Characterization and linear-time detection of minimal obstructions to concave-round graphs and the circular-ones property

A graph is concave-round if its vertices can be circularly enumerated so that the closed neighborhood of each vertex is an interval in the enumeration. In this study, we give a minimal forbidden induced subgraph characterization for the class of concave-round graphs, solving a problem posed by Bang-Jensen, Huang, and Yeo [SIAM J. Discrete Math., 13 (2000), pp. 179–193]. In addition, we show that it is possible to find one such forbidden induced subgraph in linear time in any given graph that is not concave-round. As part of the analysis, we obtain characterizations by minimal forbidden submatrices for the circular-ones property for rows and for the circular-ones property for rows and columns and show that, also for both variants of the property, one of the corresponding forbidden submatrices can be found (if present) in any given matrix in linear time. We make some final remarks regarding connections to some classes of circular-arc graphs.     

Proof of a conjecture on irredundance perfect graphs

Let ir(G) and γ(G) be the irredundance number and the domination number of a graph G, respectively. A graph G is called irredundance perfect if ir(H)=γ(H), for every induced subgraph H of G. In this article we present a result which immediately implies three known conjectures on irredundance perfect graphs. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 41: 292–306, 2002     

Signed graphs for portfolio analysis in risk management

We introduce the notion of structural balance for signed graphsin the context of portfolio analysis. A portfolio of securitiescan be represented as a signed graph with the nodes denotingthe securities and the edges representing the correlation betweenthe securities. With signed graphs, the characteristics of aportfolio from a risk management perspective can be uncoveredfor analysis purposes. It is shown that a portfolio characterizedby a signed graph of positive and negative edges that is structurallybalanced is characteristically more predictable. Investors whoundertake a portfolio position with all positively correlatedsecurities do so with the intention to speculate on the upside(or downside). If the portfolio consists of negative edges andis balanced, then it is likely that the position has a hedgingdisposition within it. On the other hand, an unbalanced signedgraph is representative of an investment portfolio which ischaracteristically unpredictable.     

Hamiltonian N2‐locally connected claw‐free graphs

A graph G is N₂‐locally connected if for every vertex ν in G, the edges not incident with ν but having at least one end adjacent to ν in G induce a connected graph. In 1990, Ryjá?ek conjectured that every 3‐connected N₂‐locally connected claw‐free graph is Hamiltonian. This conjecture is proved in this note. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 48: 142–146, 2005     

A characterization of projective-planar signed graphs

A signed graph has a plus or minus sign on each edge. A simple cycle is positive or negative depending on whether it contains an even or odd number of negative edges, respectively. We consider embeddings of a signed graph in the projective plane for which a simple cycle is essential if and only if it is negative. We characterize those signed graphs that have such a projective-planar embedding. Our characterization is in terms of a related signed graph formed by considering the theta subgraphs in the given graph.     

On-line arbitrarily vertex decomposable trees

A tree T is arbitrarily vertex decomposable if for any sequence τ of positive integers adding up to the order of T there is a sequence of vertex-disjoint subtrees of T whose orders are given by τ. An on-line version of the problem of characterizing arbitrarily vertex decomposable trees is completely solved here.     

A note on balance vertices in trees

The notion of balanced bipartitions of the vertices in a tree T was introduced and studied by Reid (Networks 34 (1999) 264). Reid proved that the set of balance vertices of a tree T consists of a single vertex or two adjacent vertices. In this note, we give a simple proof of that result.