Pathwidth of outerplanar graphs

We are interested in the relation between the pathwidth of a biconnected outerplanar graph and the pathwidth of its (geometric) dual. Bodlaender and Fomin [3], after having proved that the pathwidth of every biconnected outerplanar graph is always at most twice the pathwidth of its (geometric) dual plus two, conjectured that there exists a constant c such that the pathwidth of every biconnected outerplanar graph is at most c plus the pathwidth of its dual. They also conjectured that this was actually true with c being one for every biconnected planar graph. Fomin [10] proved that the second conjecture is true for all planar triangulations. First, we construct for each p ≥ 1, a biconnected outerplanar graph of pathwidth 2p + 1 whose (geometric) dual has pathwidth p + 1, thereby disproving both conjectures. Next, we also disprove two other conjectures (one of Bodlaender and Fomin [3], implied by one of Fomin [10]. Finally we prove, in an algorithmic way, that the pathwidth of every biconnected outerplanar graph is at most twice the pathwidth of its (geometric) dual minus one. A tight interval for the studied relation is therefore obtained, and we show that all cases in the interval happen. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 55: 27–41, 2007     

On self duality of pathwidth in polyhedral graph embeddings

Let G be a 3‐connected planar graph and G^* be its dual. We show that the pathwidth of G^* is at most 6 times the pathwidth of G. We prove this result by relating the pathwidth of a graph with the cut‐width of its medial graph and we extend it to bounded genus embeddings. We also show that there exist 3‐connected planar graphs such that the pathwidth of such a graph is at least 1.5 times the pathwidth of its dual. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 55: 42–54, 2007     

The Linear Arboricity of Series-Parallel Graphs

 The linear arboricity la(G) of a graph G is the minimum number of linear forests which partition the edges of G. A graph is called series-parallel if it contains no subgraphs homeomorphic to K ₄. In this paper, we prove that for any series-parallel graph G having Δ (G)≥3. Since an outerplanar graph is a series-parallel graph, this is also true for any outerplanar graph. Received: August 20, 1997 Revised: March 12, 1999     

A characterization of α-outerplanar graphs

Chartrand and Harary have shown that if G is a non-outerplanar graph such that, for every edge e, both the deletion G\e and the contraction G/e of e from G are outerplanar, then G is isomorphic to K₄ or K_2,3. An α-outerplanar graph is a graph which is not outerplanar such that, for some edge α, both G\α and G/α are outerplanar. We describe various results for the class of α-outerplanar graphs and obtain a characterization of the class. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A Polynomial-Time Algorithm for Finding Regular Simple Paths in Outerplanar Graphs

Let G be a labeled directed graph with arc labels drawn from alphabet Σ, R be a regular expression over Σ, and x and y be a pair of nodes from G. The regular simple path (RSP) problem is to determine whether there is a simple path p in G from x to y, such that the concatenation of arc labels along p satisfies R. Although RSP is known to be NP-hard in general, we show that it is solvable in polynomial time when G is outerplanar. The proof proceeds by presenting an algorithm which gives a polynomial-time reduction of RSP for outerplanar graphs to RSP for directed acyclic graphs, a problem which has been shown to be solvable in polynomial time.     

Acyclic edge chromatic number of outerplanar graphs

A proper edge coloring of a graph G is called acyclic if there is no 2‐colored cycle in G. The acyclic edge chromatic number of G, denoted by χ(G), is the least number of colors in an acyclic edge coloring of G. In this paper, we determine completely the acyclic edge chromatic number of outerplanar graphs. The proof is constructive and supplies a polynomial time algorithm to acyclically color the edges of any outerplanar graph G using χ(G) colors. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 64: 22–36, 2010     

Some results on distance two labelling of outerplanar graphs

Let G be an outerplanar graph with maximum degree △. Let χ（G^2） and A（G） denote the chromatic number of the square and the L（2, 1）-labelling number of G, respectively. In this paper we prove the following results： （1） χ（G^2） = 7 if △= 6; （2） λ（G） ≤ △ ＋5 if △ ≥ 4, and ）,（G）≤ 7 if △ = 3; and （3） there is an outerplanar graph G with △ = 4 such that ）λ（G） = 7. These improve some known results on the distance two labelling of outerplanar graphs.     

Augmenting forests to meet odd diameter requirements

Given a graph G=(V,E) and an integer D≥1, we consider the problem of augmenting G by the smallest number of new edges so that the diameter becomes at most D. It is known that no constant approximation algorithms to this problem with an arbitrary graph G can be obtained unless P=NP. For a forest G and an odd D≥3, it was open whether the problem is approximable within a constant factor. In this paper, we give the first constant factor approximation algorithm to the problem with a forest G and an odd D; our algorithm delivers an 8-approximate solution in O(|V|³) time. We also show that a 4-approximate solution to the problem with a forest G and an odd D can be obtained in linear time if the augmented graph is additionally required to be biconnected.     

Point deletions of outerplanar blocks

Let G be a graph. If v is a vertex of G then the (? 1, v)-subgraphs of G are defined to be the point deletions of G, except for G ～ {v}, with v labeled on each. This paper first classifies all outerplanar blocks which have a pair of v-isomorphic (? 1, v)-subgraphs and next classifies all outerplanar blocks which have a pair of isomorphic point deletions. Finally, this classification is used to prove the Harary conjecture for outerplanar blocks, namely that an outerplanar block can be reconstructed from the isomorphism classes of its point deletions.     

Constant Approximation Algorithms for Embedding Graph Metrics into Trees and Outerplanar Graphs

In this paper, we present a simple factor 6 algorithm for approximating the optimal multiplicative distortion of embedding a graph metric into a tree metric (thus improving and simplifying the factor 100 and 27 algorithms of Bǎdoiu et al. (Proceedings of the eighteenth annual ACM–SIAM symposium on discrete algorithms (SODA 2007), pp. 512–521, 2007) and Bǎdoiu et al. (Proceedings of the 11th international workshop on approximation algorithms for combinatorial optimization problems (APPROX 2008), Springer, Berlin, pp. 21–34, 2008)). We also present a constant factor algorithm for approximating the optimal distortion of embedding a graph metric into an outerplanar metric. For this, we introduce a general notion of a metric relaxed minor and show that if G contains an α-metric relaxed H-minor, then the distortion of any embedding of G into any metric induced by a H-minor free graph is ≥α. Then, for H=K _2,3, we present an algorithm which either finds an α-relaxed minor, or produces an O(α)-embedding into an outerplanar metric.     

Pathwidth of Planar and Line Graphs

 We prove that for every 2-connected planar graph the pathwidth of its geometric dual is less than the pathwidth of its line graph. This implies that pathwidth(H)≤ pathwidth(H ^*)+1 for every planar triangulation H and leads us to a conjecture that pathwidth(G)≤pathwidth(G ^*)+1 for every 2-connected graph G. Received: May 8, 2001 Final version received: March 26, 2002 RID="*" ID="*" I acknowledge support by EC contract IST-1999-14186, Project ALCOM-FT (Algorithms and Complexity - Future Technologies) and support by the RFBR grant N01-01-00235. Acknowledgments. I am grateful to Petr Golovach, Roland Opfer and anonymous referee for their useful comments and suggestions.     

A Better Approximation Algorithm for Finding Planar Subgraphs

The MAXIMUM PLANAR SUBGRAPH problem—given a graphG, find a largest planar subgraph ofG—has applications in circuit layout, facility layout, and graph drawing. No previous polynomial-time approximation algorithm for this NP-Complete problem was known to achieve a performance ratio larger than 1/3, which is achieved simply by producing a spanning tree ofG. We present the first approximation algorithm for MAXIMUM PLANAR SUBGRAPH with higher performance ratio (4/9 instead of 1/3). We also apply our algorithm to find large outerplanar subgraphs. Last, we show that both MAXIMUM PLANAR SUBGRAPH and its complement, the problem of removing as few edges as possible to leave a planar subgraph, are Max SNP-Hard.     

Small Drawings of Outerplanar Graphs,Series-Parallel Graphs,and Other Planar Graphs

In this paper, we study small planar drawings of planar graphs. For arbitrary planar graphs, Θ(n ²) is the established upper and lower bound on the worst-case area. A long-standing open problem is to determine for what graphs a smaller area can be achieved. We show here that series-parallel graphs can be drawn in O(n ^3/2) area, and outerplanar graphs can be drawn in O(nlog n) area, but 2-outerplanar graphs and planar graphs of proper pathwidth 3 require Ω(n ²) area. Our drawings are visibility representations, which can be converted to polyline drawings of asymptotically the same area.     

On the vertex face total chromatic number of planar graphs

Let G be a planar graph. The vertex face total chromatic number _χ13(G) of G is the least number of colors assigned to V(G)∪F(G) such that no adjacent or incident elements receive the same color. The main results of this paper are as follows: (1) We give the vertex face total chromatic number for all outerplanar graphs and modulus 3-regular maximal planar graphs. (2) We prove that if G is a maximal planar graph or a lower degree planar graph, i.e., ∠(G) ≤ 3, then _χ13(G) ≤ 6. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The relaxed game chromatic number of outerplanar graphs

The (r,d)‐relaxed coloring game is played by two players, Alice and Bob, on a graph G with a set of r colors. The players take turns coloring uncolored vertices with legal colors. A color α is legal for an uncolored vertex u if u is adjacent to at most d vertices that have already been colored with α, and every neighbor of u that has already been colored with α is adjacent to at most d – 1 vertices that have already been colored with α. Alice wins the game if eventually all the vertices are legally colored; otherwise, Bob wins the game when there comes a time when there is no legal move left. We show that if G is outerplanar then Alice can win the (2,8)‐relaxed coloring game on G. It is known that there exists an outerplanar graph G such that Bob can win the (2,4)‐relaxed coloring game on G. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 46:69–78, 2004     

Note on vertex degrees of planar graphs

In this note the second moment of the vertex degree sequence of planar graphs is considered. We prove that

• 1 If G is an outerplanar graph of order n ? 3 then

• 2 If G is a planar graph of order n ? 4 then

where d₁,…,d_n is the vertex degree sequence of G. We exhibit all graphs for which these upper bounds are attained.     

Characterizations of restricted pairs of planar graphs allowing simultaneous embedding with fixed edges

A set of planar graphs {G₁(V,E₁),…,Gk(V,Ek)} admits a simultaneous embedding if they can be drawn on the same pointset P of order n in the Euclidean plane such that each point in P corresponds one-to-one to a vertex in V and each edge in Ei does not cross any other edge in Ei (except at endpoints) for i∈{1,…,k}. A fixed edge is an edge (u,v) that is drawn using the same simple curve for each graph Gi whose edge set Ei contains the edge (u,v). We give a necessary and sufficient condition for two graphs whose union is homeomorphic to K₅ or K3,3 to admit a simultaneous embedding with fixed edges (SEFE). This allows us to characterize the class of planar graphs that always have a SEFE with any other planar graph. We also characterize the class of biconnected outerplanar graphs that always have a SEFE with any other outerplanar graph. In both cases, we provide O(n⁴)-time algorithms to compute a SEFE.     

Test sets for generalized matrix functions

Let G = (V,E) be a biconnected graph and let C be a cycle in G. The subgraphs of G identified with the biconnected components of the contraction of C in G are called the bridges of C. Associated with the set of bridges of a cycle C is an auxilliary graphical structure G_C called a bridge graph or an overlap graph. Such auxilliary graphs have provided important insights in classical graph theory, algorithmic graph theory, and complexity theory. In this paper, we use techniques from algorithmic combinatorics and complexity theory to derive canonical forms for cycles in bridge graphs. These canonical forms clarify the relationship between cycles in bridge graphs, the structure of the underlying graph G, and lexicographic order relations on the vertices of attachment of bridges of a cycle. The first canonical form deals with the structure of induced bridge graph cycles of length greater than three. Cycles of length three in bridge graphs are studied from a different point of view, namely that of the characterization of minimal elements in certain related posets: ordered bridge three-cycles (10 minimal elements), bridge three-cycles (5 minimal elements), bridge deletion three-cycles (infinite number, 7 classes), minor order (K ₅ K _3,3), chordal bridge three-cycles (13 minimal elements), contraction poset (5 minimal elements), cycle-minor poset (infinite number, 14 classes). These results, each giving a different insight into the structure of bridge three-cycles, follow as corollaries from the characterization of the 10 minimal elements of the ordered bridge three-cycle poset. This characterization is constructive and may be regarded as an extension of the classical Kuratowski's Theorem which follows as a corollary. Algorithms are described for constructing these various minimal elements in time O(∣E∣) or O(∣V∣) depending on the case. The first canonical form gives a constructive proof of the result that a graph is nonplanar if and only if it has a cycle C whose bridge graph G_C (alternatively, skew bridge graph) has a three-cycle. An algorithm is described that constructs this three-cycle in time O(∣E∣). This is best possible.     

Outerplanar and Planar Oriented Cliques

The clique number of an undirected graph G is the maximum order of a complete subgraph of G and is a well‐known lower bound for the chromatic number of G. Every proper k‐coloring of G may be viewed as a homomorphism (an edge‐preserving vertex mapping) of G to the complete graph of order k. By considering homomorphisms of oriented graphs (digraphs without cycles of length at most 2), we get a natural notion of (oriented) colorings and oriented chromatic number of oriented graphs. An oriented clique is then an oriented graph whose number of vertices and oriented chromatic number coincide. However, the structure of oriented cliques is much less understood than in the undirected case. In this article, we study the structure of outerplanar and planar oriented cliques. We first provide a list of 11 graphs and prove that an outerplanar graph can be oriented as an oriented clique if and only if it contains one of these graphs as a spanning subgraph. Klostermeyer and MacGillivray conjectured that the order of a planar oriented clique is at most 15, which was later proved by Sen. We show that any planar oriented clique on 15 vertices must contain a particular oriented graph as a spanning subgraph, thus reproving the above conjecture. We also provide tight upper bounds for the order of planar oriented cliques of girth k for all .