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.     

Well-covered graphs and factors

A maximum independent set of vertices in a graph is a set of pairwise nonadjacent vertices of largest cardinality α. Plummer [Some covering concepts in graphs, J. Combin. Theory 8 (1970) 91-98] defined a graph to be well-covered, if every independent set is contained in a maximum independent set of G. Every well-covered graph G without isolated vertices has a perfect [1,2]-factor F_G, i.e. a spanning subgraph such that each component is 1-regular or 2-regular. Here, we characterize all well-covered graphs G satisfying α(G)=α(F_G) for some perfect [1,2]-factor F_G. This class contains all well-covered graphs G without isolated vertices of order n with α?(n-1)/2, and in particular all very well-covered graphs.     

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.     

Triangle-free graphs with uniquely restricted maximum matchings and their corresponding greedoids

A matching M is uniquely restricted in a graph G if its saturated vertices induce a subgraph which has a unique perfect matching, namely M itself [M.C. Golumbic, T. Hirst, M. Lewenstein, Uniquely restricted matchings, Algorithmica 31 (2001) 139-154]. G is a König-Egerváry graph provided α(G)+μ(G)=|V(G)| [R.W. Deming, Independence numbers of graphs—an extension of the König-Egerváry theorem, Discrete Math. 27 (1979) 23-33; F. Sterboul, A characterization of the graphs in which the transversal number equals the matching number, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B 27 (1979) 228-229], where μ(G) is the size of a maximum matching and α(G) is the cardinality of a maximum stable set. S is a local maximum stable set of G, and we write S∈Ψ(G), if S is a maximum stable set of the subgraph spanned by S∪N(S), where N(S) is the neighborhood of S. Nemhauser and Trotter [Vertex packings: structural properties and algorithms, Math. Programming 8 (1975) 232-248], proved that any S∈Ψ(G) is a subset of a maximum stable set of G. In [V.E. Levit, E. Mandrescu, Local maximum stable sets in bipartite graphs with uniquely restricted maximum matchings, Discrete Appl. Math. 132 (2003) 163-174] we have proved that for a bipartite graph G,Ψ(G) is a greedoid on its vertex set if and only if all its maximum matchings are uniquely restricted. In this paper we demonstrate that if G is a triangle-free graph, then Ψ(G) is a greedoid if and only if all its maximum matchings are uniquely restricted and for any S∈Ψ(G), the subgraph spanned by S∪N(S) is a König-Egerváry graph.     

On Unicyclic Graphs with Uniquely Restricted Maximum Matchings

A graph is called unicyclic if it owns only one cycle. A matching M is called uniquely restricted in a graph G if it is the unique perfect matching of the subgraph induced by the vertices that M saturates. Clearly, μ _r (G) ≤ μ(G), where μ _r (G) denotes the size of a maximum uniquely restricted matching, while μ(G) equals the matching number of G. In this paper we study unicyclic bipartite graphs enjoying μ _r (G) = μ(G). In particular, we characterize unicyclic bipartite graphs having only uniquely restricted maximum matchings. Finally, we present some polynomial time algorithms recognizing unicyclic bipartite graphs with (only) uniquely restricted maximum matchings.     

Chromatic neighborhood sets

For each vertex v in a graph G, we denote by χ_v the chromatic number of the subgraph induced by its neighborhood, and we set χ_N(G) = {χ_v: v ∈ V(G)}. We characterize those sets X for which there exists some G of prescribed size with X = χ_N(G), and prove a related conjecture of Fajtlowicz. We also discuss those graphs that are extremal with respect to χ_N(G). © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 31: 303–311, 1999     

Paired-Domination in Claw-Free Graphs

A paired-dominating set of a graph G is a dominating set of vertices whose induced subgraph has a perfect matching, while the paired-domination number, denoted by γ _pr (G), is the minimum cardinality of a paired-dominating set in G. In this paper we investigate the paired-domination number in claw-free graphs. Specifically, we show that γ _pr (G) ≤ (3n ? 1)/5 if G is a connected claw-free graph of order n with minimum degree at least three and that this bound is sharp.     

On the chromatic forcing number of a random graph

When we wish to compute lower bounds for the chromatic number χ(G) of a graph G, it is of interest to know something about the ‘chromatic forcing number’ f_χ(G), which is defined to be the least number of vertices in a subgraph H of G such that χ(H) = χ(G). We show here that for random graphs G_n,p with n vertices, f_χ(G_n,p) is almost surely at least ($\text{1}\text{2}$?ε)n, despite say the fact that the largest complete subgraph of G_n,p has only about log n vertices.     

Graphical properties related to minimal imperfection

Say that graph G is partitionable if there exist integers α?2, ω? 2, such that |V(G)| ≡ αω + 1 and for every υ?V(G) there exist partitions of V(G)\ υ into stable sets of size α and into eliques of size ω. An immediate consequence of Lovász' characterization of perfect graphs is that every minimal imperfect graph G is partitionable with α ≡ α (G) andω ≡ ω(G).Padberg has shown that in every minimal imperfect graph G the cliques and stable sets of maximum size satisfy a series of conditions that reflect extraordinary symmetry G. Among these conditions are: the number of cliques of size ω(G) is exactly |V(G)|; the number of stable sets of size α(G) is exactly |V(G)|: every vertex of G is contained in exactly ω(G) cliques of size ω(G) and α(G) stable sets of size α(G): for every clique Q (respectively, stable set S) of maximum size there is a unique stable set S (clique O) of maximum size such that Q∩S ≡ Ø.Let C_n^k denote the graph whose vertices can be enumerated as υ₁,…,υ_n in such a way that υ₁ and υ₁ are adjacent in G if and only if i and j differ by at most k, modulo n. Chvátal has shown that Berge's Strong Perfect graph Conjecture is equivalent to the conjecture that if G is minimal imperfect with α(G) ≡ αandω(G) ≡ ω, then G has a spanning subgraph isomorphic to C_αω+1^ω. Padberg's conditions are sufficiently restrictive to suggest the possibility of establishing the Strong Perfect Graph Conjecture by proving that any graph G satisfying these conditions must contain a spanning subgraph isomorphic to C_αω+1^ω, whereα(G) ≡ αandω(G) ≡ ω. It is shown here, using only elementary linear algebra, that all partitionable graphs satisfy Padberg's conditions, as well as additional properties of the same spirit. Then examples are provided of partitionable graphs which contain no spanning subgraph isomorphic to C_αω+1^ω, whereα(G) ≡ α and ω(G) ≡ ω.     

Stability in CAN-free graphs

A class $\text{F}$ of graphs characterized by three forbidden subgraphs C, A, N is considered; C is the claw (the unique graph with degree sequence (1, 1, 1, 3)), A is the antenna (a graph with degree sequence (1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3) which does not contain C), and N is the net (the unique graph with degree sequence (1, 1, 1, 3, 3, 3)). These graphs are called CAN-free. A construction is described which associates with every CAN-free graph G another CAN-free graph G′ with strictly fewer nodes than G and with stbility number α(G′) = α(G) ? 1. This gives a good algorithm for determining the stability number of CAN-free graphs.     

Constructing and classifying neighborhood anti-Sperner graphs

For a simple graph G let N_G(u) be the (open) neighborhood of vertex u∈V(G). Then G is neighborhood anti-Sperner (NAS) if for every u there is a v∈V(G)?{u} with N_G(u)⊆N_G(v). And a graph H is neighborhood distinct (ND) if every neighborhood is distinct, i.e., if N_H(u)≠N_H(v) when u≠v, for all u and v∈V(H).In Porter and Yucas [T.D. Porter, J.L. Yucas. Graphs whose vertex-neighborhoods are anti-sperner, Bulletin of the Institute of Combinatorics and its Applications 44 (2005) 69-77] a characterization of regular NAS graphs was given: ‘each regular NAS graph can be obtained from a host graph by replacing vertices by null graphs of appropriate sizes, and then joining these null graphs in a prescribed manner’. We extend this characterization to all NAS graphs, and give algorithms to construct all NAS graphs from host ND graphs. Then we find and classify all connected r-regular NAS graphs for r=0,1,…,6.     

Graph operations that are good for greedoids

S is a local maximum stable set of a graph G, and we write S∈Ψ(G), if the set S is a maximum stable set of the subgraph induced by S∪N(S), where N(S) is the neighborhood of S. In Levit and Mandrescu (2002) [5] we have proved that Ψ(G) is a greedoid for every forest G. The cases of bipartite graphs and triangle-free graphs were analyzed in Levit and Mandrescu (2003) [6] and Levit and Mandrescu (2007) [7] respectively.In this paper we give necessary and sufficient conditions for Ψ(G) to form a greedoid, where G is:

(a)

the disjoint union of a family of graphs;

(b)

the Zykov sum of a family of graphs;

(c)

the corona X°{H₁,H₂,…,H_n} obtained by joining each vertex x of a graph X to all the vertices of a graph H_x.

     

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.     

On minimally circular-imperfect graphs

A circular-perfect graph is a graph of which each induced subgraph has the same circular chromatic number as its circular clique number. In this paper, (1) we prove a lower bound on the order of minimally circular-imperfect graphs, and characterize those that attain the bound; (2) we prove that if G is a claw-free minimally circular-imperfect graph such that ω_c(G-x)>ω(G-x) for some x∈V(G), then G=K_(2k+1)/2+x for an integer k; and (3) we also characterize all minimally circular-imperfect line graphs.     

A note on the characterization of domination perfect graphs

A graph G is domination perfect if for each induced subgraph H of G, γ(H) = i(H), where γ and i are a graph's domination number and independent domination number, respectively. Zverovich and Zverovich [3] offered a finite forbidden induced characterization of domination perfect graphs. This characterization is not correct, but the ideas in [3] can be used to weaken the known sufficient conditions for a graph to be domination perfect and to obtain short proofs of some results regarding domination perfect graphs. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

New edge neighborhood graphs

Let G be an undirected simple connected graph, and e = uv be an edge of G. Let N _G(e) be the subgraph of G induced by the set of all vertices of G which are not incident to e but are adjacent to u or v. Let N _e be the class of all graphs H such that, for some graph G,N _G (e) H for every edge e of G. Zelinka [3] studied edge neighborhood graphs and obtained some special graphs in N _e. Balasubramanian and Alsardary [1] obtained some other graphs in N _e. In this paper we given some new graphs in N _e.     

Extremal perfect graphs for a bound on the domination number

We examine classes of extremal graphs for the inequality γ(G)?|V|-max{d(v)+β_v(G)}, where γ(G) is the domination number of graph G, d(v) is the degree of vertex v, and β_v(G) is the size of a largest matching in the subgraph of G induced by the non-neighbours of v. This inequality improves on the classical upper bound |V|-maxd(v) due to Claude Berge. We give a characterization of the bipartite graphs and of the chordal graphs that achieve equality in the inequality. The characterization implies that the extremal bipartite graphs can be recognized in polynomial time, while the corresponding problem remains NP-complete for the extremal chordal graphs.     

A note on graphs whose neighborhoods are n-cycles

Let G be a graph, and let v be a vertex of G. We denote by N(v) the set of vertices of G which are adjacent to v, and by 〈N(v)〉 the subgraph of G induced by N(v). We call 〈N(v)〉 the neighborhood of v. In a paper of 1968, Agakishieva has, as one of her main theorems, the statement: “Graphs in which every neighborhood is an n-cycle exist if and only if 3?n?6.” It it is the object of this note to provide a list of counter examples to this statement.