coalitions are allowed to form. There have been previous models developed to confront the problem of unallowable coalitions. Games restricted by a communication graph were introduced by Myerson and Owen. In their model, the feasible coalitions are those that induce connected subgraphs. Another type of model is introduced in Gilles, Owen and van den Brink. In their model, the possibilities of coalition formation are determined by the positions of the players in a so-called permission structure. Faigle proposed a general model for cooperative games defined on lattice structures. In this paper, the restrictions to the cooperation are given by a combinatorial structure called augmenting system which generalizes antimatroid structure and the system of connected subgraphs of a graph. In this framework, the core and the Weber set of games on augmenting systems are introduced and it is proved that monotone convex games have a non-empty core. Moreover, we obtain a characterization of the convexity of these games in terms of the core of the game and the Weber set of the extended game.     

On the complexity of the dominating induced matching problem in hereditary classes of graphs

The dominating induced matching problem, also known as efficient edge domination, is the problem of determining whether a graph has an induced matching that dominates every edge of the graph. This problem is known to be NP-complete. We study the computational complexity of the problem in special graph classes. In the present paper, we identify a critical class for this problem (i.e., a class lying on a “boundary” separating difficult instances of the problem from polynomially solvable ones) and derive a number of polynomial-time results. In particular, we develop polynomial-time algorithms to solve the problem for claw-free graphs and convex graphs.     

Tricyclic graphs with maximum Merrifield-Simmons index

It is well known that the graph invariant, ‘the Merrifield-Simmons index’ is important one in structural chemistry. The connected acyclic graphs with maximal and minimal Merrifield-Simmons indices are determined by Prodinger and Tichy [H. Prodinger, R.F. Tichy, Fibonacci numbers of graphs, Fibonacci Quart. 20 (1982) 16-21]. The sharp upper and lower bounds for the Merrifield-Simmons indices of unicyclic graphs are characterized by Pedersen and Vestergaard [A.S. Pedersen, P.D. Vestergaard, The number of independent sets in unicyclic graphs, Discrete Appl. Math. 152 (2005) 246-256]. The sharp upper bound for the Merrifield-Simmons index of bicyclic graphs is obtained by Deng, Chen and Zhang [H. Deng, S. Chen, J. Zhang, The Merrifield-Simmons index in (n,n+1)-graphs, J. Math. Chem. 43 (1) (2008) 75-91]. The sharp lower bound for the Merrifield-Simmons index of bicyclic graphs is determined by Jing and Li [W. Jing, S. Li, The number of independent sets in bicyclic graphs, Ars Combin, 2008 (in press)]. In this paper, we will consider the tricyclic graph, i.e., a connected graph with cyclomatic number 3. The tricyclic graph with n vertices having maximum Merrifield-Simmons index is determined.     

The number of independent sets in unicyclic graphs with a given diameter

Let U_n,d denote the set of unicyclic graphs with a given diameter d. In this paper, the unique unicyclic graph in U_n,d with the maximum number of independent sets, is characterized.     

Independence number of de Bruijn graphs

In this paper, we give several exact values of the independence number of a de Bruijn graph UB(d,D) and in the other cases, we establish pertinent lower and upper bounds of this parameter. We show that asymptotically, if d is even, the ratio of the number of vertices of a greatest independent set of UB(d,D) is .     

Two problems on independent sets in graphs

Let i_t(G) denote the number of independent sets of size t in a graph G. Levit and Mandrescu have conjectured that for all bipartite G the sequence (i_t(G))_t≥0 (the independent set sequence of G) is unimodal. We provide evidence for this conjecture by showing that this is true for almost all equibipartite graphs. Specifically, we consider the random equibipartite graph G(n,n,p), and show that for any fixed p∈(0,1] its independent set sequence is almost surely unimodal, and moreover almost surely log-concave except perhaps for a vanishingly small initial segment of the sequence. We obtain similar results for .We also consider the problem of estimating i(G)=∑_t≥0i_t(G) for G in various families. We give a sharp upper bound on the number of independent sets in an n-vertex graph with minimum degree δ, for all fixed δ and sufficiently large n. Specifically, we show that the maximum is achieved uniquely by K_δ,n−δ, the complete bipartite graph with δ vertices in one partition class and n−δ in the other.We also present a weighted generalization: for all fixed x>0 and δ>0, as long as n=n(x,δ) is large enough, if G is a graph on n vertices with minimum degree δ then ∑_t≥0i_t(G)x^t≤∑_t≥0i_t(K_δ,n−δ)x^t with equality if and only if G=K_δ,n−δ.     

Threshold graphs, shifted complexes, and graphical complexes

We consider a variety of connections between threshold graphs, shifted complexes, and simplicial complexes naturally formed from a graph. These graphical complexes include the independent set, neighborhood, and dominance complexes. We present a number of structural results and relations among them including new characterizations of the class of threshold graphs.     

Independent packings in structured graphs

Packing a maximum number of disjoint triangles into a given graph G is NP-hard, even for most classes of structured graphs. In contrast, we show that packing a maximum number of independent (that is, disjoint and nonadjacent) triangles is polynomial-time solvable for many classes of structured graphs, including weakly chordal graphs, asteroidal triple-free graphs, polygon-circle graphs, and interval-filament graphs. These classes contain other well-known classes such as chordal graphs, cocomparability graphs, circle graphs, circular-arc graphs, and outerplanar graphs. Our results apply more generally to independent packings by members of any family of connected graphs. Research of both authors is supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.     

Brambles and independent packings in chordal graphs

An independent packing of triangles is a set of pairwise disjoint triangles, no two of which are joined by an edge. A triangle bramble is a set of triangles, every pair of which intersect or are joined by an edge. More generally, I consider independent packings and brambles of any specified connected graphs, not just triangles. I give a min-max theorem for the maximum number of graphs in an independent packing of any family of connected graphs in a chordal graph, and a dual min-max theorem for the maximum number of graphs in a bramble in a chordal graph.     

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.     

Axiomatizations of the Shapley value for games on augmenting systems

This paper deals with cooperative games in which only certain coalitions are allowed to form. There have been previous models developed to confront the problem of unallowable coalitions. Games restricted by a communication graph were introduced by Myerson and Owen. In their model, the feasible coalitions are those that induce connected subgraphs. Another type of model is introduced in Gilles, Owen and van den Brink. In their model, the possibilities of coalition formation are determined by the positions of the players in a so-called permission structure. Faigle proposed another model for cooperative games defined on lattice structures. We introduce a combinatorial structure called augmenting system which is a generalization of the antimatroid structure and the system of connected subgraphs of a graph. In this framework, the Shapley value of games on augmenting systems is introduced and two axiomatizations of this value are showed.     

Counting independent sets in Riordan graphs

The notion of a Riordan graph was introduced recently, and it is a far-reaching generalization of the well-known Pascal graphs and Toeplitz graphs. However, apart from a certain subclass of Toeplitz graphs, nothing was known on independent sets in Riordan graphs.In this paper, we give exact enumeration and lower and upper bounds for the number of independent sets for various classes of Riordan graphs. Remarkably, we offer a variety of methods to solve the problems that range from the structural decomposition theorem to methods in combinatorics on words. Some of our results are valid for any graph.     

On geodesic structures of weakly median graphs I. Decomposition and octahedral graphs

We prove that the non-trivial (finite or infinite) weakly median graphs which are undecomposable with respect to gated amalgamation and Cartesian multiplication are the 5-wheels, the subhyperoctahedra different from K₁, the path K_1,2 and the 4-cycle K_2,2, and the two-connected K₄- and K_1,1,3-free bridged graphs. These prime graphs are exactly the weakly median graphs which do not have any proper gated subgraphs other than singletons. For finite graphs, these results were already proved in [H.-J. Bandelt, V.C. Chepoi, The algebra of metric betweenness I: subdirect representation, retracts, and axiomatics of weakly median graphs, preprint, 2002]. A graph G is said to have the half-space copoint property (HSCP) if every non-trivial half-space of the geodesic convexity of G is a copoint at each of its neighbors. It turns out that any median graph has the HSCP. We characterize the weakly median graphs having the HSCP. We prove that the class of these graphs is closed under gated amalgamation and Cartesian multiplication, and we describe the prime and the finite regular elements of this class.