Finding a subdivision of a prescribed digraph of order 4

The problem of when a given digraph contains a subdivision of a fixed digraph F is considered. Bang‐Jensen et al. [4] laid out foundations for approaching this problem from the algorithmic point of view. In this article, we give further support to several open conjectures and speculations about algorithmic complexity of finding F‐subdivisions. In particular, up to five exceptions, we completely classify for which 4‐vertex digraphs F, the F‐subdivision problem is polynomial‐time solvable and for which it is NP‐complete. While all NP‐hardness proofs are made by reduction from some version of the 2‐linkage problem in digraphs, some of the polynomial‐time solvable cases involve relatively complicated algorithms.     

Digraphs with the path-merging property

In this paper we study those digraphs D for which every pair of internally disjoint (X, Y)-paths P₁, P₂ can be merged into one (X, Y)-path P* such that V(P₁) ∪ V(P₂), for every choice of vertices X, Y ? V(D). We call this property the path-merging property and we call a graph path-mergeable if it has the path-merging property. We show that each such digraph has a directed hamiltonian cycle whenever it can possibly have one, i.e., it is strong and the underlying graph has no cutvertex. We show that path-mergeable digraphs can be recognized in polynomial time and we give examples of large classes of such digraphs which are not contained in any previously studied class of digraphs. We also discuss which undirected graphs have path-mergeable digraph orientations. © 1995, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Induced disjoint paths problem in a planar digraph

As an extension of the disjoint paths problem, we introduce a new problem which we call the induced disjoint paths problem. In this problem we are given a graph G and a collection of vertex pairs {(s₁,t₁),…,(s_k,t_k)}. The objective is to find k paths P₁,…,P_k such that P_i is a path from s_i to t_i and P_i and P_j have neither common vertices nor adjacent vertices for any distinct i,j.The induced disjoint paths problem has several variants depending on whether k is a fixed constant or a part of the input, whether the graph is directed or undirected, and whether the graph is planar or not. We investigate the computational complexity of several variants of the induced disjoint paths problem. We show that the induced disjoint paths problem is (i) solvable in polynomial time when k is fixed and G is a directed (or undirected) planar graph, (ii) NP-hard when k=2 and G is an acyclic directed graph, (iii) NP-hard when k=2 and G is an undirected general graph.As an application of our first result, we show that we can find in polynomial time certain structures called a “hole” and a “theta” in a planar graph.     

Minimum cost and list homomorphisms to semicomplete digraphs

For digraphs D and H, a mapping f:V(D)→V(H) is a homomorphism of D to H if uv∈A(D) implies f(u)f(v)∈A(H). Let H be a fixed directed or undirected graph. The homomorphism problem for H asks whether a directed or undirected input graph D admits a homomorphism to H. The list homomorphism problem for H is a generalization of the homomorphism problem for H, where every vertex x∈V(D) is assigned a set L_x of possible colors (vertices of H).The following optimization version of these decision problems generalizes the list homomorphism problem and was introduced in Gutin et al. [Level of repair analysis and minimum cost homomorphisms of graphs, Discrete Appl. Math., to appear], where it was motivated by a real-world problem in defence logistics. Suppose we are given a pair of digraphs D,H and a positive integral cost c_i(u) for each u∈V(D) and i∈V(H). The cost of a homomorphism f of D to H is . For a fixed digraph H, the minimum cost homomorphism problem for H is stated as follows: for an input digraph D and costs c_i(u) for each u∈V(D) and i∈V(H), verify whether there is a homomorphism of D to H and, if one exists, find such a homomorphism of minimum cost.We obtain dichotomy classifications of the computational complexity of the list homomorphism and minimum cost homomorphism problems, when H is a semicomplete digraph (digraph in which there is at least one arc between any two vertices). Our dichotomy for the list homomorphism problem coincides with the one obtained by Bang-Jensen, Hell and MacGillivray in 1988 for the homomorphism problem when H is a semicomplete digraph: both problems are polynomial solvable if H has at most one cycle; otherwise, both problems are NP-complete. The dichotomy for the minimum cost homomorphism problem is different: the problem is polynomial time solvable if H is acyclic or H is a cycle of length 2 or 3; otherwise, the problem is NP-hard.     

Automorphisms of endomorphism semigroups of reflexive digraphs

A reflexive digraph is a pair (X, ρ), where X is an arbitrary set and ρ is a reflexive binary relation on X. Let End (X, ρ) be the semigroup of endomorphisms of (X, ρ). We determine the group of automorphisms of End (X, ρ) for: digraphs containing an edge not contained in a cycle, digraphs consisting of arbitrary unions of cycles such that cycles of length ≥2 are pairwise disjoint, and some circulant digraphs (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The complexity of the minimum cost homomorphism problem for semicomplete digraphs with possible loops

For digraphs D and H, a mapping f:V(D)→V(H) is a homomorphism of D to H if uv∈A(D) implies f(u)f(v)∈A(H). For a fixed digraph H, the homomorphism problem is to decide whether an input digraph D admits a homomorphism to H or not, and is denoted as HOM(H).An optimization version of the homomorphism problem was motivated by a real-world problem in defence logistics and was introduced in Gutin, Rafiey, Yeo and Tso (2006) [13]. If each vertex u∈V(D) is associated with costs c_i(u),i∈V(H), then the cost of the homomorphism f is ∑_u∈V(D)c_f(u)(u). For each fixed digraph H, we have the minimum cost homomorphism problem forH and denote it as MinHOM(H). The problem is to decide, for an input graph D with costs c_i(u),u∈V(D),i∈V(H), whether there exists a homomorphism of D to H and, if one exists, to find one of minimum cost.Although a complete dichotomy classification of the complexity of MinHOM(H) for a digraph H remains an unsolved problem, complete dichotomy classifications for MinHOM(H) were proved when H is a semicomplete digraph Gutin, Rafiey and Yeo (2006) [10], and a semicomplete multipartite digraph Gutin, Rafiey and Yeo (2008) [12] and [11]. In these studies, it is assumed that the digraph H is loopless. In this paper, we present a full dichotomy classification for semicomplete digraphs with possible loops, which solves a problem in Gutin and Kim (2008) [9].     

The diameter of randomly perturbed digraphs and some applications

The central observation of this paper is that if εn random arcs are added to any n‐node strongly connected digraph with bounded degree then the resulting graph has diameter 𝒪(lnn) with high probability. We apply this to smoothed analysis of algorithms and property testing. Smoothed Analysis: Recognizing strongly connected digraphs is a basic computational task in graph theory. Even for digraphs with bounded degree, it is NL‐complete. By XORing an arbitrary bounded degree digraph with a sparse random digraph R ∼ 𝔻_n,ε/n we obtain a “smoothed” instance. We show that, with high probability, a log‐space algorithm will correctly determine if a smoothed instance is strongly connected. We also show that if NL ⫅̸ almost‐L then no heuristic can recognize similarly perturbed instances of (s,t)‐connectivity. Property Testing: A digraph is called k‐linked if, for every choice of 2k distinct vertices s₁,…,s_k,t₁,…,t_k, the graph contains k vertex disjoint paths joining s_r to t_r for r = 1,…,k. Recognizing k‐linked digraphs is NP‐complete for k ≥ 2. We describe a polynomial time algorithm for bounded degree digraphs, which accepts k‐linked graphs with high probability, and rejects all graphs that are at least εn arcs away from being k‐linked. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 2007     

Minimum cost homomorphisms to semicomplete multipartite digraphs

For digraphs D and H, a mapping f:V(D)→V(H) is a homomorphism ofDtoH if uv∈A(D) implies f(u)f(v)∈A(H). For a fixed directed or undirected graph H and an input graph D, the problem of verifying whether there exists a homomorphism of D to H has been studied in a large number of papers. We study an optimization version of this decision problem. Our optimization problem is motivated by a real-world problem in defence logistics and was introduced recently by the authors and M. Tso.Suppose we are given a pair of digraphs D,H and a cost c_i(u) for each u∈V(D) and i∈V(H). The cost of a homomorphism f of D to H is ∑_u∈V(D)c_f(u)(u). Let H be a fixed digraph. The minimum cost homomorphism problem for H, MinHOMP(H), is stated as follows: For input digraph D and costs c_i(u) for each u∈V(D) and i∈V(H), verify whether there is a homomorphism of D to H and, if it does exist, find such a homomorphism of minimum cost. In our previous paper we obtained a dichotomy classification of the time complexity of when H is a semicomplete digraph. In this paper we extend the classification to semicomplete k-partite digraphs, k≥3, and obtain such a classification for bipartite tournaments.     

Disjoint paths in symmetric digraphs

Given a number of requests ?, we propose a polynomial-time algorithm for finding ? disjoint paths in a symmetric directed graph. It is known that the problem of finding ?≥2 disjoint paths in a directed graph is NP-hard [S. Fortune, J. Hopcroft, J. Wyllie, The directed subgraph homeomorphism problem, Journal of Theoretical Computer Science 10 (2) (1980) 111-121]. However, by studying minimal solutions it turns out that only a finite number of configurations are possible in a symmetric digraph. We use Robertson and Seymour’s polynomial-time algorithm [N. Robertson, P. D. Seymour, Graph minors xiii. The disjoint paths problem, Journal of Combinatorial Theory B (63) (1995) 65-110] to check the feasibility of each configuration.     

Arc‐Disjoint In‐ and Out‐Branchings With the Same Root in Locally Semicomplete Digraphs

Deciding whether a digraph contains a pair of arc‐disjoint in‐ and out‐branchings rooted at a specified vertex is a well‐known NP‐complete problem (as proved by Thomassen, see 2 ). This problem has been shown to be polynomial time solvable for semicomplete digraphs 2 and for quasi‐transitive digraphs 6 . In this article, we study the problem for locally semicomplete digraphs. We characterize locally semicomplete digraphs that contain a pair of arc‐disjoint in‐ and out‐branchings rooted at a specified vertex. Our proofs are constructive and imply the existence of a polynomial time algorithm for finding the desired branchings when they exist. Our results generalizes those from 2 for semicomplete digraphs and solves an open problem from 4 .     

On shortest disjoint paths in planar graphs

For a graph G and a collection of vertex pairs {(s₁,t₁),…,(s_k,t_k)}, the k disjoint paths problem is to find k vertex-disjoint paths P₁,…,P_k, where P_i is a path from s_i to t_i for each i=1,…,k. In the corresponding optimization problem, the shortest disjoint paths problem, the vertex-disjoint paths P_i have to be chosen such that a given objective function is minimized. We consider two different objectives, namely minimizing the total path length (minimum sum, or short: Min-Sum), and minimizing the length of the longest path (Min-Max), for k=2,3.Min-Sum: We extend recent results by Colin de Verdière and Schrijver to prove that, for a planar graph and for terminals adjacent to at most two faces, the Min-Sum 2 Disjoint Paths Problem can be solved in polynomial time. We also prove that, for six terminals adjacent to one face in any order, the Min-Sum 3 Disjoint Paths Problem can be solved in polynomial time.Min-Max: The Min-Max 2 Disjoint Paths Problem is known to be NP-hard for general graphs. We present an algorithm that solves the problem for graphs with tree-width 2 in polynomial time. We thus close the gap between easy and hard instances, since the problem is weakly NP-hard for graphs with tree-width 3.     

On the structure of strong 3-quasi-transitive digraphs

In this paper, D=(V(D),A(D)) denotes a loopless directed graph (digraph) with at most one arc from u to v for every pair of vertices u and v of V(D). Given a digraph D, we say that D is 3-quasi-transitive if, whenever u→v→w→z in D, then u and z are adjacent or u=z. In Bang-Jensen (2004) [3], Bang-Jensen introduced 3-quasi-transitive digraphs and claimed that the only strong 3-quasi-transitive digraphs are the strong semicomplete digraphs and strong semicomplete bipartite digraphs. In this paper, we exhibit a family of strong 3-quasi-transitive digraphs distinct from strong semicomplete digraphs and strong semicomplete bipartite digraphs and provide a complete characterization of strong 3-quasi-transitive digraphs.     

Double-super-connected digraphs

A strongly connected digraph D is said to be super-connected if every minimum vertex-cut is the out-neighbor or in-neighbor set of a vertex. A strongly connected digraph D is said to be double-super-connected if every minimum vertex-cut is both the out-neighbor set of a vertex and the in-neighbor set of a vertex. In this paper, we characterize the double-super-connected line digraphs, Cartesian product and lexicographic product of two digraphs. Furthermore, we study double-super-connected Abelian Cayley digraphs and illustrate that there exist double-super-connected digraphs for any given order and minimum degree.     

On Vertices of outdegree n in minimally n‐connected digraphs

Let |D| and |D|⁺_n denote the number of vertices of D and the number of vertices of outdegree n in the digraph D, respectively. It is proved that every minimally n‐connected, finite digraph D has |D|⁺_n ≥ n + 1 and that for n ≥ 2, there is a c_n > 0 such that for all minimally n‐connected, finite digraphs D. Furthermore, case n = 2 of the following conjecture is settled which says that every minimally n‐connected, finite digraph has a vertex of indegree and outdegree equal to n. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 39: 129–144, 2002     

Quasi-transitive digraphs

A digraph is quasi-transitive if there is a complete adjacency between the inset and the outset of each vertex. Quasi-transitive digraphs are interseting because of their relation to comparability graphs. Specifically, a graph can be oriented as a quasi-transitive digraph if and only if it is a comparability graph. Quasi-transitive digraphs are also of interest as they share many nice properties of tournaments. Indeed, we show that every strongly connected quasi-transitive digraphs D on at least four vertices has two vertices v₁ and v₂ such that D – v_i is strongly connected for i = 1, 2. A result of tournaments on the existence of a pair of arc-disjoint in- and out-branchings rooted at the same vertex can also be extended to quasi-transitive digraphs. However, some properties of tournaments, like hamiltonicity, cannot be extended directly to quasi-transitive digraphs. Therefore we characterize those quasi-transitive digraphs which have a hamiltonian cycle, respectively a hamiltonian path. We show the existence of highly connected quasi-transitive digraphs D with a factor (a collection of disjoint cycles covering the vertex set of D), which have a cycle of every length 3 ≦ k ≦ |V(D)| ? 1 through every vertex and yet they are not hamiltonian. Finally we characterize pancyclic and vertex pancyclic quasi-transitive digraphs. © 1995, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Linear arboricity of regular digraphs

A linear directed forest is a directed graph in which every component is a directed path.The linear arboricity la(D) of a digraph D is the minimum number of linear directed forests in D whose union covers all arcs of D. For every d-regular digraph D, Nakayama and P′eroche conjecture that la(D) = d + 1. In this paper, we consider the linear arboricity for complete symmetric digraphs,regular digraphs with high directed girth and random regular digraphs and we improve some wellknown results. Moreover, we propose a more precise conjecture about the linear arboricity for regular digraphs.     

Kings in semicomplete multipartite digraphs

A digraph obtained by replacing each edge of a complete p‐partite graph by an arc or a pair of mutually opposite arcs with the same end vertices is called a semicomplete p‐partite digraph, or just a semicomplete multipartite digraph. A semicomplete multipartite digraph with no cycle of length two is a multipartite tournament. In a digraph D, an r‐king is a vertex q such that every vertex in D can be reached from q by a path of length at most r. Strengthening a theorem by K. M. Koh and B. P. Tan (Discr Math 147 (1995), 171–183) on the number of 4‐kings in multipartite tournaments, we characterize semicomplete multipartite digraphs, which have exactly k 4‐kings for every k = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 33: 177‐183, 2000     

Exponents of a class of two-colored digraphs

A two-colored digraph D is primitive if there exist nonnegative integers h and k with h+k>0 such that for each pair (i, j) of vertices there exists an (h, k)-walk in D from i to j. The exponent of the primitive two-colored digraph D is the minimum value of h+k taken over all such h and k. In this article, we consider special primitive two-colored digraphs whose uncolored digraph has n+s vertices and consist of one n-cycle and one (n???2)-cycle. We give the bounds on the exponents, and the characterizations of the extremal two-colored digraphs.     

DAG‐Width and Circumference of Digraphs

We prove that every digraph of circumference l has DAG‐width at most l. This is best possible and solves a recent conjecture from S. Kintali (ArXiv:1401.2662v1 [math.CO], January 2014).¹ As a consequence of this result we deduce that the k‐linkage problem is polynomially solvable for every fixed k in the class of digraphs with bounded circumference. This answers a question posed in J. Bang‐Jensen, F. Havet, and A. K. Maia (Theor Comput Sci 562 (2014), 283–303). We also prove that the weak k‐linkage problem (where we ask for arc‐disjoint paths) is polynomially solvable for every fixed k in the class of digraphs with circumference 2 as well as for digraphs with a bounded number of disjoint cycles each of length at least 3. The case of bounded circumference digraphs is still open. Finally, we prove that the minimum spanning strong subdigraph problem is NP‐hard on digraphs of DAG‐width at most 5.