Constructing a bipartite graph of maximum connectivity with prescribed degrees

A k-colouring of a graph G with colours 1 , 2 , … , k is canonical with respect to an ordering π = v 1 , v 2 , … , v n of the vertices of G if adjacent vertices are assigned different colours and, for 1 ≤ c ≤ k , whenever colour c is assigned to a vertex v i , each colour less than c has been assigned to a vertex that precedes v i in π . The canonical k-colouring graph of G with respect to π is the graph Can k π ( G ) with vertex set equal to the set of canonical k-colourings of G with respect to π , with two of these being adjacent if and only if they differ in the colour assigned to exactly one vertex. Connectivity and Hamiltonicity of canonical colouring graphs of bipartite and complete multipartite graphs is studied. It is shown that for complete multipartite graphs, and bipartite graphs there exists a vertex ordering π such that Can k π ( G ) is connected for large enough values of k. It is proved that a canonical colouring graph of a complete multipartite graph usually does not have a Hamilton cycle, and that there exists a vertex ordering π such that Can k π ( K m , n ) has a Hamilton path for all k ≥ 3 . The paper concludes with a detailed consideration of Can k π ( K 2 , 2 , … , 2 ) . For each k ≥ χ and all vertex orderings π , it is proved that Can k π ( K 2 , 2 , … , 2 ) is either disconnected or isomorphic to a particular tree.

Bipartite graphs and digraphs with maximum connectivity

Cyclability and pancyclability in bipartite graphs

In 1971, Tutte wrote in an article that it is tempting to conjecture that every 3-connected bipartite cubic graph is hamiltonian . Motivated by this remark, Horton constructed a counterexample on 96 96 vertices. In a sequence of articles by different authors several smaller counterexamples were presented. The smallest of these graphs is a graph on 50 vertices which was discovered independently by Georges and Kelmans. In this article we show that there is no smaller counterexample. As all non-hamiltonian 3-connected bipartite cubic graphs in the literature have cyclic 4-cuts—even if they have girth 6—it is natural to ask whether this is a necessary prerequisite. In this article we answer this question in the negative and give a construction of an infinite family of non-hamiltonian cyclically 5-connected bipartite cubic graphs. In 1969 Barnette gave a weaker version of the conjecture stating that 3-connected planar bipartite cubic graphs are hamiltonian. We show that Barnette’s conjecture is true up to at least 90 vertices. We also report that a search of small non-hamiltonian 3-connected bipartite cubic graphs did not find any with genus less than 4.

On the complexity of the flow coloring problem

Clustering and domination in perfect graphs

Dominating induced matching in some subclasses of bipartite graphs

The thesis consists of three chapters. The first chapter introduces the basic notions of graph theory and defines vertex-reconstruction and edge-reconstruction problem. The second chapter and third chapter are devoted to the edge-reconstruction of bi-degreed graphs and bipartite graphs respectively. A bi-degreed graph G is a graph with two degrees d > δ. By elementary arguments we can assume d = δ + 1 and there are at least two vertices of degree δ. Call vertices of degree d "big" vertex and degree δ "small" vertex. Define "symmetric" path of length p Sp to be one with both ends small vertices and all other internal vertices big vertices; define "asymmetric" path of length p Ap to be one with one end a small vertex and all others big vertices. If s(G) is the minimum distance between two small vertices in G, we can show that s(G) is "independent" of G (i.e. it is edge-reconstructable), and that G has at most one nonisomorphic edge-reconstruction H. From this, the concept of "forced move" posed by Dr. Swart is obvious. Using the principle of forced move (and sometimes also "forced edge" posed by Dr. Swart as well), it's easy to derive a few interesting properties, like say G is edge-reconstructable if s(G) is even or if two Ss(G)'s intersect at an internal vertex, etc. Write s for s(G). When s is odd, consider the concept of s - n-chain, which is n Ss's following from end to end. We can show first s - 3-chain and then s - 2-chain cannot exist. Hence Ss's are disjoint. Think of Ss's as "lines" in some geometry. Define two more "distance" functions s1 and s2 such that s1 "represents" the distance from a point to a line and s2 means the distance between to "skew" lines. With the aid of forced move principle again, we can at last prove every bi-degreed graph with at least four edges is edge-reconstructable. A bipartite graph G is a graph whose vertex set V is the disjoint union of two sets v1 and v2 such that every edge joins v1 and v2. By elementary reduction we can assume G to be connected. We define special chains inductively so that it starts at a vertex of minimum degree and always goes to a neighbor or minimum degree. Special chains will be the main tool to prove edge-reconstructability. By G's finiteness, we note they will "terminate" somewhere, and we have three types of termination for them. Let condition A•s be that degree sequence of special chain is edge-reconstructable, condition Bi's be that number of special chains is edge-reconstructable(and some more general variations); condition P's be that the "last vertices" of two special chains be not adjacent; we can prove that all A, Bi and P's should hold inductively in an interlocked way. (This is a big task). Then condition P's can be used to prove G's edge-reconstructability for all three types of termination. We can then prove every bipartite graph with at least four edges is edge-reconstructable.

Construction for bicritical graphs and k-extendable bipartite graphs

Super-pancyclic hypergraphs and bipartite graphs

A set S ⊆ V is a dominating set in G if for every u ∈ V \ S, there exists v ∈ S such that (u, v) ∈ E, i.e., N[S] = V . A dominating set S is an isolate dominating set (IDS) if the induced subgraph G[S] has at least one isolated vertex. It is known that Isolate Domination Decision problem (IDOM) is NP-complete for bipartite graphs. In this paper, we extend this by showing that the IDOM is NP-complete for split graphs and perfect elimination bipartite graphs, a subclass of bipartite graphs. A set S ⊆ V is an independent set if G[S] has no edge. A set S ⊆ V is a secure dominating set of G if, for each vertex u ∈ V \ S, there exists a vertex v ∈ S such that (u, v) ∈ E and (S \ {v}) ∪ {u} is a dominating set of G. In addition, we initiate the study of a new domination parameter called, independent secure domination. A set S ⊆ V is an independent secure dominating set (InSDS) if S is an independent set and a secure dominating set of G. The minimum size of an InSDS in G is called the independent secure domination number of G and is denoted by γ is (G). Given a graph G and a positive integer k, the InSDM problem is to check whether G has an independent secure dominating set of size at most k. We prove that InSDM is NP-complete for bipartite graphs and linear time solvable for bounded tree-width graphs and threshold graphs, a subclass of split graphs. The MInSDS problem is to find an independent secure dominating set of minimum size, in the input graph. Finally, we show that the MInSDS problem is APX-hard for graphs with maximum degree 5.

Parity graphs form a superclass of bipartite graphs. Since their introduction, all the algorithms proposed as solutions to the recognition problem and other computational problems exploit the structural property described by Burlet and Uhry in [4].This paper newly describes a different structural property based on split decomposition for parity graphs. This result, together with the observation that the split decomposition process can be performed in linear time, allows us to provide optimum algorithms for both the recognition problem and the maximum weighted clique problem in this class. We further propose a general algorithm to solve the maximum weighted independent set problem for certain classes of graphs. Its application to parity graphs provides the best solution for this problem. Moreover, when the algorithm is applied to distance-hereditary graphs, it equals the best known solution, which is also the optimum for this class.A remarkable consequence of this work is that the extension of bipartite graphs to parity graphs does not increase the complexity of these basic problems, since the worst case occurs when the parity graph is an undecomposable bipartite graph.

Recent results establish for 2-spin antiferromagnetic systems that the computational complexity of approximating the partition function on graphs of maximum degree D undergoes a phase transition that coincides with the uniqueness phase transition on the infinite D-regular tree. For the ferromagnetic Potts model we investigate whether analogous hardness results hold. Goldberg and Jerrum showed that approximating the partition function of the ferromagnetic Potts model is at least as hard as approximating the number of independent sets in bipartite graphs (#BIS-hardness). We improve this hardness result by establishing it for bipartite graphs of maximum degree D. We first present a detailed picture for the phase diagram for the infinite D-regular tree, giving a refined picture of its first-order phase transition and establishing the critical temperature for the coexistence of the disordered and ordered phases. We then prove for all temperatures below this critical temperature that it is #BIS-hard to approximate the partition function on bipartite graphs of maximum degree D. As a corollary, it is #BIS-hard to approximate the number of k-colorings on bipartite graphs of maximum degree D when k <= D/(2 ln D). The #BIS-hardness result for the ferromagnetic Potts model uses random bipartite regular graphs as a gadget in the reduction. The analysis of these random graphs relies on recent connections between the maxima of the expectation of their partition function, attractive fixpoints of the associated tree recursions, and induced matrix norms. We extend these connections to random regular graphs for all ferromagnetic models and establish the Bethe prediction for every ferromagnetic spin system on random regular graphs. We also prove for the ferromagnetic Potts model that the Swendsen-Wang algorithm is torpidly mixing on random D-regular graphs at the critical temperature for large q.

A bipartite graph is said to be tree convex if there exists a tree T defined over one part such that the neighborhood of every vertex in the other part forms a connected subtree of T. We study the problem of finding a maximum edge biclique—namely, a complete bipartite subgraph containing the largest possible number of edges—in tree convex bipartite graphs. For the special case of triad convex graphs, where T has exactly three leaves, we present an O(n2 polylog n)-time algorithm, significantly improving the previous best O(n5)-time solution. More generally, for tree convex graphs where the underlying tree has a constant number d of leaves, we present an O(nd-1 polylog n)-time algorithm, which improves the best previously known runtime by a factor of n3 / polylog n for any constant d ≥ 3.

Vertex-independent sets and vertex coverings as also edge-independent sets and edge coverings of graphs occur very naturally in many practical situations and hence have several potential applications. In this chapter, we study the properties of these sets. In addition, we discuss matchings in graphs and, in particular, in bipartite graphs. Matchings in bipartite graphs have varied applications in operations research. We also present two celebrated theorems of graph theory, namely, Tutte’s 1-factor theorem and Hall’s matching theorem. All graphs considered in this chapter are loopless.