Caterpillar arboricity of planar graphs

We solve a conjecture of Roditty, Shoham and Yuster [P.J. Cameron (Ed.), Problems from the 17th British Combinatorial Conference, Discrete Math., 231 (2001) 469-478; Y. Roditty, B. Shoham, R. Yuster, Monotone paths in edge-ordered sparse graphs, Discrete Math. 226 (2001) 411-417] on the caterpillar arboricity of planar graphs. We prove that for every planar graph G=(V,E), the edge set E can be partitioned into four subsets (E_i)_1?i?4 in such a way that G[E_i], for 1?i?4, is a forest of caterpillars. We also provide a linear-time algorithm which constructs for a given planar graph G, four forests of caterpillars covering the edges of G.     

Vertex partitions of (C3,C4,C6)-free planar graphs

A graph is $(k_1,k_2)$-colorable if it admits a vertex partition into a graph with maximum degree at most $k_1$ and a graph with maximum degree at most $k_2$. We show that every $(C_3,C_4,C_6)$-free planar graph is $(0,6)$-colorable. We also show that deciding whether a $(C_3,C_4,C_6)$-free planar graph is $(0,3)$-colorable is NP-complete.     

Gromov hyperbolicity of periodic planar graphs

The study of hyperbolic graphs is an interesting topic since the hyperbolicity of a geodesic metric space is equivalent to the hyperbolicity of a graph related to it.The main result in this paper is a very simple characterization of the hyperbolicity of a large class of periodic planar graphs.     

Remarks on the bondage number of planar graphs

The bondage number b(G) of a nonempty graph G is the cardinality of a smallest set of edges whose removal from G results in a graph with domination number greater than the domination number γ(G) of G. In 1998, J.E. Dunbar, T.W. Haynes, U. Teschner, and L. Volkmann posed the conjecture b(G)Δ(G)+1 for every nontrivial connected planar graph G. Two years later, L. Kang and J. Yuan proved b(G)8 for every connected planar graph G, and therefore, they confirmed the conjecture for Δ(G)7. In this paper we show that this conjecture is valid for all connected planar graphs of girth g(G)4 and maximum degree Δ(G)5 as well as for all not 3-regular graphs of girth g(G)5. Some further related results and open problems are also presented.     

Smaller planar triangle-free graphs that are not 3-list-colorable

In 1995, Voigt constructed a planar triangle-free graph that is not 3-list-colorable. It has 166 vertices. Gutner then constructed such a graph with 164 vertices. We present two more graphs with these properties. The first graph has 97 vertices and a failing list assignment using triples from a set of six colors, while the second has 109 vertices and a failing list assignment using triples from a set of five colors.     

Enumeration of non-positive planar trivalent graphs

In this paper we construct inverse bijections between two sequences of finite sets. One sequence is defined by planar diagrams and the other by lattice walks. In [13] it is shown that the number of elements in these two sets are equal. This problem and the methods we use are motivated by the representation theory of the exceptional simple Lie algebra G ₂. However in this account we have emphasised the combinatorics.     

3-list-coloring planar graphs of girth 4

In Thomassen (1995) [4], Thomassen proved that planar graphs of girth at least 5 are 3-choosable. In Li (2009) [3], Li improved Thomassen’s result by proving that planar graphs of girth 4 with no 4-cycle sharing a vertex with another 4- or 5-cycle are 3-choosable. In this paper, we prove that planar graphs of girth 4 with no 4-cycle sharing an edge with another 4- or 5-cycle are 3-choosable. It is clear that our result strengthens Li’s result.     

Cubic planar hamiltonian graphs of various types

Let U be the set of cubic planar hamiltonian graphs, A the set of graphs G in U such that G-v is hamiltonian for any vertex v of G, B the set of graphs G in U such that G-e is hamiltonian for any edge e of G, and C the set of graphs G in U such that there is a hamiltonian path between any two different vertices of G. With the inclusion and/or exclusion of the sets A,B, and C, U is divided into eight subsets. In this paper, we prove that there is an infinite number of graphs in each of the eight subsets.     

Degree distribution in random planar graphs

We prove that for each k?0, the probability that a root vertex in a random planar graph has degree k tends to a computable constant dk, so that the expected number of vertices of degree k is asymptotically dkn, and moreover that k_∑dk=1. The proof uses the tools developed by Giménez and Noy in their solution to the problem of the asymptotic enumeration of planar graphs, and is based on a detailed analysis of the generating functions involved in counting planar graphs. However, in order to keep track of the degree of the root, new technical difficulties arise. We obtain explicit, although quite involved expressions, for the coefficients in the singular expansions of the generating functions of interest, which allow us to use transfer theorems in order to get an explicit expression for the probability generating function p(w)=k_∑dkwk. From this we can compute the dk to any degree of accuracy, and derive the asymptotic estimate dk∼c⋅k−1/2qk for large values of k, where q≈0.67 is a constant defined analytically.     

Total domination in planar graphs of diameter two

MacGillivary and Seyffarth [G. MacGillivray, K. Seyffarth, Domination numbers of planar graphs, J. Graph Theory 22 (1996) 213–229] proved that planar graphs of diameter two have domination number at most three. Goddard and Henning [W. Goddard, M.A. Henning, Domination in planar graphs with small diameter, J. Graph Theory 40 (2002) 1–25] showed that there is a unique planar graph of diameter two with domination number three. It follows that the total domination number of a planar graph of diameter two is at most three. In this paper, we consider the problem of characterizing planar graphs with diameter two and total domination number three. We say that a graph satisfies the domination-cycle property if there is some minimum dominating set of the graph not contained in any induced 5-cycle. We characterize the planar graphs with diameter two and total domination number three that satisfy the domination-cycle property and show that there are exactly thirty-four such planar graphs.     

A bound on the treewidth of planar even-hole-free graphs

The class of planar graphs has unbounded treewidth, since the k×k grid, ∀k∈N, is planar and has treewidth k. So, it is of interest to determine subclasses of planar graphs which have bounded treewidth. In this paper, we show that if G is an even-hole-free planar graph, then it does not contain a 9×9 grid minor. As a result, we have that even-hole-free planar graphs have treewidth at most 49.     

Network flow interdiction on planar graphs

The network flow interdiction problem asks to reduce the value of a maximum flow in a given network as much as possible by removing arcs and vertices of the network constrained to a fixed budget. Although the network flow interdiction problem is strongly NP-complete on general networks, pseudo-polynomial algorithms were found for planar networks with a single source and a single sink and without the possibility to remove vertices. In this work, we introduce pseudo-polynomial algorithms that overcome various restrictions of previous methods. In particular, we propose a planarity-preserving transformation that enables incorporation of vertex removals and vertex capacities in pseudo-polynomial interdiction algorithms for planar graphs. Additionally, a new approach is introduced that allows us to determine in pseudo-polynomial time the minimum interdiction budget needed to remove arcs and vertices of a given network such that the demands of the sink node cannot be completely satisfied anymore. The algorithm works on planar networks with multiple sources and sinks satisfying that the sum of the supplies at the sources equals the sum of the demands at the sinks. A simple extension of the proposed method allows us to broaden its applicability to solve network flow interdiction problems on planar networks with a single source and sink having no restrictions on the demand and supply. The proposed method can therefore solve a wider class of flow interdiction problems in pseudo-polynomial time than previous pseudo-polynomial algorithms and is the first pseudo-polynomial algorithm that can solve non-trivial planar flow interdiction problems with multiple sources and sinks. Furthermore, we show that the k-densest subgraph problem on planar graphs can be reduced to a network flow interdiction problem on a planar graph with multiple sources and sinks and polynomially bounded input numbers.     

Length-bounded disjoint paths in planar graphs

The following problem is considered: given: an undirected planar graph G=(V,E) embedded in , distinct pairs of vertices {r₁,s₁},…,{r_k,s_k} of G adjacent to the unbounded face, positive integers b₁,…,b_k and a function ; find: pairwise vertex-disjoint paths P₁,…,P_k such that for each i=1,…,k, P_i is a r_i−s_i-path and the sum of the l-length of all edges in P_i is at most b_i. It is shown that the problem is NP-hard in the strong sense. A pseudo-polynomial-time algorithm is given for the case of k=2.     

On 3-choosable planar graphs of girth at least 4

Let G be a plane graph of girth at least 4. Two cycles of G are intersecting if they have at least one vertex in common. In this paper, we show that if a plane graph G has neither intersecting 4-cycles nor a 5-cycle intersecting with any 4-cycle, then G is 3-choosable, which extends one of Thomassen’s results [C. Thomassen, 3-list-coloring planar graphs of girth 5, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B 64 (1995) 101-107].     

DP-4-colorability of planar graphs without intersecting 5-cycles

DP-coloring of graphs as a generalization of list coloring was introduced by Dvo?ák and Postle (2018). In this paper, we show that every planar graph without intersecting 5-cycles is DP-4-colorable, which improves the result of Hu and Wu (2017), who proved that every planar graph without intersecting 5-cycles is 4-choosable, and the results of Kim and Ozeki (2018).     

Adaptable choosability of planar graphs with sparse short cycles

Given a (possibly improper) edge colouring F of a graph G, a vertex colouring of G is adapted toF if no colour appears at the same time on an edge and on its two endpoints. A graph G is called (for some positive integer k) if for any list assignment L to the vertices of G, with |L(v)|≥k for all v, and any edge colouring F of G, G admits a colouring c adapted to F where c(v)∈L(v) for all v. This paper proves that a planar graph G is adaptably 3-choosable if any two triangles in G have distance at least 2 and no triangle is adjacent to a 4-cycle.     

Polynomial algorithms for (integral) maximum two-flows in vertex edge-capacitated planar graphs

In this paper we study the maximum two-flow problem in vertex- and edge-capacitated undirected ST₂-planar graphs, that is, planar graphs where the vertices of each terminal pair are on the same face. For such graphs we provide an O(n) algorithm for finding a minimum two-cut and an O(n log n) algorithm for determining a maximum two-flow and show that the value of a maximum two-flow equals the value of a minimum two-cut. We further show that the flow obtained is half-integral and provide a characterization of edge and vertex capacitated ST₂-planar graphs that guarantees a maximum two-flow that is integral. By a simple variation of our maximum two-flow algorithm we then develop, for ST₂-planar graphs with vertex and edge capacities, an O(n log n) algorithm for determining an integral maximum two-flow of value not less than the value of a maximum two-flow minus one.