- Research Article
- 10.1142/s1793830922501130
2-Trees: Structural insights and the study of Hamiltonian paths
- Aug 27, 2022
- Discrete Mathematics, Algorithms and Applications
- P Renjith + 1 more +1
For a connected graph, a path containing all vertices is known as a Hamiltonian path. For general graphs, there is no known necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of Hamiltonian paths and the complexity of finding a Hamiltonian path in general graphs is NP-Complete. We present a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of Hamiltonian paths in 2-trees. Using our characterization, we also present a linear-time algorithm for the existence of Hamiltonian paths in 2-trees. Our characterization is based on a deep understanding of the structure of 2-trees and the combinatorics presented here may be used in other combinatorial problems restricted to 2-trees.
Read more