Algorithmic study of $d_2$-transitivity of graphs

Let $G=(V, E)$ be a graph where $V$ and $E$ are the vertex and edge sets, respectively. For two disjoint subsets $A$ and $B$ of $V$, we say $A$ \emph{dominates} $B$ if every vertex of $B$ is adjacent to at least one vertex of $A$. A vertex partition $\pi = \{V_1, V_2, \ldots, V_k\}$ of $G$ is called a \emph{transitive partition} of size $k$ if $V_i$ dominates $V_j$ for all $1\leq i<j\leq k$. In this article, we initiate the study of a generalization of transitive partition, namely \emph{$d_2$-transitive partition}. For two disjoint subsets $A$ and $B$ of $V$, we say $A$ \emph{$d_2$-dominates} $B$ if, for every vertex of $B$, there exists a vertex in $A$, such that the distance between them is at most two. A vertex partition $\pi = \{V_1, V_2, \ldots, V_k\}$ of $G$ is called a \emph{$d_2$-transitive partition} of size $k$ if $V_i$ $d_2$-dominates $V_j$ for all $1\leq i<j\leq k$. The maximum integer $k$ for which the above partition exists is called \emph{$d_2$-transitivity} of $G$, and it is denoted by $Tr_{d_2}(G)$. The \textsc{Maximum $d_2$-Transitivity Problem} is to find a $d_2$-transitive partition of a given graph with the maximum number of parts. We show that this problem can be solved in linear time for the complement of bipartite graphs and bipartite chain graphs. On the negative side, we prove that the decision version of the \textsc{Maximum $d_2$-Transitivity Problem} is NP-complete for split graphs, bipartite graphs, and star-convex bipartite graphs.