Note on upper bound graphs and forbidden subposets

In the upper bound graph of a poset P, the vertex set is V(P) and xy is an edge if there exists an m∈V(P) with x,y≤_Pm. We show some characterizations on split upper bound graphs, threshold upper bound graphs and difference upper bound graphs in terms of m-subposets and canonical posets.     

A forbidden subgraph characterization of line-polar bipartite graphs

A graph is polar if the vertex set can be partitioned into A and B in such a way that the subgraph induced by A is a complete multipartite graph and the subgraph induced by B is a disjoint union of cliques. Polar graphs are a common generalization of bipartite, cobipartite, and split graphs. However, recognizing polar graphs is an NP-complete problem in general. This led to the study of the polarity of special classes of graphs such as cographs and chordal graphs, cf. Ekim et al. (2008) [7] and [5]. In this paper, we study the polarity of line graphs and call a graph line-polar if its line graph is polar. We characterize line-polar bipartite graphs in terms of forbidden subgraphs. This answers a question raised in the fist reference mentioned above. Our characterization has already been used to develop a linear time algorithm for recognizing line-polar bipartite graphs, cf. Ekim (submitted for publication) [6].     

A new forbidden pair for 6-contractible edges

An edge of a $k$-connected graph is said to be $k$-contractible if the contraction of the edge results in a $k$-connected graph. If every $k$-connected graph with no $k$-contractible edge has either $H_1$ or $H_2$ as a subgraph, then an unordered pair of graphs $\{H_1,H_2\}$ is said to be a forbidden pair for $k$-contractible edges. We prove that $\{K_1+3K_2,K_1+(P_3\cup K_2)\}$ is a forbidden pair for 6-contractible edges, which is an extension of a previous result due to Ando and Kawarabayashi.     

Mock threshold graphs

Mock threshold graphs are a simple generalization of threshold graphs that, like threshold graphs, are perfect graphs. Our main theorem is a characterization of mock threshold graphs by forbidden induced subgraphs. Other theorems characterize mock threshold graphs that are claw-free and that are line graphs. We also discuss relations with chordality and well-quasi-ordering as well as algorithmic aspects.     

On b-perfect Chordal Graphs

The b-chromatic number of a graph G is the largest integer k such that G has a coloring of the vertices in k color classes such that every color class contains a vertex that has a neighbour in all other color classes. We characterize the class of chordal graphs for which the b-chromatic number is equal to the chromatic number for every induced subgraph. This research was supported by Algerian-French program CMEP/Tassili 05 MDU 639.     

On Seymour’s strengthening of Hadwiger’s conjecture for graphs with certain forbidden subgraphs

Let H be a set of graphs. A graph is called H-free if it does not contain a copy of a member of H as an induced subgraph. If H is a graph then G is called H-free if it is {H}-free. Plummer, Stiebitz, and Toft proved that, for every -free graph H on at most four vertices, every -free graph G has a collection of ⌈|V(G)|/2⌉ many pairwise adjacent vertices and edges (where a vertexvand an edgeeare adjacent if v is disjoint from the set V(e) of endvertices of e and adjacent to some vertex of V(e), and two edgeseandfare adjacent if V(e) and V(f) are disjoint and some vertex of V(e) is adjacent to some vertex of V(f)). Here we generalize this statement to -free graphs H on at most five vertices.     

A characterization of cycle-free unit probe interval graphs

A graph is a probe interval graph (PIG) if its vertices can be partitioned into probes and nonprobes with an interval assigned to each vertex so that vertices are adjacent if and only if their corresponding intervals overlap and at least one of them is a probe. PIGs are a generalization of interval graphs introduced by Zhang for an application concerning the physical mapping of DNA in the human genome project. PIGs have been characterized in the cycle-free case by Sheng, and other miscellaneous results are given by McMorris, Wang, and Zhang. Johnson and Spinrad give a polynomial time recognition algorithm for when the partition of vertices into probes and nonprobes is given. The complexity for the general recognition problem is not known. Here, we restrict attention to the case where all intervals have the same length, that is, we study the unit probe interval graphs and characterize the cycle-free graphs that are unit probe interval graphs via a list of forbidden induced subgraphs.     

Forbidden induced subgraphs for star-free graphs

Let H be a family of connected graphs. A graph G is said to be H-free if G is H-free for every graph H in H. In Aldred et al. (2010) [1], it was pointed that there is a family of connected graphs H not containing any induced subgraph of the claw having the property that the set of H-free connected graphs containing a claw is finite, provided also that those graphs have minimum degree at least 2 and maximum degree at least 3. In the same work, it was also asked whether there are other families with the same property. In this paper, we answer this question by solving a wider problem. We consider not only claw-free graphs but the more general class of star-free graphs. Concretely, given t≥3, we characterize all the graph families H such that every large enough H-free connected graph is K_1,t-free. Additionally, for the case t=3, we show the families that one gets when adding the condition ∣H∣≤k for each positive integer k.     

ON THE ASCENDING SUBGRAPH DECOMPOSITIONS OF REGULAR GRAPHS

The definition of the ascending suhgraph decomposition was given by Alavi. It has been conjectured that every graph of positive size has an ascending subgraph decomposition. In this paper it is proved that the regular graphs under some conditions do have an ascending subgraph decomposition.     

Large 2P3-free graphs with bounded degree

Let ex^* (D;H) be the maximum number of edges in a connected graph with maximum degree D and no induced subgraph H; this is finite if and only if H is a disjoint union of paths. If the largest component of such an H has order m, then ex^*(D; H) = O(D²ex^*(D; P_m)). Constructively, ex^*(D;qP_m) = Θ(gD²ex^*(D;P_m)) if q>1 and m> 2(Θ(gD²) if m = 2). For H = 2P₃ (and D 8), the maximum number of edges is if D is even and

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if D is odd, achieved by a unique extremal graph.     

Polarity of chordal graphs

Polar graphs are a common generalization of bipartite, cobipartite, and split graphs. They are defined by the existence of a certain partition of vertices, which is NP-complete to decide for general graphs. It has been recently proved that for cographs, the existence of such a partition can be characterized by finitely many forbidden subgraphs, and hence tested in polynomial time. In this paper we address the question of polarity of chordal graphs, arguing that this is in essence a question of colourability, and hence chordal graphs are a natural restriction. We observe that there is no finite forbidden subgraph characterization of polarity in chordal graphs; nevertheless we present a polynomial time algorithm for polarity of chordal graphs. We focus on a special case of polarity (called monopolarity) which turns out to be the central concept for our algorithms. For the case of monopolar graphs, we illustrate the structure of all minimal obstructions; it turns out that they can all be described by a certain graph grammar, permitting our monopolarity algorithm to be cast as a certifying algorithm.     

Edge intersection graphs of linear 3-uniform hypergraphs

Let be the class of edge intersection graphs of linear 3-uniform hypergraphs. It is known that the problem of recognition of the class is NP-complete. We prove that this problem is polynomially solvable in the class of graphs with minimum vertex degree ≥10. It is also proved that the class is characterized by a finite list of forbidden induced subgraphs in the class of graphs with minimum vertex degree ≥16.     

Extremal functions of forbidden double permutation matrices

We say a 0–1 matrix A avoids a matrix P if no submatrix of A can be transformed into P by changing some ones to zeroes. We call P an m-tuple permutation matrix if P can be obtained by replacing each column of a permutation matrix with m copies of that column. In this paper, we investigate n×n matrices that avoid P and the maximum number ex(n,P) of ones that they can have. We prove a linear bound on ex(n,P) for any 2-tuple permutation matrix P, resolving a conjecture of Keszegh [B. Keszegh, On linear forbidden matrices, J. Combin. Theory Ser. A 116 (1) (2009) 232–241]. Using this result, we obtain a linear bound on ex(n,P) for any m-tuple permutation matrix P. Additionally, we demonstrate the existence of infinitely many minimal non-linear patterns, resolving another conjecture of Keszegh from the same paper.     

On distance two graphs of upper bound graphs

For a poset P=(X,≤), the upper bound graph (UB-graph) of P is the graph U=(X,E_U), where uv∈E_U if and only if u≠v and there exists m∈X such that u,v≤m. For a graph G, the distance two graph DS₂(G) is the graph with vertex set V(DS₂(G))=V(G) and u,v∈V(DS₂(G)) are adjacent if and only if d_G(u,v)=2. In this paper, we deal with distance two graphs of upper bound graphs. We obtain a characterization of distance two graphs of split upper bound graphs.