English

Directed Token Sliding

Data Structures and Algorithms 2026-03-26 v2

Abstract

Reconfiguration problems involve determining whether two given configurations can be transformed into each other under specific rules. The Token Sliding problem asks whether, given two different set of tokens on vertices of a graph GG, we can transform one into the other by sliding tokens step-by-step along edges of GG such that each resulting set of tokens forms an independent set in GG. Recently, Ito et al. [MFCS 2022] introduced a directed variant of this problem. They showed that for general oriented graphs (i.e., graphs where no pair of vertices can have directed edges in both directions), the problem remains PSPACE\mathsf{PSPACE}-complete, and is solvable in polynomial time on oriented trees. In this paper, we further investigate the Token Sliding problem on various oriented graph classes. We show that the problem remains PSPACE\mathsf{PSPACE}-complete for oriented split graphs, bipartite graphs and bounded treewidth graphs. Additionally, we present polynomial-time algorithms for solving the problem on oriented cycles and cographs.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2411.16149,
  title  = {Directed Token Sliding},
  author = {Niranka Banerjee and Christian Engels and Duc A. Hoang},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2411.16149},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

v2: revision of v1, remove incorrect proof on oriented planar graphs

R2 v1 2026-06-28T20:10:57.694Z